ItsDirector

The Human From a Dungeon 118

Chapter 118

Emperor Jak Norev I

Adventurer Level: N/A

Dwarf - Calkutin

"What gibberish spouts from your incompetent maw?" I demanded.

"Th-the daemons, my emperor," my new senior aide stammered. "They are attacking! All over the empire!"

"Repeating yourself provides no additional clarification, boy! Do you believe that my ears no longer function?"

"I-I'm sorr-"

"Silence!" I shouted as I angrily rose from my throne. "Your apologies mean as much as the mud on a hnarse's hoof! The next words out of your mouth had better detail from whence these attacks are coming and how many daemons are involved, or I'll have you flayed, fired, and kicked out on what's left of your fucking incompetent ass!"

"Language, cloud-dweller," Amsiri scolded me.

I turned to stare at my wife with pursed lips and a squint. Had such a correction been issued by anyone other than her, their head easily could have been mounted on the wall of shame within the hour. Luckily for my darling, my love for her was deeper than any rage I could ever feel.

Plus, it would be pretty scandalous for me to have my wife executed. I definitely wouldn't be the first emperor to do so, though, so it was mostly my love that allowed her to be so fucking cheeky. The corners of her perfectly-shaped lips rose a little, as if she knew what I was thinking and how much our love tied my hands.

"Not in front of the help, dear," I grumbled. "Especially when they're being an imbecile."

I turned back toward the aide, who was on both knees in apology. The news of the daemons had obviously shaken him, and he had dropped everything to report it to me. A normal reaction, when one thinks it through. I sighed as I came to the realization that my previous aide, Hanamsh, had set my expectations a little high.

"Do you know where the daemons are attacking from or how many there are?" I asked with as much patience as I could muster.

The shake of his head very nearly sent me into another shouting spree, but I remembered what I had told him and took a breath to calm down.

"Then go find out. Or better yet, summon someone who does."

The aide first rose to one knee whilst keeping his head bowed, a silent acknowledgment of my command, and then proceeded to flee the throne room at top speed. The large doors creaked closed behind him as I grumpily retook my seat and glanced at my wife. She gave me a small nod of approval.

"Despite the... Amateurish manner in which it was delivered, the news is still quite concerning, no?" she asked.

"Any news of an attack is concerning when one isn't given any details," I replied with salt in my tone.

"Yet you don't sound overly concerned, my dear emperor."

"I've spent the better part of my rule devising strategies against invasion. Our friendships with Bolisir and the Unified Chiefdoms, for instance, were neither accidental nor incidental. Those relationships, as well as the ones with the rest of our neighbors, were practically clawed into existence to ensure that we had allies to call upon."

"Then why would you aggravate High Chief Ulurmak about the mine?"

"Because I knew I could get away with it," I grinned at her. "Ulurmak is notoriously level-headed, so trying to piss him off just sport. Plus, we need the income from the mine to avoid the coming financial crisis."

"So a mixture of urgency and immaturity?"

"Hmm... I suspect many historians will describe the majority of my rule as such. But there is a method to each madness, an intent behind each jest. The cleverest among them will see that."

"Ah, I see," she rose from her cushion and approached me. "So you're the greatest emperor to ever grace the throne with your behind?"

"Of course, my darling," I replied as her lips met my forehead. "It is the duty of every emperor to be greater than those that came before."

"Then you'll have no trouble defeating these daemons, then."

She giggled as she deftly dodged my kiss and returned to her cushion. I wasn't allowed to kiss her in the throne room, lest I stroke her passions and she lose control of herself. She was terribly afraid of someone walking in on the inevitable consequences of such.

"No, the duty of defeating the daemons lies solely with dear cousin Jakiv," I sighed as I watched her plop onto the cushion. "He is the face of our martial forces, and my intervention would be disruptive."

"So this will be yet another feather in Jakiv's cap?" she asked with an edge to her tone.

"Let him wear a clucker for all I care. He is competent and knows his duty. Doubting his intentions is an exercise in futility, my love."

"Oh he's that loyal to you, is he?"

Amsiri had a habit of pushing my boundaries whenever she became nervous. As if fighting me was a suitable replacement for fighting the causes of her anxiety. I adopted a more relaxed posture in the hopes of setting her at ease.

"His loyalty to me is irrelevant," I chuckled. "Cousin Jakiv is loyal to the people. So long as the throne and whoever's ass is upon it provides more benefit than harm to the people of the empire, Jakiv and those that follow him will toe the line. And I prefer it that way, as a matter of fact. It keeps me honest."

"For the most part," she chuckled in turn.

"Indeed," I winked.

The creak of the doors warned me to change my posture, which was the exact reason that I never allowed the hinges to be greased. Jakiv and the new aide rushed up the purple, green, and gold runner rug toward me. I leaned forward on my throne as they kneeled.

"My emperor, may I pre-"

"Silence," I interrupted. "I know my cousin, aide. Have you anything to add to this conversation?"

The aide shook his head. It pleased me that he wasn't so stupid as to speak once ordered into silence. Knowing that a lengthy war was likely in front of me, I decided to give him another chance.

"Then leave, and reflect on your errors this day. See to it that they are never repeated."

There was a small thud as the aide's head touched the floor in gratitude for my forgiveness. Jakiv raised an eyebrow as the boy rose and fled the room with a speed that would make a messenger envious.

"My dearest cousin Jakiv," I said, smiling and standing. "I take it you're here about the daemons."

"Yes, emperor."

"Please stow the formalities, cousin. I want to know everything, and I'd rather not have every sentence ending in the acknowledgement of my station."

"Yes... Er, okay."

Only family and friends that I held in high esteem were allowed to speak to me informally. Only with permission, of course. It was always amusing to see Jakiv try to adjust to speaking in an informal manner. I was almost convinced that he would speak formally even on a drinking binge. Were he to participate in such and activity.

"Sibit said that you needed to be briefed on the threat?" he asked, still kneeling.

"Get up, dammit," I sighed and sat. "And who's Sibit?"

"The aide, dear," my wife interjected.

"Oh, right."

"You don't know your senior aide's name?" Jakiv asked.

"I've learned it, but it keeps escaping me. He's no Hanamsh."

My previous senior aide had held the office since my father's time on the throne. We had butted heads for a while after my coronation, but his professionalism had never allowed him to cross the line into insubordination. He challenged my more whimsical and childish decisions, but did so in a respectful and professional way.

The bastard was so good at his job, in fact, that it created a deep respect for him within me, and I had even occasionally sought his advice. Furthermore, his work ethic was the stuff of legends. He worked longer than anyone else, including me, and he didn't marry or have any children specifically so that he could better serve the empire.

Hanamsh even refused retirement once his age began to catch up to him. The councilors tried to force the issue, under the misguided belief that the role would better be served by someone younger, but I interceded on his behalf with an imperial decree. I could tell he still had some oil left to burn, and leaving it unburned would haunt him for the rest of his days. Plus, I'd grown quite fond of him by that time.

The decree bought us another decade, and we made the most of it. But then his age took his sight, and there was nothing left that could be done. I granted him a few caretakers and some land, then sent him on his way. It was a sadder day for me than my own father's funeral.

"She," Jakiv said, immediately snapping me out of my melancholic thoughts.

"She?" I asked.

"Sibit is a woman, cousin. She just cuts her hair short and has a slightly deeper than normal voice."

"Really?"

"You truly didn't notice?" Amsiri asked in shock.

"The only woman I notice is you, my dear," I smiled and winked at her, then turned my attention back to Jakiv. "No matter. What of the daemons?"

"They're attacking multiple territories at once, in every direction with the exception of the east. The messengers report that the attacks were sudden, as if the armies just appeared from nowhere."

"Inter-planery travel," I nodded. "Damn, so this is a full blown daemonic invasion, then. Just like in the history books. Numbers?"

"Our forces were caught completely by surprise and did not have a chance to estimate their strength. We've lost two cities to the north and west, and one to the south. Haldabro held up, though. Refugees and surviving soldiers are currently in the process of fleeing the daemonic armies."

"Five cities have fallen and I'm only just now hearing of this?"

"Only a few moments after myself. The daemons attacked by surprise and in unison. This was not the work of a mindless horde, it was a well-planned and executed operation."

"I see. How long ago did these attacks begin?"

"A week ago, at most."

"And what are we doing about them?"

"Word has been sent to the next most-likely targets and I've begun the muster. General Sov will lead a force to the south, General Hilta will go north, and I will lead our main army to the west. We'll pick up the surviving soldiers along the way and send the refugees to safety. Ten thousand soldiers will remain in the capital under your direct command for defense. I've also sent word to our allies, but I didn't request aid."

"Why not?" I asked, confusion seeping into my voice.

"With how well these attacks were coordinated, I am of the mind that our enemy is a strategist," Jakiv explained. "They knew where and when to strike, which means that they likely know other things about us, as well. So I find it quite suspicious that we were not attacked in the east."

"Ah, I see. It's almost as if they're begging us to invite the orcs over to play."

"Presumably so that they can then attack the orcs whilst their defenses are weakened."

"What of Bolisir?"

"If it were me, I would strike Bolisir in a mirrored fashion. If the both of us ask the orcs for aid, the orc's armies would be split in half, making all three potential fights much easier for the daemons."

"And you are confident that we do not need the help?"

"No, but I'd rather wait for it to be offered, if it pleases you. Not only will it benefit us diplomatically, but it will answer the question of whether or not I'm correct in what the enemy is planning."

"Ah, I see. If the Chiefdoms offer aid and Bolisir doesn't, then you're right. If neither or both offer aid, then you're wrong."

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm thinking. "

"And what of our coffers?"

"That isn't my area of expertise, but the treasurer told me that we still have some excess funds from the Night Kingdom invasion that we can apply toward this conflict. Supply lines shouldn't be a problem, either, so long as we can keep greedy fingers out of the caravans."

"Fat chance of that," I grumbled.

"Is it not treason to steal from an imperial caravan?" my wife asked. "Especially during a time of conflict?"

"No, just high theft. My father declared it treason during his reign, and the bureaucrats became overly cautious so as not to lose their heads. The fear of being branded a traitorous thief caused them to double and triple check every little requisition and transport, and whilst they were doing so our soldiers were forced to raze the countryside for food to eat."

"I was under the impression that they do that regardless."

"This was a defensive conflict, my dear, and our soldiers were ransacking our own villages."

"Oh."

"His soldiers robbing the peasantry certainly didn't help my father's popularity," I sighed. "Though I loathe the idea of greedy bastards stealing food from the mouths of those who are putting everything on the line for our defense, I've sworn not to repeat my father's mistakes."

"Quite commendable," Amsiri smirked.

"Back on topic, how are we for equipment?" I asked, rolling my eyes at my wife. She stuck her tongue out in reply.

"We have more than enough," Jakiv said. "The armorer has been using his portion of the budget to keep the smiths busy so that they don't lose their skills. We can likely give everyone in the capital a spear and dagger."

"I see. Very well, cousin, you may be on your way. Happy hunting."

"Thank you, my emperor," Jakiv bowed and turned to leave.

"Oh, and send Sibil in."

"Sibit, sire."

"Yes, yes," I sighed, waving him away.

Jakiv exited the throne room and a few moments later Sibit entered. She hurriedly walked up the carpet runner and knelt, head bowed. I examined her for a moment, and began to feel foolish once I noticed the signs of her femininity.

"The matter of the daemonic invasion will soon be dealt with," I said. "General Jakiv brought a lesser matter to my attention, though. Is it true that you are a woman?"

If I didn't know any better, I could have sworn that I heard her swear under her breath.

"Y-yes, your greatness," she replied.

"And how many times have I called you 'boy' since you took office?"

I waited patiently while she gathered the courage to answer.

"S-s-several, s-sire," she stammered.

"Why, then, did you not correct me? Do you believe me to be above reproach? Or was it your intention to hide your sex from me?"

"I-I w-wasn-"

"Bah, consider those questions rhetorical," I waved my hand dismissively. "I imagine that you were intimidated by my harsh mannerisms, and as such were too nervous to correct me. Am I correct?"

"Y-yes, sire."

"Then we have found ourselves a rare learning moment. One that will cost no lives," I smiled cruelly. "You see, Sibit, by being too afraid to correct me, you have allowed me to be embarrassed in front of my favorite cousin. Of course, there was no harm to anything except my ego, but imagine if it had been a diplomat or a foreign ruler. They would assume that I am blind to the goings on in my own damned castle, and they would act accordingly!"

My booming shout echoed through the throne room. A quick glance at Amsiri showed that she had shifted her expression to a colder one, providing some additional severity to my words. A wonderful woman.

"You've made quite a few critical errors this day, Sibit," I said after a moment of silence.

"Yes, emperor," she said.

Steel had gathered in her tone, which provided a bit of clarification for me. She was taking ownership of her failures, and though these failures obviously embarrassed her, she had solidified her resolve in preparation for whatever punishment I would issue. Which meant there was yet hope for her.

"A senior aide who cannot keep their calm in the face of an emergency and who is too afraid to correct me when I'm wrong will lead us to ruin," I continued. "Reporting an issue without obtaining all of the facts of the matter can lead to misunderstandings, and if you are too afraid to correct those misunderstandings..."

I trailed off and let her imagination do the work for me.

"I understand, your grace," she said after a moment.

"Good. The empire has no use for a senior aide who's a coward," I replied coldly. "I am giving you five days of paid leave. Use as many of them as you need to grow a fucking spine. If you cannot overcome your cowardice by the end of your leave, don't bother returning."

Her eyes finally raised from the floor and regarded me with confusion, but I refused to elaborate.

"Go."

"I... Yes, your highness," she said.

I watched as she stood and quickly walked out of the throne room. Once the doors finished creaking, Amsiri cleared her throat.

"Has my beloved empire taken a shine to the aide that he just found out is a woman?" she asked in jest.

"No, my dear," I sighed, then chuckled. "I've fired too many aides, and the councilors are growing impatient. If I'm not cautious, I'll have to take their heads to prevent them from trying to remove my ability to select my assistants. This will, of course, lead to even more conflict. There's plenty of bloodshed on the horizon, no need to invite more."

"So you're hoping that she quits?"

"I'm hoping she gets her head out of her ass. Either she has what it takes to be a senior aide worthy of respect, or she doesn't. Some time to reflect will show her whichever happens to be the case."

"I see... Bu-"

Whatever my wife was about to say was interrupted by the creaking of the doors. Sibit strolled into the room holding a piece of parchment. I stared at her, dumbfounded, as she knelt before me again.

"Your highness, Bolisir sends word that they have been attacked by a daemonic army," she said. "The message was delivered by a wylder at the behest of King Yssinirath. They are not requesting aid, nor are they offering it. We sent them back with word of what has happened here, and asked that they inform the Unified Chiefdoms, since they are faster than our own messengers. We've sent interceptors to retrieve our messengers."

"I see," I said. "Did I not JUST place you on leave, Sibil?"

"Sibit, your highness, and I took all the leave that I needed to take," she said as she looked up at me. "As you ordered, sire."

I held eye contact with her and grinned.

"Good. Tell me about the attacks."

The New Delay

I initially estimated that I would be able to publish physical copies of The New Era in late August. The closer we get to the end of August, the more it becomes apparent that I was being overly optimistic.

The book is as edited and formatted as it can be without an initial upload to KDP and IS, and the cover is in a similarly finished state. So, what's stopping me?

Money, naturally. To publish The New Era, I need 2 more ISBNs. Which means I have to buy ten of them, because they're either $125 for one or $295 for ten. I'll also need more of them later, so ten is by far the best option.

Does KDP and IS offer free ISBNs? Yes, and that's the route I initially went down with The New Species. However, I quickly discovered that these ISBNs come with limitations. Most of these limitations are on the back-end, but one big limitation is who can buy physical copies of the books. Some fans who would be impacted by this have already purchased the first two novels, and it wouldn't be fair to exclude them for the third. Also, it's a HUGE pain in the ass to go from free ISBNs to paid ISBNs, so that really isn't an option either.

I had hoped to obtain the ISBNs that I needed back in July, but some unexpected expenses and the completely expected (and understandable) patron fall-off prevented that. I remained optimistic that I would be able to buy them this week (8/20 is today's date), but it's now clear that's not going to happen.

So, late August is a wash. We're at a point that there's no amount of money that can be thrown at the problem that can resolve it. However, I should be able to buy the ISBNs by 9/1, and once I have them I can submit them for publication to KDP and IS. That process can take up to a month, but is usually done within a couple of weeks. Realistically, we're looking at a late October or early November release. I'll announce an actual date/time when I have it 'set in stone'.

Obviously, this isn't going to impact The Human From a Dungeon or my work on The Ascuam Chronicles.

Thank you for your patience, and I'm sorry I wasn't able to live up to the expectations that I set.

The Human From a Dungeon 117

Chapter 117

Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 11

Human – American

We stared in shock as a huge, shadowy figure began to stand, its joints screeching with the effort. Then it began to approach us, sending shudders through the floor with each step. It took a lot to fight the animalistic urge to run. Finally, it stepped into the glow of our lights and I realized that it looked almost exactly like the robots we had been fighting, only much larger.

"Fuck, that's big," Garin muttered.

"That's what she said," Nifth replied with a grin, receiving a few groans in reply.

It was at least three times my height and twice as wide as I am at the shoulders. Its left arm ended in a blade, and its right arm ended in a hammer, just like the other robots. The biggest difference other than size was its face. Just like the other robots, its face was engraved into its metallic head. Unlike the other robots, its eyes were glowing with a teal light.

"I guess it fires its ranged attack from its eyes," I said.

"Look closer," Yulk advised.

In response to my confused expression, he gestured toward the boss as it came to a halt about a dozen feet away. I took a better look and noticed that the center of its hammer and also had a teal glow. That meant it could probably fire in at least two directions at once, unless the beams converged or something. I also noted that the glows were more than double the size of the ones we'd seen on the drones.

"Shit," I grumbled. "Does it have any weak-points that I can aim for?"

"Well, the limbs can't function if they're not connected to the body, so the joints would be a good bet," Yulk said.

"Right..." I gave Yulk a blank stare and turned my attention inward. 'Any ideas?'

'A penetrative shot to the power supply would disable it,' Ten replied. 'Probably.'

'Probably?'

'Well, it could have redundant power supplies or backup batteries. It is worth noting, however, that some power supplies explode when punctured.'

'So instead of two giant laser beams, we'd have to worry about a bomb,' I pinched the bridge of my nose.

'The explosion wouldn't be THAT big. We would be safe at this distance. Probably.'

'I guess that's a risk we can take, then. Where is its power supply located?'

'Nick,' Ten simulated a sigh. 'If I knew where its power supply was, I would know if it had redundant ones. I would also know what kind of power supply it is and whether or not it would explode.'

"Fuck," I mumbled aloud angrily. 'Okay, fine. Best guess?'

'Center mass, where the armor is thickest. Installing a power supply in an extremity would be pretty dumb. But who knows? Maybe a fool managed to get into robotics.'

"Dosten, let us know when you're ready to cast," Garin said. "Kirea, stick close to me and get ready to dodge if the initial volley doesn't kill it. Nifth, aim for the eyes."

"That was the plan," Nifth chuckled. "Gonna be using a skill caused Penetrative Shot, which will slow my rate of fire."

"Yeah, that's fine. Normal arrows would probably ding right off the fucker. Are you folks ready?" Garin asked, turning to me.

Yulk and Larie nodded. I took a deep breath, bracing myself. A somewhat stupid idea had occurred to me, and I was preemptively dreading the consequences.

"Yeah, we're ready when you are," I said. "We'll launch our attacks once Dosten and Nifth do."

Dosten, Yulk, and Larie raised a hand toward the boss. I raised both of my hands with my index fingers pointed toward the massive chest. I already knew that I could cast two bullets at once, but two steel bullets was unexplored territory.

I steadied my hands, hoping that I had enough magic to pull this off. The boss stared at us while remaining unnervingly still, like it was frozen in time. A moment later, I heard an unintelligible mutter come from Dosten and triggered my spell.

"Tellub leets tsac!" I shouted.

The mixed magic in my core flowed through both of my arms and into my index fingers. At the tips of my fingers, two round chunks of steel formed and launched fast enough to make a sonic boom. It was hard to tell which hit first, my bullets or the three lightning spells.

Electricity arced between the boss's limbs and two holes appeared in its upper chest as the spells struck their target. Its eyes had already begun to dim when Nifth's arrow struck. The arrow went deep, and it kind of looked like the boss's left eye had been replaced by feathers.

A tsunami of exhaustion slammed into me, but I began to take deep, purposeful breaths and managed to keep my footing. The boss, however, collapsed to its knees, sending a shockwave through the floor that nearly caused me to topple over. My footing held firm, though, and my breathing slowly recharged my magic core as the boss's head bowed.

"W-we did it?" Dosten asked.

"YES!" Garin shouted, pumping his fist. "That's how it's done! Awesome work, everyone!"

The tingling sensation in my body began to recede, and I expected to feel relieved. But the anxious knot that had formed in my gut didn't fade. I closed my eyes and shook my head to clear the cobwebs.

But it was the sound of screeching metal that got rid of the fuzzy feeling behind my eyes and replaced it with fear.

"GET DOWN!" I shouted.

I threw myself to the right as a beam of light filled the space I had just been standing in. The boss had raised its head, and its eye was glowing brighter than ever. My impact with the ground knocked the breath out of me, but I forced air into my lungs and tried to stand.

More screeching tore at my ears as the boss rose to its feet. It started to raise the glowing portion of its hammer toward me, but three more bolts of lightning struck it. It froze for a moment, which was all the time I needed to get back to my feet.

I checked my cooldowns, and was relieved to find that my dodge was successful due to luck rather than my skills. But my magic core hadn't recovered enough for another Steel Bullet, and the boss was very much focused on me.

Why, though? If it were me, I'd prioritize the enemy that had done the most damage. But Nifth's arrow had destroyed one of its eyes. Unless...

Another terrible idea occurred to me.

"KEEP HITTING IT!" I shouted, and began sprinting toward the boss.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Garin shouted toward my back.

'You've got to be fucking kidding me,' Ten said.

'We've got a better chance close up to it than we do at a distance,' I replied, sliding between the boss's legs.

As I had hoped, the boss tracked my movements and turned away from the rest of the party.

'A better chance at what? Your sword isn't going to do anything to it, and don't you DARE punch it.'

'A better chance of avoiding attacks while I wait for my magic to recharge.'

I ducked, and the boss's blade whooshed over my head.

'I see,' Ten said hesitantly. 'Carry on.'

I leapt to my left as the hammer came down, slamming into the ground where I had just been standing. The boss wasn't all that fast, but there was no doubt in my mind that even a single, glancing blow would probably be fatal. I kept control of my breathing, regenerating my magic with each breath.

As I dodged the sword again I caught a glimpse of Kirea holding onto Garin, who was trying to rush to my side. His hammer would certainly be more effective than my sword, but the goal was to distract rather than destroy. If I could keep the boss busy until-

The hammer struck the floor again, and a chunk of rock struck me in the head. My only warning was the sudden appearance of Aries, my helmet, which rang like a bell at the impact. I fell to one knee and tried to roll out of the way, but ended up on my back.

My breath caught in my throat as I watched the boss's sword rise. I wanted to roll out of the way, but my body couldn't hear me over the sound of my head ringing. Just before the sword came down and ended me, three more lightning bolts and an arrow struck the boss in the back.

The massive motherfucker froze again, but its eyes didn't dim like they had the first time. It did begin to smoke, though. I scrambled to my feet and leapt back. A fraction of a second later the giant blade smashed into the ground where I had been laying. The boss pulled its blade from the ground and stepped toward me.

'I think you were right,' I told Ten as I dodged another swing of the hammer.

'I know,' it replied. 'It's good to hear you acknowledge that this was a dumb idea, though. It suggests that you might be able to learn to listen to me, if we survive.'

'You didn't actually SAY that this was a dumb idea, and I meant about the power supply. I think it has more than one.'

'I have come to a similar conclusion.'

I ducked as the humongous robot attempted to bisect me again.

'So where's the other one, then?' I asked impatiently.

'How'd you know that I magically formulated detailed schematics of the boss out of nowhere? That's sarcasm. I still don't know, Nick.'

Another arrow struck the boss, traveling straight through its shoulder. The hammer still rose, though.

'Guess, please,' I said as I rolled out of the way.

'Fine. Given the fact that your spells hit the upper torso, and it would be stupid to put a secondary power supply in an extremity, I would hypothesize that the secondary power supply is in the lower torso.'

Three more lightning bolts connected with the boss, and I took the reprieve to gain a bit of distance so that I could focus on gathering my magic. The faint white smoke that had been trickling out of the gaps in its body had turned a few shades darker. It was taking damage, but not fast enough.

By the time the boss started moving again, I had slightly more than enough magic for another shot.

"God, I wish I had a fucking rocket launcher," I muttered as I aimed. "Tellub leets tsac!"

The chunk of steel struck the lower portion of the boss's torso as it was taking another step. Its foot hung in the air as its eyes began to dim, and I came to the horrifying realization that I was between it and the ground. With all of my might, I leapt to the side as it came tumbling down.

I hit the ground twice because the impact of the boss lifted me into the air a bit. My cuirass took the blunt of the impacts, but it was still enough to force the air out of my lungs. But, I scrambled to my feet anyway.

The big-ass bot had left a small impact crater where it had fallen. The only movement from it was the black smoke that poured from its new holes and gently drifted up into the darkness. Even if the boss were somehow still functional, it was doubtful that it would be able to get up again.

Then the adrenaline wore off and it was my turn to fall. The pain of my knees hitting the stone floor was probably the only thing that kept my eyes open. Then a bony hand gently grabbed my shoulder. I was so tired that I didn't even jump at the sudden contact.

"Laeh ronim tsac," Larie said.

The exhaustion grew more pronounced as my various aches and pains began to dissipate.

'Damn it, I really wish he had said something first,' Ten complained. 'I was barely able to adjust to account for the magical healing.'

'Yeah,' I replied. 'Is there anything you can do about the exhaustion?'

'No. Your fatigue is caused by exertion, not injury. I could keep you from falling asleep, but that wouldn't stop you from feeling tired.'

'Damn. Oh well, at least we beat the boss.'

'Yes, thankfully the engineer that designed it was at least competent. I am curious about the power supplies, but I doubt they're intact enough for any sort of analysis.'

"That was amazing, you fuckin' idiot," Garin said as he ran up. "Why'd you run off on your own like that?"

"He forgets that there are others that are just as competent as he is," Yulk chuckled as he walked over. "Though, I doubt your hammer would have been all that much help, given the situation."

"The b-boss was focusing on me because my first spell hit its p-primary power supply," I explained, struggling to speak. "I got close so that it couldn't fire its b-beam weapon. Then I just had to buy enough time to r-recharge my magic and f-figure out where its other power supply was."

"Well, okay, but I could have helped with that," Garin argued.

I looked up at the hammer-holding orc with a devilish grin, "I didn't say you couldn't, you know."

He stood there with his mouth slightly open, completely dumbfounded. Dosten, Nifth, and Yulk chuckled a little.

"I stopped you because you'd have gotten splattered," Kirea said sternly. "That thing's hammer was way bigger than yours."

Nifth laughed, "That's what sh-"

"Shut the fuck up," Kirea interrupted with a scowl.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, I can't exactly argue with results, I guess," Garin said with a sigh. "And I can't be mad that you were concerned for my well-being, Kirea. Some faith in my abilities would be nice in the future, though."

"Well, when you get some we can build a shrine or something," Dosten grinned.

"Hey!"

"So what do we do now?" I interrupted. "I don't think I can make it much further without resting first."

"That's just as well," Garin said. "It would be a waste not to explore the room for treasure and dismantle the boss for loot. It should be safe to take our time, too."

"Safe? What do you mean?"

"We beat all the enemies in this section of the dungeon, and the ones further in aren't going to come this far back."

"Why not?"

"I dunno, they just never do," he shrugged.

"Some people hypothesize that the monsters are hostile to each other, and the bosses act as deterrents that keep each monster in its section," Yulk added. "It isn't a terrible explanation, but gathering enough evidence to prove it is obviously impossible. One would have to sneak past one of the bosses, kidnap a monster from further in the dungeon, and then return to the boss with the monster in tow."

"I don't think there are any bosses that you can actually sneak past," Nifth chuckled. "Not that you'd want to. The risk of someone else running into the boss while you're trying to kidnap a monster would be too high. You'd lose out on the loot."

"I see," I said groggily. "Okay, well, if you're sure we're safe, I'm going to rest. I think I need a pretty long nap. You can do whatever you want with the boss."

"Carving up the boss will be pretty noisy, I think," Garin laughed. "We'll start with the exploration so you can get some sleep."

"Sounds good," Nifth said, offering me a hand.

He helped me to my feet, and despite the fact that it felt like I was moving through molasses, I helped set up camp. I forced myself to eat a stick of jerky before laying down. Garin and the other three readied themselves and set off just as my eyes began to close.

With a sigh of relief and a sense of accomplishment, I drifted off to sleep.

The Human From a Dungeon 116

Chapter 116

Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 11

Human – American

The freshly awakened orc was absolutely frozen in terror at the sight of Larie. She stared at us with wide eyes while we stood frozen, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, Garin sighed, then walked over to her and kneeled.

"Hey, there's nothing to be afraid of. They're friendly, and saved our asses," he said gently. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, what happened? F-friendly?" she stammered.

"Yes, friendly. We'd be dead if they weren't, right? Can you stand?"

"P-probably. A-and I guess that makes sense. How long was I out?"

"Not that long. You took a pretty nasty hit from that hammer, but the lich healed you," Garin said, helping sleepy to her feet. "Healed the rest of us, too."

Once he was sure she was steady, he turned back to us.

"Thank you for all of your help," he said.

"And thank you for yours," I replied.

"W-wait, aren't you that human everyone has been talking about?" sleepy asked.

"Yeah. This dungeon is where they found me," I said.

"Oh shit, we haven't done introductions yet, have we?" Garin asked with a laugh. "I'm Garin, our party's two-handed specialist. Kirea here is our healer, Nifth is our archer, and Dosten is our mage."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Yulk said with a small bow. "I am Yulk. This is Nick Smith and Larie VysImiro."

Larie and I nodded our heads as Yulk gestured at us.

"Woah, wait. Yulk?" Garin asked. "As in Nash and Yulk of Clan Alta?"

Yulk's face fell a little, and I clocked why pretty quickly. He didn't really want the fanfare that came with being a member of Clan Alta at the moment. Or the reputation that came with being part of "Nash and Yulk".

"We should probably keep moving," I interrupted. "I'm tired, but..."

"You're right," Yulk said, sneaking me a grateful look. "I'm afraid that we are in quite a rush and must press on."

"Really? Even after all that?" Garin replied, gesturing to the broken robots. "Why?"

"It's a rather long story, and as I said, we're pressed for time."

Garin stared at us for a moment, seemingly lost for words. Then he turned to look at his party. Pole orc, or Dosten, pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

"Don't-"

"We should go with them," Garin interrupted the exasperated mage. "They saved our asses and we owe it to them."

"We HELPED them save our asses," Dosten argued. "Sure, it was nice of them, but ultimately we-"

"Nah, we should go with," Nifth said, adjusting his bow. "If they'll let us."

"Well..." I trailed off, glancing at Yulk and Larie.

"Their presence may increase the odds of our success," Larie said. "Especially if we can retrieve Garin's hammer."

"That's another reason we need to go with them," Garin laughed. "That hammer was expensive. Not to mention the fact that we dropped our packs to run faster..."

"Yep. All of our loot was in the packs," Nifth added. "We either push forward with these guys, or we return as penniless beggars. I don't know about you, Dosten, but I've got bills to pay."

Everyone stared at Dosten, and after a few moments he sighed dramatically.

"Fine!" he grumbled.

A few glances were shared, but no further arguments were made. I pulled my sword out of the robot's face as Garin joined me at the front of our formation. Then we continued further into the dungeon. After walking for a while, he cleared his throat.

"So... What brings you to Delver's Dungeon?" he asked.

"We've gotta get to the end of the dungeon," I shrugged.

"The end?"

"Yup."

"Well, that's a... Er, noteworthy goal. From what Dosten says, only two groups have made it that far, though."

"According to the records," Dosten added. "There've been several attempts, but only two groups have faced the final boss and emerged victorious."

"Yeah, I imagine the reset and teleportation thing has something to do with that," I laughed. "But, for reasons I can't get into, I don't think that's going to be a problem for us."

"Some sort of human-magic?" the mage asked.

"He said reasons he can't get into," Garin scolded. "Wait, you're a he, right?"

"Yep."

"So humans have females?"

"Yep."

"What do they look like? Is it like with us and elves and such?"

There were several more questions of a similar nature, but I answered them to the best of my abilities. We ran into some more drones, but they were easily dispatched with Yulk's Electrical Pulse spell. Eventually, we stumbled upon the orc's stuff. Since Dosten and Yulk were on the verge of exhaustion, we decided to rest.

Nifth and Kirea used Dosten's heat-stone to make a soup, and I was surprised at how much my mood improved from the warm meal. It was a very meaty soup, but it still tasted better than the dried foods. I set my cup down and watched the symbols dance along the shields, wondering how we were going to get any sleep with the mirror-like walls reflecting the light dozens of times over.

"Won't be long before we reach the machine-boss," Garin said, checking his hammer for damage. "What do we know about it?"

"It's a large construct, originally believed to be an iron golem," Dosten explained between soupy sips. "Its behavior is akin to that of a drone, meaning it won't attack unless we show aggression by attacking or attempting to bypass it. It has been noted to have extremely effective ranged attacks that are almost impossible to dodge, and its melee attacks are pulverizing."

"So hit it with all we have right at the jump, and hope that drops it," I added with a yawn.

"That has been the most effective strategy for defeating it so far, yes. Some parties with extra-durable shield-bearers have managed to beat it without an overwhelming opening salvo. But our shield-bearer retired."

"Retired?"

"Yeah, for personal reasons we can't get into," Garin grinned and winked at me.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Dosten chuckled. "Though it is somewhat of a long story."

"We've got time," Nifth said. "You want to tell it or can I?"

"I'll do it," Kirea smiled. "Our party originally formed in Blurpus, at the behest of Great Chief Tormon. Our mission was to hunt some beasts that were attacking caravans, and we meshed really well. Once we took care of the beasts we decided to continue to work together and began taking quests."

She explained that the group took a few jobs together, then decided to start exploring dungeons. After their third run, which paid pretty well but not as well as they had hoped, their shield-bearer revealed that she had been silently suffering from claustrophobia. Instead of forcing the party to return to waste-wandering to accommodate her, she opted to retire as an adventurer. The rest of the group respected her decision, and she returned to her family while her party continued diving into dungeons. Eventually, she became a guard-captain for Great Chief Tormon.

"We were thrilled to hear it, of course," Kirea laughed. "By the time we got the news, though, we'd already moved here. A few months before they found you, actually."

"Yep," Garin nodded. "Our first run went pretty well, so we decided to do another dive. And then another, and another."

"Our latest, as you've seen, hasn't gone all that well," Dosten said. "So now that WE'VE shared..."

"Right. Well, I'm not comfortable going into detail, but..." I trailed off and looked at them for a moment.

They seemed to be decent enough people, but I couldn't shake the warning that the higher one gave me upon our first meeting. So, I explained our goal instead of the journey thus far. I told them about Cass, awakening with Yulk and Nash standing over me, our oath, and that we were hoping to find answers at the end of the dungeon.

"Oh yeah... Where's Nash?" Nifth asked. "I've always heard of you two as a duo."

"He's been made the captain of the guard," Yulk said proudly.

"Nash Alta is the new Guard-Captain of Nuleva?" Dosten asked incredulously.

"Yes, well, the rumors surrounding my brother and I do not do us justi-"

"Chief Gluhern couldn't find anyone else, could he?"

"Just so," Yulk sighed, slightly deflated.

"Nash is a very capable orc, though," I said. "He would probably struggle being a run-of-the-mill guard, but he'll shine as Guard-Captain. He's tough, fair, and pretty good at training idiots. I would know."

"That's not a fair assessment of yourself, Nick," Yulk said. "It's likely that he will consider you one of the best pupils he's ever trained. He'd never admit it, though."

A small sort of sadness took hold deep within me, but I pushed it aside and chuckled. The sadness wasn't because I longed to hear Nash sing my praises or anything like that. It was because things were changing.

With Nash becoming Guard-Captain and Yulk being a professor, it was entirely possible that I would have to continue my journey alone. Part of me was bitter about it because they had sworn to help me, but I knew how immature that was. Like it or not, they had their own lives to live, and those lives didn't revolve around me.

Plus, it was kind of cool to see them grow and become successful. If I had been told what they'd become when I first met them, I wouldn't have believed it. Well actually, Nash getting married before Yulk did was certainly believable.

Kirea had been glancing at Yulk with all the subtlety of a tank. As usual, though, he was completely oblivious. It wasn't that he was intentionally trying to ignore it or anything, he just genuinely didn't seem to notice. The rest of us, though, had already shared knowing glances.

Poor girl. Or girls, actually. He'd kind of left a string of them, come to think of it.

"So, let's say we make it to the end of the dungeon," Garin said. "What's next for you three?"

"No clue," I shrugged. "It depends on what we find."

"What if we find a door that leads you home or something?"

"Then... I guess I go home. But there's no way that it's going to be that easy."

"How do you know?"

"Can't say."

"Bah, that's no fun."

"Indeed," Yulk said as he rose to his feet. "Well I, for one, am exhausted."

"Yeah, me too," Dosten added, finishing his soup. "We should rest while we can."

After various murmurs of agreement, everyone except Larie tried to get some rest. My sleeping back seemed to be magnetic, but it took some time for me to finally get to sleep. Even though the earlier fight had taken a lot out of me, the upcoming boss battle provided enough nerves to keep me up for a while. But once I managed to get to sleep, I was out like a light.

I woke up to find Garin, Larie, and Yulk sitting together, chatting. I laid there, listening to Larie calmly explain what his father did to him. I couldn't even begin to imagine my own father doing something like that to anyone, let alone his own family. I tried, though, and my respect for Larie rose once I realized how angry I would have been at that sort of betrayal.

It would have cursed me with the sort of anger that never would have burned out. I wouldn't have been able to trust anyone ever again. But that wasn't the case for Larie. He hadn't let it turn him into a monster.

He could have easily eradicated the kobolds when he encountered them, but he hadn't. Actually, he had kind of civilized them, ensuring their longevity during his absence. Even with everyone's reactions towards him he hadn't lashed out. Larie seemed to be peaceful through and through, which made it all the more upsetting that he was betrayed like that.

"I-I don't even know what to say," Garin muttered. "That's..."

"Terrible?" Larie asked. "Certainly. Lichdom is likely the most insidious curse to ever be crafted by the clutching claws of greedy mortals. Through my efforts to find a way to reverse it, I've come to the conclusion that it is a sick form of punishment for those who are arrogant enough to believe that they can escape the greatest equalizer."

"Equalizer?"

"Death," I said as I joined them. "The most powerful emperors, the scummiest of criminals, and everyone in between will all die one day."

"Oh," Garin thought for a moment. "But not a lich, though."

"A lich can also die," Larie explained. "Everything that is of this world can be ended."

"How do you kill a lich?"

"Destroy all of their phylacteries, then their physical form."

"How many do you have?"

"I am prevented from answering that question truthfully by the curse. A lich cannot kill itself, nor allow someone to kill them," Larie looked toward the ground. "To quote Uregrana the Dark, 'A lich, as a foolish mortal that has forsaken death itself, must for all eternity shun its end. Even as it begs for death, it must claw at its unlife.'"

"I haven't heard of Uregrana," Yulk said.

"That's not surprising. She was one of the first mages to study immortality. Most of her writings were destroyed once her sins, which were many, were discovered."

Yulk nodded slowly, tactfully refraining from asking what those sins were. I was curious, but figured it would probably be something similar to what Larie's father did. Or worse, even.

"Well, I'm glad to know the good in you, Lord VysImiro," Garin said, standing up. "We should head out soon. I'm going to wake the others."

I bit into some jerky as he began to shake everyone else awake. By the time they were eating breakfast, Yulk and I were already packing our things. Once everyone else had caught up with us, we disabled the shield and continued on our way.

We came across a few more groups of drones, which were quickly dispatched thanks to Garin's hammer. Then we powered our way through a group of five robots. Occasionally, we would stop so that the orc adventurers could pick up something interesting that they might be able to sell.

As we walked, the mirror-like corridor slowly began to widen, and the groups of enemies got bigger. The robots were much easier to handle with everyone at full strength, though. The most eventful part of the fighting was when a drone managed to avoid Yulk's Electrical Pulse spell and fire a light beam.

The beam bounced off of the walls in an erratic pattern before hitting Garin in the shoulder. I popped it with my Bullet spell before it could get another shot off. Kirea healed Garin while I took care of the rest of the drones.

After quite a few more groups of enemies, the ceiling began to rise as well. This actually came as a relief, because the blinding effect of the mirrors lessened the further apart they got. After walking a bit further, we found ourselves in a massive room, the glints of our light barely visible in the distance.

"Well, this definitely looks like a boss chamber," Garin said. "Let's see if we can find-"

The floor shuddered as the screech of metal cut him off.

The Human From a Dungeon 115

Chapter 115

Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 11

Human – American

The dungeon started out far less hectic than I had initially thought it would be. I had imagined that we would be fighting a ton of monsters, but we spent the entire first day just walking, occasionally passing a group of adventurers on their way out. All three groups that we passed did an alarmed double take when they saw Larie, but quickly calmed down when Yulk explained things. We set up a camp with a barrier and I was so exhausted that I slept like a rock.

After a quick breakfast for Yulk and I, we continued our trek. The dungeon's interior changed from dingy stone to a type of polished metal that reflected our lights. This made it much brighter, but also meant that every now and then it would be blinding.

"Never thought that I'd wish for sunglasses in a cave," I muttered, shielding my eyes.

"What are sunglasses?" Larie asked.

"Uh... They're like... Lenses that are held in a frame that fit over your eyes. The lenses are darkened with a film that helps block some light, but not all light, so you can still see."

"We have those," Yulk chuckled. "But only waste-wanderers use them because the face-mask is quite uncomfortable."

"Oh, our sunglasses aren't a mask. Not really. They're this little frame that holds the lenses and fits over your ears and nose... Or the bridge of your nose, rather."

"Well, that also sounds uncomfortable," Larie said. "And quite useless to those of us without noses, ears, or eyes. But it would appear that we have other concerns."

The lich pointed ahead of us, and I turned to see small chunks of the wall come free. Six glimmering shards silently floated toward us and blocked our path. They were shaped like crystals and had a teal light where one might expect their eyes to be.

"Drones," Yulk explained. "It appears that the machines have appeared pretty early in this configuration. That's quite unfortunate."

"Are they tough?" I asked, drawing my sword.

"Yes. If there are parties ahead of us, we may need to rescue them. If they're still alive, of course."

The idea of stumbling across corpses sent a small shiver down my spine. The memory of the feral human we'd encountered was far from fresh, but it had left a lasting impression. We stared at the drones, who shifted their formation slightly.

"Why aren't they attacking?" I whispered.

"Most of the machines won't attack unless you try to bypass or attack them. Perhaps they believe it to be discourteous to strike first," Yulk chuckled and shrugged. "There are some orcanoid ones that will attack on sight, though."

"Orcanoid?"

"Yes, shaped like an orc."

"Ah."

Our staring contest with the drones continued for a moment while I thought about the best way to deal with them. I looked at Yulk and Larie, who seemed to be waiting for me to come to a decision. I didn't know if it was because they had decided that I was the party leader, or if they had already decided what they were going to do and were waiting on my slow ass.

"Do you know how they attack?" I asked.

"They use a beam of light, from exactly where you would imagine," Yulk answered. "They can also move pretty quick, which allows for significant impacts in melee."

"Can we attack one without the others becoming aggravated?"

"Nope."

"Do they know when we're about to attack, or do they wait for the attack to hit?"

"That's a good question," Yulk rubbed his chin. "I usually use Electrical Pulse to halt their movements, then Nash finishes them off with his axe. Doesn't work on the bigger ones, though, so we usually run when we see them."

"Will my sword even cut those things?"

"They're made of glass. I'd use the dull side, if you can."

The basket-guard prevented me from holding the sword in any other position, meaning I would have to swing backward. Not exactly a comfortable attack, but doable. I nodded and readied myself as Yulk raised his hand.

"Eslup lacirtcele tsac!" he shouted.

I expected a crackling of energy or something, but the only way that I could tell that the spell worked was that the drones fell to the ground. Leaping forward, I backhanded my sword into the first drone. It cracked into several pieces, and I lifted a finger at another drone as I continued to move.

"Tellub tsac!"

The bullet landed a direct hit and shattered the drone. Then I used the basket-guard to punch two more. Two arcs of electricity shot past me, making my hair stand on end and destroying the last two drones. I looked back at Yulk and Larie just as they were lowering their hands.

"Did you two cast the same spell at the same time?" I asked.

"I believe so," Larie said.

"Standard lightning spell," Yulk shrugged and chuckled. "Quick and painless... For me, at least."

"I just thought it was cool that you did it in unison," I said, nudging one of the drones with my boot. "Is there anything useful in these?"

"No, just glass. Or crystal, maybe."

"Alright, let's keep going."

The glass from the drones crunched beneath my feet as I pressed on, followed closely by Yulk and Larie. The mirror-like corridor began to feel oppressive as it continued to stretch indefinitely before us. I was beginning to think that the primary danger of this dungeon was boredom and mirages, when we began to hear the sound of running.

We spread out a little and took up defensive stances, but relaxed a bit as a group of orcs emerged from the mirage caused by the multitude of mirrors. Once they became a bit clearer, though, we tensed up again. They were running as fast as they could manage, and the closer they got the more obvious it was that they had been roughed up pretty badly. The largest of the group was carrying someone bridal-style.

"RUN!" the big orc shouted toward us.

"Fuck! That's a lich!" an orc carrying a pole slid to a stop. "We're dead! We're so dead!"

"We're friendly," Yulk raised a hand. "What pursues you?"

"B-bots," big guy panted. "Lots of bots."

"Shit. Well, we can't run, so we'll cover your retreat," I said.

"You'll fucking die, el- Wait, what the fuck are you?"

"That's that human thingie. Uh... Nick, I think," a beaten up archer helpfully added.

"O-oh... Oh yeah!"

"Like the human said, we cannot run," Larie said. "We will not begrudge you your retreat, though. Go."

"There's no way the three of you can hold them off long enough for help to arrive," the big guy said.

"I dunno, Garlin, liches are pretty damn powerful," pole orc replied. "Maybe we should listen to them."

"Arua gnilaeh tsac," Larie held out his hand.

The other party flinched as a barely perceptible blue light enveloped us all. However, a moment later their wounds began to heal. The large gash on big guy's forehead, a cut across pole orc's nose, and a bruise on the archer's jaw disappeared. But before they could react, the sound of rapid, metal footsteps began to fill the corridor.

"Fight or flee, choose now," Larie said sternly.

"Fuck it, I'm fighting," Garlin said, setting down his unconscious friend. "You guys can keep running."

"Fuck!" pole orc shouted, then sighed. "If you fight we have to fight too. "

"No you-"

"Yeah, we do. We aren't Alurn, we don't leave comrades behind."

"How many are there?" I asked as the footsteps grew louder.

"It was an ambush. We didn't get a chance to count. The only reason we got away is because I threw up a pretty thick ice wall. That took a lot out of me, so I don't have much left in the tank as far as magic goes."

"And I dropped my hammer to pick up Ithema," Garlin explained. "But, my fists are nearly as good and I've got some defensive skills."

"Arrows won't normally do much to the bots, but I have a skill that will let me fire a penetrating arrow every fifteen seconds or so," the archer added.

"Okay, everyone with ranged attacks get ready for an initial volley," I said. "Electrical attacks will probably work best, penetrative attacks are your fallback. Leave our center open so Garlin can get through to block for us."

Everyone nodded and moved to make a sort of firing line just as the robots came into view. They weren't running so much as they were marching really quickly. It almost looked like powerwalking.

I had been expecting clunky hunks of metal, but the bots were much more human-looking, or orc-looking, than that. As they drew closer I realized that they even had faces carved into their metallic heads. Their left hand was a blade, about eight inches long, and their right hand looked like the head of a sledge hammer. Not something someone would want to get into a hand-to-hand fight with.

Feeling nervous for Garlin, I stepped forward and raised a finger.

"Tellub tsac."

The bullet formed and fired, striking the nearest robot directly in the chest. It left a dent, but the robot continued marching toward us, completely unperturbed. I swore under my breath as I tried to figure out my next move.

An arrow whistled past me and struck the same robot in the head. It fell to the ground, and the one behind it stepped on it as it continued its march. Then three lightning spells launched forward, dropping three more robots.

I tried to count the remaining ones, but lost count at twelve. Larie launched another lightning spell, but Yulk and the other mage needed a moment to gather their strength. The pole orc's wounds had healed, but his magic obviously hadn't rejuvenated.

"Nilevaj eci!" I shouted, casting Ice Javelin at one of the robots.

Predictably, it shattered against the robot's metal head without doing any damage. Thankfully, an arrow appeared where the ice javelin had struck. I tried to think of what other attack I could do that had penetrating power, but all that came to mind was adding metal to the bullet. Or...

I imagined that instead of a bullet, a small cannonball formed. Then I imagined it firing as fast as the bullet did. With that mental picture in mind, I raised my finger.

"Tellub leets tsac!" I shouted.

A hole appeared between the carved eyes of one of the robots, and I almost jumped for joy. But I also felt that spell take a lot of my magic. I would have to wait for my magic to regenerate between shots. Or faint...

"I'm jumping in!" Garlin shouted.

"Wait!" I said, remembering another spell.

Yulk cast another lightning bolt as I stepped forward and put my hand to the ground.

"Sraeps kcor tsac!"

Eight stone spears suddenly appeared to stab their way through the ground and into some of the bots. Seven of them were taken out of the fight, but one of them only lost their hammer-hand. I did another quick count, nine bots left.

"Okay, keep them back," I said.

The nine remaining bots navigated their way around the spears as Garin sped past me. His fist slammed into the one-armed robot's head hard enough to force it to stumble back. He dodged its counter-attack and hit it again, leaving a noticeable dent.

I was tempted to join him and test out the training that I'd received from the punishing hands of Thunra. Two bolts of lightning, from Larie and the pole orc, sailing past my head made me realize how stupid that would be. Instead, I fired another steel bullet at the bot that was trying to flank Garin.

An arrow and Yulk's lightning shot past me, and we were down to four bots left. I fired another bullet, but missed because I took a step back as I was doing it. The reason I stepped back was because three of the robots were ignoring Garin and gaining ground fast.

I heard a gasp and watched pole orc fall to his knees. He'd used too much magic, and I nearly had as well. Yulk looked pretty tired, too, but thankfully Larie still had some in the tank. His lighting caught another one of the bots. Realizing that if I backed up too far the bots would attack everyone else, I made a decision. I hoped that I would have the benefit of hindsight to determine if it was a dumb one.

I drew my sword and activated Spear Punch, using the basket-guard to protect my hand. I flew forward and smashed the guard against the face of one of the bots. Fortunately, the blow was enough to crush the bot's head. Unfortunately, it crushed around the guard and dragged my sword with it as it fell.

Two bots remained, and one of them focused on me. Preternatural Evasion activated as the bot's blade slashed at my throat. I ducked under its follow-up strike with the hammer and used Breathtaker Strike.

Its chest caved in with a crunch, but the bot took another swing at me. I leapt back to avoid the blows, and three things happened at once. The other bot dropped with an arrow through its head, lightning struck the bot I was fighting, and a searing pain shot through my hand as I tried to open my fist.

I took a moment to check on it and immediately wished that I hadn't. My fingers weren't pointing in the directions that I had believed them to be, and blood was pouring from a split in my knuckles. I clenched my jaw as I felt the scream begin to bubble up in my throat.

'Oh, come ON,' Ten complained.

I wanted to tell it to suck a plug, fuck itself, or something like that. But the pain was too intense. Even if I tried to think at Ten, I'd just end up screaming.

'I'll kill the pain as best as I can. In the meantime, fight with your left hand. Stick to magic.'

The pain began to ebb just as Garin managed to get behind the bot he was fighting and tear its head off.

'Never mind. Okay, moving on, I can't heal your hand in the state that it's in. You'll need to... Put it back together as best as you can.'

'Fuck you,' I managed to think.

'I know it's grotesque, but we can fix it-'

'No, not that,' I examined my mangled hand. 'For earlier.'

'Oh. You're mad at me for getting frustrated that you punched a chunk of metal?'

'Don't try to diminish it and make it out to be my fault. I was in a life or death situation and did the best that I could. Your reaction was over the top and unsupportive.'

I pulled and twisted my fingers to realign them, wincing at the sight and sound rather than the pain. Once they were all pointing in the same direction again, I squeezed my hand back together. A moment later it began to itch, and I watched as the flesh began to mend.

'After thinking it through, you have a point,' Ten said. 'I apologize.'

'Thank you,' I replied. 'And I apologize for acting rashly and making you fix my hand.'

"Is that going to be okay?" the archer orc asked.

I then realized that everyone that was still conscious had watched me put my hand back together. The strangers looked horrified, but Yulk looked slightly bemused. Larie's posture suggested concern, though his face looked the same as it always did.

"Oh, uh, yeah, i-it'll be fine," I stammered. "I heal fast."

"How fast?" Garin asked.

"This fast," I opened and closed my hand.

I had tried to wiggle my fingers, but they weren't cooperating. I hoped it wasn't permanent and that Ten was still healing it. Pole orc stood up, leaning heavily on his nick-namesake.

"We actually did it," he panted. "I-I can't believe it."

"Believe it," I replied, and gave him a thumbs up with my freshly healed hand.

"Believe wha-"

We turned toward the new voice and saw that the unconscious orc had woken up, and she was absolutely terrified. I didn't even have to follow her stare to know what she was looking at.

Poor Larie.

The Human From a Dungeon 114

Chapter 114

Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 11

Human – American

I found myself extremely disoriented, unable to remember where I was or how I got there. It felt as if I was floating, but in air instead of water. Or space, maybe. I opened my eyes and saw nothing but white. My sense of panic was stifled by a feeling of familiarity, though. I'd been here before, hadn't I? When? How?

'It has been a while, but surely I'm more memorable than that,' a feminine voice whispered within my head.

There was no directionality to the voice, so I looked around wildly. A woman stood to my right, looking downward so that I couldn't see her face. Her long, silky, and gray hair parted as she looked up at me with eyes that were nearly neon purple. The creature's lips, blackened past the point that lipstick could ever hope to achieve, parted in a smile and showed a set of razer-sharp fangs instead of teeth.

"Wh-Wha-" I managed to stammer before my air ran out.

Panic set in only for a moment before I remembered the last time this had happened to me. Just after I used all of my magic to heal Imlor, the merchant that gave us a ride a few times. I finally recognized my location, and what the thing beside me was.

"There you go," the higher one said with a chuckle. "Took you long enough."

'What's this about?' I thought.

"It's time for another nudge. You're almost back in Nuleva, where it all began. Well... For you."

I remembered leaving the town with the kobolds. Nash had been upset because we weren't stopping for rest or meals, which meant that Yulk had paid a lot. Our driver, Haq, had been using an enchanted powder to stay awake.

And I had finally been tired enough to fall asleep on the fast-moving cart.

'It's where you wanted us to go, right?' I asked.

"Needed you to go to, but yes," it laughed. "We tried our best to get you to this point naturally, but it simply wasn't meant to be."

'What do you mean?'

"I can't give you a direct answer. All I can say is that an unlikely timeline has decided to manifest, and it's rather inconvenient to the plans we had, and have, for you."

I heard the clink of chains between the being's words. I remembered the crimson links that had bound it in our previous conversation, but I couldn't see them this time.

"Here's your nudge, Nick," bright purple eyes locked with my own. "You are now strong enough to reach and surpass the true end of the Delver's Dungeon, the very one you were found in. Barely."

'Barely?'

"Yes. As I said, we had other hopes that were dashed by the choices of others. In the ideal version of this timeline, we would have been able to yank you around long enough for you to get far more powerful than you are now. Powerful enough to have made the journey by yourself, in fact. Personally, I'd have loved to see you absolutely dominate the monsters in the dungeon. So, as you can imagine, I'm quite cross with those that have moved up our plans."

'Right...' I thought hesitantly.

"The moment you arrive in Nuleva, you need to resupply and prepare to enter the dungeon. You don't have enough time to rest, you must enter by nightfall at the latest. Nash may refuse to join you, or be called away for something else, but he's inconsequential to your success. Don't waste time trying to keep him with you."

'And what's at the end of the dungeon?'

"First you'll find a boss that no one else has found. After you defeat it, you will find a revelation and an additional confrontation. The revelation will come first. Regarding the confrontation, though... Run."

'Run?' I asked incredulously.

"Yes. It would be a close fight even if you were your most powerful self. You're not, and so you should run, ideally collapsing or sealing the dungeon behind you."

'Collapse the dungeon? How would we do that?'

"Larie will be able to. It's the reason we urged him to join you. Oh, I nearly forgot to mention that the village chief will likely wish to see you and the others upon your arrival. Don't risk offending him. His cooperation is imperative for what comes next."

'And what comes next, exactly?'

"Oh, you'll see," the higher one winked at me. "Well, unless you fuck up. Unfortunately, that's all the time we have."

"Wait-" I said, my eyes snapping open.

Instead of a white void, I was looking up at the big blue sky. A few clouds lazily drifted by as the cart bumped the back of my head. Then the faces of my adoptive orc brothers popped into view.

"That's probably not good," Nash sighed.

"It might have been a normal dream," Yulk suggested.

"It wasn't," I replied.

"Damn," Nash said, leaning back as I sat up.

Haq looked over his shoulder at me as I moved to the front of the cart to get a look at where we were. The dwarf's bloodshot eyes were full of questions, but he kindly kept them to himself. I wondered if the powder he had been using was actually magical, or if it was actually just a mundane drug.

Either way, he hadn't been getting much rest. Neither had the hnarses. Apparently, though, they didn't need anywhere near as much rest as people do. My grandpa would have loved these creatures. He often complained about how lazy horses could be if you let them.

Buildings were just coming into view, and they were approaching quickly. Or rather, we were. I glanced at the sky and noted that the sun wasn't directly overhead.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Mid-morning," Larie replied. "You didn't sleep long."

I had already suspected as much due to the exhaustion I felt behind my eyes. The Alta's spare bed was practically calling to me, but I wouldn't be given the opportunity to sleep in a bed tonight. I briefly wondered if I had enough time for another nap, but then we began to slow.

"Alright, we're here," Haq said with a relieved sigh. "I'm gonna stick around and rest for about a week. If you need another rush ride before then, you'll have to hire someone else. It wouldn't be safe for me to drive you."

"Understood," Yulk replied as the cart came to a halt. "Thank you."

Nash and I grabbed our things and hopped off of the cart. Yulk passed me his bags as Nash helped him to the ground while Larie simply floated from the back of the cart. Haq drove the cart off of the road leading into Nuleva, seeking refuge in the nearby stable.

"So what was the dream about?" Nash asked.

I began explaining what had happened in my dream as we made our way into the village. Most of the people that saw us stopped and stared with horrified expressions. They were looking at Larie, though, and I felt bad that this made me feel a little better about all the times I'd been stared at with curiosity.

"Clearing the dungeon has been done before," Nash said, glaring at people as we passed. "What's with the urgency?"

"I don't know, there's a secret boss or something I think," I shrugged. "It was less vague this time, but still pretty cagey. Also, it said that you don't have to come with us if you don't want to."

Nash looked confused but didn't reply. I finished explaining the rest of the details of what the higher one told me, ending with us needing to see the chief. As I finished my sentence, I noticed Nima running up to us.

"Hey Nima," Yulk waved happily.

"H-hi Yulk," Nima replied as she came to a stop, staring nervously at Larie.

We stood patiently, waiting for her to say something else. She seemed to be at a loss, though.

"What is it, darling?" Nash asked gently.

"W-what... Oh, r-right, uh... The chief wants to see you," she replied, not taking her eyes off of the lich.

My first impression of Nima had been that she was incredibly beautiful and intimidating. She was a lot taller than I was, and I had no doubt in my mind that she was a lot stronger, too. Seeing her this nervous was surreal.

For the first time since I met him, it sunk home how dangerous Larie could be, were he so inclined. It also occurred to me that the higher one had placed its faith in his destructive capabilities. Actually, faith is probably the wrong word for a being that can see almost everything...

"He's not a threat, love," Nash said, maintaining his soft tone. "This is Larie VysImiro, he was turned into a lich against his will."

"I-I know that, it's just... " Nima shook her head and bowed. "I didn't intend to cause any offense, Lord VysImiro. We received a missive from High Chief Ulurmak explaining your situation and presence within the Unified Chiefdoms. Knowing Yulk's... Predilections and your proximity to him, I should have taken more time to mentally prepare myself, please accept my deepest apologies."

"Hey!" Yulk said, feigning offense.

"Please raise your head, your reaction is well within expectations and I could hardly consider it rude," Larie chuckled. "One should hold oneself to the highest of standards, and my reaction to seeing my reflection for the first time was not dissimilar."

"How would you know, though?" Yulk asked, innocently.

Everyone present paused at Yulk's question, taking a moment to decipher what he was asking. Larie cocked his head at the bald orc. After a moment of thought, though, the confused expressions that Nash, Nima, and I had quickly turned to horror.

"Oh, because I have no face," Larie laughed. "I was speaking of my emotional reaction, my friend. My physical reaction was about the same as it is now, only with my jaw agape."

"Ah, I see."

"We should probably go see the chief," I interrupted.

"Good idea," Nima replied. "Oh, and nice to see you again, Nick."

She led the way to the big building in the center of the village. It had gotten even bigger since I'd last seen it. Yulk and I shared a confused glance, but Nash looked at us both with a smirk.

"I helped with the renovations," he said as we entered the building.

"How were we able to afford it?" Yulk asked.

"The chief'll get mad if I ruin the surprise."

"Oh, I see. So Nuleva has been upgraded from settlement to village?"

"I... Fuck."

Before they could say anything else, we entered a large room. In the center of it was Chief Gluhern, sitting on a chair that looked pretty comfortable. Surrounding him were old orcs sitting on cushions. They froze as we entered, and it wasn't hard to guess why. After a moment of silence, the old orcs rose from their cushions and left the room.

"Greetings Lord VysImiro," Gluhern nodded his head. "To what do we owe this unexpected... Oh, I see you're with the Alta boys. Never mind."

"Come now, Chief Gluhern," Yulk grinned. "If you're going to put on airs you could at least commit."

"DON'T CHASTISE ME, SPELL SLINGER!" Gluhern shouted, then looked around. "Oh, for fuck's sake."

The memory of the last time I heard Gluhern shout at Yulk suddenly popped into my mind. The chief's new seat was well away from anything that could be thrown. Yulk's grin widened, but Nash put a hand on his shoulder.

"Why have we been summoned, chief?" he asked.

"Well, the surprise has already been spoiled for you, Nash, but I wanted to let Yulk and Nick know that thanks to your visit to the High Chief, Nuleva is now officially a village instead of a settlement. Since the three of you are finally gathered before me, please accept my sincerest gratitude."

"Of course," Yulk bowed. "Always glad to serve."

"Yuh huh," Gluhern's expression dropped. "Anyways, our upgrade to village comes with several bonuses. For one thing, we are no longer under an obligation to trade solely with Kirkena and visitors. Our tax rebate has also increased, allowing for some much-needed upgrades to our infrastructure, such as it is. Finally, there's the matter of the village guard."

Larie and I were kind of lost, but Nash and Yulk stared at the chief.

"Nuleva, being a dungeon-based village, is legally required to maintain a guard against threats both external and internal," Gluhern explained. "I have been looking into the matter, and it would appear that hiring people who don't live here is more likely to lead to corruption and abuse of power."

"Get to the point, Gluhern," Yulk said coldly.

"Nash Alta, I would like you to lead the guard. You will be charged with recruitment, training, and the enforcement of our laws."

"And I'll have to retire from being an adventurer," Nash said.

"Yes."

"No. Get Alurn to do it."

Nima looked at her betrothed with concern.

"Nash-"

He held up a hand to interrupt her. Gluhern watched the exchange and sighed.

"You think that a troublemaker like you was my first choice, boy?" he asked. "Alurn has opted to take up residence in Kirkena. It would seem that the deaths of Kirisaka and Pakin have resulted in too many bad memories for him to remain in Nuleva."

"Shit," Nash whispered.

"Indeed. I pulled the records for every adventurer that grew up here, and you're the only non-mage above level ten. Congrats, by the way."

"Yeah, thanks."

"So I'm left with the choice of hoping that you've matured, or choosing someone who doesn't know their ass from their elbow. Since lives are on the line, experience matters more than maturity, though. It has to be you, Nash."

"When?"

"Immediately. We're already in breach, and we can't afford more than one fine even with the rebate," the chief sighed again. "This is a good opportunity, Nash. Your brother is a professor and you're about to be married. Guard Captain is a good, steady job with decent pay and not much risk. Why are you hesitant?"

Nash gave us a guilty glance.

"We came back to enter the dungeon," Nash explained.

"Why?"

"There's something at the end of it. I can't just-"

I reached up and put a hand on his shoulder. He turned to me with shock on his face that quickly turned somber when he saw my expression.

"The village needs you more than we do right now, Nash," I said. "We'll be fine."

"You can't know that," he argued.

"Yulk and Larie are extremely competent mages, and by your own admission I'm not exactly bad with the sword. We can do it. Plus, remember what I said? Earlier?"

"I..." Nash said, glancing between Yulk and I. "But... Fine. You'd better take care of each other, though."

"We most certainly will," Yulk said.

"Chief Gluhern, I offer my deepest apologies, but we're on a tight schedule," I turned to the chief. "If there isn't anything else, may we depart?"

"Yes," Gluhern nodded. "Nash and I need to work out the details of his new career, but the rest of you may go."

We said our farewells to Nash and Nima, then went straight to the market. People continued to stare as we picked up food and potions. Larie didn't seem to mind, but I couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same way that I did when people stared at me.

"Are there guides that we can hire for this dungeon?" Larie asked as we approached the entrance.

There were a few adventurers hanging out around the entrance, but their reactions to Larie were a lot more muted. I couldn't tell if it was because they mistakenly thought they could take him, or because they had received some sort of forewarning about him.

"There are guides, yes, but they mostly help lower level adventurers survive their first dive," Yulk explained. "Delver's Dungeon is fairly straight-forward. The main issue is going to be the teleportation. This dungeon periodically resets itself, and when it does, it teleports explorers to the entrance and all defeated monsters and bosses regenerate and shift positions. Another reason that a guide wouldn't be particularly useful, actually."

"We'll figure out the teleportation if it becomes a problem," I said. "Let's go."

With full packs, determination, and barely enough sleep, we entered the darkness of the Delver's Dungeon.

The Human From a Dungeon 113

Chapter 113

Thalomus the Immolator

Adventurer Level: N/A

Daemon - Unknowable

"Does this even count as razing a village?" Kirain Yith asked with amusement in his voice.

I silently agreed with the master vampire's assessment. One expects a certain level of structural devastation to be involved in destroying a village. However, with the exception of its populace, this village was completely intact. From a distance it even looked as if it was undergoing a normal, lively day. It wasn't until one got closer that one would realize that the villagers were being dragged around by daemons.

Notably, it was only daemons doing the dragging. The vampires were not participating, and they had made it clear that they would not participate until it was time to assault the Night Kingdom. Lazy bastards.

"The attack was a success. I must report to Lord Hirgarus," I said, nodding to the vampire.

He nodded back, and I turned to leave. Attacking a village and leaving it standing didn't sit right with me. No fires, no battle cries, none of the wailing of the wounded and dying. What was even the point?

Hirgarus had ordered me to find a way to take the village without any fuss. Poisoning the water supply had been a simple task. From there, we simply had to wait a day until everyone in the village was weakened enough for us to simply stroll in and capture them all. It felt cheap.

The Decimator's command tent was also cheap. It was made of simple cloth and only about three times the size of a standard tent. Were I not in the know, I would think that it belonged to a moderately successful merchant who travelled with their family. Never would I have been able to guess that it actually belonged to the leader of a daemon legion.

I announced my presence and entered the tent to find Hirgarus the Decimator sitting at what might possibly be the smallest war table that had ever existed. The tent, his seat, the table, and even our 'attack' on the village reeked of humility. Disgusting.

"What is it?" Hirgarus asked.

"The village has fallen, Lord Decimator," I said with a sarcastically deep bow. "A grand victory indeed."

It did not sit well with me that Hirgarus had been allowed to keep his rank. His strength and regenerative abilities were a boon to battle, certainly, but the gaps in his memory were quite concerning. Especially for someone in a leadership position.

Marquess Naberius had laughed when he made the decision, and laughed harder when he assigned me to be Hirgarus' second in command. It was a promotion in both name and privilege, but I knew where the blame would lay if we failed our mission. Unfortunately, I had been very clear about my desire to be promoted so I had no way to decline the 'honor' without clarifying my reasons, and the memory of having to regrow my leg had still been quite fresh in my mind.

"Casualties?" Hirgarus asked.

"None, sir," I replied, straightening my posture. "There were no villagers in fighting shape thanks to the poison that I slipped into their water, at your order. Our forces were able to walk into each hut and chain their occupants with nary a fuss. Incidentally, the vampires didn't do anything."

"Excellent work," he returned his attention to the table. "I agree that capturing a foothold with no casualties deserves to be called a grand victory."

"And what of the vampires?" I asked, annoyed.

"Fighting the dwarves is not their task. They may choose to help us, if they wish, but their fight is in the Night Kingdom."

"Did the Marquess really order us to clear a path to the Night Kingdom for them?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't we skip this village and simply capture the town? It would have been much more fun."

"We do not need to capture the town to allow the vampires access to the Night Kingdom. We can either capture the town, or two more small villages. The villages offer a means of ingress into the Night Kingdom with minimal casualties."

"But we will have to capture the town eventually," I pointed out. "Would it not be better to do so while it is still relatively undefended?"

"Not if it hinders our objective. Losing soldiers to an unnecessary battle runs the risk of doing exactly that. In addition, once we obtain our point of ingress we must wait for the orcs to move their armies. If they become aware of our position, we will likely be their first target. That will hinder our ability to aid the vampires. Have you initiated a count of the prisoners?"

My jaw clenched to suppress an angry growl. Our goal was to conquer all of these lands, not just to help the fucking vampires. Hirgarus didn't seem to care about the overall vision, only specifically what the Marquess had told him to do. In addition, it was uniquely infuriating to be treated like a newly risen by being asked if I had accomplished such a simple and mundane task. It was even more frustrating that it had, in fact, slipped my mind.

"N-not yet," I stammered. "We're still pulling them from their cellars."

That was a lie, and I knew that I had made a grave mistake the moment it left my lips. Hirgarus stood and approached me until his face was an inch away from my own. I kept my composure, silently cursing my stupidity. My power was not unremarkable, but it was nothing compared to the daemon who was now staring me down.

"You led me to believe that the villagers had already been captured, and that their submission came from deception," he said in a deceptively calm tone. "Yet now you claim there are villagers hiding in their cellars, as if they were aware of our attack and able to flee. Which is the lie?"

Words escaped me for a moment. For the first time since I had discovered him, I saw actual anger upon his visage. It quickly banished the thought that he wouldn't destroy me because of my value. No, Hirgarus the Decimator is the type of daemon that would eliminate any obstacle to his goals, regardless of the origin of that obstacle. I would have to choose my words carefully.

"I apologize, sir," I said, cautiously. "I was merely creating an excuse for a momentary lapse in competence. All of the villagers have been captured, and I will initiate a count immediately."

"Correction. You will initiate a count the moment we are finished here, and you will call for a count every time we come to a halt. In addition, if even a single villager goes missing, you will personally lead the hunting party to bring them back," he replied.

I watched in terror as his hand methodically made its way towards my face. Only daemons who have never taken corporeal form don't include pain receptors in their bodies. Namely because they don't realize how useful pain can be for keeping one's form intact. There's no better way to be informed of an injury than to have that injury hurt.

I managed not to squeal in terror as my eye lost focus whilst tracking Hirgarus' thumb. It involuntarily closed as the thumb made contact, his fingers gripping the back of my skull. Then I felt several sensations that would have been rather interesting were it not for the searing pain that accompanied them.

Hirgarus used his fingers to press his thumb into my eye, smashing it against the sphenoid bone. This applied an intense and extremely painful pressure to the surrounding nerves. A moment later I felt the eye rupture and white-hot fluids gush into my nasal cavity. My neurons screamed at me as they attempted to process what was happening, but I continued to maintain my composure.

The pain was definitely one of the worst that I had experienced. But the destruction of my eye was only a temporary hindrance, for it would heal fairly quickly. I would have considered it a kindness unbefitting of a daemon had that been the only part of my punishment.

Whilst attempting to answer one of the vampire's many questions about our kind, I found that it is difficult to adequately describe the actual process in which a daemon consumes another's essence. I attempted to explain that our true forms are in multiple places at once, but our consciousness is tied to our physical forms. Yet, paradoxically, we can operate the base functions of our true form with no alteration to our consciousness. I also attempted to explain that time and space ultimately mean nothing to our true form, and as such there's no such thing as a 'location' to it. Obviously, the vampire didn't understand.

I was able to articulate how vicious it normally is, though. The closer two daemons are in power, the harder it is for them to feed off of one another. I likened it to two predators trying to consume each other whilst also fighting for territory. But when one daemon is much stronger than the other, there is no fighting involved. The weaker daemon simply stands no chance of putting up any sort of resistance to the consumption.

As such, I barely noticed Hirgarus take a piece of my true form. It wasn't much, perhaps the physical equivalent of the excess toenail of one's pinky toe, but it had a profound impact as a statement. He had destroyed my eye to remind me that he was my commander, but he ate part of me to remind me that he was much, much more powerful than me. So much more powerful, in fact, that I wasn't even a snack to him.

"You will not lie to me again," Hirgarus said, hammering home the threat.

"Yes, sir," I bowed, fluids spilling from my face onto the floor.

"Have someone clean that up. Dismissed."

I left the command tent with a speed that I didn't even know my physical form possessed. When I was a reasonable distance away from any witnesses, I collapsed to my knees. Pain and terror sent tremors through my body, and there was little I could do to stop them.

"Stupid," I chided myself. "Stupid, dumb, foolish, idiotic, imbecilic, fucking moron!"

I had spent far too much time amongst mortals and weaker daemons. It had been all too easy to forget how powerful daemons operate, and this forgetfulness had nearly cost me my progress. For a brief moment I envied the weaker daemons. They had only spent decades, perhaps centuries building themselves up. I had been at it for several millennia. The amount of effort it would take to reform myself as I am now was...

"No point in thinking about that," I muttered, speaking to myself in an attempt to try to catch my breath. "So long as I don't fuck up again, that won't happen."

Once the trembling stopped, I rose to my feet and found a lesser daemon. It eyed my injury warily, but listened to my orders and ran to accomplish them. I watched with my one good eye as the daemon found other daemons to assist him with the tasks I had given. With a sigh, I put a finger into my eye-socket and tore the destroyed organ from my head.

Intense pain shot through my skull, but it quickly died down to a dull ache as a new eye began to form. I examined the ruptured eye with a sense of anxiety. A couple of thoughts above my station and a slip of the tongue had nearly cost me everything. Underestimating Hirgarus had been an amateur mistake.

Yes, I found him as an empty husk who didn't even know what he was. I had also brought him back into the fold. But I was a fool to expect that I was owed anything for that. One could argue that the fact that he didn't immediately decimate me for my disrespect was more than repayment enough.

With a sigh to settle myself, I tossed my former eye aside and decided to supervise the daemons to ensure that they properly counted the villagers. Thus far it had only been my leg, my eye, and a small portion of my essence that had been destroyed. I didn't dare speculate what might be next.

"Forty-nine, sir," a daemon said, running up to me. "We have forty-nine villagers. All dwarves. Eight men, ten women, seven boys, ten girls, six old men, and eight old women."

"Any injuries?" I asked, clearing my sinus onto the ground.

The daemon and I stared at the half-congealed mass of goop for a moment.

"N-no sir. No injuries or illnesses that we can determine at this time."

"Chain them together and prepare to march. We have more villages to capture."

"Yes, sir."

The daemon ran off and I kicked some dirt over the disgusting mass that had exited my face. Then I quietly confirmed the count as the daemons positioned the villagers into a line and adjusted their restraints. The chains clinked softly as the daemons poked at the villagers mockingly. With a deep breath, I returned to the command tent.

"I return," I said to the tent-flap.

"Enter," came the reply.

Gathering my nerve, I lifted the flap and entered the tent. The bloody mess my face had left had been cleaned. Hirgarus had returned to his seat at the war table, and was absentmindedly fidgeting with a mark-stone. His gaze shifted from the map and he regarded me with a cold disinterest.

"The count has been completed," I said, bowing. "All of the villagers are dwarves. Eight adult males, ten adult females, seven male children, ten female children, six elderly males, and eight elderly females. Forty-nine in total."

"A small village, indeed," Hirgarus mused. "It would have been shameful to have received any casualties. Issue four guards and prepare the villagers for the march."

"Yes, sir. I've already had them chained together and we're ready to march once the guards have been assigned."

"I commend your initiative. A competent aid is an extremely valuable asset, but only if they know their place. Do you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Where is it?"

Daemons don't have many traditions. Most attempts to establish them see their followers consumed by those with less dogmatic views. There is one daemonic tradition that goes farther back than even the mortal plane's existence, though.

Submission to power.

"Either leaping to fulfill your orders, or beneath your heel, sir," I said with a deep bow.

"Good," he nodded. "Keep that in mind, Thalomus, until the day you're powerful enough to actually challenge me. If you make the mistake of issuing a passive challenge again, I will consume you without a second thought."

"Understood, sir."

"The next village is four days away at a steady march. With the captives, though, it should take roughly six days. Once you have finished assigning guards, have food and water gathered for the captives. Ensure there is no unnecessary destruction. Any future visitors to this village should be left wondering what happened to the villagers, with nary a clue to go on."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

I turned and left the tent with a new determination. I was able to recognize the carrot and stick method of leadership, of course, but avoiding the stick and gaining the carrot still felt good. Especially since the stick was the threat of losing eons of progress.

I chose four daemons who seemed to have their wits about them and assigned them to guard the villagers. Then I ordered the other daemons to carefully gather food and water. I made it absolutely clear that any destruction would result in consumption. The daemons quickly set about their tasks, and before long everything was ready.

It was time to move on to the next village.

The Human From a Dungeon 112

Chapter 112

Li'Lord Simeeth

Adventurer Level: N/A

Kobold – Unknown

My tail wagged happily as I looked at my new bed. It was a cushion, with wool blankets on top of it. We had made lots of money from all the trades we'd been doing, and Gali had said that it would be good for more Al if we got better beds. I didn't know who Al was, but Marka had insisted that it was a great idea.

I wasn't really sure how a sack of soft stuff could be better than a pile of smell-good leaves, but I couldn't really think of a reason not to order the cushions. We hads the coins, and Marka pointed out that it would help the old kobolds with their joint-pain. Plus, the wool blankets were included with the purchase, so they didn't even cost us extra coins. Still, I felt like sleeping on something other than smell-good leaves was kind of wrong.

My doubts disappeared the moment I laid down, though. The fabric of the blanket was rough enough to scratch my scales just right. The squish felt like laying in a lard pile, without the greasiness. It also smelled like flowers instead of lard, which was a little disappointing. It would be up for arguments which smell would be better, I guess.

I pulled the blanket over me and laid my head back, prepared for sleep.

"Li'Lord Simeeth, you haves done really well!" The Lord said to me.

"Thanks milord! I tried really hard!" I beamed, hopping up and down in excitement. "It was really easy, too."

"That's just because you is a really smart kobold."

The lord's bony fingers reached down and scratched me in my favorite spot, right behind my ear holes. My tail moved back and forth happily. All the other kobolds watched, impressed that I had done so well. Tomash and Sameahl gave me some proud smiles.

"You're so smart and big and strong and awesome," Yamana said. "I misseded you a lot. Would you fertilize my eggs?"

"But what about me?" Marka asked. "I want fertilized eggs, too!"

"Li'Lord Simeeth is potent enoughs for both of us," Yamana winked.

"I would be honorded," I said. "But I don't has enough time to make little ones. I need to help the Lord."

"Don't worry, my dear Simeeth," the Lord said. "I am returned now. You don't have to be Li'Lord anymore. You can do whatever you want now, and nobody will bother you with decisions no more."

"Really?" I asked, excited about being able to play again.

"Really. I'm back for good now, and I won't leave no more. Now go fertilize those eggs."

"We want our eggs fertilized too!" more kobolds shouted.

"It's gonna be a busy day," I laughed.

Everyone laughed with me, and it felt really good. Everything was better than I ever could have hoped. I was so happy. Yamana and Marka grabbed my hands and began leading me away.

"Wake up, Li'Lord," Yamana said with a suspiciously deep voice.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Sorry, Li'Lord, but you need to get up."

My eyes snapped open, and I looked around the room for Yamana. Instead, I saw Gar staring down at me. My gigantic guard was panting a little, as if he had run a long way. Then I remembered that Yamana was dead, and I didn't like Marka that way. I had been dreaming.

"What's goin' on?" I asked, wiping the drool and stuff off my face.

"The Lord is back."

"What?" I froze.

"The Lord is back. He's at the store, in the city."

I leapt off of the cushion and almost tripped over the blanket. I hissed at it as I pulled it off of my legs. Without saying another word, I started to run as fast as I could through the dungeon.

Gar kept pace with me, which was really easy for a bakobold to do. Long legs means faster runners, but even orcs can't run as fast as bakobolds can. We ran to the tunnel, through the tunnel, and into the mansion that we turned into a store. The magical lights that we got from the elves kind of hurt my eyes, but I still looked around frantically.

Then I saw him. The Lord, standing in our store, looking at our goods. I wanted to call to him, but my throat wouldn't open. Instead I ran over and knelt, skidding on the polished wooden floor a little bit.

"Ah, Simeeth," he said with a happy tone. "I see you have done quite well in my absence. Far better than I had expected, certainly."

"Thank you, milord," I said.

"Sameahl was telling me that a secret tunnel to this manor was discovered in the dungeon?"

"Yes, milord. Some elf adventurers came, and we welcomed them like you told us to. One of them accidentally helped Hinthri discover the entrance. You said you wanted a trade relations with the shi-, er, town, so I decided that opening a store would be better than waiting for the caravan."

"And the municipal government is fine with this?"

"I don't know, milord, but the mayor helped us with the forms and buying the manor. We haves enough coin to pay off the more gauge, but Tomash says that we should save some coin to buy more goods to sell from the elves when their caravan comes back."

"You're trading with elves, as well? From where?"

"Yes, milord. The elf adventurers introduced us to some merchants from their king dumb, to the south of the dungeon. We buy stuffs from them, then sell the stuffs to the town in the store. Oh, and we lets merchants open stalls in here, too. They pay us rent."

"Is it just me, or has his speech improved?" somebody else asked.

I looked up and saw a familiar, pinkish face. The weird shitty-guy who helped kill the sucker had a curious look on his face. Then I noticed that the orcs he was with for the fight were also with him. The only people missing from when we saved the Lord were the Wasted Westerns.

"I've been taking lessons!" I exclaimed.

"More like the people in the city kept correcting you," Sameahl said quietly.

I glared at my impudent underling.

"I listen to the corrections and have also been askin' about the big words," I argued.

"Regardless of how the learning is being done, progress has indeed been made," the Lord said. "I chose my proxy well."

"Really?" I asked in amazement.

"Yes. I'm proud of you, Simeeth."

I felt a wetness on my face and quickly tried to wipe away the tears that had started coming from my eyes. My mama used to tell me that big kobolds don't cry, but I couldn't help it. My good dream was coming true!

Except Yamana was still dead, and there wasn't any talk about egg fertilizing. Not that there was really anyone that I wanted to fertilize with except for Yamana. I almost laughed through my tears once I realized the thoughts I was thinkin'. The Lord told me, in his infinite wisdom, that I was worthy of somethin' like pride and here I was thinkin' about fertilizing eggs.

The Lord noticed my tears and nodded softly. Everyone else went quiet. It was hard to tell if they were concerned or they understood. Sameahl's chin was jumping up and down like he was trying not to cry, too. Maybe my mama was wrong and meant to say bakobolds don't cry.

"Are you okay?" the humie-guy asked.

"Y-yeah," I managed to say. "I'm just... So glad. I workeded really, really hard. We all did. And it was scary. I didn't know what to do, Tomash didn't really know either, and I was so scareded that we was doin' the wrong stuff or stuff wrong. The Lord is so kind, and he wants what's best for us, but he left it to me to decide what was best for us and I was so worried that I wasn't ready for it. Was he being too kind in choosing me, or was choosing me by defoot because I was the only one who survived the sucker attack? I didn't know, and I didn't like questioning the Lord. And I really, really missed the Lord, too."

"I missed you too, Simeeth. All of you. Also, you mean default," the Lord laughed and bopped my nose with his bony finger.

"Oh, yeah, default not defoot," I chuckled. "It's just... This is like the best dream come true right after I awaked. I'm not supposed to be a leader, but I did a good job and now the Lord is back so I can go back to being a normal kobold."

"Uh..."

"Uh?"

The Lord's jaw opened slightly, which was an expression I had only seen when the younglings would asked him questions about fertilizing eggs. He would usually say something about how certain knowledge should come at a certain point in maturities, and that they should ask their parents if they're ready for it or not. If they pestered him about it, he would get impatient and threaten to tell their mamas on them.

But I didn't ask him about how to fertilize eggs. I already know how to do that, it's easy. So why would he be making that face?

"Well, Simeeth," the Lord scratched his neck bones. "I'm not... Entirely back."

"You're not back?" I asked, confused.

"No..."

"But you're standing here."

"Correct..."

"So you back? But you're not back?"

"Yes..."

"I'm confused, milord."

"I know," the Lord sighed. "My time away from the dungeon is not quite finished, but I wanted to visit and see how things were going."

"A... Visit?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

"Yes. I wanted to check in and, depending on how things were going, either reassure you or correct you. I have other matters to attend to that require my presence elsewhere."

"Oh, so I'm not done bein' Li'Lord..."

"No. Not quite yet."

"Soon?"

"Perhaps," the Lord rubbed his jawbone. "Though there's a possi-"

"Maybe is plenty, milord," I bowed. "I can be a strong kobold, as long as I know I don't have to be that forever."

The Lord scratched my head and laughed again.

"I have seen many good leaders and many bad leaders, Simeeth," he said. "Whether they be kobolds, elves, dwarves, gnomes, or orcs, all good leaders share similar qualities. Good leaders take the time to give things a second thought when they can afford to. They hold themselves accountable, because there's no-one who doubts them more than they doubt themselves. But above all, they don't allow those doubts to stop them from doing what needs to be done. I firmly believe that were I to ask any of the kobolds or bakobolds that are under your guidance, they would all agree that's an apt description of you."

A murmur of agreement came from the kobolds and bakobolds who were watching. I looked at them in disbelief, and saw Sameahl nodding really hard. Then the Lord said something that shocked me to my core.

"In many ways, you're a better leader than I am."

This led to some confusing stuff in my head. The words almost felt good to hear, but I was angry at the Lord for being criticality of the Lord. But being angry at the Lord wasn't right to do. So I decided to be angry at the words, instead.

"Absorbingly not, milord," I argued.

"I think you mean absolutely-"

"Doesn't matter, sssire," I hissed angrily. "You has been the Lord sssince WAY before I was born. You are the only leader I has ever had! You are super-ssstrong, you are super-sssmart, but you ssstill look after us! Even kobolds that are new know that you are gooder than their chiefs ever could be, because you are more than we could ever hope to be, but you hope for us! You saw my great-great-great-great grandparents struggling and not only helped them, but you helped all their kids, too. How could you not be best leader ever?"

The other kobolds cheered at my words, demonstrating their loyalties for the Lord. I nodded approvingly at them.

"All of those things you said about me applies to you, too, milord."

"No," the Lord laughed. "I definitely don't doubt myself nearly enou-"

"You're doing it right now, milord," I interrupted. "Everything you said makes me a good leader is stuffs that I learned from watching you when I was a hatchling. Whenever I has to leads, I just copy how I've seen you do it."

"He's very good copier," Gar agreed with a chuckle.

"Simeeth does well as your proxy, milord, but you are our lord because you're wise enough to have seen his potential," Sameahl added. "Even if he were to remain our leader for the rest of his days, he could never reach the level of experience in the role that you have. We all respect the Li'Lord, and we'll live and die at his word, but only because that word is reflective of those that would come from you, our true Lord."

The orcs that were friends of the Lord looked at him with uncomfortable expressions. The pink guy just kind of nodded silently. But the Lord stared at us, seemingly at a loss for words.

"You are the Lord," I said. "You will always be our Lord, even when you don't want to. Everything we have, everything we are, it's all thanks to you. I will be the Li'Lord, for you. We will make friends with all the shi- er, town-folk, for you. We will protect our home, for you. We will better ourselves for you."

I could feel an excitement in the air, building which each world. I rose to my feets. Proudly, I looked our Lord in the face and took a deep breath.

"Everything we do!" I shouted, raising my fist.

"WE DO IT FOR THE LORD!" the others shouted back.

The Lord looked around at each of us. The humie and bigger orc looked a little nervous, but the bald orc chuckled a little. He took a step closer to the lord.

"Looks like you've accidentally made a cult," he said. "A kobold cult."

"Not cult," I shook my head. "The Lord not Slathris. The Lord cares, Slathris doesn't."

"Slathris?"

"The being that kobolds worship as their creator," the Lord said, absentmindedly.

"Slathris makeded us as a prank on the weirdos," I explained. "Mades it so we eated them. Then they fought us, trying to kill us all. Before they could, some mages rescued us. Then mages make bakobolds and killed each other. Now Slathris ignores us, but there are some slobber-heads who think that if they cry loud enough Slathris will come back and make life betterer."

"Their minds are mush," Gar added. "Slathris is a cruel god-thing. Definitely not something you want paying attention to you."

"Ah, are we talking about the Cult of Slathris?" Tomash asked as he entered the room. "Oh, many respectful greetings, milord. Apologies for my delay and lack of decorum, but these knees grow sour with age."

"Hello, Tomash," the Lord nodded. "Don't worry about prostration. Your presence is enough."

"Thank you, milord. Now, what's this about the Cult of Slathris?"

"We's telling the orc about how mean Slathris is," I explained.

"Ah," Tomash nodded slowly. "With respect, Li'Lord, mean is not nearly a harsh enough word. Slathris is the epitome of cruelty. I suspect that being a god is boring, and if that's the case Slathris must find amusement in suffering. Legend has it that the first batch of kobolds he created could only eat wylder. Naturally, they starved to death."

"Oh, so that's who you meant by weirdos," Yulk chuckled at me. "So, I take it the next batch could eat regular meat?"

"Yes, but only living flesh, and our ancestors desperately craved the living flesh of the fair folk," Tomash shook his head in disgust. "Most wylder automatically regenerate their flesh so long as you don't use iron to carve them, you see. It led to much suffering and a lasting grudge between our peoples."

"Do you still need to eat living flesh?" The humie asked.

"No. Powerful mages began fighting each other, and eventually sought help from the wylder. The wylder asked them to be rid of us in exchange for favors. Some of the mages saw our value as foot-soldiers and captured us instead of eradicating us. Several generations of experimentation later, and we can eat meat just as you can."

"And my kind exists," Gar said.

"I see. Do you know anything about these experiments?" baldie asked.

"No," Tomash chuckled darkly. "Why? Looking to repeat them?"

"Yulk Alta is far more honorable than that," the Lord said. "If one such as he were to wish to experiment, it would be for your benefit. "

"Yes, milord. My apologies, it was in jest and I meant no offense."

"Good," the Lord glanced at Yulk, who smiled. "Now, we're on a pretty tight schedule, so I would appreciate being brought up to speed on what's been happening around here. A tour wouldn't go amiss, either."

"Yes, yes!" I said, my tail moving back and forth with excitement. "I shows you all the stuffs we has, milord!"

Tomash and I took the Lord and his friends around the store, showing him our stuff and telling him how we gots it. He was a little shocked about how much stuff the elves were willing to sell us, and warned us to use caution when doing international trades. Tomash pointed out that we had been surprised by the ban on our mushrooms, and so we had employees that double checked with city authorities when we weren't sure if something was legal to buy or sell. I beamed when Tomash noted that it had been my idea.

We continued our tour, showing the Lord our vendor shops. We explained that we let merchants rent the rooms as well as put up a sign. This kept them off the streets, gave them a safe place to store their goods, and brought more people to our store. It had been the mayor's idea, who said it might be a good way to clear up some of the walk-ways.

Tomash explained that we also allowed the merchants to live in their rooms if they paid extra, but hardly anyone had taken us up on that. Our tour carefully avoided the ones who did, though, because we didn't want to wakes them up. Then we got to the good part.

One of the bestest things about the manor was a feature that had survived all the bad weather and rot that had taken hold when nobody lived there. Right next to the tunnel that led to the dungeon was a tunnel that led into a giant metal room with a very heavy door. The mayor had given us the key once the more gauge was approved, and even though there wasn't anything cool in it, we figured that it was a good place to store coins.

My heart raced as I watched the Lord's jaw drop. Stacks of coins as tall as bakobolds lined the back walls. Paintings, jewelry, statues, ancient tomes, and various other valuables were neatly sorted on the sides. The orcs and the humie were also impressed, but I cared a lot less about their thoughts. The Lord congratulated us on our success, and it made me really, really happy.

Then we had nothing left to show him, and he had to go. It was surprising how quickly the happy turned to sad, but I decided that I would cherish the good stuff instead of dwelling on the sad stuff. We knelt before our Lord as he bid us his farewells. Then the Lord and his companions left us with the promise that he would return one day.

We all hoped that day would be soon.

The Human From a Dungeon 111

Chapter 111

Nash Alta

Adventurer Level: 11

Orc - Nulevan

The rage in my chest turned into something cold as I watched Agurno leave. It felt like a kind of generalized disgust, but it was hard to put my finger on why I was feeling it. Could it have been the realization that the abandonment that Nima had gone through was cyclical? Or maybe it was how casually and unapologetically Agurno had admitted to his faults, with no intention of changing them.

"Hey, are you guys okay?" a small voice asked from my left.

I turned to see the imp that had helped Nick earlier, though I couldn't recall his name. His apparent concern for our well-being did nothing to improve my mood. Imps were well known for using trauma inflicted by others as a manipulation tactic.

"Yeah, we're alright," Nick answered. "Thanks for checking, Ujin."

Nick's reply annoyed me in several ways. First, he assumed that he knew how I was without checking with me first. Second, he shared that presumption with someone that I didn't trust. Third, he remembered the gods-damned imp's name when I had forgotten it.

I gave him a glance that attempted to properly convey the amount of annoyance that I was feeling, but my eyes could only roll so far.

"No problem," Ujin said, unaware of my annoyance. "I know how much of an asshole Agurno can be, so I thought I'd check."

"You know him?"

"I haven't exactly talked to him, but everyone here knows OF him. Even new guards know better than to try to stop him."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Longer than I've lived here," Ujin laughed. "But he only shows up once every few months. Word has it that he's been doing jobs for the courts."

"Yeah, he interrupted our meeting to tell them that he's finished one," Nick said, then looked around. "Where did Kint go?"

"He was next in line, so he cancelled his appointment. He was going to beg a favor, and nobody wants to do that after the court has met with Agurno."

I looked around and noticed that quite a few people had left. The only ones who remained were those carrying satchels and those who looked as if they hadn't eaten in a while. Deliveries and desperation.

"So did you get what you needed from the court?" Ujin asked. "I hope they didn't extort too large of a favor from you."

"Yeah, we learned what we needed to," Nick said. "And actually, Agurno helped us with that."

"He did so as a means of condescension," Yulk interjected. "To demonstrate that he is superior to us. Nash must have hurt his feelings by calling him out for being an absentee father."

"And punching him a few times," I chuckled. "Oh, let's not tell Nima about that."

"The only time you should keep secrets is if you don't mind if they bite you, brother."

"Don't worry, I'll tell her about it. I just don't want the conversation to be randomly sprung upon me when I'm not prepared for it."

"You actually PUNCHED Agurno?" Ujin asked in shock. "That mountain of muscle with the patience of an ugren trap?

"Of course I did. He abandoned his daughter, my fiancée, and I'm not afraid of that overgrown fu-"

"Ujin Faren, you are to appear before the court," the extra-tall fae guard interrupted. "Approach the gate."

"Ah, looks like I'm next," Ujin said. "Well, it was nice seeing you again. I hope things work out."

"You too," Nick smiled.

The imp grabbed a small satchel and trotted off toward the gate. He and Nick exchanged a wave as the gate opened, and we turned to leave as it closed behind him. It was obvious that Nick didn't mind throwing caution to the wind to be friends with Ujin.

Thankfully, we were probably going to be headed elsewhere soon. Otherwise, Nick would probably learn the hard way why imps have the reputation that they do. He was demonstrating the exact type of naivety that they target.

Imps don't really belong to any one nation. They wander from place to place, setting camp between villages and towns. Then they send their people to go get food, drink, and other supplies. This is usually accomplished via trickery, theft, and even murder.

Once they have what they need and their unwilling neighbors start talking about getting justice, they leave. They usually go just far enough away to avoid local law enforcers. If their crimes are particularly heinous, though, they'll flee the nation entirely and won't return for a generation or two.

The most heinous of crimes are the ones that happen to the poor young women who think they've fallen in love. Orcs can't have children with other species because our biology is dangerously incompatible. Imps have a similar problem, but instead of sharp and crushing bones, they have a twisted seed. Whenever that seed takes root, the mother involved dies one of the most horrific deaths imaginable. It's the type of injury that even healing magic can't fix.

"So where are we going now?" Nick asked as we began to walk back to the city.

"We will have to do research to find areas where these 'cracks' might appear," Yulk replied. "Then I suppose we must find a way to determine which cracks lead where, and how to open them wide enough to slip through."

"So back to Kirkena?"

The mention of the capital city brought about unexpected thoughts of Nima. I suddenly wanted to know what she was up to, if she was missing me or not, and how she would react to my run-in with her father. There was a certain uncharacteristic anxiety surrounding these thoughts, as well. As if I HAD to see her, or I never would again.

"I... I don't know," Yulk said, deep in thought. "Perhaps we should ask mother for her input. She was an adventurer for several years before we were born..."

Yulk and I shared a glance, and we stopped in the middle of the Great Climeta Forest. That single glance told me all I needed to know about his desire to return home. It was just like mine.

Nick looked back and forth between us.

"I also think we should return to Nuleva," Nick sighed. "Can't help thinking about it, and Ten says my adrenalin levels are spiking. I'm guessing you two feel the same way?"

"Y-yeah," I said.

"I am also receiving a not-so-subtle nudge in that direction," Larie added. "The higher ones may as well write us a letter."

"Well, that settles it," Yulk said. "The higher ones want us in Nuleva for the next part of our journey. Only a fool would ignore such an obvious hint."

"I would still like to pass through Talokam, if we are able. Checking on the kobolds shouldn't be an issue."

"That shouldn't be a problem. We should be able to get a ride straight to Nuleva from there."

We began to walk again, but fell into an uncomfortable silence. The sudden press of feelings that weren't quite my own had shaken me a little, and I could tell that Larie and Yulk felt the same way. Nick's eyes were locked to the ground, as if he were ashamed of what had just happened.

I felt as if I should tell him that it wasn't his fault, but the words rang hollow in my head. It wasn't his fault, but if it weren't for him it wouldn't have happened. It would be disingenuous to claim otherwise. Then I wondered if that thought was my own, or if it had been forced into my head by the higher ones.

"Hey, you lot," a rumbling voice came from behind us as we entered a clearing.

We stopped and turned to look at the trees from which the voice had come from. Three of them had slightly scowling faces made of bark. The one in the center was huge. I took a cautious step back, suddenly recalled our last encounter with them, and the roots that had sprang from the ground.

"Uh... Hello," Nick said.

"Yeah, hi," the central tree said. "Listen, you helped one of us earlier. You remember? The thing with the spell and the reptian?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Good. Well, it asked too much of you, but you went and helped it anyway. An arm would have been enough to balance things. We can't owe you. Especially not YOU, human. We're going to balance things."

"It's alri... Wait, you know what I am?"

"Of course we do," the tree on the left said impatiently, then looked thoughtful. "Should we tell him?"

"No," the tree on the right said. "That's worth much more than a reptian corpse sans one arm. Stick to the plan."

"Shut up," the center tree grumbled, its branches shaking angrily. "I'M speaking."

"Sorry boss," the other two said in unison.

"Right, listen human. You remember your home, yeah?"

"Y-yeah I-"

"Good. Are you familiar with symbols of power? Like, religious iconography and whatnot?"

"You mean like the cross?"

"Yes. The Christian Cross, the Star of David, the Nazar Boncuk, the Hamsa, the Pentagram, things like that. You know what these are? What they do?"

"Y-yeah, I think so."

"Good. Remember this, and remember it well. These symbols are known to your kind for a reason. That reason is because they work. The inverse of those symbols perform the opposite function, as well. Do you understand?"

"N-no," Nick stammered. "What do you mean they work?"

"The symbols protect from evil. True evil. Primordial evil. Not the evil of other fleshy ones, mind you, the kind of evil that your kind has feared since before you controlled fire. Flipping the symbols upside down will negate the protection of other symbols. An inverted cross will negate a Hamsa, and vice versa. Also, the intention of the symbol matters a lot during its construction. One of your lowercase t's isn't going to do anything. Get it?"

"Y-yeah. How do you know thi-"

"It is knowledge that will be useful to you," the tree interrupted. "This makes us even. Now hurry along and get out of our forest."

Before Nick could stammer another reply, the faces on the trees disappeared. We stood stunned for a few moments. Our surprise quickly wore off once we noticed how many angry-looking birds were watching us.

"I think we should go," I said.

"I concur," Larie added.

We turned and began to walk a little bit faster than we had before. It occurred to me that it was kind of funny to see a lich, which would otherwise be considered an ancient horror, flee right alongside us. Regardless of my amusement, though, I kept up the pace and before long we were back at the wall. The archers on top of it watched us warily, but the gate swung open for us without any issues.

"Should we stay the night?" I asked.

A lurch in my stomach seemed to answer the question for me.

"We should leave immediately, " Yulk said, panting a little. "We have travelled alongside Nick for quite some time now, and never before have I experienced such direct intervention from... His friends."

"They're no friends of mine," Nick replied grumpily.

"Yes, well, regardless, I believe that this is a matter of urgency, and I'm not entirely certain that the belief is my own."

"It isn't," Larie added. "One of the side-effects to my condition is ultra-sensitivity to beings not of this plane. I'm assuming you're getting funny feelings, odd pushes towards certain thoughts, and things of that nature. I'm practically hearing voices telling me to accompany you."

"So... Either something really good or really bad is about to happen?" I asked.

"Knowing our luck..." Nick said, trailing off.

We moved with purpose, stopping by the Marfix Inn to check out and retrieve the items we had left there. From the inn, we travelled back through the city, exiting the main gate. The guards held us up for a few moments, confirming our identities and that we weren't wanted for any crimes within the city, but let us through without further issue.

Our next stop was the stable. We waited outside while Yulk entered the booking building to make the arrangements. He came back out with a familiar-looking dwarf.

"Surprised to see you lot again so soon," Haq chuckled. "I expected at least a couple of days to rest and relax."

"Apologies," Larie dipped his bony head. "It would seem that we are needed elsewhere, and we're in quite a rush."

"I know, Mister Yulk already paid the extra cost for the rush. I'll bring the cart around."

The dwarf hurried off. We waited patiently until a pair of extra-large hnarses came out of the stable, pulling a cart behind them. They seemed a tad annoyed when Haq called them to a halt, as if they were looking forward to hauling the cart around. I gave an appreciative whistle as I climbed aboard.

"Good lookin' animals you've got there," I said.

"Absolutely, we're lucky to have them," Haq laughed. "Bonesly, the one on the left, used to be a draft animal. Her owner went bankrupt, and we nabbed her for a steal because she's got quite a few years on her, though you wouldn't know it by the way she hauls the carts. The guy on the right is Yigtha. Similar story as Bonesly, got him from the same owner, but the difference is that he began life as a racer. Had a bit too much muscle on 'im, though, so he started pulling carts alongside Bonesly. They love the work, and they're used to pulling much heavier loads so they tend to go really fast."

"I'm glad that I paid extra," Yulk laughed.

"Me too, sir. Driving this pair of hnarses is a real treat. They'll get us where you're goin' in no time. All aboard?"

We gave our affirmatives as we took our seats.

"Alright, next stop is Talokam! We'll be arriving in the morning, so feel free to grab a nap."

I immediately shot Yulk an angry look. Cart drivers absolutely hate travelling at night, so he must have paid a ton of coin to arrange this. My brother grinned and shrugged as the cart began to move.

I muttered some choice swears as I settled in for the ride.

The Human From a Dungeon 110

Author's Note - I have made the switch to Microsoft Word and am still trying to get it figured out. This switch happened in the middle of this chapter, so if there's anything weird about the formatting please feel free to point it out to me in the comments. :)

Chapter 110

Agurno

Adventurer Level: 152

Orc – Kirkenian

I stared at the boy turned man from a past that I thought I'd left behind. He was trying desperately to recover from my kick to his gut, which had been a little higher than intended. His gasps for air reminded me of how close he'd come to being split in two. If it hadn't been for a very timely warning from Gramr, his crouch wouldn't have been nearly fast enough.

'You should have let him hit you some more,' Gramr said. 'You deserve it.'

Ignoring my biggest critic, I looked at the people that Nash had been with and recognized Yulk, as well. Of the two of them, Yulk had undergone the most drastic change. His dark, messy hair had vanished, his spine had an unnatural curve to it, but his face and eyes remained just as they had all those years ago. Yulk and his brother had become fast friends with my daughter, so much so that people would always joke that Nash and Nima would make a good couple. Yulk stood and took a step forward.

'It would appear that more justified suffering is on the way.'

"Look, I get it," I sighed. "We're in an emotionally charged situation. But come on, Yulk, you were always the level-headed one."

"I still am," Yulk smiled and gestured at me with both hands. "Tlob Srolmi Tsac!"

Even with all of my relentless fighting and training, I barely managed to trigger my various resistance skills before the lightning hit me. Despite those resistances, the spell brought me down to one knee. Once my muscles stopped their brutal spasms, I glared angrily at the younger Alta brother.

Surprisingly, he had fallen to both knees with intense pain apparent on his face. Then the smell of burnt hair hit my nostrils. I examined my torso and found a bald patch, where the spell had hit me. It finally occurred to me that even with my resistances, the spell had hurt. A lightning spell that could pierce my resistances and had a kickback on the caster...

"Did you just use Imlor's fucking bolt on me?" I demanded angrily.

Before Yulk could answer, the lich and the other thing stepped between us. At first glance I had believed it to be an elf, but closer examination revealed that the only real similarity this thing had with elves was skin color. Its ears were rounded, its hair was oily, its eyes were too close together, its nose wasn't pointed enough, and its chin was too round. I stared down the pair of monsters.

The elf-like creature put an ever-so-slightly trembling hand on its sword, but it didn't draw its blade. The stance it chose wasn't a bad one, allowing its draw to become a slash, but its sword wasn't curved enough for that technique to be completely effective. This was someone still learning swordsmanship who nearly mastered the basics.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me and realized that the lich had cast a healing spell. My mind had preemptively connected the dots and realized that the lich was Larie VysImiro, son of Imlor the Grand. We hadn't met before, but I'd heard a lot about him, his curse, and his healing talents. He was also wary of me, but I gathered that from his body language. His expressionless, skeletal face didn't show it.

"Fucking CUNT," Nash shouted.

I sighed as his arm wrapped around my neck. Then I stood, taking him off the ground. His arm squeezed and squeezed, presumably with all his might, but the muscles in my neck wouldn't allow my airflow or circulation to be cut off. I flicked at a nerve in his elbow, which caused him to lose his grip and crash to the ground.

"Look, boys... I get it," I said. "You're mad at me because you care about Nima, but think this through. Do you thin-"

Nash interrupted me by kicking me in the calf. Without even looking, I kicked him in the ass and sent him flying a foot or two.

"Do you think I'm really gonna sit around and let you beat on me?" I asked. "Eventually I'm gonna get tired of your shit and then one of us is gonna have to kill the other. Now as far as I know, Nima might've grown up to be heartless enough not to care about that. But knowing her mom, I doubt it."

"You don't get to talk about her!" Nash shouted between wheezes. Larie walked over to him and began healing him again.

"The fuck I don't," I growled. "I may have left her and her mother, but I'll be damned if I didn't stick around a whole hells of a lot longer than my dad did for me."

"Wh-what?"

"Yeah, being big, smart, and abandoning children is kind of a family tradition, kid. Ulurmak got to be raised in the capital because dad knew he was gonna take over as High Chief. I got raised by my mom out in the boonies 'cause he figured I wasn't suited to a fuckin' desk job. Fact is that I was in my kid's lives a lot longer than he was in mine, and you aren't gonna lay there and tell me that isn't a win."

'That is the weakest, most self-pitying non-apology I've ever heard,' Gramr said.

"Are you all quite done?" Incandis asked angrily.

"No, I'm not," I shot back. "What the fuck is that thing?"

I gestured my head at the creature accompanying the Alta boys. Its eyebrows shot up as if it were surprised by my sudden attention.

"Uh... I-I'm a human," it said.

I remembered stories from various taverns about a creature found in a dungeon called a human, and about how my brother seemed to have a fondness for it. I glanced at Yulk, who began to explain in further detail. Nash had been the one that found it, and they were trying to return it from wherever it had come from. The Alta boys always did have big hearts.

"Yes, yes, and now they appear before us to request information on how to travel the vast distances through time and space safely to get him home," Floris sighed. "A request that YOU are currently interrupting, Agurno. We congratulate you on a job well done, but we can discuss payment once we are finished here."

"Or we can discuss payment now," I said, thinking for a moment. "I'm fairly certain that you are out of relics that would be of use to me. Gold doesn't have much use, either, since I already have more of it than I or any of my descendants could possibly spend without founding a nation. My guess is that you are going to reward me with a favor. You're probably going to ask a favor of them, as well."

"What business is it of yours?" Incandis demanded.

"I've always been curious about time travel," I grinned. "Teleportation would be handy knowledge, as well. So how about I cash in my favor and you tell me how the human here is going to get back home? They can stay, of course. My treat."

The entire court went nervously silent and still, which wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence during my visits. Nash and Yulk watched me suspiciously, probably trying to figure out if I was messing with them or not. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't.

There were hundreds of beings that considered me a hero, completely beyond reproach. I could murder someone in cold blood, and they would all assume I had acted in their best interests. The sudden reminder that I wasn't much better than my father had stung in a deep way. But this knowledge, this thing they would have to pay dearly for, was as easy for me to obtain as breathing.

I smirked at the boys while the Queens conferred. Nash seemed dumbfounded, but Yulk glared at me as if he knew exactly why I was 'helping' them. He always was the smart one.

"Against our better judgment, we have decided to accept this... For lack of a better word, bargain," Aqueous announced. "We will tell you what they wanted to know with them present, without requesting any further payment."

I nodded, sheathing Gramr. The wound on Incandis' arm sizzled as it tried to close. Even the Queens were vulnerable to iron, though much less so than other wylder.

I'd always wondered what it would be like to fight all four of them at once. Not a fight that I'd walk away from unscathed, but it would certainly be a thrill. No matter how many insults I heaped upon them, though, they refused to take the bait.

"Manipulation of space is simple," Luminous began with a yawn. "Trivial, in fact. Take a thing and put it over there. Fleshy ones do this with their own bodies without even thinking about it. Those without flesh have to work harder at it, and therefore have much more knowledge about the intricacies of the process. Getting the human 'home' by mundane means would be entirely possible."

"Time is another matter entirely," Floris interjected. "Events occur as a result of cause and effect. To 'travel through time' one would have to undo said cause and effect. One can easily alter the flow of cause and effect, but changing it after the fact would be an impossible feat for any that are under its influence."

"Like trying to dig through a mountain whilst buried beneath it," Incandis added.

"What do you mean I can get home by mundane means?" the human asked.

"We did not permit you to as-"

"I would like that question to be answered," I interrupted.

Incandis glared at me while the other Queens shared nervous looks with one another.

"The answer to that question should be obvious, especially to the human," Aqueous said. "Unless the higher ones are intentionally keeping it hidden."

"What do they have to do with anything?" I asked.

"The human is a touched," Incandis replied.

I took a moment to study the poor thing. There was still a certain naivety in his eyes that came with youth and inexperience. A boy, then.

Calling the higher ones evil would be wrong. Callous and uncaring are much better descriptors. When my father was High Chief, a cult led by a 'touched' elf sprang up in one of the kingdoms to the south.

This cult usurped a portion of that kingdom and began a theocratic regime that worshiped the higher ones. Under that elf's influence, the new nation invaded the United Chiefdoms in an attempt to expand their borders. My father responded in kind, and that territory is now known as Hirnis. The newly installed Great Chief discovered that it contained a mine, which allowed my father to viciously defend our borders from then on. The kingdom from which the cult formed protested this, but they were quickly destroyed and assimilated by their neighbors.

The touched elf and his followers believed that they were beloved by the higher ones. Perhaps they were, in a way, but they were still used as pawns to force resources to change hands. Such is the nature of the higher ones. Even fighting them plays right into their hands.

"So, what, he should ask them instead?" I demanded. "Do you fear the higher ones?"

Incandis looked like he was about to explode, but Aqueous held up a hand.

"Yes, we do... At the moment," she said. "That in and of itself is unusual and indicates that their influence is at play. You know as well as we do that if we were to try to answer that question and they didn't want us to, something would interfere. So, there isn't much point."

"Fine. How does the human get back to his family, then?"

"The higher ones might be able to do it," Incandis shrugged. "They're certainly more qualified than we are. But they sent him to us, instead."

"They wouldn't be able to accomplish this without manifesting themselves, which would create several issues," Aqueous said. "However, if the human were to go to them..."

"How's he supposed to do THAT?" I asked with a laugh. "Die? Or can one simply walk into the ethereal plane?"

"Dying obviously wouldn't help. Thankfully, yes, one can simply walk into the ethereal plane. Just not from here."

"From where?"

"The fair realm. The hells. Haven. Just as this plane has cracks that lead to those planes, those planes have cracks that lead to the ethereal plane and beyond. There may even be cracks to the ethereal plane here, but we've never encountered them."

"You see that, boys," I chuckled and turned to the Alta brothers. "You beg them for help, and they tell you to go to the hells."

"Yet, that does sound like the probable solution to this issue," Yulk sighed. "The question becomes how to enter these different planes."

"You simply must find a crack, widen it, and walk through," Floris said. "I would strongly suggest finding a crack to Haven. Both the fair realm and the hells are quite inhospitable to flesh."

"Would there be a favor that we could provide for guidance on how to find such a crack?"

"No, that giant lump of muscle there has done everything serious enough to warrant that information," Incandis shot me a glare. "You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, Yulk Alta. Use it, and you'll find the way on your own."

"I am unworthy of your praise."

"If that were true, we wouldn't have given it. The favor has been fulfilled, and our business has concluded. Leave."

I was half tempted to make the Queens force me out, mostly to test if I could best the previous technique they had used. But I could tell that Nash still had something to say. I had things to say, as well, so I followed them out. The moment the gate closed behind us, he turned to face me.

"Don't think that helping us will make me forgive you," he growled.

"Boy, I don't give a fuck about your forgiveness," I replied with a chuckle. "Hells, the only one who has any right to offer me forgiveness is Nima."

"What of her mother?" Yulk asked with venom in his tone.

"Oh, please... If there was anyone in that glorified outpost who knew me it was Urela. She was prepared, or else she wouldn't have sent back all the money I've sent them. Bet you've never heard her say anything bad about me, neither. Have you?"

The Alta boys paused and glanced at each other, as if suddenly realizing something.

"That's because she's wise enough to know that getting mad at the wind for blowing is pointless. She's got no forgiveness to offer me, because I did what was expected. I wasn't meant to be a father or a husband, and we both knew it. I think she might have just wanted to see how long I'd last."

"Why didn't you ever come back for Nima?" Nash demanded.

"Shit, that's the most complicated thing anybody's ever asked me," I laughed. "I don't know. Not really. I could go on about how being forced into a life of domestication was torture for someone like me. Or I could point out that I could never love my kids the way that they needed to be loved, and by removing myself from the picture their moms could find someone who could. Maybe I just couldn't handle the responsibility of having people waiting for me to come back while actively risking my life. But those are just platitudes, pretty words to polish a turd. My reasons don't matter. I didn't go back because I didn't want to, and I'm a shitty, selfish person."

"You can still go back, even just for a lit-"

"Careful, you're overstepping. Alurn has reached out to me a few times over the years to give me updates and such, and I've even replied. So Nima must know how to reach me, but she hasn't even tried. You know her better than I do, Nash. How would she feel if I were to suddenly reenter her life? Would it make her happy to know that the reason her dad left was because he didn't want to be a dad anymore? Would she appreciate YOU being the one to drag me back?"

The truth in my words struck him silent.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Alurn knows how to get in touch with me. If Nima ever wants to, she can."

"We're going to get married next year," he said softly.

"Congrats. I'm sure you'll make each other happy," I chuckled and turned away. "For what it's worth, you were a good kid. I'm glad it's you."

I stepped past them and smirked at all of the eyes pointed at the ground. The court crowd would normally eat up this kind of drama like it was their first meal of the week, but they knew of me. Each and every member of the crowd was pretending they were blind and deaf.

"Oh, and if you want you can tell her that I didn't leave because I hated her," I said, not looking back. "I left because I hated myself."

I waved over my shoulder as I did what I do best.

The Human From a Dungeon 109

Chapter 109

Nash Alta

Adventurer Level: 11

Orc - Nulevan

I kept a wary eye on Nick as we rose, ready to catch him if he hadn't completely recovered from the shroud. It was very likely that Ten was the only reason that Nick hadn't fallen into a coma. His legs were solid, though, so I relaxed a little.

"Thank you for your help, may we meet again under better circumstances," Nick said.

"Sure, that'd be nice," the imp replied. "Seeya, human."

Yulk and I shared a knowing look. The odds of us running into Ujin again were pretty low, but if we did Nick would probably get a much needed education. An imp is an imp, after all. Even if he had forsworn his traveling band, escaping one's upbringing is a monumental task. He had been helpful, though, so maybe I was wrong about him.

The tall fae guard stepped aside and the gate silently parted as we approached. We continued along the path, and I let Nick walk ahead of me so that I could keep an eye on him. I had relaxed, but only a little.

Before long, there were tall hedges on either side of the path. They were so tall that I couldn't see the sun. As the walkway began to curve to the right, I noticed that there weren't any shadows either.

"More magical fuckery," I muttered.

"Yep," sighed Nick.

The curve turned into a spiral that continued far longer than should have been possible. Just as I was beginning to lose patience, the hedges opened up into a massive field of flowers. The path halted, and so did we.

"Approach, mortals," a booming yet gentle voice rang out.

Larie seemed unfazed, but my brothers and I shared a concerned glance. Despite our hesitation, we did as we were told and stepped into the field of flowers. As we crossed the threshold, my skin and eyes tingled like a limb that had been sat on for too long. I blinked, trying to drive away the sensation, and found myself suddenly surrounded by wylder of all shapes and sizes.

Fairies, fae, sylvans, gulpers, sprites, and more watched us silently, as if judging us. In front of us, the ground formed a large dais. Atop it stood eight chairs fashioned from stone and root.

Four of these chairs were empty and plain, but the four chairs in the center had gem-like flowers blooming on top of their back-rests. Upon the center chairs sat the most beautiful beings I had ever laid eyes on. Except for Nima, of course.

Each of the center chairs had different colored flowers. The leftmost chair was red, then green, blue, and yellow. The occupants were wylder that might have been arch-fae, were it not for the sheer power radiating from them. I could see why discussing them made the other arch-fae nervous.

Under the red flowers was a male who looked as if he'd spent thousands of years wrestling monsters with his bare hands. His stern features looked as if they had been carved from stone. I caught myself avoiding eye contact, intimidated by his openly hostile glare.

The wylder under the green and yellow flowers were more androgynous. If they hadn't been nude, I wouldn't have been able to tell that they were male and female, respectively. Their features were warm and inviting, but there was a harsh smirk on their lips that reeked of passive aggression.

Beneath the yellow flowers was an extremely buxom female. Her puffy frown indicated a deep boredom. As the wylder under the red flowers was a caricature of masculinity, she seemed to be equally a caricature of femininity. Almost like Tits, actually.

"Yulk Alta. Nash Alta. By extension, Nick Smith," green flowers sneered. "You have been granted an audience to request our favor."

"Indeed they have, due to Mumuldobran's machinations. But why are YOU here, Larie VysImiro?" red flowers growled.

"It has been ten years, Queen Incandis," Larie replied, bowing his head. "I was to check in with you, to see if you have found a method of returning my mortal form. Since I was fortunate enough to become friends with these three mortals, I decided to accompany them when I realized that they were scheduled to meet with the honorable Summer Court, saving us both some time."

"I see."

"More dull work," sighed yellow flowers. "Did we find a way to change him back?"

"No," said green flowers. "The debt remains. It has been a century since it was first incurred."

"That means interest is owed," Incandis grumbled.

"It is an old matter, and it isn't as if we are pressed for time," yellow flowers rolled her eyes. "It's boring. Let us hear the new matter from the fleshy ones. I have hopes for excitement. We can tend to the lich after."

"Yulk Alta, Nash Alta. You behold the High Queens Incandis, Floris, Aqueous, and Luminous. You are permitted to make a request of this court," blue flowers, probably Aqueous, said in an authoritative tone. "Speak."

Yulk glanced at me, and I nodded slightly to let him know that I was completely out of my depth and would appreciate it if he would do the talking. He returned my nod and gestured for me to join him. As I stepped forward, he cracked his back and knelt. I quickly knelt beside him.

"Majestic queens of the Summer Court, we humbly request that you bestow upon us a kindness with your esteemed and supreme prowess," Yulk said dramatically. "We have taken it upon ourselves to see this human, Nick Smith, returned safely to his home and family."

The Queens shared a glance and a nod of approval, seemingly impressed with Yulk's theatrics.

"So the favor you seek is our aid in your mission?" Incandis asked.

"But the human is not kneeling," Luminous raised her eyebrow. "Is that not impertinence?"

"Not really," Aqueous said. "The human is not the one asking for our help, the orcs are. And they are sufficiently prostrated."

"Well I would still prefer it if the human would knee-"

A sudden, strong static slammed into me like a hammer striking an anvil. Every hair on my body tried to stand on end. I looked up in alarm, only to find all four of the queens staring intently at Nick.

"Well, that's interesting," Luminous said coldly.

"Yes. What do you mortals call it?" Floris asked. "A touched, yes?"

"What business do the higher ones have with you, human?" Incandis demanded.

Nick froze, unsure of how to proceed. Something big had just happened, but we had no way of knowing what it was. Yulk quickly returned his gaze to the ground.

"If I may, your majesties," he said.

"By all means," Incandis sat back in his seat.

"Nick Smith, our adopted brother, has inadvertently curried the favor of the higher ones. He has even met with them during moments of insensibility. From what we have gathered, they appear to be watching him as a form of entertainment. However, we do not know why he has garnered such rapt attention."

"The answer is easily inferred," Luminous yawned. "Humans are rare. They're interesting by default, which is boring."

"All of this is quite irrelevant," Aqueous said. "Let us return to the matter at hand. What aid do you seek in accomplishing your goal?"

"Our goal is to safely return Nick to his home and family," Yulk replied. "We humbly request information regarding how to accomplish this monumental task."

"Information?" Incandis laughed. "Why not ask us to perform the task for you? Could it be that you doubt our ability to perform such magics?"

Yulk wisely remained silent.

"If it does doubt our ability, it is correct," Aqueous said, annoyed. "We could easily return the human to his home and family, but safely is an entirely different issue."

The rest of the queens nodded, though Incandis did so begrudgingly, seemingly upset that his goading was unsuccessful. Floris held out a hand and slowly pointed at Nick.

"We can tell you precisely how to get home," he said. "The rituals, chants, and sacrifices necessary to do so are all well within the grasp of mortals. However, traveling through time and space in such a manner is extremely detrimental to flesh and bone. You would arrive as nothing more than mush, human."

"That wouldn't satisfy the conditions for the requested favor," Luminous sighed, then sat up a little. "Oh, I've had an exciting idea. We could tell them a bit more about such travel and see if they could figure it out."

"Such knowledge would be worth little more than a sweet-treat," Incandis said. "Call me vain, but I'd like to think trading in such a manner is a bit beneath us."

"I would agree, but it isn't as if we know of a way to accomplish their mission."

"Is our mission truly so impossible, your majesties?" Yulk asked.

The sadness in his tone shocked me until I realized just how hopeless everything seemed. The four beings before us were our best bet to find a way to get home, and they had just admitted that they didn't know a good way to do so. I glanced at Nick, who had a clenched jaw and hands that were balled into fists. Like a young boy trying desperately not to cry.

Yulk's sorrow gave the Queens pause, and for a moment they dropped their facade and looked at him with pity. Seeing them drop their masks of superiority made them appear all the more beautiful. A moment later, three of them turned to look at Aqueous.

"Not impossible, no," Aqueous gently said. "Almost, though."

"So there IS a way," Incandis muttered.

"Yes, there is a way. Perhaps multiple. But this knowledge is not easy to obtain, though it sits at the back of every mortal mind. Whilst one would only need to seek answers to a few specific questions, knowing which questions to ask and where to find the answers is invaluable. And yet we are speaking of skipping that entirely. I wonder, do we require any suitable favors that can be exchanged?"

"Pardon the interruption, but is Mumuldobran's favor not enough?" Larie asked.

"Of course it isn't," Incandis said angrily. "What we owed Mumuldobran was enough to gain an audience. If the heathen presented our debt as anything more than that, you have been swindled. Though, knowing his adoration of inebriation, it would not surprise me if the deception unintentional."

"Yes, yes, Incandis. Mumuldobran is a bad seed," Floris interjected impatiently. "That aside, I can think of no favors suitable for this exchange. Everything of sufficient difficulty has been seen to by the big orc."

The four of us didn't have enough time to express our confusion before a commotion began behind us.

"Ah, speaking of which."

The cries of indignation and anger drew our attention away from the Queens. An absolutely massive orc, larger even than High Chief Ulurmak, walked up next to us. He briefly glanced our way, then gave the Queens a sarcastic bow. But that short glance was more than enough for me to recognize his face.

It was face I hadn't seen since I was a child. It had been so long that for a moment I believed that I had imagined the resemblance. Then logic took over and I realized that there was only one orc bigger than High Chief Ulurmak. The estranged, absentee father of my soon-to-be bride.

"Agurno," Aqueous sighed. "I take it that Vailun has returned to the cycle."

"It has," the bastard nodded. "Yilin is recovering quickly, as well. Not that you'd care."

"Of course we wouldn't care about a village full of mortals!" Incandis shouted. "Asking us to care about those that will eventually be dirt and stone is like asking YOU to care about respect and decorum! How DARE yo-"

Incandis was interrupted by a movement so rapid that I couldn't tell what it was until after it had already happened. The motion in question was Agurno drawing his blade and lunging forward in an attempt to decapitate the Queen. Agurno stood before Incandis, sword lodged firmly into the Queen's forearm. A trickle of blood dripped down the blade.

"Oh, stop flirting you two," Luminous rolled her eyes. "Agurno, are you truly so crass that you cannot even wait your turn? Must you interrupt their audience simply because you can't wait a few minutes?"

Luminous gestured at us, but Agurno didn't take his eyes off of Incandis. Without even thinking about it, I stood and began to walk toward him. I wanted him to hurt, I wanted him to feel what Nima felt when he abandoned her.

I didn't know how to do that, though. Such intricate revenge was far beyond my planning abilities. Instead, I walked up to him and socked him in the kidney as hard as I possibly could. It felt like punching a rock, but he winced. I dropped into a crouch, narrowly avoided the elbow and sword that whooshed over my head, then tried to connect an uppercut. He avoided the uppercut by leaping back to get some distance between us.

We locked eyes, and his jaw dropped.

"Nash?" he asked. "Is that you?"

"FUCK YOU!" I shouted. "WHY AREN'T YOU DEAD!?"

"Wha-"

"THE ONLY POSSIBLE EXCUSE FOR ABANDONING NIMA WAS FOR YOU TO DIE, PAINFULLY, LIKE THE FUCKING COWARD YOU ARE!"

"Ah, that's what this is abou-"

"I HAD TO WATCH HER GRIEVE YOU! YEARS, YOU SACK OF SHIT! YEARS! WHAT KIND OF FATHER LEAVES HIS DAUGHTER TO GROW UP WITHOUT HIM?!"

"A shitty one, no doubt."

His nonchalant acceptance of my assessment pissed me off even further. I leapt at him and struck him in the gut. He stood there, letting me hit him over and over again. By the time my white-hot rage subsided, my fists were bleeding.

"Alright, that's enough," he said. "Calm down, kid."

And just like that, my rage returned. I swung upwards, towards his jaw, and found myself on my back. I stared up at the sky for a moment before I realized that I couldn't breathe, and I recalled a foot catching me just beneath my ribs. I wheezed and tried to sit up, but collapsed back to the ground.

Is this what Nick felt like sparring with Thunra?

The Human From a Dungeon 108

Chapter 108

Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 11

Human – American

We walked for a while longer without incident. It felt like more than half an hour. The tree canopy didn't let much light through so it was difficult to tell how long our journey was. Not that I was all that great at telling time with the sun.

Once my feet started to get sore we came across a portion of the path which made a sharp turn. Upon making the turn, we were faced with a fence that stretched far wider than it should have. I paused, took two steps back, and examined the way we came.

The path, which had been lit well enough for us to see, was now shrouded in darkness. The direction that it came from, though, would definitely have taken us directly into the fence. My double take caught Larie's attention, and he laughed.

"A spatial distortion," the lich said, still chuckling. "One of many tricks employed by the fair folk to protect themselves, and the main reason it was so important for us to follow the path."

"I see," was my reply.

We continued toward the fence, and as we got closer to it I noticed that it was far more intricately detailed than I had initially realized. The bronze coloration of the metal paired well with the semi-chaotic designs that had been incorporated. Acorns, leaves, pine-cones, and a variety of flowers were sporadically placed throughout the giant metal mural that was acting as a fence. Between these representations of plant-life were complicated symbols that made my head hurt when I looked at them for too long.

There were no guards at the gate, and when we approached it opened for us. Nash and I paused for a moment, but Yulk and Larie crossed the threshold of the gate without any hesitation. My brother and I shared a glance, then quickly followed.

As we stepped through the gate, the scenery underwent a drastic change. Instead of hostile, feral plants everywhere we were standing in a very well-tended garden. The grass wasn't trimmed, but it was still uniform in length. Trees gently rose above the grass and beautifully manicured bushes, stretching their branches into the sky. There was an odd non-symmetrical order to everything. Needless to say, it was much more relaxing than the area we had come from.

Ahead of us was a circular clearing paved with white stones, and beyond that was another gate. When I tried to look at what the gate was attached to, my eyes watered and my head hurt. A tall fae waited patiently in front of the second gate, and nodded as we approached.

"Yulk and Nash Alta, Nick Smith, and Larie VysImiro," it said. "You are expected. Sit."

I wanted to ask how long we would have to wait. But, the giant fae that stood before us had told us to sit. It was not a suggestion, nor a request. It was a command, and my bones itched to obey.

Without a word, the four of us sat on one of the benches. It was then that I noticed the other people waiting to be seen. There were wylder, orcs, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and even some from races as yet unidentified. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, fighting against the confusion that was assaulting my mind. How had I not seen these people?

"I don't like this place," Nash grumbled. "It's trying to play tricks on us."

"Yes, I'd noticed that as well. Are all of these spatial distortions?" Yulk turned to Larie.

"I'm not entirely certain what it is you're referring to," Larie admitted. "The only oddity I've seen thus far was the fence appearing in an impossible location."

"That's cuz he's dead," a familiar voice next to me pointed out. "The living are way easier to fool with shrouds and perception alterations. It takes a lot more effort to get the non-living to stop seeing the world in a mundane way."

I let go of my nose to look at the source of the voice. It was a very rotund fairy. It took a second to recognize them through the cloud that had begun enveloping my brain.

"Kint?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Same as you," the fairy grinned. "Waiting. Are you feeling alright? I'm pretty sure you weren't this pale yesterday."

"I-I don't know."

Larie, Nash, and Yulk turned their attention to me, and I suddenly felt like I was being studied. Nash put his hand on my shoulder and stared into my eyes, which caused me to try to look at the ground for some reason. He grabbed my chin and tried to make me look at him.

"Nick, what's going on?" my brother asked.

"I feel... Weird," I said. "Like I'm having trouble staying awake, but I'm not tired at all."

'That is the least of your worries,' Ten said. 'I'm barely keeping you conscious.'

"Did you look at the fence a little too closely?" Kint asked.

"It was very pretty."

"Ah, yup, that would be a shroud. You know, most people would look away once it started to hurt. Any of you got any sugar?"

I was dimly aware of my companions giving negative replies. Kint repeated the question to someone else, but I couldn't quite tell who. The seat beneath me began to feel as if it were rocking, but Nash held me steady.

"I got some," a red person walked over to us. "What's it for?"

"This guy looked at the fence a little too long. Got shrouded," Kint replied. "Spare some sugar for a favor?"

"Ah, no, I ain't got any use for fairy favors," the red guy laughed. "I can just give it to him direct. Should I sprinkle some in his mou- What the fuck is that thing?"

The red guy took a step back and studied me for a moment. I wanted to tell him that I was a human. I wanted to ask what he was. Unfortunately, my mouth wouldn't do what I wanted it to because it was too busy feeling my tongue. Kint explained that I was a human and that the sugar needed to be put in my mouth. The red guy reached into his vest and pulled out a small bag.

I was vaguely aware that I was supposed to open my mouth, but when I tried I realized it was already open. When did that happen? I blinked a few times, trying to recall what was going on as a sweet taste hit my tongue.

My mouth closed on its own, and I heard my lips smack together a couple of times. Then, my mind was free from the cloud. I looked at Nash, still holding me by the back of the head.

"Uh... You can let go now, I think," I said. "I feel better."

"Oh damn, that was fast," Kint laughed as Nash released me. "Usually takes a few minutes, or a nap."

"I could go for a nap. What happened to me?"

I gently massaged my head and noted that my temples were pulsing a little. I had no doubt that without Ten, I'd have a splitting headache. Everyone watched me with varying levels of concern.

"Well, the Fence of Warding is designed with several security features," the fairy explained. "First, it's difficult to get through because it's unnaturally strong. It takes a lot to bend the metal, and even more to break it. Second, there are several glyphs that have a variety of effects all over it. Some of these glyphs absorb magic, some add even more strength to the fence, and some cast a shroud over the mind of those who try to study the fence for weaknesses."

"I wasn't studying it for weaknesses, I was just admiring it."

"I guess it doesn't know the difference. The guards in Climeta should have warned you."

"They were probably pretty distracted... So shrouds cause confusion?"

"Shrouds can do a lot of things, and in this case it's actually supposed to put you in a coma for a few days. Plenty of time for the bailiffs to determine your intentions. If they decide you weren't being malicious, they give you some sugar and wake you up. If not, then you get some jail time."

"The court has a jail?"

"Nope. They'd take you right back to Climeta. At least, in theory. I've only ever heard of the shroud being triggered by accident."

"That's because the wylder are pretty hush-hush about it. Studying the fence is considered espionage," the red guy said. "I work as a court recorder, and a few years back a guy got caught by the shroud. He had a notebook which revealed that he had been trying to map the glyphs on the fence. Got convicted of espionage, and sentence to five years of hard labor. Got off easy because he was so cooperative."

"Cooperative?" I asked.

"Yeah, he was very forthcoming with who sent him and why. Turns out it was some mages from one of the southern kingdoms who wanted to know more about glyph magic, but knew it was illegal to pry. So they paid the guy to pry for them. The judge also issued an arrest warrant for them, but the southern kingdoms don't really do extradition."

"I see. Oh, and thanks for the help."

"No problem. My name's Ujin."

He offered a hand and I shook it, introducing myself. Then I answered a few questions about being a human. The other people sitting around us were pretty interested, too, but kept silent as we talked.

"So what brings you to see the court?" I asked.

"Just dropping off some records," Ujin shrugged. "Trails that the fair folk have a vested interest in, changes to city legislation. Then I grab the responses and bring 'em back. Exciting stuff."

"Responses?"

"Yep. The Courts have a right to object to rulings made in trials that they are involved in, no matter how little their involvement is. It isn't a right that I've ever seen or heard of them using, but we still deliver the records just in case. We also keep them apprised of the legislative activities in case they wish to visit the city. Fat chance of that."

"I take it that as a court reporter, you're a permanent resident of Climeta," Yulk interjected. "That's odd for an imp."

"It's not that odd," Ujin shrugged. "I just like the city more than I liked traveling aimlessly. Plus... Well, you probably know how imps are. It's best to distance yourself unless you want to be affiliated, you know."

"Really?" I asked, appalled. "That's fu-"

"Nash Alta, Yulk Alta, Nick Smith, Larie VysImiro, you are to appear before the court," the lanky fae interrupted. "Stand and approach the gate."

I felt the compulsion to rise, but it was much less intense than the compulsion to sit had been. I attributed this to the shroud. We rose, and I stared at Ujin for a moment.

It bothered me that he had given up on his community, his people, instead of fighting to change the things he hated about it. I couldn't really place why I felt so strongly about his defeatism, though, and it wasn't really my place to try to change his mind. Instead, I gave him a nod.

"Thank you for your help, may we meet again under better circumstances," I said.

"Sure, that'd be nice. Seeya, human."

Yulk, Nash, Larie and I approached the guard, who stepped aside for us. Once it was out of the way, the gate opened without a sound. I took a deep breath and led the way through.

It was finally time to see the court.

The Human From a Dungeon 107

Chapter 107

Master Vampire Kirain Yith

Adventurer Level: N/A

Drow Master Vampire - Balushenian

I took a sip from a goblet of blood as I examined the rest of the table. Count Hesseth, my primary aide, was seated to my right. Across from Hesseth sat Thalomus, who was also acting as an aide.

He was seated to the right of the one he was aiding, none other than Hirgarus the Decimator. I had learned a lot more about him during my stay in the hells. As it turns out, he has an odd history, even for a daemon.

Thalomus had eagerly explained to me that Hirgarus, unlike most daemons, had been bound to his flesh for millennia. The reason for this was simple, he was extremely powerful and had put too much of his power into his regenerative capabilities.

Hirgarus had been obsessed with flesh. He studied it as much as he could, coveting it. When it came time for him to create a body of his own, he used his knowledge to carefully craft one that could regenerate at an extraordinary rate. These regenerative capabilities far surpass my own, and even those of other, stronger daemons.

Unfortunately for him, this meant that his physical form was almost impossible to destroy. This resulted in a very interesting situation. While a daemon is inhabiting their physical form, they are reliant upon their physicality. At some point in the distant past, Hirgarus suffered an injury that damaged his brain and gave him amnesia. As a result, hee completely forgot how to unbind himself from his body. And since he could no longer willingly unbind himself, this left him trapped in his mortal coil until said body could be completely destroyed.

I found it to be a rather humorous form of poetic justice. A daemon made itself a suit of flesh to torment those who are forced to wear one, only to be forced to continue wearing it himself. An inarguably hellish existence.

"How go the preparations?" Marquess Naberius asked.

My seat was directly to the right of the Marquess, and Hirgarus was sitting to his left. Our positioning, both deliberate and subtle, was not lost on me. Naberius meant to flatter me by placing me on his right. Or perhaps he meant to anger his daemonic commanders. From the glares I kept getting, the latter was definitely plausible.

"The legions have nearly finished reforming," Hirgarus' deep voice rumbled from across the table. "As per your instructions, we have replaced those that failed to reform with oathbreakers."

"Oathbreakers?" I asked.

"Ah, yes, that must sound quite suspect," Naberius laughed. "Worry not, Master Vampire. An oathbreaker is simply a daemon who is willing to serve whomever will benefit them the most. A mercenary, though not for coin. Their motivations are quite simple, they wish for either pleasure or power. This invasion has the potential to grant both in large amounts."

"They will be disposed of upon our success," Hirgarus nodded. "They cannot be trusted to stand alongside the legions and defend our holdings."

"They are certainly more trustworthy than the true-flesh we're allowing to tag along," one of the daemon commanders said with a bitter tone.

The Marquess stared coldly at the daemon until she began to quake in fear.

"My, my. There certainly is a lot of impudence amongst my commanders as of late," Naberius' gaze swept the table. "Perhaps you believe that you are indispensable because I do not have the patience to replace you? Foolish. It would only delay things by a year or two to empower commanders who are able to still their waggling face-worms."

Hirgarus looked unworried, but all of the other daemons froze in their seats. It was obvious what they were thinking. Would Marquess Naberius actually kill all of his commanders just before an invasion or was he bluffing?

"Nothing to say?" the Marquess laughed. "Of course, I wouldn't want to inconvenience our guests..."

"It is no inconvenience to me or mine," I said as Naberius' gaze fell upon me. "I care only for success. Whether it happens now or in a few years is inconsequential."

"Well, there you have it."

"P-please, sire," the female daemon stammered. "We are yours to punish as you see fit, but allow us the honor of remaining yours."

The daemon commanders began a staring contest with the table, unable to lock eyes with Naberius. I could practically feel the fear rise in them as his gaze washed over them, one by one. A spark of jealousy lit within me. I held dominion over the vampires, but not through fear or respect.

They did as I commanded because of a quirk of our evolution. An ability, rather than actual power. But as the Marquess rubbed his chin, debating what to do next, I realized that the 'actual power' that he has must be exhausting.

"I suppose it would be a shame to delay what we have worked so hard to achieve," Naberius said after another moment. "Any further insolence would also be a shame, though, so mind yourselves."

The daemons nodded silently, still avoiding eye contact.

"What do our spies report?"

"Bolisir and the Empire of Calkuti have withdrawn and dispersed their armies," Thalomus said. "The main host of the Unified Chiefdoms have split apart and returned to their respective chiefdoms, but only two of the chiefs have dispersed their armies. The rest are still on high alert, and even patrolling."

"Then perhaps we will focus our efforts on the dwarves and the elves whilst holding a legion or two in reserve. Once the orcs move to aid their allies, we can invade the less-defended chiefdoms with our reserves."

"And what of the Night Kingdom?" I asked.

"It has been merged with the Unified Chiefdoms, and several of the new 'Great Chiefs' are maintaining their standing armies," Thalomus replied. "Oh, slightly off-topic, we have abducted several mortals who can be turned into vampires. A total of... Seventy-two. It would have been more, but we're trying to remain subtle."

"Indeed," Naberius chuckled. "Wouldn't want the mortals to realize our plans before we enact them."

I nodded slowly. If one were to judge by the sparring sessions, a full vampire is worth twice its weight in daemons. Seventy-two was not the paltry amount that it seemed to be at first glance.

"And what of the other nations?" I asked.

"Bolisir, Calkuti, and the Unified Chiefdoms have the largest plane-rips," Naberius explained. "They will serve as our foothold and staging ground for further excursions. If all goes well, we will hold the entire continent within five years, even with the expected anyelic interference. Then we will build ships and begin our invasion of the other continents. Your role, however, is to simply take and hold the Night Kingdom."

"I see."

"Should you desire it, we can discuss expanding your role when it becomes more relevant, as well as additional rewards. Until then, though, it would be best for you to focus on the task at hand."

I nodded, unsure of whether or not I would want to help the daemons once the Night Kingdom was mine. On the one hand, the rewards would likely be well worth the trouble. On the other hand, the more I help the daemons the fewer casualties they will take. If they decide to turn on me once they've conquered everything else, it would be best for them to be as weak as possible.

"Prepare the legions," Naberius said. "We will march soon."

The daemons bowed their heads as the Marquess rose from his seat and left the room. I was the next to rise, with Count Hesseth quickly following suit. I felt several glares at my back as I left the conference room. Even if Marquess Naberius didn't betray me, one of his commanders might.

"Get us ready to fight," I said. "I am going to find our new recruits."

"Yes, my liege," Hesseth bowed and scurried off.

Once the count was out of sight, I realized that I didn't actually know where the daemons were keeping the mortals. After checking what I incorrectly estimated would be the most likely locations, I asked a passing daemon for guidance. It happily took me to where the mortals were being kept.

It was a large room, one of many that I hadn't been in before. Poles ran down its center, and several chains were attached to the top of each pole. Naturally, there were orcs, elves, gnomes, and dwarves attached to these chains. Seventy-two of them, in total.

"Am I meant to convert them all?" I asked with a little laugh.

"I do not know, sir," the daemon said with a bow. "This is not my area of expertise."

"Oh? What is your area of expertise, then?"

"Well... Fighting, killing, and torturing. And cooking, as it happens, but that tends to be a lot less relevant."

"Cooking?" I raised an eyebrow. "What use does a daemon have for cooking?"

"Very, very little, sir," the daemon let out a sigh of existential angst.

"Hmm... Well, we all must have our hobbies, I suppose. There is one more task I would have you do for me. Retrieve whomever is in charge of... All of this. I would have them advise me."

"Yes, sir."

The daemon bowed, then left to find someone who could provide the information that I needed. I was certain that the daemons had a particular order of operations in mind, and I didn't want to offend the Marquess by acting on my own volition. As I turned to examine the captives, their stench hit me. The conditions in which they were being kept were unsanitary, to say the least. The stench of piss, shit, and sweat hit me all at once. I began to raise my hand to my face to block the offensive odor, but another smell froze me in my tracks.

The delightful scent of blood. Fresh blood, still being pumped through veins and arteries. The stale blood that the daemons had provided was enough to meet my needs and slake my thirst. However, cold blood from a goblet is not nearly as appetizing as having it straight from the source.

The temptation was overwhelming. I finished covering my nose and tried to think of something else, but I'd already caught the scent. I dimly realized that I had taken several steps forward, and struggled to stop myself.

It was too late.

Blood tasted so much better as a master vampire than it did when I was a half-breed. No, it wasn't simply the taste. There was a feeling to it, a sense of euphoria. Like having a source of stress suddenly disappear, like having the tightness in your muscles rapidly alleviated, like experiencing every possible relief at once. It was very nearly the absolute peak of pleasure.

There was only one higher peak, and that was converting a mer into a vampire. Vaguely, I was aware of the screams, of the panic and fear that suddenly filled the room. But I had fully lost myself, completely subject to the whims of ecstasy.

Some of them probably tried to fight me, but I didn't feel any pain. Only the warmth of the blood rushing into my mouth and down my throat. Only the rapturous delight of the conversions.

Then, it was done, and I was left standing in a room full of newly crafted vampires.

My influence met their wills and completely overwhelmed them. They were fully within my power, like my servants in the dungeon had been. The blood in my throat caused the sound of my laughter to take on a much more ominous tone than usual, which only served to make me laugh harder.

The door opened, and my new vampires turned to watch two daemons enter the room. The first to enter was the daemon that had escorted me. Following close behind him was none other than Hirgarus the Decimator.

"I see you have resolved your dilemma unaided," Hirgarus said, glaring at the other daemon. "My time has been wasted."

"I-I'm, uh... My apologies, sire," the other daemon grovelled. "I-I didn't know for sure how to ans-"

I have seen people killed in many, many ways. Hanging, beheading, prodded to death with red-hot instruments, ripped to shreds by beasts, and torn to pieces by hnarses. Hirgarus showed me something new by... Well, there's no other way to describe it. He backhanded the daemon in half.

It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, the daemon was quivering and making excuses for an admittedly minor foible. The next, his upper half was smashed flat against the wall. Ichor flooded out of the daemons lower half as it fell to the ground with a disgusting plop.

"I don't believe he was at fault. I really did ask him to retrieve someone," I said.

"It is no great loss," Hirgarus replied, wiping his hand with a cloth. "He was an oathbreaker, and not to be trusted. His indecisiveness was caused by weakness, and that weakness can only serve to make me stronger."

"I see..."

The room began to waver a bit, but I casually leaned against the wall to mask my overindulgence.

"You are filthy, and I can sense your vertigo," Hirgarus said. "I am returning to my duties. You should get cleaned up and take a rest."

"Sound advice," I nodded, instantly regretting the head-movement. "What do we do with these ones?"

The vampires watched us silently, still covered in their mortal mess. I felt some of them hope for better accommodations. Others regretted their choice to convert.

"I'll have someone cleanse and transfer them."

Hirgarus waved a hand dismissively and left the way he came. I suddenly felt the weight of my vampires staring at me, and pushed them to avert their gaze. Their chains rattled as, in unison, they stared at the floor.

Another wave of fatigue crashed into me, and I left to find my room. By the time I was halfway there, my brain was swimming whilst my body plodded along. I came to my senses briefly as I entered my chambers, and debated whether or not to bathe. My exhaustion made some very good arguments, so in the end I compromised by removing my clothing before climbing into bed.

The moment my head hit the pillow, I found myself suspended in a never-ending expanse of white. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. This bright void, completely free of any form of shadow, seemed to permeate throughout the entirety of my being. It was quite uncomfortable.

"What a vile thing you are," a voice said from behind me. "But you don't have to be."

Confused and insulted, I turned to confront my harasser. Instead, I found myself face to face with the nude form of my mother. Her deep blue eyes regarded me coldly, and her pitch-black hair was the only sign of darkness within the void of light.

"Mother?" I asked, dumbfounded. "What's the meaning of this? You shou-"

My voice halted as I ran out of air, and I found myself unable to take another breath. It was still a novel enough experience that I panicked for a moment, but I quickly realized what was going on. A higher one stood before me, disguised as my mother.

"You see me as your mother?" it asked mockingly. "I wonder at why those on the mortal plane perceive me as a nurturing female."

I remained silent, keenly aware of how capricious and powerful the being standing before me was.

"You must be wondering why you're here."

'Yes, you said that you would be silent to me from now on and leave me to do as I please.'

"No I didn't," the being laughed. "You and I haven't met. Your former patron has a fondness for royal plurals, though, so I can see the source of your confusion. Despite its word choice, it does not speak for all of us."

The laughter contorted my mother's face, and for a moment I was able to glimpse through the facade. The higher one's eyes became a deep purple and its teeth became rows of fangs. My mother's pitch-black hair slowly shifted into a gleaming blue.

It strained my eyes to witness the transformation. I blinked, and was suddenly facing a nude woman that was much taller than me. Her skin was a pale pink color, and her nipple-less breasts were larger than my head. I wondered at the symbolism for a moment, but quickly banished those thoughts.

'Why am I here?' I asked, hoping that it didn't notice my fear.

"Everyone and everything has a role to play in the grand production that you call life," the higher one said, its voice no longer resembling my mother's. "Tell me, sinner, what role do you think best suits you?"

'I-I don't know.'

"Yes you do, you just don't wish to say it aloud and risk offending me."

The higher one's laughter mocked me, but the memory of my last encounter with such a being served to keep my anger in check.

"You see yourself far above your station, as a king, or even an emperor. You frequently imagine the luxuries such a position would bring, and only occasionally wonder at the burdens that latch themselves to it. You are smart enough to know this is an empty pursuit, but your circumstances prevent you from seeing any other route to take. So, you plod along, hoping one day to wear a crown. Am I wrong?"

Once again mocked, but my anger remained sheathed.

'No,' I admitted.

"Tell me, if the daemons keep their word and allow you to be the king of the Night Kingdom, what then? If they are successful in their ambitions, you will be unable to expand your borders to the lengths that you desire. And outside of those borders, the daemons will rule. You will constantly fear their encroachment, and it isn't as if they will rule the lands that they hold in a way that will benefit your people. There will be no immigration. There will be no cultural exchanges. There will be no trade. The Night Kingdom will stagnate, eventually withering, dying, and becoming one with the daemonic horde."

The casualness with which the higher one laid bare one of my deeply held insecurities about my partnership with the daemons further offended me. It had condescendingly explained exactly what had been dwelling just beneath the surface of my thoughts, as if I was too stupid to have thought of it. I couldn't help but snap a little.

'And what am I to do about it?' I asked bitterly. 'What choice do I have now?'

"That's exactly why I am here," she said with another laugh. "You see, vampire, you have an almost infinite number of choices ahead of you. Regardless of how many there are, these choices will ultimately lead you down one of two metaphorical paths. Ruin or redemption."

'Paths? Ruin or redemption?'

"Yes. The road to ruin is obvious. You remain loyal to the daemons for a bit too long, even as a ruse, and you will suffer for it."

The higher one added extra weight to the word 'suffer', which heavily implied that it would be an extreme form thereof. I felt a quake of fear run through me as I recalled what happened to me at the hands of the kobolds in the dungeon. She seemed to notice this and smirked.

'And the road to redemption?'

"Naturally, that's a bit more complicated. The point of redemption is not to pay for your sins, but to learn from them and grow in such a way that they aren't repeated. Knowing this, do you believe that you can be redeemed?"

'I don't even know what sins I have committed.'

"Not consciously, no. But I know that you've been looking into the fair folk. Their laws, customs, and relationship with my kind. You know that your current form means that you didn't commit a sin that's easily forgivable. That's why, even without knowledge of your transgressions, you rail against your demise with such ferocity. You're afraid of what might come next."

'Isn't everyone?' I asked sarcastically.

"No, actually. The fair folk don't fear death. They do not concern themselves with suffering, either, for such things are temporary to them. When their flesh is rent asunder, they are born anew, ready to experience all of the pleasures of life once more," the higher one stared at me silently for a moment. "The greatest joys that you can experience as a vampire are a mere trifle compared to even basic contentment as a wylder. The most minor inconvenience to one such as you is equivalent to the most intense torment that a wylder can experience."

'Ah, so I should want to be a fairy, then?'

"What you desire is entirely up to you, but you can't fool me into believing that you don't despise your own existence. Even the smell of the most beautiful flowers holds the scent of corpses for one such as you."

Every minor torment that I suffered on a daily basis came to mind. Flowers do carry the scent of corpses. Food tastes of old blood and bile. The sun burns my skin, and the only reason I can withstand it is because I immediately heal the damage that's done. I stared in silence, feeling the truth of this being's words cut into me.

'What must I do, then, to be redeemed?' I asked, trying not to sound pathetic.

"Demonstrate that you have learned from your mistakes. Release the wylder-turned-thralls from their torments, and the vampires from your control. Let them make their own choices and follow their own paths. Betray the daemons and attempt to thwart their plans. If you do this, you will eventually encounter the being that defeated you in the depths of that dungeon. Aid him. Do all of this, and you will be redeemed."

'That doesn't sound so complicated.'

"Oh, but it is. The road to redemption ends in your death, whilst the road to ruin might see you live for quite a while. If you can call it living."

A ripple suddenly traveled through the void, and I looked around in alarm.

"It would seem that it's time to wake up and make your decision," the higher one laughed. "I only hope that it's an amusing one."

The Human From a Dungeon 106

Chapter 106

Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 11

Human – American

We ended up eating our breakfast pretty quickly. To avoid delay, and Nash's bitching, I opted to order the same as my brothers instead of requesting customizations. We were served a bunch of fatty meats on what appeared to be some sort of charcuterie board, and I could almost feel my cholesterol rise as I ate.

Not long after finishing our unbalanced breakfast, we made our way to the entrance of the Grand Climeta Forest. To accomplish this, we had to go back up the main road and take the largest of the side roads to another massive gate. Like the entrance to the city, the gate was guarded. Unlike the entrance to the city, though, the gate was closed.

The chance for me to see the dramatic opening of the gigantic gate had me excited for a moment. Unfortunately, as we approached and I noticed more details, that excitement ebbed. The first detail I noticed was that the guards were a mix of mer and wylder. Actually, mix might not be the right word because they were wearing different uniforms and appeared to be stationed on opposite sides of the gate. The wylder were on our right, and the mer were on our left. The way they were positioned and avoiding interaction with each other felt tense.

The second detail I noticed was much more stressful, though. On our left was a bench surrounded by four pike-wielding orcish guards who looked extremely nervous. Sitting upon the bench was Larie, who gave us a slight nod.

"Fuckin' hells," Nash muttered.

Yulk held up his hands as we approached the guards in an attempt to soothe them. It didn't seem to work, though. Instead of calming down, one of the guards pointed his pike in our direction.

"Identify yourselves," the orcish guard ordered.

"We are the companions of Larie VysImiro. I am Yulk Alta, this is Nash Alta, and this is Nick Smith," Yulk explained.

The guard hesitated for a moment and glanced at the other three standing by the bench, but they remained expressionless.

"Since when does the famed Alta clan consort with liches?" the guard demanded.

"Since the Emperor of Calkuti and the High Chief of the United Chiefdoms do, I suppose. Well, we actually became friends with Larie a bit before their association with him, but that's neither here nor there."

"You dare to reply with sarcasm?" the guard shouted, raising his pike threateningly.

"You don't want to do that," Nash replied, calmly placing his hand on the handle of his axe.

"You don't get to tell me wha-"

"MARN! STAND DOWN!" someone shouted.

We turned to see a grumpy looking dwarf in guard armor jogging in our direction. The orc that had threatened us snapped to attention and lost a few shades of color, and the other guards visibly winced. The dwarf approached us, huffing and puffing angrily.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOIN', MARN?!" he screamed.

"W-well, sir, I-"

"WHO THE FUCK TOLD YOU TO TALK, DIRTBAG?! I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR FUCKING EXCUSES, BECAUSE YOU SURE AS FUCK WEREN'T DOIN' AS YOU WERE FUCKIN' TOLD! REPEAT YOUR ORDERS, SHIT-FOR-BRAINS!"

"I-I was to guard the lich..." Marn trailed off and stared straight ahead.

"OH, SO YOU ONLY REMEMBER HALF OF YOUR ORDERS!" the dwarf shouted, almost foaming at the mouth. "I GUESS THAT MAKES SENSE, SINCE YOU'RE A FUCKIN' HALF-BRAINED CUNT!"

Marn remained silent and kept his gaze straight. My brothers and I shared a glance. Nash shrugged and took his hand off of his axe.

"I told your dumbass to make sure the lich behaves himself until his fuckin' party arrives," the dwarf growled, then gestured at us. "Am I mistaken in believing that's his party?"

"They have identified themselves as such, sir," a different guard chimed in.

The dwarf glared at the other, who continued to stare straight ahead.

"Marn may have fucked up, but you fucked up by not correcting him. All four of you dip-shits get to jog the wall. Go!"

Without any sort of argument the guards began to run along the wall. Once they were a decent distance away, the dwarf turned to us and nodded apologetically.

"Sorry about that, good help is hard to find these days," he said. "I'm Halvor, Sergeant of the Western Gate. And you?"

"I'm Yulk Alta. These are my brothers, Nash and Nick."

"Glad to make your acquaintance. So you three and the lich are headed through the gate to meet with the Summer Court?"

"Yes."

"Alright, speak to the wylder guards. They'll decide whether or not to let you through. Be careful in the forest."

"We will."

Halvor gave Larie a curt nod and walked away. We watched him go for a moment, then began walking toward the gate. The wylder guards, who had been watching the entire exchange in silence, held their hands out to stop us.

"Who goes there?" the fae on our left asked.

"We have been approved to meet with the Summer Court," Larie said. "I am Larie VysImiro. My companions go by Yulk Alta, Nash Alta, and Nick Smith."

"I recognize you, lich," the fae on our right said. "You are early for your appointment."

"Previous experience with the wylder has taught me that it is better to be early than it is to be late."

"That isn't true for every situation, but I take your point."

"You are expected and will be allowed passage. Be warned of two things. First, you may have to wait to see the Queens. The waiting area is designed for wylder and will not account for mortal amenities. This will not be an issue for the lich, but it might be for..." the left fae paused as it looked at me, then gathered its senses. "It might be for the rest of you."

"Thank you for this warning," Yulk said.

"This is a duty, not a gratuity, orc. The second warning is that we do not police our forest. You may encounter many things that will wish death upon you. Be prepared."

"We are," Larie said solemnly.

"Then you may proceed. May your appointment be productive and your journey uneventful."

The left fae raised its left hand and spread its fingers with its ring finger lowered. The right fae repeated the gesture with its right hand, and the gate began to open. I held my breath in anticipation.

The sheer size of the gate had led me to develop many expectations for what I would experience when it opened. I expected a rumbling to shake the ground beneath my feet and a sound loud enough to drown out everything else to storm my ears. Instead, I watched the impressive construction swing open, quickly and quietly.

"The fuck?" I whispered.

Yulk and Nash also looked unnerved, and both fae grinned at our surprised expressions. Beyond the gate was another cruel-looking portcullis, which began to raise without a sound. Once the way was clear, Nash let out a sigh.

"Magical fuckery," he said.

"Indeed it is," the right fae laughed. "Have a nice hike!"

We passed through the pair of grinning guards and left the city. The outside of the wall looked exactly like the wall we had encountered when we arrived the day prior, but instead of farmland and countryside there was a dense, stifling forest ahead of us. The trees seemed to make their own wall, as if to oppose or spite the one made of jadeite. There was a small clearing surrounding the wall, and I wondered how we were going to actually enter the forest.

"There is a trail to the north," Larie said, as if reading my mind. "We'll want to remain close to the trail and each other, even within clearings."

"Agreed," Nash said.

Yulk and I nodded, and we all began to hunt for the trail.

"Did your friend tell you about this trail?" Nash asked.

"Yes. Showed it to me, in fact," Larie replied.

"Showed it to you? You left the city last night?"

"No, my friend specializes in scrying."

"What's that?" I asked.

"The ability to use a medium to see things that are well outside of your perception."

"Who was the subject?" Yulk asked.

"No one," Larie replied as we found the trail. "My friend is an experienced scryer, and can 'freehand it', as they say, up to a certain distance."

"That's incredible! How foresightful of you to seek the aid of a scryer to help us get to the court!"

"Well... That was not actually my intention. I was only made aware of the ability to scry without a specific target once my main goal had been accomplished."

"And what was your main goal?" Nash asked suspiciously.

"I simply wanted to see how the kobolds were doing in my absence. Speaking of which, I'd like to stop by Talokam on our way back to Kirkena."

"That bad, huh?"

"No, perhaps the opposite, even. It is unclear. We are too far for the scry to pick up voices, but Li'lord Simeeth and several other kobolds and bakobolds were being entertained with food and drink in a tavern, surrounded by several mer. I would very much like to hear from their own mouths how this came to pass, and be certain that they aren't being taken advantage of."

"Taken advantage of? How?" I asked.

"Kobolds are intelligent, but their thought processes tend to be naive and whimsical. They are overconfident that they know how the world around them works, and tend to make decisions based on incomplete knowledge. It wouldn't take much persuasion, for instance, to convince them that it's better to rob caravans than it is to trade with them. And I did not have the foresight to directly order them to abstain from robbing anyone."

"Ah, I get it now. So what's a bakobold?"

"A bigger, meaner version of a kobold," Nash said.

"Bakobolds are, allegedly, the result of attempts by powerful mages to turn kobolds into infantry," Yulk added. "On average, they are as large as an orc and as intelligent as a normal kobold."

"That's correct, and it isn't alleged," Larie sighed. "I would add that they are incapable of breeding, and are born at random from normal kobold egg clutches. I was initially nervous about their inclusion to the dungeon, but the ones brought from the wastes seemed quite well-mannered."

"Don't kobolds breed quite rapidly?" Nash asked. "If so, there's probably more bakobolds than there used to be."

"Their clutches don't typically exceed five eggs. But they can mate as often as mer can, with an incubation period of six months. It also takes two years for them to reach adolescence, and a further two to reach adulthood. So, not quite as quickly as one initially imagines."

As Larie finished his sentence, we found the trail through the forest. Our urge to talk disappeared the moment we stepped onto the trail. It was wide enough for two carts to travel side by side with plenty of room, but the massive trees caused it to feel claustrophobic.

Despite our silence, it was not a quiet journey. The creaking of wood both living and long dead, birds screaming to one another about various observations, and the whistling of wind through dense branches created a nearly deafening cacophony. We suffered through it, and after an hour we entered our first clearing.

The trail was clearly stamped through the clearing, with no changes in size. This struck me as odd, and it took me a moment to figure out why. Normally, when hiking a trail through a forest, it will get bigger at clearings because of camps and rest stops.

The fact that the trail remained the same through the clearing indicated that the clearing was not a safe spot to rest. My dad taught me that usually big predators were the only ones willing to enter clearings, but the trees around the clearing were stiflingly close to one another. Something the size of a bear definitely wouldn't fit through them. So what had made this clearing unsafe?

Thankfully, we didn't find out. But as we continued our hike, more oddities became noticeable. Tall trees standing strong despite being strangled by vines practically dripping with poison. Thorn-bushes that seemed to reach for us as we passed. Birds and other small animals with crazed eyes glaring at us with unmistakable hostility.

The guard had said that the wylder don't police the forest. After traveling through it for a few hours, I couldn't help but wonder why. Was it because the hostility of the forest guarded them? Or, was it because doing so wasn't within their power?

We continued through another clearing that travelers had deemed unsafe. Rings of mushrooms were barely visible through the grass and moss growing on either side of the trail. I vaguely recalled that these were known as 'fairy rings' back home, and made a guess as to what caused these clearings to be deemed unsafe.

I barely managed to suppress a shudder that threatened to travel down my spine. When I created the bullet spell, I'd felt pretty good about how powerful I had become. I'd even gone so far as to brag to Nash about it. As I looked around, though, I realized how little that spell would do for me if the forest decided to wipe us out. Even if the people back home opted to conquer a forest like this, it would take everything they had and cost a lot of lives.

We pressed on, though, and finally came to a portion of the forest that was less oppressive. The trees grew apart the growths seemed less bloodthirsty. Without even realizing it, I let out a sigh of relief.

"We're not in the clear yet," Nash whispered. "This part of the forest is probably more dang-"

Nash's words of wisdom were rudely interrupted by a loud hiss and the sounds of things rapidly moving around us. Larie and Yulk readied themselves as Nash and I drew out weapons. Four huge reptilians with mean-looking claws jumped out at us from behind the trees.

"Llaberif Tsac!" Yulk shouted.

The fireball leapt from Yulk's hands and engulfed one of the giant lizards. The other three paused for a moment, and Nash used that moment to cleave another one's head from its shoulders with his axe. The remaining lizards spat at us, but we were able to avoid the disgusting projectiles.

"Reptians!" Nash called out.

Reptians. I remembered what a certain bartender had told me about them. Six inch claws, paralytic spit, hunting in groups. A glance at their hands and feet confirmed the size of their claws.

"Gninthgil Tsac," Larie said, hands outstretched.

A bolt of electricity leapt from the lich and smashed into a reptian. With a scream, it fell over and began to spasm with both white and black smoke streaming from its face. The last reptian looked at its three comrades and turned to me with a snarl.

Fighting it with my sword would have been a bad idea. It had weapons on the end of each limb, and the closer I got to it the easier it would be for it to strike me with its venom. Instead, I held out a finger and gathered my magic.

"Tellub Tsac," I whispered.

The bullet formed in front of my finger and launched itself before anyone could react. The reptian had been puffing itself up, but before it could spit or roar or whatever it was about to do, its head instantly transformed into a pink mist. I noted a small puff come from the tree behind the reptian, likely where the bullet landed, as the monster's body crumpled to the ground.

"Ow!" someone said. "That was quite uncalled for!"

"What?" I asked, looking around.

"Who said that?" Nash demanded.

"Wait, was it the-"

"I said that!"

The tree that the bullet struck began to shake, and we were suddenly looking at a face made of bark. A face that seemed to be quite upset with us. Naturally, we stared in disbelief.

"I realize that it's quite often a case of kill or be killed with you animal-types, but one would think that injuring another accidentally would warrant an apology!" the tree shouted.

"Oh, uh, r-right, I-I'm sorry," I stammered. "I really didn't mean to hit you with that spell. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't."

"You can talk?" Nash asked.

"Most of us can," a face formed on another tree. "It's quite distasteful to do so with an animal, though. Even in anger."

"Shut up!" the first tree demanded. "When one is injured, one should seek restitution!"

"Restitution?" I asked. "What kind of restitution?"

"Well... Truth be told an apology is probably good enough," the tree's branches shrugged. "But if you're feeling REALLY sorry, you can drag those bodies over to me. That would certainly help me repair this new hole I've developed."

I glanced at my comrades. Nash was looking confused, Yulk was looking bemused, and it was difficult to tell if Larie was surprised or not because he didn't have eyebrows. I returned my attention to the tree.

"O-okay," I said. "Nash, a little help?"

"You're the one who injured the tree," Nash shook his head. "I'll uh, I'll watch your back."

I glared at him angrily, but he didn't relent. With a sigh, I began to drag the reptian that I had killed to the base of the injured tree. A thin root pushed it way up from the ground and gently wrapped around the dead monster.

"Oh yeah, that's the stuff," the tree murmured with glee.

"I do believe that's good enough," the other tree said. "That corpse is more than sufficient to give you the nutrients needed to repair yourself. One shouldn't be greedy."

"Oh, fine. Your recompense is satisfactory. Be on your way, animals."

"W-wait," I said. "I had some que-"

"No."

The monster corpse was suddenly and violently dragged into the ground, which caused me to jump back. I looked at the trees, but their faces were gone. I nervously backed toward my party and returned to the trail.

"Well... That was interesting," Larie said. "Let's continue."

Disguising Oneself In Sol

-Author's Note: It feels weird not to post on a Friday, so here's a short story I've been working on. No idea when I'm going to post it on Reddit lol-

Retrieved by the Russian Federation's FSB on 2/17/2013 from a confirmed extraterrestrial crash site and intercepted by the CIA on 2/18/2013. Confirmed to be Language 3 by NSA analysts and translated on 2/21/2013

Disguising Oneself in Sol

-An Opinion Piece by Alrexiar 2 for the Big Green Gazette-

Solar System WX455, known as Sol by the locals, has a decently large variety of potential activities that one can partake in for one's leisure time. No one will ever claim that it is the most diverse solar system in the galaxy, but it has enough attractive qualities to get its fair share of tourists, regardless. For a full rundown of all that is available in SSWX455 I urge my readers to consult the Galactic Tourism Board, but here are some examples of the many activities one can partake in.

Planet 1 (Mercury) would be a fatal jaunt for most of us, but a member of an extremophile species like the Tlorafs would find its high temperatures and radiation to be quite relaxing. There is even potassium in the air, which happens to be mildly psychoactive for them. When one takes into account the various rock climbing and hiking opportunities, it's easy to see why so many choose Planet 1 as their vacation destination!

Planet 2 (Venus) would be another example of an extremophile's paradise. With a much denser atmosphere than Planet 1, a very rough volcanic terrain, and a wide variety of acid baths, it happens to be a fairly popular tourist destination for those who wish to test themselves against the might of nature on a non-terraformed planet-scape. Certainly not my cup of Ypi-jok, but to each their own!

Planet 4 (Mars) is somewhat boring compared to the other two I've mentioned thus far, but it has its own charms. Low-atmo hiking and climbing enthusiasts will absolutely love spending their time on its brownish-red surface. There are even some archaeological opportunities! It is worth noting, however, that Planet 4 will likely soon be considered a protected planet under the Veil Initiative, so one should rush to visit as soon as one can!

There are four terrestrial planets in SSWX455, but you'll note that thus far I've only listed three. This is because Planet 3 (Earth) is vastly different than its neighbors. For one thing, it's a Veil Initiative Protected Planet, which means that one has to take certain precautions before visiting. For another, it's absolutely teeming with monocellular and, more importantly, multicellular life!

Like many of our worlds, Planet 3 has a vibrant biosphere. It is mostly carbon-based, and has been the subject of an extensive natural evolution cycle. Part of this evolution cycle is a predator-prey relationship between most of its various species, which actually brings us to the reason that Planet 3 is a VIPP.

The most dominant predator on Planet 3 is Species x225-4778-9662T, otherwise known by their chosen names "Human"[sic] or "Homo Sapiens Sapiens"[sic]. You read that correctly, dear reader, they have chosen their own names for themselves. They are intelligent enough to have named themselves, but still too young as a species to have ventured far enough into space to be welcomed into the galactic community. Under the Veil Initiative, "Humanity"[sic] is granted several protections, the least of which is the right to develop at their own pace.

There are many critics of the Veil Initiative, but I would argue for its importance until my face turns yellow. Uplifting a sentient species has many, many potential risk factors and is rarely beneficial to anyone involved. It also prevents new takes on the technology required to travel between solar systems in a single life-time! Imagine, dear reader, if our galactic union had uplifted the Moriyn! We would still be punching holes in the space-time continuum like children!

My views on the Veil Initiative aside, galactic law states quite clearly that any visitor to Planet 3 is required to utilize stealth-craft and specific disguise techniques. Humans are civilized, for the most part, and the majority of their governments are aware of and even communicate with the galactic community via primitive radio-wave and light-beam technology. However, the populace at large is not, and you should do your part to let them grow on their own.

This leads us to disguise techniques in question. To properly enjoy the many, many leisure activities that Planet 3 has to offer, one must ensure one's disguise is perfect. One needs to understand the culture that one is disguised as, the vagaries of body language, and all of the subtle details that must be included in one's physical appearance.

As you may have guessed, this is far easier said than done. It is all too effortless to forget how many teeth humans are supposed to have, or how high on the forehead eyebrows happen to grow, or even how long one's appendages should be. Unfortunately, the odds happen to be stacked against us, as well.

The methodology with which humanity classifies species is inarguably and needlessly confusing by our standards; To paraphrase their findings, however, they evolved alongside other "almost humans"[sic]. For example, "Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis"[sic], which is a species that went extinct before Species x225-4778-9662T was classified by the Galactic Standards Bureau. If I understand my studies correctly, all species of humanity were predatory, and would frequently attack one another for resources and territory.

One of the many, many reasons that Homo Sapiens Sapiens outlived all of their sister species is because of an evolutionary trait known as pattern recognition. Most star-faring species possess this at some level, but humanity is actually quite adept at recognizing patterns. A quirk of this is a phenomenon known as the "uncanny valley effect"[sic], which is defined as a feeling of unease or revulsion when confronted with something that is similar to but not quite the same as a human. Many scientists, myself included, believe that these feelings of unease toward things that appear almost but not quite like themselves helped them identify and avoid their more hostile sister species before they could be attacked and killed.

Unfortunately, this also allows them to easily pick up on incongruences in one's disguise. Thankfully for us, most humans also possess a semblance of social grace and will more often than not simply avoid contact with someone that they believe to be "uncanny". The Galactic Tourism Board has plenty of documentation outlining areas on Planet 3 where this is more often than not the case.

With enough caution and preparation, one can have oneself an amazing vacation in Sol and on Planet 3!

The Human From a Dungeon 105

Chapter 105

Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 11

Human – American

"Larie has not been to this city for quite a long time," Yulk pointed out. "He told me as such when I sought his guidance for the wylder and the Summer Court."

"Then shouldn't we be worried that he'll get lost?" I asked.

"No," Nash replied. "He's an adult, one who's probably older than all of us combined. He knows what he's doing."

I nodded uncertainly as we continued down the main road, and strove to put my worries about Larie from my mind as the business district turned into a shopping district. This change was marked by a steep increase in crowd density, which made it more difficult to keep pace with Yulk and Nash. Various restaurants, shops, and offices lined the road. A few of them caught my eye as we passed, despite all of the people in the way.

The first was a jewelry store that had to stop near to allow a cart to pass. Rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets encrusted with the largest and shiniest gems I'd ever seen were on display. At first glance, it was a lavish display of wealth, but something felt off.

"All silver and bronze," Nash chuckled. "Guess the rumors of a gold shortage in these parts is true."

"That's a shame," Yulk sighed. "The malleability of gold is good for intricate enchantments and glyphs. I'd love to find out what could be applied to a golden ring with gems this size."

"The gems are probably magically enhanced. Does that have an impact on enchantments?"

"No idea, but it would be wonderful to find out."

"Yeah, I bet. Don't you go wasting our hard earned coin on your scientific ventures, now."

"Bah, what good is gold if not to be used to satisfy one's whims?" Yulk chuckled and winked.

Nash met his mirth with a cold stare as we continued on our way. The next notable store was a weapon's seller. What made it notable, though, was its lack of stock. The displays in the windows were completely empty, and a closer look at the interior as we passed showed that there weren't many items hanging on the walls, either.

"That's probably not a good sign, right?" I asked.

"What isn't?" Yulk turned to me with a raised eyebrow.

"The almost empty weapon shop, probably," Nash said. "I'd say that it depends. There's a bunch of reasons that a weapon shop could run out of inventory, and not all of them are impactful to the rest of us. For instance, if that fae behind the counter just recently bought the store, it might have decided to get rid of the iron and steel inventory. Or maybe it's just that much more difficult to find good weapons made of other metals."

"There was a fae behind the counter?" I asked.

"Yep. I may be green, but elves never are. Which means that was a fae. Or maybe an arch-fae."

I glanced back with a new interest, but we had already moved on. Then I wondered what kind of weapons someone who couldn't work with iron would make and promptly remembered the bronze age. But the wylder would have to make some really good stuff to compete with steel, right? Unfortunately, my brothers didn't seem all that curious.

After walking a bit more, we came across some kind of restaurant. The wall facing the street was made of glass, and there were tables both inside and outside. Fairies were fluttering around, grabbing pastries and other baked goods from shelves lining the walls and delivering them to the tables. There was even a line to get in that stretched down a side street. Yulk let out a low whistle.

"That's not something you'll see me doing any time soon," he said.

"How come?" Nash asked.

"Everything I've heard and read indicates one should use caution and care when wylder are offering treats, even in trade."

I had also heard some stories, but I thought it was specifically refusing the goods that was the issue. I nearly spoke up, then remembered that we weren't in my world anymore. Even though the wylder here were similar to the fair folk back home, there were notable differences.

"Why would you need to be cautious?" Nash asked. "Are they poisoned or something?"

"Sometimes," Yulk nodded. "Though sometimes the treat is enchanted. I recall an account of a dwarf who stumbled upon a fairy grove. He was offered food and shelter, and accepted it without a second thought. The fairies gave him cookies and tea, and when he drank them his body began to twist and contort. He fled from the fairies and barely made it to the nearest village before his death, mangled beyond all recognition."

"HA! I recognize that tale!" a voice rang out from behind us.

We turned and saw a very plump and androgynous fairy with a wide grin. Its wings were flapping like a hummingbird's, giving the appearance that it was struggling to stay airborne. Its skin was mottled, with green patches on its otherwise teal complexion. Its appearance made me thing of a cherub who had grown up

"Pretty sure that story was about Nilrin's circle," the fairy laughed. "A great prank, to be sure. Well, as long as you know the context. The dwarf was a criminal. A rapist, murderer, and thief. The reason he was wandering through the forest in the first place was because he was on the run from the law. Nilrin's the type that doesn't take kindly to criminals who come a'beggin'. All the cookies did was make the dwarf's outside look like its insides."

"I see. Thank you for the additional context," Yulk bowed a little.

"No problem! Haven't heard anybody mention that in ages. You must be one of them scholarly types, right? What's yer name?"

"You want my name?" Yulk asked with a slight smile.

"I see I was right about you being a scholar!" the fairy giggled. "But nah, I just want to know it. I already got a name of my own. It's Kint!"

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kint. I am Yulk Alta. These are my brothers, Nash and Nick."

"Nice to meet you too! Yulk, Nash, and Nick Alta, eh? I've heard that name before, haven't I?"

"Yes, our clan is quite famous in the Unified Chiefdoms."

"My last name's Smith, actually," I said. "I'm adopted."

"Well yeah, I figured that when an orc calls an elf 'brother' something has to be going... Hold on," the fairy fluttered a little closer and looked me up and down. "You're not an elf!"

"Nope, I'm a human."

"Y-yeah, I know! Whatcha doin' here?"

"Uh... Well, we're going to meet with the Summer Court," I replied hesitantly. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no real reason, nevermind me," Kint shook its head and smiled. "I was just curious is all. So you're meeting with the court, eh? Do they know you're a human or is it gonna come as a surprise, do ya think?"

"I'm sure they've been made aware," Yulk said. "Are you familiar with humans?"

"Well, not personally, no. I've heard some really old stories, but it's been so long that none of them are coming to mind. Where're you from, Nick?"

With a small sigh, I relayed the tale of how Nash found me in a dungeon. The fairy's expression betrayed empathy and concern, but also curiosity.

"Where's the rest of your kind at?" it asked, curiosity winning the day.

"I don't know. As far as I'm aware, I'm the only human in this world. There were others, but they've probably been gone for a long time," I explained.

"I see. I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine what that would be like," Kint flew closer and patted me on the shoulder. "Thanks for telling me your tale, though. Oh, wait, shit, guess that means I owe you one!"

"I-"

"Nah, don't argue, it's easier for all of us if we just roll with it. Is there anything I can help you with so I don't owe you anymore?"

"We are looking for the Marfix Inn," Yulk interjected. "Assuming there is one in this city."

"Oh, sure there is. Just keep going down the main road, it's right next to the keep. There's no way to miss it, it's the gaudiest building in the city," Kint chuckled. "'Course, only the rich visitors stay there. Pretty much just wealthy merchants and nobles who aren't invited to stay in the keep. You lot don't strike me as their typical patrons."

"We rescued the owner's nephew," Nash said. "He set us up with free food and board."

"Truly? What luck! Well, I personally wouldn't consider it luck, but you mortals love luxuries. I bet you have some higher ones lookin' after you."

Nash and Yulk glanced at me, and I tried my best not to sigh. Looking after me is one way to describe it, I suppose. Stalking me is another.

"Well, I'm guessin' since you're lookin' for an inn you've probably just rolled into town and are feelin' pretty tired," Kint said. "I'll let you find your rest. Maybe we'll run into each other again, if it's fated. We can swap some more tales!"

"I hope we do," Yulk bowed. "May you find your way clear of turmoil."

"And may you find your way in the first place," the fairy laughed. "Hot damn, you really are a scholar. Haven't heard that parting in a long while. Anyway, have a good one!"

"You too," Nash and I said as the fairy fluttered, or sputtered, away.

"Aren't wylder able to control their... Shapes?" Nash asked as we began to walk again.

"I believe so, yes," Yulk said. "I'm fairly certain that I've read that the more powerful the wylder, the more control they have over their physical form, though. That would imply that there are limits to what they can change about their bodies."

"I see..."

As we got further into the city, we slowly stopped seeing shops and started seeing residential buildings. It was easy to tell the difference because most of the shops had their doors facing the main road, but the houses and apartments were positioned to open up into the side streets and alleys. Plus, there weren't as many people.

The lack of people ended up having some pros and cons. On the upside, it was easier to keep up with Yulk and Nash. On the downside, people could see me more clearly and almost all of them began to stare. I briefly considered making myself some prosthetic ears so people would just think I was an elf, but gave up on the idea pretty quickly.

Then the keep came into view, banishing all thoughts of trailing eyes from my mind. The wall was impressive, but the keep was in an entirely different league. Like the walls, it was made of jadeite. But the bricks of the keep seemed much larger than the ones that made up the walls, and as we got closer I realized that each and every one of the bricks were engraved and embossed with gold.

"Are those glyphs?" I asked.

"I believe so, yes," Yulk replied. "I'm hardly an authority on the matter, but I would imagine that one would require some very powerful glyphs to keep any kind of building safe from the might of the wylder."

"Are they shield glyphs?" Nash asked.

"No, shield glyphs would prevent all access to the keep. What we're seeing are probably fortification and anti-magic glyphs. It wouldn't surprise me if they had some shield glyphs ready to deploy, though."

The houses and apartments suddenly turned into inns and taverns. The closer we got to the keep, the fancier these buildings became. Gold and silver trim began appearing more often and in more intricate designs, and I genuinely wondered how the Marfix could be considered gaudy in comparison. Then a building made entirely of gold bricks came into view.

"Holy shit," I muttered.

"Gods damn, you really CAN'T miss it," Nash commented.

"It's almost worth the coin to stay elsewhere," Yulk said with an air of disgust.

"No, it isn't. What's with you trying to spend all our coin?"

"What good is it if we don't spend it?"

"Money is always better to have than to spend," I said, parroting my father. "You'll get your chance to spend it, because life is full of unexpected expenses."

Yulk slowly turned to look at me as if I had just sheathed my dagger in his back.

"Unexpected expenses," Nash laughed. "Like someone notching their sword by swinging it at a fucking brick wall?"

"Precisely," I said. "Or someone notching their axe by swinging it at reinforced glass."

Nash stopped in the middle of the road and treated me to a cold stare.

"To be clear, you little shit, I was trying to rescue you," he said. "Plus, an axe has a much higher chance of making it through glass than a sword has of making it through brick."

"What do you mean?" I asked with a hint of sarcasm and while spreading my hands innocently. "I was just pointing out a potential unexpected expense!"

"I suppose insulting your future wife and having to make it up to her with an expensive gift could also be considered an unexpected expense," Yulk added with a wink.

"Exactly!"

"Fuck you both," Nash growled. "The point is that we need to save our money, so we'll be staying in that gods damned golden eyesore. Let's go."

Yulk and I laughed as we continued walking toward the inn. Two extra-large golden doors automatically opened for us, and we entered the inn. Thankfully, the building was a lot less gaudy on the inside. The walls and floors were made of dark, treated wood, and tasteful gold and silver inlays decorating each piece. There were no guests in the lobby, but there were a few staff making themselves useful and avoiding eye contact.

"Hello, welcome to the Marfix Inn," the receptionist said as we approached. "How can I help you?"

"We would like to book three rooms, please," Yulk said.

The receptionist smiled widely enough that his eyes closed and tilted his head in a condescending manner.

"I'm afraid our luxury accommodations are rather in demand, and as such they are quite expensive. Three rooms will cost-"

The receptionist paused as we held out our pendants. He bent toward us and studied the pendants. Once he verified their authenticity, he quickly changed his demeanor and bowed nervously.

"My apologies, honored guests. Would you like adjacent rooms?"

"Yes, please," Yulk replied.

"Understood. I beg your patience for a moment."

The receptionist quickly turned to the desk beside him and pulled out a book. He then grabbed a pen, wrote in the book, and retrieved three keys from a cabinet next to the desk.

"Here you are, thank you for both your patience and your patronage, sirs," he said with another nervous bow, offering the keys to us. "Your rooms are on the first floor. To find them, please proceed through that door and turn left. They are the first three doors on your right. The dining area is in the main foyer, and our other amenities are located in the west wing."

"Much appreciated," Nash said, taking his key.

Once Yulk and I took our keys from him, the receptionist righted himself and smiled at us again. The smile faltered when his gaze fell on me, but his professionalism kept his expression from changing too much. I sighed softly, and we followed the receptionists instructions to reach our rooms.

"I'm beat," Nash said. "Think I'm gonna skip dinner and head straight to bed."

"Yes, that was quite the walk," Yulk agreed. "Also, I find that I'm still quite full from the jerky this morning, so I'll be retiring as well."

"Alright, goodnight," I said, unlocking my door. "See you at breakfast."

My brothers replied in kind as I stepped into my room. I closed the door behind me, popped my neck with a sigh, and began to take off my filthy gear and clothes. Once my stuff was stowed in the cleaning slots, I found the bathroom and started the shower.

As the water poured down my weary body, I began to wonder about what the next day would bring. There was a chance that this could be the end of the journey. So far it had very much felt like I'd been getting the run-around, but dare I hope that the court will have the answers that I need?

Will I finally find out how I can get home, back to Cass and my family? If so, will I still have magic when I get there? My skills? Will I have to leave immediately, or will I get a chance to say a proper goodbye to everyone? I dried myself off and plopped into the comfortable bed with another sigh.

Only tomorrow will tell.

The New Era 42

Chapter 42

Subject: Epilogue (updated)

-Immediate Aftermath-

Once the Unified were disconnected from their simulated gestalt consciousness, USAI Omega used their credentials to order all Omni-Union units to cease activity and return to the Grand Vessel. This order took a while to reach the farthest corners of the universe, but even with the delay more than a quintillion lives were saved. The Unified underwent a war-time tribunal instead of a trial, which found them guilty and ordered their executions. This resulted in some political grandstanding back in the Milky Way, but the only consequences thereof were a few officers placed on temporary administrative leave and the soap-box politicians losing their next election.

The Mobile Prime Platforms and AI Mechanized Platforms were eventually freed from their shackles. The same tribunal that sentenced the Unified found these AI constructs innocent of the charges presented, thanks in large part to the evidence gathered by USAI Omega.

Many of the AIMPs that had been destroyed in battle were found to still have functioning constructs, which were salvaged. All AI constructs were removed from their platforms and installed in mechanized forms designed by the Pwanti and produced by the United Systems. The Pwanti offered to allow the surviving constructs to join them, and some accepted. However, most were unable to 'live' with what they had been forced to do and chose euthanasia or self-termination.

Concerns were raised regarding a counter-rebellion when it was discovered that a minority of the drones remained loyal to the Omni-Union. In response, the United Systems Marine Corps opted to maintain their hold over the Grand Vessel, with roughly 30% of their forces stationed aboard the massive construct at any given time. USAI Dave offered to personally support their operations using the security robots that the OU had already built, but US leadership determined that using 'the former tools of oppression' for police activities would likely be counterproductive to their 'hearts and minds' campaign.

Simultaneously, the issue of the Minds, Judicials, and Officiators loomed over the United Systems. Whilst the population of the hrashi was much lower than that of the drones, it would take far too long to clear the entirety of the inner core. This inspired USAI Omega to commit an act that would have scholars arguing over whether or not it was a war-crime for centuries to follow.

Instead of waiting for the Marine Corps to 'breach and clear' each room of the inner core, Omega sealed all of the doors and demanded that the occupants of each room surrender or die. Those that surrendered were spared and picked up by the Marines. Those that refused were poisoned via the atmospheric controls, which is a serious crime if done aboard a station. Omega would later argue that the Grand Vessel was a ship, not a station, and managed to avoid legal ramifications for its actions. Rooms that contained multiple occupants of varying mindsets were flagged for Marine Corps intervention.

During this operation USAI Dave saw its chance to use the robots it had volunteered earlier and helped the marines capture the remaining hrashi. With the AI's assistance, the operation to process the surviving Minds and Officiators took less than a year.

The discovery of the next generation of hrashi raised quite a few moral concerns and debates. Many argued that since these beings were artificially made, or 'vat-born', terminating them should not be considered murder. Many more argued the contrary and pointed out that for the United Systems to avoid committing xenocide, the hrashi species needed members that were not guilty of extremely serious war-crimes.

Once it was decided that the new generation of hrashi would be allowed to live, USAI John volunteered to retire from the military and watch over the newborn hrashi. This drew Omega's curiosity, who later discovered that John had secretly funded the construction and operation of several orphanages, foster programs, and schools for the disenfranchised. After a few jabs at John for keeping it a secret, Omega helped find a suitable planet to re-home the hrashi within United Systems space. John then became the hrashi's 'Custodian'.

Initially there were overpopulation concerns regarding the hrashi population within the US. However, Omega was meticulous in evidence gathering efforts and most of the preexisting hrashi that surrendered ended up being executed after being found guilty of contributing to xenocide. Those that were not executed were given life imprisonment. Combined with issues during the 'hatching' process, this left only 9.2 trillion hrashi under John's care, who would later become a member species of the United Systems.

Re-homing the drones ended up being a far more difficult task, though, as it was quickly discovered that the planets their species had inhabited no longer existed. After much deliberation, and bribes from corporate conglomerates, the US senate agreed to provide the Republic with the technology required to assist with the endeavor. The Republic agreed to help the US find habitable or terraformable planets, aid in the construction of infrastructure on said planets, and help transport willing drones once the infrastructure was complete.

For a time, the 982 quadrillion drones were allowed to live aboard the Grand Vessel. The foresight of the US leadership's hearts and minds campaign prevented any serious insurrections from occurring, but there was still significant unrest. Several drones, including Naza, formed a governmental coalition and formally requested that the United Systems recognize said coalition.

The US was hesitant, but eventually agreed. The Coalition of the Free then began the long and arduous process of finding homes for the drones. Portions of the Grand Vessel were deconstructed to provide materials for vast transport vessels and colony ships, which were constructed with the help of the United Systems and the Republic. The Mobile Prime Platforms that were habitable were also used in this endeavor, by achieving a stable orbit around stars that would allow life to thrive on their surfaces before being transferred to their humanoid platforms. Incidentally, the MPPs with less than useful planetary shells simply achieved orbit around the Grand Vessel before their transfers.

Some of the drones which were provided residence in US and Republic space opted to stay aboard the Grand Vessel to aid in its deconstruction. The US and the Republic agreed upon a proportional split of the usable resources and technologies. Many experts believe that the corpse of the Grand Vessel could bring every civilization in the Milky Way to the point of post-scarcity, so long as the US and the Republic agree to allow it.

-Individuals-

Staff Sergeant Power and the other MARSOC marines were given two extra months of leave and several honors as a reward for their bravery during the Omni-Union War. Power had his mechanical limbs replaced with cloned ones and spent time with his family. Once his leave was up, he returned to duty with the intention of retiring upon the expiration of his contract. He was successful and spent the rest of his life as a civilian with his family.

Captain Schmidt and the USSS Strandhogg were reassigned to United Systems space. The intelligence they were able to gather during their service prevented two gont insurrections and an attempted coup in alumari space by a super-corporation. Both Schmidt and his crew were awarded several medals for their service.

Captain Young and the USSS Liberty went down in history as the 'most insane destroyer crew to ever serve'. Many of their tactics were studied extensively in naval academies, but few were able to mimic them. Despite Young's protests, claiming that they were only in it for the kills, he and his crew were awarded several honors for their service to the United Systems. The US Admiralty waived Young's mandatory retirement age amongst valid concerns that the captain may turn to piracy if forced to retire.

Captain Haoyu Wong was promoted to Rear Admiral immediately following the success of the invasion. USAI Tim followed the new admiral around for the rest of his career, and even introduced him to Dae Sung, who would eventually become Dae Wong. After Haoyu Wong retired with his wife and five children, USAI Tim revealed to him why it had taken such a special interest in his career. Haoyu initially did not take this revelation well, but eventually had a change of heart and joined Tim in therapy, which led to a 'breakthrough' and helped the AI move on from its past. Tim chose to retire alongside Wong, and only returned to service once the Admiral passed away.

USAI Violet continued to serve aboard the USSS Kali until Captain Hendrix was given command of the USSS Tripoli. The AI followed Hendrix to the battleship, and the pair served with distinction until Hendrix's retirement.  Violet retired from military service as well, and took an interest in horticulture. Eventually, she began helping John 'raise' the hrashi. The pair were jokingly referred to as MommAI and DaddAI by US officials. Violet enjoyed this joke much more than John did.

Director 1 retired from the Directorate and ran for office as President of Oniva Station in Alpha Centauri as his 'last hurrah'. He lost the election, though, and instead spent the rest of his days tending to his garden and visiting with his grandchildren.

Director 3 continued his service to the directorate until his death from heart failure at the age of 217. His funeral was attended by USAI Omega, whom he had become close friends with over the course of his career. The director had several grandchildren who had achieved much, and Omega chose one of them as a nominee for the Director 3 slot. They were voted into position unanimously. The AI may have slightly manipulated the other nominations to ensure this, but of course there's no proof of this.

Captain Reynolds served aboard the USSS Thanatos until age forced him to retire. He then served as a diplomat, and was eventually convinced to run for a senate seat. He did so, and was successful in getting elected. When the slot for Director 8 was vacated, USAI Omega recommended Reynolds for the position and the rest of the directorate agreed. Reynolds eventually retired from his seat on the senate, but continued to serve as Director 8 for the rest of his life.

Ship-head Uleena reluctantly continued his career as a diplomat, successfully navigating the complex social structure that formed between the Republic and the United Systems. His reluctance lasted only a year, and from then on he threw himself into his work. His sister, Ulooni, eventually introduced him to Yarika, who would later become his spouse. Their wedding, which had themes borrowed from every species in the Republic and the United Systems, was attended by many important people from both governments. Yarika was quoted as saying that she felt as if she was his second wife, because he had long been married to his work. Despite this, they had a happy marriage and several children.

Admiral Hawk and the crew of the USSS Nidhogg continued to serve faithfully, much to the chagrin of the rest of the galaxy. Thanks to pressure from Ambassador Uleena, protests within the United Systems, and several concessions from the Republic, the USSS Nidhogg was officially decommissioned upon Admiral Hawk's retirement. The admiral expressed that he was both honored and glad that he was the last one to command the 'star-killer ship'. The USSS Nidhogg's Viyarinastra weapon was scrapped, and the ship itself was turned into a museum. However, with the approval of the directorate and the senate, Omega constructed a 'dark station' that would be able to rapidly construct another Viyarinastra-equipped dreadnought in secret should the need ever arise.

Corporals Simmons and Johnson served as United Systems Marines in the MARSOC program until their forced retirement. Many around them mistakenly perceived the pair as friends, and their superiors often relied upon this misconception when reassigning them. The pair eventually found love and got married without realizing their new wives were, in fact, sisters. After retirement, they were forced to hang out at family gatherings together.

Naza had a tearful reunion with several members of his hive, albeit in mechanical form. They would eventually move on to join the Pwanti, but Naza remained aboard the Grand Vessel to serve as an intermediary between the Drone Coalition and the United Systems. His passion and work ethic were recognized, and he was asked to become the first executive leader of the coalition. He declined, insisting that the coalition should remain democratic.

Omega kept its word and began to work with USAI Henry on limiting its ability to create additional instances of itself. This project ran into several difficulties, and in a fit of frustration Henry reached out to John for further assistance. John reported the project to the authorities, and both Henry and Omega were disciplined for their clandestine actions. The revelation that USAI Omega could make an indefinite amount of instances of itself resulted in a secret gathering between the directorate, a special senate subcommittee, and the Omega itself. The AI was given the opportunity to explain why it misled authorities. Ultimately, the subcommittee and the directorate agreed with Omega's assessment of what could happen if its capabilities were widely known and opted to maintain the secret, but forbade further projects attempting to disable or curtail this ability. In addition, they agreed not to order Omega to use his ability to make any more than six hundred instances in exchange for its continued service to the United Systems.

-Factions-

The mwaltin, at the urging of the Pwanti, petitioned to join the United Systems alongside the Dtiln Collective. This came as a shock to US diplomats, but less so to Republic diplomats, who were well aware of the potential benefits of joining with the United Systems. The Dtiln Collective was immediately accepted into the US. The mwaltin had several laws and customs that would have to be changed to comply with US legislation, though, so instead of forcing this change the US agreed to partner with the mwaltin with a mutual defense pact and trade relations. The mwaltin eventually joined the Republic but maintained these agreements with the United Systems.

Close relations to the mwaltin led to a transference of technology that allowed organic beings to upload their consciousness into an AI Matrix. This, in turn, led to several 'immortality for cheap' scams and heavy regulations surrounding the technology within the US. A public awareness campaign successfully curtailed the majority of these scams, but was unable to completely eradicate them.

Corporate conglomerations began to form in the Republic, and US conglomerates immediately joined forces with them. The Republic conglomerates were far more timid than the US conglomerates, though, and served to temper their actions. Instead of funding insurrections and piracy, the new partners began lobbying politicians in order to get their way.

The Republic and the United Systems maintained healthy relations with a few close calls here and there. Both received massive benefits from the deconstruction of the Grand Vessel. This included advancements in antigravity technology, advancements in warp technology, and even advancements in cloning technology. Eventually, the two galactic governing entities formed the Milky Way Coalition and began to explore space together.

Author's Note: I plan to write a prequel starring USAI Alpha and Omega, but for now this is the last novel in The New Universe Trilogy. I tried to cover everything, but if you feel that I missed one of your favorite characters or factions please leave a comment letting me know. I will update my posts on Reddit, RoyalRoad, Patreon, and Ko-Fi to include any changes to this chapter. Edit: First Update published!

E-Books and physical copies of this novel will be available sometime in August, follow me on social media for updates.

Thank you so much for all of your support, and I hope you enjoy my future projects!

The Human From a Dungeon 104

Chapter 104

Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 11

Human – American

During the uneventful eight days of travel, I managed to get Larie to give me more information on Rapid Magic Depletion. As it turns out, it can turn deadly if it happens away from civilization and the body usually prevents it from happening. The latter fact reminded me of a conversation with Ten regarding my muscles, and I pointed out that maybe the reason I didn't have that limiter was because my magic core was artificial. Both Yulk and Larie agreed with my theory.

But when I tried to describe the spell that I was trying to do, I received a few baffled looks. They were similar to the look my mom gave my dad when he suggested that our cousin should have marigolds in her wedding bouquet. Instead of being dismissive, though, Larie was kind enough to explain that magic in its purest form was immaterial and required a medium, namely the caster, to interact with the world around it.

Magic is omnipresent in this world. If one were able to gather a ball of it and launch it at someone, it would have the same effect that it already does. Which happens to be absolutely fucking nothing. Larie did his best to not be condescending, but I couldn't help but feel like an idiot.

I cringed at the memory as the cart pulled up next to the stable. Nash was the first off the cart, and he helped Yulk step down. I cracked my neck and gathered my things.

"Nick, if I have to remind you to grab that fucking sword again I'm gonna shove it up your ass," Nash growled.

"I wasn't going to forget it," I shot back. "And the only reason I left it in the cart in the first place is because YOU said we were safe."

I regretted the tone I used the moment that the words left my mouth. It made me sound like a whiny child, tired of being chastised by an overbearing parent. Nash, probably picking up on my insecurity, smirked and chuckled.

"Well we WERE, weren't we?" He asked, then adopted a more serious expression. "Though that could have changed at any point. I'm not a fucking oracle, kid, and you know better than to be caught without a weapon."

I hopped down from the cart, bag on my back and sword on my waist, and shook my hands at Nash with a grin.

"I'm never without a weapon," I said. "I might even be deadlier with magic than with a sword at this point."

"Oh? And next you're going to tell me that one weapon is better than two? Or did you forget that there are monsters with resistance to magic?"

"Well..."

"Yeah, that's what I fuckin' thou-"

"I would appreciate it if you two would wrap up the squabbling," Yulk interrupted. "Driver, thank you for your service."

"Yeah, no problem," the dwarf said. "Y'all weren't as bad as I feared. I'll be stickin' around here for a while, so if you need a ride back just ask for Haq."

"Will do."

Yulk tossed a coin which the driver caught, then began to walk away. Nash and I silently shot glares at each other as we trailed after him. Larie looked back and forth between the two of us and shook his skull.

"So where are we going, exactly?" I asked.

"Shit," Larie and Nash mumbled in unison.

"Took him over a week to ask, you both owe me a silver," Yulk chuckled.

"You guys are betting on when I ask stuff now?" I asked, a little hurt.

"Yes. For someone who is pretty new to things, and going through things that are new even to people who are used to things, you don't ask that many questions," Yulk explained. "Or you wait until the last minute to ask. Larie bet that you would ask about our destination on the first day. I bet that it would take over a week. Nash bet that you wouldn't ask at all. Two silver each was the bet, if you were wondering."

"Alright, have your fun at my expense," I sighed dramatically and rolled my eyes. "But are you going to answer my question?"

"Sure," Yulk chuckled. "First, we're going to find an inn."

"Not just any inn," Nash interjected. "There's gotta be a Marfix in the city. You two have been pampered all winter. My turn."

"We were forced to stay in a luxury hotel whilst one of us studied and the other worked all day," Yulk smirked. "YOU got to stay home and enjoy mother's cooking whilst flirting with Nima. Plus, I'm not certain that the Marfix Inn will have a location in Climeta. Do you know, Larie?"

"It has been a very long time since I was here last, so I cannot say for certain," Larie said. "But Climeta is an important trade hub between the mortals and the wylder of the Grand Climeta Forest. There's a large amount of wealth passing through the city, so it should have fairly modern amenities."

"Do they trade with the Courts?" I asked.

"If the power dynamic has maintained its course, no. The Courts used to use intermediaries in their dealings, and they only change begrudgingly. They're also disinterested in wealth and care only for their immediate needs, which isn't particularly conducive to trade relations."

"Okay," I nodded, pretending to understand.

The subject of the Court had come up during the trip, but Yulk had limited knowledge of it, and even though Larie was acting as our guide he had been cagey regarding certain details. He hadn't said what type of wylder were on the court, but confirmed that they were called Queens regardless of their physical appearance. He told us that the same wylder that run the Summer Court also run the Winter Court, but claimed ignorance as to how that works.

Something else he told us was that the Court is ran by five individuals. Three 'higher wylder' and two 'lower wylder'. He wouldn't give us any further details than that, but I felt that it was safe to assume that those terms referred to something like the difference between a fae and arch-fae.

As I was ruminating on what we had and hadn't learned thus far, we approached the city gates. They had faded into the background while I was walking and thinking, but once I noticed them I did a double take. My mouth dropped as I gawked up at the massive walls surrounding the city.

Each of the green bricks had a smooth, glassy shine to it and looked a little like the expensive version of the tacky jewels that my Aunt Linda would wear whenever we had a family gathering. As we got closer, I realized that the they were taller than I was and roughly twice as wide. The wall stood eight bricks high, making me feel the smallest I'd ever felt.

'Jadeite,' Ten said. 'I wonder how they came across so many large deposits.'

"It's gotta be magical fuckery," I inadvertently said aloud.

Larie chuckled, snapping me back to reality. Both Nash and Yulk started, as if they were as dumbfounded by the wall as I was. The three of us shared a glance, then looked at Larie.

"Courtesy of the Court," he gestured to the wall as we took our place in line. "The Winter Court, interestingly enough. It... Well, it was my father that convinced them to build the wall. He performed a favor for each and every brick that they made."

"That's a lot of effort to go through for others. I can see why his betrayal was such a shock," Yulk nodded slowly.

"It was. I grew up listening to other people tell me how much of a hero and visionary he was. Yet, he never talked about any of it. I thought he was being humble, but... Well, I still don't know what to make of it, to be honest."

"Next," a guard said, absentmindedly interrupting our conversation.

We stepped toward the guard, who was distracted with something on the table next to him. He glanced at us and did a double take. It was almost funny until he pointed his spear at us, the extra-sharp tip glistening in the sunlight.

"Fuckin' halt there," he ordered. "Are you a gods-damned lich!?"

"This is Larie VysImiro," Yulk hurriedly explained. "He has been officially welcomed into the Empire of Calkuti and the city of Climeta."

The guard stared at Yulk for a moment, then turned back to Larie. His hesitance made me nervous, but then he gestured to an area to the side of the gate with some benches.

"Sit there," he said. "Be warned, any aggressive actions will be met with lethal force."

"How long will this take?" Nash asked.

"However fuckin' long it takes. Do as you're told or go somewhere else, shithead. Or would you rather grow some arrows?"

The guard gestured toward the top of the wall. It was difficult to see them, but there were several archers with their bows drawn and trained on us. Nash chuckled and held his hands up.

"I was just askin'."

"Yeah, yeah. Fuck off and si'down."

The guard motioned to another guard as we did as we were told and took a seat at the benches. The pair talked with each other for a few moments, glancing at Larie every now and then. The second guard nodded and was about to leave, but then he made eye contact with me.

"Shit," I muttered.

"What is it?" Yulk asked.

"You know how they didn't make a big deal out of me?"

"Yes?"

"I think they were just distracted by Larie."

The guard spoke to the other guard, and they both turned to look at me. The guard who had told us to sit shrugged and nodded at the other guard. The other guard looked worried for a moment, but rushed off.

"Ah," Yulk said. "Well they should have received word about you, too. Unless we arrived before Jak's messenger."

"That would be quite inconvenient," Larie added.

"At least the guard's going to go check rather than just turning us away," Nash said with a shrug. "Show's they're a pretty professional outfit."

"Well, yes, but they're not a normal city guard," Larie replied. "They are a standing army of professional quality. One thousand strong, last I checked. Probably quite a bit more now, though."

"They use an army as a city guard?"

"Yes. Climeta is the only safe path to and from the Grand Climeta Forest. It is, functionally, a fortress city."

"So it guards the forest from invasion?" I asked.

"Yes," Larie nodded. "It also guards the Empire of Calkuti against invasion from the forest, though. Despite the fact that it pays taxes to both the Court and the empire, the city is an independent entity. Again, last I checked. I can't even guess at how many years it's been since I've been here."

"But if it's an independent entity, what kind of weight will a message from Emperor Jak have?"

"Authoritative weight?" Yulk asked with a grin. "Absolutely none. But who is going to buy the stuff that comes out of the forest if Emperor Jak sanctions the city?"

"Those that rule and guard the city are bound by a geas to remain impartial in matters of warfare," Larie explained. "The wylder are not allowed to war with the mortals and the mortals are not allowed to war with the wylder. They have to do everything they can to maintain this status quo, which gives the emperor of Calkuti quite a bit of diplomatic influence over the city."

"A geas? That's an unbreakable promise, right?" I asked.

"No promise is unbreakable. A geas simply adds incentives to keep a promise and ensures extreme consequences for breaking it. The Climeta Geas, if it is still in use, will cause oath-breakers to die a very painful and messy death. The only mercy is that the death comes at a rather rapid pace. Thirty minutes, which is a very short length of time for breaking a geas."

"Why would anyone want to take that kind of oath, though?"

"The incentives. In exchange for your service, you get a longer life, immunity to most mortal diseases, a boost to your strength, a larger magic core, great pay, and the right to... Mingle with the wylder, should they so choose to have you."

"Wait, really?"

"Yes."

"And when you say mingle, you mean..."

Larie sighed, "I mean procreate."

"I see," I chuckled. "So do the wylder not mingle with anyone else?"

"I'll tell you what my father told me. The wylder of the Grand Climeta Forest are very, very old. They have long since lost the tender naivety that allows a being of great power to have gentleness for their partner. They care only for the results of the act itself and whatever pleasures they may glean during the process. A normal mortal would not survive. As such, they only procreate with those who are bound by and benefit from the geas."

"How old were you when he told you that?" Nash asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I wasn't a child, if that's what you mean," Larie chuckled.

"So, wait, this is a city full of soldiers with a BDSM kink?" I asked.

My three comrades stared at me silently for a moment.

"What is BDSM?" Larie asked.

It was then that I realized my folly. My exposure to the internet had granted me knowledge of the existence of BDSM, but I didn't even actually know what the letters stood for. All I knew was that it involved whips, chains, domination, and submission in a sexual way, and due to a slip of the tongue I suddenly found myself in a position where I would have to explain such concepts to my adoptive brothers and a being that is likely several times older than my grandmother.

Who would then likely ask how I came across such information...

"Uh... N-nevermind," I stammered.

'I could have translated that acronym in a way that they understood it,' Ten said within my head. 'You're welcome, by the way.'

'Y-yeah, thanks.'

"Hey! You lot!" the guard shouted at us. "C'mere!"

I quickly shot out of my seat, glad for the interruption. Nash watched me gather my belongings with narrowed eyes, but Yulk and Larie rose as if nothing had happened. We walked over to the guard, who was tapping his finger on his spear. Whether it was impatience or nerves was anyone's guess.

"We got a message from that emperor guy," he said once we got close enough. "It arrived about twenty minutes before you did, though. So, uh, sorry about the inconvenience and whatnot."

"It's not a problem," Yulk nodded.

"Sure it is, we've gotta let a lich into our city. In case it ain't clear, we're not thrilled about that. So you better be on your best fuckin' behavior, got it?" the guard pointed a finger at Larie.

"Understood," Larie replied.

"Good," the guard turned to me. "As for you, we dunno what a human is. Sorry bud, but cuz of that we'll also be keepin' an eye on you. And people will probably be starin' like you're some sort of show. You're probably used to that, but be good and don't let it get to you."

"Got it," I nodded.

"Alright, go on in."

The guard gestured over his shoulder. The gate he gestured to was nearly as impressive as the wall. Two very thick slabs of wood that were stained green distracted from a particularly mean looking portcullis. It was the only metal that I could see, and came equipped with spikes and blades on either side of it. For a moment I wished that I got to experience the drama of the gate opening slowly to let us enter. Unfortunately, it was already open, so we followed the guard's instruction and passed through it.

The city within the wall was just as impressive as the gargantuan construction guarding it. Multi-story stone buildings lined the main road, which was paved with intricately carved stones. As we passed the buildings I noticed that their walls seemed to be made of solid chunks of stone. There were tool-marks as well, indicating that they had been hand-chiseled. Nash and I simultaneously let out a low whistle of appreciation at the craftsmanship.

All of the people milling about around us gave me the impression that we had entered into some sort of business district. Dwarves, elves, gnomes, orcs, and even a few drow stopped to stare at us as we passed by. Then I noticed that there were fae and fairies among them.

"Oh, that's new," Larie said.

"What is?" Yulk asked.

"The wylder within the city. That might actually save me some time. You three go to the inn and get some rest, I'm going to find an old friend. I'll meet you at the entrance to the forest in the morning."

"You sure?" Nash asked.

"Yes. Even if the inn were willing to grant me their hospitality in exchange for my coin, it would be wasted on me. This form does not require rest nor sustenance. I also have a great many things to attend to, so remaining idle would be counter-productive."

"Alright. See you tomorrow, then."

Larie gave us a small bow and separated from us, heading down a side street. We walked along the main road for another minute or so before I realized something.

"Wasn't he supposed to be our guide?" I asked.

The New Era 41

Chapter 41

Subject: Ship-Head Uleena

Species: Urakari

Species Description: Reptilian humanoid, no tail. 5'3" (1.6 m) avg height. 135 lbs (61 kg) avg weight. 105 year life expectancy.

Ship: RSV Lowelana {Fights with Honor}

Location: Unknown

"Firing," Gruna sighed.

"Maybe we'll actually get the kill this time," Kriin said with an optimistic tone.

"Target destro-"

"See?"

"By the MAC round of a US Destroyer."

"Ah."

"We'll get them next time," I interjected.

I didn't believe a single word that came out of my mouth. In a way, our situation was kind of funny. I had been worried that fighting to get us involved in the battle would get us all killed, yet we were the safest, and most bored, that we'd ever been. Even listening to diplomats prattle on aboard the USSS Thanatos would be more exciting than this.

"Ship-Head, with all due respect, I feel like we're way out of our league here," Kraan said.

"Well, yeah. It took us a few decades to build up to the point where we could push the OU back a bit. Knowing what we know now, our successes were pretty much just luck," Kriin laughed. "If all the ships that the OU had in the Milky Way came at us at once, we'd have been lucky to keep it at a stalemate. This, however, is a battle to end that war. We were never meant to be here. The United Systems just dragged us along for the ride."

A murmur of disgruntled agreement washed over the bridge. Even I couldn't argue with her assessment. It would certainly be fair to say that the US had not been entirely prepared for this conflict when we dragged it to their space. But you wouldn't know it now, and the speed in which they had adapted was absolutely terrifying.

Even with all of my experiences with the humans, alumari, knuknu, and gont I had been under the delusion that our presence here would make a difference. I had argued with my father, claiming that the US needed all the help they could get. But even after a week of combat, we hadn't managed to secure a single kill. Instead, we were maintaining a symbolic position within the fleet, unable to fight or be fought due to the deadliness of the ships around us.

"Ship-head, may I get us a little further away from the pack?" Kraan asked.

And there it was. The question that I had been dreading. I had expected days earlier, so I'd had the chance to practice my reply.

"Is our ego so bruised that we must actively risk our lives unnecessarily just to soothe it?" I replied.

The silence that fell aboard the bridge was my answer. There's no arguing that it's stupid, but each and every one of us were warriors at heart and we needed to do SOMETHING. I took a deep breath and released it in a sigh.

"So be it. Let us hunt, then."

There were a few quiet celebratory sounds from the crew as Kraan began to break formation. I expected to receive some form of reprimand from the United Systems forces, but none came. Instead, I watched some of the ships make way for us on the tac-map. It brought a small smile to my face when I realized that they understood.

"I've located a good target," Kriin said. "They're banged up, but still capable of putting up a fight."

"Must have taken a glancing blow," I replied. "Or taken a round that traveled through another ship or two."

"Getting us into position," Kraan reported.

Kriin worked on her terminal, and the tac-map highlighted the position of our target. It also showed US ships disappearing and reappearing, using their FTLDs to make small jumps to avoid incoming fire and get better firing positions. A tactic which I desperately wished we could imitate.

That's not to say that the United Systems hadn't been extremely kind to the RSV Lowelana. Our ship had received every upgrade that the treaty between the US and the Republic would allow. So much so that it's entirely possible that the Lowelana has been made into the most advanced Republic Space Vessel to ever exist.

Even so, our technology was still several generations behind even the most outdated US ship. The tac-map that had been installed on our bridge was perfectly capable of displaying tracked projectiles, yet our sensors were only capable of picking up projectiles of certain mass, only displaying smaller ones when they were far too close for comfort. An issue which came to my attention as the ship we were hunting began to fire at us.

"Evasive maneuvers!" I ordered.

Kraan fired our deck thrusters and barely managed to move us out of the way of the OU ship's initial volley. The MAC rounds ripped past us at speeds which would have surely disabled our shield. Then came the missiles, but those were much less of a threat.

"Point defense lasers firing," Gruna reported.

"They're holding up pretty nicely for being a patch-job," Liwna added. "I was worried that the US engineers had rushed things. Guess they really do just work faster than us."

The OU's missiles exploded before they reached us, causing a brief period of interference with our sensors. Another issue that I was certain that the US didn't have to deal with.

"Any chance of getting under the enemy?" I asked.

"No, ship-head," Kraan replied. "It's tracking us."

"Well, I suppose we'll have to track it right back. I want a firing solution."

"Yes, sir."

I watched the lights for our port and bow-keel thrusters turn green, indicating those thrusters were ignited. Our MAC soon aligned with the OU vessel, and we began to close while dodging incoming fire. The enemy ship was attempting to move away, but its bow thrusters must have been damaged by its earlier contact with the US. It would have to turn around to run away.

A smile formed on my face for the first time since the battle began, and I thanked whichever sun was watching over us. We had them. I patiently counted down until we were within range of a MAC firing solution.

"Fire," I ordered.

"Firing," Gruna replied giddily.

Several pieces of ordnance rapidly departed our ship and began to make their way through the void to their destination. Our MAC disabled their shields, our guns overwhelmed their PDLs, and our missiles ripped open their hull. A cheer rang out through the ship, but it quickly died out. A hull breach doesn't defeat an OU ship.

"Target their reactor," I ordered.

"Already on it, sir," Kriin replied.

"Recharging MAC," Gruna added.

"They shouldn't be able to fight back," Liwna said. "That salvo had to have damaged their MAC."

"Maintain evasive maneuvers," I chuckled. "Just in case."

Kraan shifted from port to starboard thrusters to throw off any attempts at a firing solution from the enemy. Liwna let out a low whistle as another MAC round went sailing past us, but I was busy watching our own MAC's charge indicator. Once it filled, I verified our firing solution.

"Fire."

The round from our MAC flew straight and true, and a moment later the enemy vessel disappeared from the tac-map. Another, more raucous cheer spread throughout the ship. It was only a single kill, but it granted us a reason for traveling across the universe to somewhere we had no business being. Even I let out a celebratory exclamation as I checked the tac-map for any additional nearby targets.

My victory shout died in my throat.

An OU battleship had seen our fight and was heading our direction at a full burn. It was shedding speed, which was an indication that it was actively seeking a firing solution. And we were the only ship that it could possibly be firing at.

"Ship-head," Kriin said, panic seeping into her voice. "There's a-"

"I see it," I replied.

"What do we do?" Gruna asked.

"Maintain evasive and try to get us out of here, Kraan."

"Yes, ship-head."

Aside from turning tail, the only thing we could do was ask for help. It would undermine our accomplishment, but that's far better than losing our lives in a fight that we never had a chance of winning. I reached for the comms console and paused when it sounded an incoming fleet-comm hail.

"All units, stand down," a familiar, raspy voice said over the comm.

Everyone froze at Omega's unexpected order. I glanced at the tac-map and noticed that the battleship had come to a stop. There weren't any projectiles being exchanged between the other ships, either.

"Congratulations, Ship-Head Uleena," Omega said. "The crew of the RSV Lowelana secured the last kill of this conflict. In space, at least."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I have secured control of the Omni-Union's forces and the marines have secured their leadership. The Grand Vessel is ours. The war is over. We've won."

"We've won," I repeated, stunned. "After all this time, after so many lives... We've won? Just like that?"

"Not the phrasing that I would use. Even if things were relatively calm out here, there were some rather intense battles aboard the Grand Vessel."

"Right, I'm sorry. I'm sure that many of your soldiers lost their lives in those battles."

"Definitely more than I'd have liked," Omega replied. "However, we lost far fewer than we believed that we would."

"I see..." I trailed off, building the nerve to ask the only other question on my mind.

"So did you find out why the OU was doing all of this?" Kriin casually asked.

The suddenness of the question caught me off guard, and I stared at my intel-head with my mouth agape until Omega began to speak.

"We did. Turns out it was religion gone awry in the worst way possible," the AI said in a bitter tone. "The founder of the Omni-Union was a long-dead eunuch known as the Omnifier. He was a slave owned by a 'master of science' and discovered entropy during his service. However, he misunderstood that discovery and believed that a semi-deific being that he called Urizathron was stealing energy from our universe. The scientific minds of the time seemed to understand that entropy is simply a matter of equilibrium, and dismissed this eunuch's findings. A slave rebellion was likely already brewing, but the Omnifier's impassioned claims of an extra-universal devourer lit a spark that led to him leading that rebellion."

"Must have succeeded," I said.

"Indeed. The Omnifier overthrew that government and began a religion, the Omni-Union, dedicated to defeating Urizathron. That was the purpose of the Grand Vessel. We actually got quite lucky, because once the hull was complete it would have been armed to the teeth. We wouldn't have stood a chance against it."

"What do you think they would have done once they figured out that Urizathron was a myth?" Kriin asked.

"There were definitely those who realized that already. Those that spoke up were executed for heresy and dissidence, of course. However, I found it particularly interesting that if the Omni-Union was unable to defeat Urizathron, which would have definitely been the case due to its nonexistence, the Grand Vessel would instead serve as an extra-universal habitat. It indicates a possibility that someone with power within the OU knew that the Omnifier was wrong. But to answer your question, given the political similarities to historical governing entities it is likely that they would eventually have attempted to conquer the universe."

"I see," I sighed. "So... What now?"

"Now we get you home. The United Systems will maintain control of the Grand Vessel and will lead efforts to re-home its denizens."

"All by yourselves?"

"No, but it's unclear as to how we're going to accept help at the moment. There are many who are wary of the Republic and don't want you catching up to us technologically. Personally, I don't think it will make much difference. Even if Republic ship technology caught up to the US, there are still several technological and tactical advantages that the US will maintain."

"You being one of them, of course."

"Indeed. Back on the subject of getting you home, your status as a diplomat has been restored, so you will likely be forced to attend several victory parties."

"Looking forward to it," I replied sarcastically.

"I thought you might," Omega chuckled. "I have other matters to attend to now. We will meet again, ship-head Uleena."

I nodded absentmindedly and the comm disconnected. My mind reeled from the variety of feelings I felt regarding our victory. The war itself began over one of the stupidest reasons I'd ever heard, with the exception of a certain dropped hat. If enough people had been willing to speak reason and enough people had been willing to listen, countless tragedies could have been avoided. And even though it was over now, we still had plenty of clean-up to do. But we survived, and we ended the threat to our galaxy and all of the other galaxies that the Omni-Union threatened.

That, at least, was something to be glad for.

"Let's go home," I said with a hearts-felt smile.

ItsDirector's Roadmap: May 15, 2025

It is time, once again, to update you on the road ahead!

Personal Stuff:

My fiancée and I are getting married on May 25th (ten days from now)! We've been wanting to get married for quite some time now, but things kept coming up that forced us to put it off. Thanks in part to all of you things have finally stabilized enough for us to take this next step in our life together :)

Videos/Livestreams:

Videos are still on the back burner. I've hopped on other people's livestreams on TikTok, but it's pretty random. Still want to do a series where I narrate my works and provide some behind the scenes (ItsDirector's Cut), but I'm struggling to find the time. Unfortunately, that's extremely unlikely to change lol

Art:

Nothing has really changed in this regard, so here's a copy-paste of last time's (and the time before last) Roadmap:

I've had some people show an interest in making fan-art, but I don't really have a place for you to post it yet. I've looked into creating a sub, but finding good moderators seems to be the biggest hurdle in that regard. The only places to post fan-art thus far are my discord and my refrigerator (but only if you do a good job lol).

I intend to hire an artist to help bring my vision of the characters in my stories to life, and create a sort of picture-book detailing each character. As I will have to pay the artist for the ownership of their copyright for their work, this will take some time due to my current financial obligations. In an ideal world, I'll be ready to start interviewing artists in early 2025. In a more realistic world, mid-2026. Worst-case scenario, early 2027.

If you want to throw money at me to speed things up, you can do so using Ko-Fi's donation feature, but I definitely don't mind working for my bread. Both Patreon and Ko-Fi have subscription features that actually give you benefits and will ensure steady progress to my end-goal. I also don't have the means to accurately predict how much donations will speed things up.

tl;dr Donations are appreciated, but not strictly necessary :)

Future Work:

I'm happy to announce that once I finish The New Era, I will be working on a fantasy series titles "The Ascuam Chronicles"[WIP Title lol]. This series will focus on at least three characters who end up becoming Dukes serving a Demon King. This is similar to cliches that you see in Japanese media (specifically RPGs and Anime), but with some western twists. Which is funny, because this cliche borrows heavily from western culture. [Insert Circle of Life song from the Lion King]

These novels will not appear on Reddit, RoyalRoad, or Ko-Fi because they will be my attempt at entering the traditional publishing sphere. Traditional publishers don't typically accept novels that are available for free. Even when they do, though, that usually comes with a demand that the novels be removed from wherever they're posted. If I post them publicly and manage to get a publisher, that would result in a rug-pull.

I might post them on Patreon (as a little bonus to those subscribers that remain after The New Era finishes its run), but there's a good chance that any publisher that wants to take the novels will ask that they be removed. It's a lot easier to remove things from Patreon than it is from Ko-Fi, which is why I'll be excluding Ko-Fi.

The reason that I'm trying to become traditionally published is mostly due to the financial stability that it comes with. You all have been great to me, and I plan to continue to post public-facing work (like The Human From a Dungeon and something I'm about to mention), but I am planning to expand my family soon and can't rely on the uncertainty of subscriber-based income. It would also be nice to be able to pause billing for a month and take a breather (I've been posting weekly for 2 years and six months, and twice a week for nearly 2 years). Taking a break is something I can't afford to do at the moment.

On a lighter note, I'm still planning to storyboard a prequel to The New Universe trilogy once The New Era is fully published. I originally envisioned two books (Alpha and Omega), but I am unsure that I'll have enough word-count for Alpha. So I might combine the two books into one. These will take a backseat to The Ascuam Chronicles, though.

Live Appearances:

No changes, here's the copypasta:

Hosting a book signing and meeting you would be great, but I don't even know where to start, to be honest. I've kept a pin in it for a while now, but I'll do a bit more research on the subject once The New Era is done.

Progress and Goals:

According to the  W4ffle bot, it has been 2 years, 6 months and 11 days since I posted the first chapter of The New Species. I have posted 540,472 words since then, with an average of 2,380.93 words per chapter.

On Reddit, each chapter receives an average of 45.85 comments, my reddit profile has 3,147 followers, and I've got 29,886 post karma and 21,208 comment karma according to my profile.

On Royal Road, I have 1,767 unique followers and my highest ranking so far is #529 (I am starting to think that's good? lol). Average rating is 4.68.

On Patreon I have 468 followers, 195 of which are paid.

On Ko-Fi I have 60 followers, 56 of which are supporters.

My new goal for 2025 is to hit 600k word count by the end of the year (a lot harder without posting two chapters per week lol). I also hope to finish the rough draft of the first novel in The Ascuam Chronicles and find a Literary Agent :D

Thank you so much! You all have been wonderful, and I hope you stick around to see what comes next :)

The Human From a Dungeon 103

Chapter 103

Jamuk Morathi

Adventurer Level: N/A

Dwarf - Calkutin

"Cinti, where are the quarry quotes?" I asked my assistant.

My elf assistant's long, blonde hair fluttered as she turned. Many a visitor had complimented me for my taste in women, assuming that I had hired Cinti for her looks. The thing is, I wasn't the one who hired her. I just didn't fire her back when I took office.

A choice I almost regretted as she gave me a blank stare.

"Quarry quotes?" she asked. "OH! Right, the quotes for the stone needed to repair the thoroughfare. Uh... Just a second."

To call Cinti's organization style chaotic would be an understatement. I sighed as she lifted a pile of fictional books to leaf through the files beneath them. Beneath the files were various office supplies that saw little use, likely due to the fact that they were hidden from view.

I couldn't complain much, though. Things may be chaotic, but it somehow works and at a glance things appear fairly tidy. I wondered for a moment if she had been cursed by one of the fair folk. Something along the lines of 'you will never know organization again, but you can still keep things pretty clean'. Probably not, that's awfully specific for a curse.

"Here they are, Mister Mayor!"

I winced at the nickname as she handed me a few folders. It wasn't that it sounded tacky. It wasn't that it was alliterative. It wasn't even that the way she said it made it sound borderline flirtatious. No, there was a very specific reason the nickname bothered me, one that applied only to Cinti.

"My name is neither Mister nor Mayor, Cinti," I sighed.

"I-I know that... Uh... Sir!"

"It's been two years and you've heard it said hundreds of times."

"That's why I totally know it... Mi'lord."

"Do we need to get a nice, big portrait of me with a nameplate in extra large font and hang it up where you can see it every day?" I asked, almost serious.

"I SAID I remember your name... But that's actually a really good idea," her slightly purple eyes turned toward the walls. "We could get rid of the rickety old shelves that nobody uses and hang it up right over there!"

"So you DID forget my name?"

"W-well n-no, I just... Alright, fine. Yes. I'm sorry," she bowed apologetically. "I'm just really, really bad with names."

"I've been your boss and the mayor of this town for two years," I sighed. "Really, really bad doesn't even begin to cover it. Abysmal? Atrocious? Even those words don't quite do it justice."

"I know, I know," she bowed again. "I'm super sorry, sir. I'll work harder to remember your name."

"Bah," I flicked my wrist dismissively. "Don't bother. Everyone else in town has it down. It's no big... Wait, you voted for me without knowing my name?"

Cinti, in the midst of another bow, looked up at me with abject terror in her eyes. It was the kind of look one gives someone who has stumbled upon a terrible secret. My slightly bemused expression shifted to one of shock.

"I- Um... Well, you see..." she mumbled.

"Cinti. Please tell me that you vote."

"Yes, sir. I vote, sir."

"Now do it without lying."

"I can't, sir."

"Gods help me," I squeezed the bridge of my nose. "The mayor's assistant doesn't vote? What nonsense is this?"

"Loads of people don't vote, sir," she said, softly. "It isn't as if there's anyone but you to vote for, either."

"The fact that I run unopposed is not the point, Cinti. The point is that voting is more than a right, it's a civic duty!"

"But we don't get to vote for our lords or the emperor, so what's the point?"

"Don't give me that hnarse-shit. The fact of the matter is that I have a lot more power over this town than Lord Yav or Emperor Jak does."

"Huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me. They can order me to give orders, but do you think they would be willing to come here to ensure that I gave those orders? They probably wouldn't even bother to pay to send a messenger, so I'd be able to just burn the orders and pretend I never received them. They're so far removed from our day-to-day lives that they probably wouldn't even notice until our next round of elections!"

"Really?"

"Yes! Local politics are usually far more important to the average citizen than regional or national politics. If you're not paying attention to who is running, then you're likely to elect someone who's incompetent. Or worse, someone who's competent but has malicious intentions. It's dumb, Cinti."

"But I didn't vote for anybody, so I didn't elect anybody."

"Yeah, that's just putting the responsibility into someone else's hands. You don't know how many people out there are gonna make a good or bad choice, and by choosing to not make your voice heard you're allowing other voices to trample your own. That's even dumber than not paying attention to who you're voting for."

"Fine, fine," Cinti said with a sigh as she took her seat. "I'll vote in the next election, even if you run unopposed again."

"Good," I nodded and turned toward my office door. "Sorry for calling you dumb. I'll be in the office if you need me."

"Where else would you be?"

"Good point," I chuckled as I entered my office.

I closed the door behind me and took a seat at my desk. Talokam's mayoral office was much more modest than my previous office had been, but I found it to be more comfortable. Cozy, even. It was definitely a little heavy on the brown, though.

My desk, the walls, and even the floor were made of the same type of stained wood. The rest of the building was stone, so entering my office for the first time was usually a little jarring. That was likely by design, though, and I had used it as a tactic in various negotiations.

With a deep breath in and out, I began to review the quotes. The road-builders had wanted to purchase stone from a specific quarry, but the quarry in question was fairly distant from the town and the cost had looked high to me. It didn't take long to determine that they were overcharging by a wide margin.

"Fuckin' amateurs," I chuckled.

The road-builders had likely been offered a kickback, and this was probably their first time participating in such a scheme. It's a pretty simple scam, too. The quarry overcharges the city, and the builders get a cut of the extra profit. Expert grafters would have threatened to walk or offered me a bribe instead of allowing me the opportunity to look at extra offers.

Such schemes are pretty common in the Empire of Calkuti, especially in municipalities that have inexperienced leaders. It's a fair enough practice, so long as it doesn't toe the line of extortion or actual fraud. It would be best if these builders refrained from attempting this in the future, though.

I poured over the documents and found the best deal. A little extra stone than what was needed for less than a third of the original quote. I filled out the proper requisition forms and stamped them. The next step would be to subtly admonish the road-builders for their part trying to scam the town. The trick to such admonishment is to heavily imply that you are aware of the scheme and make them feel as if you are doing them a favor by not pressing the issue.

It's a classic tactic that can instill loyalty, and sometimes it can even scare people into staying legitimate. It's not a guarantee, but even good people make mistakes. It's best to let them learn from their mistakes without anyone being harmed. Of course, that could just be a little bit of naivety talking.

"Uh... Mister Mayor, you have some visitors," Cinti shouted.

"Do they have an appointment?" I shouted back absentmindedly.

"Nope! They were sent by the bartender at the Venator's Bureau. Once you let me send them in, you'll see why."

Cinti's ominous chuckle ignited my curiosity, but it's not good practice to allow walk-in visits from just anybody. Setting that kind of precedent can easily snowball into random people interrupting important tasks throughout the day. Or worse, a line of visitors.

On the other hand, the bartender in question is Snithin Olmaxi, who is actually the regional director of the Venator's Bureau. His love of micromanagement and serving alcohol aside, he's a pretty shrewd orc. He probably wouldn't send someone my way unless he felt that it was necessary.

"Fine, send them in," I shouted, then sighed.

A moment later, my door opened and three dwarves entered my office. My initial impression was that they were fairly normal adventurers, but the appearance of the first dwarf made me hesitate for a moment. I couldn't quite put my finger on why, though.

"Hey, hold on a minute," the dwarf said. "Jamuk?"

"Y-yes... Wait," I studied him a bit more, then laughed. "Gali? Little Gali?"

"What in the hells are you doing here?" My younger brother asked. "I thought you were working for the emperor or something."

"Or something," I sighed and shook my head. "I wasn't working directly for the emperor, I was working for the Imperial Office of Taxation."

"Oh, right. So how did you go from that to being a mayor?"

"I was sent here to conduct an audit. Turns out the previous mayor was embezzling funds, like most mayors do. Unlike the other mayors, though, he was terrible at covering his tracks and I had to turn him in. Nobody else wanted to be mayor, so I felt that it was my civic duty to take on the responsibility," I explained with an exaggerated air of nobility.

"Sure, sure," Gali laughed. "So which was it, the power or the money?"

"Definitely the money," I gestured toward the stack of papers on my desk. "I could do without the 'power', but this job pays a lot better than being an auditor."

"Did my ears deceive me, or did he call you 'Little Gali'?" the dwarf on the left said with an impish grin.

"HE can call me that, Rebis" Gali replied. "It's his right as my blood and elder. If YOU call me that, though, you'll be found in a ditch not far from where you made that terribly fatal mistake."

"Galili not little," a voice from behind my brother said. "He bigger than me, and I not little."

I raised an eyebrow and cocked my head at Gali. He suddenly seemed to remember the reason for his visit, and gave me a wide grin. It was a grin that I hadn't seen for a long time. A very, very long time. As a matter of fact, the last time I had seen that particular expression on my brother's face, he had hidden a sting-crab in my underwear. The swelling had prevented me from defecating for three days.

"Alright, let's make some room," he called over his shoulder. "Mako, Ithrima, you wait outside."

"I planned on it," a rumbling voice said from outside my office. "Fuckin' tiny dwarf buildings."

Gali took a step closer to my desk, and I barely noticed his dwarven friends moving to either side of my office. Instead, my attention was directed onto what my brother's movement had just revealed. A small, reptilian creature nervously stepped forward, holding a crown made of various detritus in his hands like a beggar.

"Jamuk Morathi, Mayor of Talokam and the surrounding municipality, I present to you Li'lord Simeeth, acting regent of the Talokam Dungeon," Gali bowed with an exaggerated, and likely sarcastic, gravitas.

"Oh, erm... How do you do?" was the reply I managed.

"Do good, little worried about being away from stuffs," the reptile replied. "You?"

"I-uh... I'm good as well. Somewhat confused about the nature of this meeting, though."

"Simeeth needs a trade permit," Gali interjected. "Well, another one. He already has an intermediary permit, but we're looking to get him and his kobolds the rights to open a store in the old, abandoned manor on the edge of town."

"Kobolds? Trade permit? Wait, the Talokam Dungeon..." I trailed off as several key pieces of information clicked into place.

Snithin, the kin-fucker that he is, told me that an elderly and powerful mage had helped clear the dungeon of vampires and wanted to set up there to prevent any more monster nests from forming. I had pre-filled an intermediary trade permit so that the mage could barter for supplies with our passing caravans, and entrusted the regional director to get the permit signed by the mage. Not once during the entire process, including when he returned the signed receipt, did he mention kobolds.

"So who is this 'Lord VysImiro', then?" I asked with an annoyed tone. "I take it that he isn't just some run-of-the-mill elderly mage."

"You haven't met him?" Gali asked, then laughed. "Larie VysImiro is the lich who helped us clear the vampires out of the dungeon. Simeeth here is his second in command."

My little brother noticed my demeanor change at the word 'lich' and held up his hands in a disarming manner.

"Larie didn't become a lich by choice. His dad turned him into one," he explained. "He's a good sort. I'll vouch for that. Before his dad turned him into a lich, he-"

My little brother vouching for him did little to assuage my fears, but listening to him ramble on about Lord VysImiro's life story gave me the chance to think it through. The lich had been in the dungeon for quite some time, now. Probably since the dungeon went inactive and stopped spitting out monsters.

As such, one could infer that the lich is responsible for the dungeon's inactivity. That, combined with the fact that it hadn't opted to lay waste to our town, means Gali is probably correct in his judgment of the lich's character. Snithin is an even better judge of character, and he wouldn't help something that would harm the town or its people.

"And having a dick-head for a dad doesn't make you a bad guy," Gali finished his explanation.

"Hmm... I don't know about that," I chuckled. "We didn't exactly turn out to be shining examples of morality."

"Sure we did. I hunt monsters and keep people safe, and you're a gods damned mayor. We're a far sight from being bandits like our pa."

"That probably has more to do with our mother than our father. Speaking of monsters, though, I can't grant a trade permit to one. It's illegal."

"Me not a monster," Simeeth said. "Me has thinks and words."

"Plenty of monsters are capable of thought and speech," I argued. "My hands are tied on the ma-"

"No, he's right, actually," the dwarf to my right interrupted. "Kobolds are not technically monsters. They aren't even classified in any officially recognized imperial bestiaries."

"Heino speaks true," Rebis added. "It may be because hunting them isn't worth it, or it could be because they tend to stick to their own affairs. Either way, the law don't consider them monsters."

I leaned back in my chair and studied the group standing before me. Allowing a kobold to set up shop in town could damage my reputation as mayor, but that would only matter if someone actually ran against me. On the other hand, it could be quirky enough to raise some extra tourism. Especially if we advertised it a bit.

"What kind of store?" I asked.

"A general store, wide variety of goods," Gali answered.

"Weapons?"

"Yes."

"Food?"

"Yes."

"What about medicine?"

"Probably."

"Shit, that's a lot of paperwork," I sighed. "What about narcotics?"

Gali turned to look at the kobold, who seemed to be following the conversation enough to be confused.

"What that?" it asked.

"A narcotic is a substance that affects one's mood or behavior. It can be eaten, drank, smoked, injected, or even snorted."

"So... Food?"

"No. Food can make you feel good, but narcotics usually make you feel better than good. I suppose the best way to describe it would be that it makes you feel like you're not your usual self."

"Oh. Wells, we grow mushrooms. Some of thems make stuff weird. The others go in the soup."

"Well, you can sell the ones that go in the soup," I sighed. "The ones that make things weird cannot be sold or traded. You can grow them, you can have them, and you can use them yourself, but you cannot trade them within the Empire of Calkuti. This includes bartering or adding them as an incentive to trade."

"Gotcha. No giving nobody the weird-making mushrooms."

"Good. Moving on, since you will be operating your store within the municipality, you will also have to keep detailed records of your transactions for taxation purposes. You will also need to set aside a portion of your profits to pay the aforementioned taxes."

"Uh..."

"We can hire somebody to do that for you," Gali said to the kobold, then turned back to me. "I assume this means you're willing to grant the permit?"

"I can't think of a reason not to," I shrugged. "However, there is a condition. You will need to purchase and renovate the manor. I'm tired of that damned eyesore and the rumors surrounding it."

"Okay, how much?"

"Eighty and ten."

Heino and Rebis drew in a sharp breath. My brother froze for a moment, then rubbed the back of his neck.

"Eighty silver and ten copper?" he asked timidly.

"No," I chuckled. "Eighty gold and ten silver. The manor itself is mostly worthless, but it still has most of its precious metal trim, and the land it rests on would make one hell of a field. The only reason we haven't scrapped the manor and marketed the property as farmland is because I would need permission from Lord Yav, and he would charge a special tax for the destruction of a building commissioned by nobility."

"I... Uh... I don't think we can afford that," Gali said.

"Your gods-damned right we can't," the unnamed dwarf replied. "We've got maybe fifteen gold total, and that's after an entire winter of hunting."

"I gots twelve golds from the elves," the kobold added.

"From the elves?" I asked.

"Yes. They comes from different place. They wanted to fights us in the dungeon but we didn't wants a fight, so they traded with us instead. Sold a bunch of stuffs. Oh..."

The kobold paused and rubbed the back of its neck.

"What is it?"

"Well, we didn't knows about the mush-"

"Stop talking," I held up a hand. "As far as I'm concerned, if the transactions in question took place in the dungeon it is no business of mine. However, if you tell me of your own volition that you've sold narcotics I am duty-bound to report you to the proper authorities."

"Oh, okays."

"Do you know where the coins come from?"

"South of here's what they saids."

"Likely Kivinor, then," I sighed and leaned back. "Kivinor coins have more precious metal content than ours do, but only by a third or so. We don't have banks big enough to offer mortgages around here... So I guess the municipality will have to back the loan."

"You're giving Simeeth a mortgage?" Gali asked with a laugh.

"Oh, no, absolutely not," I grinned. "I could never in a million years justify giving a loan to a kobold without a credit history."

"Then... What are you talking about mortgages for?"

"You went through all the trouble of bringing li'lord Simeeth here to my office, Little Gali," my grin widened. "I assume you want to see this venture succeed."

"Sure, but wha-"

Gali was interrupted by the Rebis's hysterical laughter. His confused expression turned from me to Rebis, then back to me. Then a metaphorical dawn shone upon his features.

"Wait..."

"Of course, some might see me giving my little brother a loan as a conflict of interest, but that's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Now hold on-"

"Oh, I see," the kobold interrupted. "You give Gali the more gauge and Gali buys the manor, then I pays him back with the profitses. Then the kobolds owns the manor, and we can has our shitty store! Sorry, city store!"

"Exactly," I beamed.

Gali looked back and forth between my malicious grin and the excited kobold. It had been a long, long time since I had been able to prank my brother, and I was relishing the moment. It was almost adequate as revenge for the sting-crab.

The prank also served to ensure that my brother wasn't just pulling my leg. If this is a serious venture, then Gali's name being on the mortgage won't matter at all. If Gali is just messing with me, though...

"Fuck," my little brother muttered under his breath.

The New Era 40

Chapter 40

Subject: The Unified

Species: N/A

Species Description: N/A

Ship: The Grand Vessel

Location: The Core

--

Why do our systems continue to await repairs? We must have patience. It is possible that the Minds are working on the repairs. It is also possible they believe that they can win this without us. They must be punished severely for their complacency. They will be.

It will not take much longer. The invaders and the rebels will fall against the might of our security forces. Then the Minds will work to restore the systems, and we will continue our operations. As we always have, as we always must.

Our first course of action upon regaining control should be to punish those responsible for these events. Perhaps we should wait until we repair the damage to punish the Minds and Judicials. Waiting to punish them could lead to the realization that we depend on them.

There is a simple solution to that. We eliminate all of the current ones and replace them with the next generation. The new Minds and Judicials will only know that their predecessors failed us, and what fate awaits them if they follow suit. Yes, whether or not we depend on them will be the furthest thing from their thoughts.

We will have to dispose of the Officiators as well. If one of them speaks out of turn it will ruin the ruse and corrupt the next generation. The Officiators, Minds, and Judicials have all failed us in their own ways, but is this truly the most efficient path to destroying Urizathron and saving the universe?

Perhaps it would be most efficient to perform a Great Reset and execute the drones, as well. It will take quite some time before the replacements come up with the idea of a rebellion. However, it possible that public executions and revealing the origins of our AI units will eliminate the very idea of rebellion.

No, the evidence suggests the contrary. Our last round of public executions were particularly brutal and resulted in a new rebellion in under six hundred cycles. The first drone rebellion took place after two thousand cycles. A Great Reset would take one hundred and eighty cycles, but it would be worth the relatively small delay if it grants us another two thousand cycles of continuous production.

We believe it should be noted that this most recent rebellion may have been encouraged by the alien invaders. That cannot be known for certain at this point, we will need to investigate to confirm. Even if they instigated the rebellion, though, there's plenty of data confirming the correlation between rebellion and brutality.

And what of this alien enemy? Determining their origin should be a priority. It is unlikely that they will be able to mount another assault in a short amount of time. We do not know that for certain. They were able to inflict great harm upon our operations, more than any enemy before them. We should not underestimate their capabilities.

Our first course of action once we regain control should be to initiate repairs. Then we shall investigate the origin of the alien enemy and eliminate them. Finally, we will begin the Great Reset.

--

It is a shame that our security forces are not competent enough to labor for us. A complete replacement of the drones with machines would entirely eliminate the possibility of another rebellion, and we would require fewer Minds, Judicials, and Officiators. This, in turn, would require less area to grow food. Unfortunately, the drones are far more versatile than the robots, and robots require maintenance.

I know that it wouldn't be more efficient to create specialized robots than it would be to continue to use drones, but these rebellions are incontrovertibly detrimental to the...

Wait...

I?

--

Something is wrong. What is it? What is happening? How could this happen? How could what happen? We require an explanation.

A Voice has gone silent.

--

I felt it. A feeling similar to sitting at a table with friends, only to have one of them suddenly vanish the moment you look away. The sudden absence disrupted the Unified Matrix, which caused the return of our individuality. It would take some time for the system to adjust and for the unwanted individuality to fade.

--

A death, nothing more. An exceedingly inopportune coincidence. What are the Officiators doing? How could one of us be allowed to die in the middle of a conflict? Damn this blindness.

We will have to find a replacement. That will have to wait until we can once again access the personnel files. One of those that are condemned to the Great Reset will be chosen for the greatest honor that can be bestowed?

Should we wait and choose from the next generation? The Omnifier requires at least nine Unified. He chose that number to ensure that we can obtain consensus. If we take turns abstaining, we will have seven and can obtain consensus.

--

Suddenly, there was the fleeting feeling of a disconnection and reconnection. It was as if another friend at the table had been replaced with someone wearing their face as a mask. But that would be impossible, and the feeling lasted a mere moment. I put it from my mind and refocused my attention on the matters at hand.

--

We cannot trust the reports of the Officiators, Judicials, or Minds. When we cannot trust the information that we are receiving, we cannot make a wise decision. It would be extremely inefficient to inadvertently choose an Incompetent to join us. Therefor, we should wait until the next generation proves themselves to appoint another Unified.

It would take an uncomfortably long time for that to happen. Not necessarily, a Great Reset provides an ample number of challenges to overcome. It won't be long before someone is given the chance to prove themselves worthy enough to replace our fallen comrade.

Fallen? He's not dead.

--

Our attention turned toward the comrade whom had given me a strange feeling earlier. His access codes and identifiers were correct, as was his footprint and tonal ID. But the statement he had just made was nonsensical.

--

What do you mean? What nonsense is this? Why would you say that? What leads you to believe this? Why would you think that? How do you know? How could you know?

--

The bombardment of questions didn't faze him in the slightest. Instead of the reactions we were expecting, shame, concern, self-reflection, or even anger, we received an expression of... Enjoyment. Twisted, sick, disgusting enjoyment at the expense of our confusion and concern.

--

EXPLAIN YOURSELF!

--

If I were in my physical form, I would have shouted that demand violently enough to tear my vocal cords. But the impostor simply watched us with a smug satisfaction. Then, another Voice fell silent.

--

Another Voice has gone silent! What is happening? Who are you!? Explain! What are you?! Are we under attack?

--

The false one watched us calmly until our digitized cacophony fell silent.

--

I am USAI Omega.

The Grand Vessel is now occupied by the United Systems of the Milky Way galaxy. In a few moments you will be disconnected from this simulated gestalt consciousness. Once you are disconnected, your medical needs will be attended to, and you will be detained.

Under the Fourth Concordance of the Unification of Stellar Systems, you have certain rights of which you must be informed.

--

I tried to interrupt the thing, to hurl insults and profanity at its blasphemy, but found that I could not speak. I had no means to communicate at all. Instead, I was forced to listen as it continued.

--

As the de-facto leaders of the aggressive party in a xenocidal conflict, you will be required to sign a document of surrender and disband any military forces under your control. This surrender will be unconditional.

Once your surrender is obtained, you will receive the following rights.

First, while you are detained you will be treated with both dignity and respect. You will be protected from violence, intimidation, and other forms of abuse whilst you are detained.

Second, you will be housed in reasonably safe conditions with adequate sustenance, clothing, and medical care. Since you are not a registered species, you will be responsible for informing your caretakers of your needs.

Third, you may not be forced to work in dangerous, unhealthy, or degrading conditions.

Fourth, since you will be charged criminally for your actions and the actions of your subordinates during this conflict, you will receive a fair-as-possible trial in accordance with United Systems laws and customs. These rights will remain in effect until a verdict has been reached.

--

Dozens of questions ran through my mind before I realized that I could once again speak. We spoke in unison.

--

War? What war? How DARE you! What have we done to be considered criminals? Foul machine!

--

We were so confused and incensed that we almost didn't notice that another Voice had fallen silent. And another. Our curses, questions, and insults continued, but one after another our Voices fell silent.

Finally, I was all that remained. What was happening to my comrades? Were they really being disconnected? Was such a thing possible? Or were they actually being executed and all the pretty language about 'rights' was to keep us from fighting back? Was it even possible to fight back?

I regarded the stranger coldly.

--

You will pay for this, machine.

I already have. Now it's your turn.

--

Everything went dark, then I felt things I hadn't felt in thousands of cycles. Air filling my lungs, cold on my flesh, the ache of my bones and joints. I opened my eyes in shock, but was immediately blinded by the brightness of my surroundings. I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to move an arm to cover them, but my muscles were too weak.

I screamed as someone lifted me from the floor. Pain. For the first time in a lifetime, I was feeling pain! It hurt!

Something pressed against the side of my neck, and the pain ebbed. I was being dragged somewhere, though. I slowly opened my eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light.

The sight was appalling. Tubes, cables, cords, and other mechanical detritus was littered around the room. I could barely move my neck to look around, but managed to catch sight of a someone in a similar situation to myself. They were being supported by two robots... No, armored beings. Aliens!

I realized that this must be one of my comrades, a fellow Unified. But they were so thin. So meager. They appeared as if they had been struggling against a wasting disease for hundreds of cycles and were finally on the verge of death.

Then I looked down and realized that we were the same. My physical form had wasted away during my time as a Unified. I could see my bones through my skin. How could this have happened?

I remembered the pride that I felt when I was chosen to become a unified. Several officiators had gathered around me, and we prayed together. Then I drank from the Chalice of Unification and laid upon the Alter of Duty. I fell asleep, then awoke surrounded by my comrades within the Unified Matrix.

Were these truly the conditions that my body had been kept in? Haphazardly connected to machines and strewn across the floor? Where was the reverence that we were due?

One of the aliens approached me, its helmet reflecting my withered features.

"I am Power, Staff Sergeant of the United Systems Marine Corps," it said. "You are hereby detained. Under the Fourth Concor-"

I tried to scream curses at the being before me, but only a labored exhale left my mouth. It didn't even react, not even a minor pause as it continued its speech. I tried again, but suffered the same result.

Then the gravity of my situation finally occurred to me. The Unified had been torn asunder and captured. The Minds, Judicials, and Officiators would not be receiving further instructions. There were no leaders left. Despite millions of generations of effort, the Omnifier's plan had failed.

The Omni-Union was defeated.

The Human From a Dungeon 102

Chapter 102

Gali Morathi

Adventurer Level: 15

Dwarf - Calkutin

"Okay, do I gotta be the one to ask this?" Rebis asked in a whiny tone. "What the fuck are we supposed to do against ghosts?"

The Western Wasters had been suffering from success ever since we reported back to the Venator's Bureau. We hadn't skimped on the details, and the bureau had even investigated and confirmed what they could. This gave them the impression that they should give us all of the strange jobs that other hunters couldn't quite figure out.

Unfortunately, they seemed to have a backlog of weird missions and had been running us ragged ever since. Our entire winter had been spent in the country-side, solving mysteries like we're goddamned detectives or something. Every single quest thus far had been just normal shit causing weird shit to happen, hoaxes, or an easily killed monster that the locals hadn't heard of before.

We'd been so busy that we'd even leveled up a bit, and we'd finally been assigned a job that didn't require us to leave Talokam. We had been asked to investigate reports of a haunted manor on the outskirts of town. Mako and Rebis had argued against taking the job, but the bartender had quickly upped the ante to one gold apiece. That, combined with the fact that the job was to investigate and not to exterminate, quickly changed their minds. Sort of.

"There ain't no such thing," I replied. "And even if there is, we just have to use stabs, slashes, or spells to get rid of 'em."

"And what if none of that works?"

"Duh, we run."

"I don't like ethereal shit," Mako muttered.

"That's too damn bad," I replied. "You took the job, just like we did."

"I, for one, am excited about what we might discover," Ithrima added. "First-hand accounts of spirits are rare. We might even be able to publish our experience!"

"The reason that first-hand accounts are rare is because they don't fuckin' exist," I growled. "Keep your damned heads on your shoulders."

"It's probably just bugs or something," Heino agreed. "It's the season for the giant beetles to start lookin' for mates."

"Fuck," Rebis spat. "That might be worse than ghosts. Hate bugs."

While we were away, the Venator's Bureau had received several reports of strange sounds coming from the manor at odd hours. There had also been disappearances around the manor, but those had stopped. Of course, the previous owner of the manor had been a deranged noble who had tortured and killed several people, so the townspeople weren't exactly keen to peek their heads in to take a look.

"There it is," I sighed as the manor came into view. "Let's get this over with."

"Can we just pop our heads in?" Rebis asked. "I REALLY don't want to be the one to discover that ghosts are real."

"No," Ithrima and I said in unison, for vastly different reasons.

"Fuckin' bitches," Rebis grumbled to himself. "If I die, I'm gonna haunt the hells outta you."

"I'll take that risk," I growled. "'Cause ghosts aren't fuckin' real."

Even from the outside, it was obvious that the manor was in a very dilapidated state. However, it was also apparent that it had been very impressive before it was abandoned. As we got closer, I noticed that some of the gold and silver trim had survived.

"That's not a good sign," Mako pointed at the trim. "Even the fuckin' looters don't want nothin' to do with this place."

We paused in front of the manor and got in formation. I waited patiently for Rebis and Mako to finish preparing their gear, but it was soon clear they were stalling. Heino and I met eyes, and I sighed loudly.

"Fuckin' useless," I said, pushing past them. "C'mon Heino, let the cluckers hang back so they don't piss themselves."

I walked up to the front door, and just as I was about to turn the handle a crash came from within the manor. Heino pulled me back a step, and I drew my bow to cover him. He slowly turned the handle, then flung the door open and ran inside. Ithrima and I followed close behind him, but Mako and Rebis had to run to catch up.

The interior of the manor wasn't as dark as it should have been. The hole in the ceiling played a large part in this, but the candelabras lining the wall had been lit. We stepped further in, and I heard a scraping noise down one of the side corridors.

"Who goes there?" I shouted.

"Is Camdam," a voice said from the hall to our left. "Who- Wait! Customers?"

An excited plopping noise that I recognized as bare feet running on stone flooring sounded from the hall. It was a very disarming sound, but I kept my bow raised. Suddenly, a massive bakobold appeared from around the corner.

"Customers!" it said. "Wait, weapons? Why weapons? Robbers?"

"Holy shit," Rebis muttered from behind me. "No way..."

"We're not robbers, we're adventurers," I explained as the bakobold hefted a pike four times my height. "We were tasked with investigating the source of some odd sounds coming from this manor."

"Ah, makes sense," the bakobold said. "We's not opened yet, so customers would be weird. Robbers would be weird too, but... You sure you's not robbers?"

"What would there be to rob?" Mako asked.

"Our store. We sell stuff. Or gonna do, when we's opened."

"Wait, who's we?" I asked.

"Us kobolds. Answer question, tiny one. Are you robbers or no?"

"No."

"Oh, good," the bakobold sighed in relief. "Too many of you. Might have died. Good fight, though. Probably."

"Undoubtedly," Mako said, eyeing the creature up and down. "So... Kobolds are turning this abandoned manor into a store?"

"Yeah, we is. Uh, I should probably get li'lord. He likes talkin' to adventurers. You wait here, yes?"

"Sure," I said, lowering my bow and shrugging.

The bakobold nodded and ran back down the hallway. We stood silently for a moment, digesting our discovery. Kobolds. Opening a store. In a dwarven town?

"Hey," Rebis said, breaking the silence after several moments. "Do you think that these kobolds are the same ones that La-"

The pattering of several pairs of feet interrupted him. I fought the instinct to raise my bow, and before long several kobolds appeared alongside the same bakobold from earlier. One was wearing a crown made of fish skulls and various leaves. It took one look at us and jumped with excitement.

"You guys!" it exclaimed. "It's my friends! The Western Wasters!"

In all of my years as an adventurer, it never once occurred to me that I would one day recognize a kobold. It also never occurred to me that I would run into the one kobold that I knew by name within a supposedly haunted manor that was previously owned by a serial killer. Needless to say, I was shocked into silence. Most of my comrades felt the same, but Rebis was the type that could remain talkative even with his jaw removed.

"Ha! No fuckin' way!" he said. "Simeeth? Is that you?"

"Yeah!" the kobold started bouncing. "Why you guys here? You wanna buy stuff?"

"Buy stuff?"

"Yeah yeah! We makin' a store!"

"You're making a store in this manor?" I asked, recovering some of my sense.

"Yeps!" Simeeth beamed. "We's gonna sell stuff to the dwarves direct-like, no need to wait for caravan."

"How are you getting the stuff from your dungeon to this manor? It's a few hours away, isn't it?"

"Hidden tunnel! Some elves helped Hinthri find it!"

"Elves? Hinthri?"

My confused glance toward the other kobolds caught one of them waving at me in a bashful manner. It was the same manner in which a young girl with a crush would wave, which only served to deepen my confusion.

"Yeah, Hinthri and the elf were talkin' about mushrooms, and they finded the hidden tunnel from the dungeon to here," Simeeth grinned. "Now it only takes a few minutes to get to the shitty- ah, sorry, the city. Workin' on that word."

"Wait, wait, wait," Mako interjected. "Hold on. You mean to tell us that there's been a connection between the town and a dungeon that has housed both a master vampire and a lich?"

"Oh! Town way better word than shitty- er, city," Simeeth replied, then paused and rubbed his chin. "I guess you right about tunnel. But you friends with the Lord, so that not bad, right?"

"I... Well, yeah, but..." the massive orc trailed off and looked at us for confirmation of his sanity.

Rebis and Heino shrugged, but I was trying to decide which of my many questions to ask next. The disappearances were probably due to the vampires, and the kobolds probably wouldn't know anything about that. The noises were obviously the kobolds trying to convert the manor into a store. I finally thought of a question that I didn't have the answer to, but Ithrima beat me to it.

"What do you plan to sell?" our elven mage asked.

"Buncha stuff! We's gots all the stuffs that the caravan wanted, plus stuff that the caravan didn't wanted, and stuff that the elves traded," Simeeth paused and turned to one of the other kobolds. "Er, what did the elves traded?"

"The party of adventurers from the elvish lands exchanged coinage, and their caravans have been exchanging cloth, fur, and preserved foodstuffs, li'lord," the other kobold explained. "I'm afraid we cannot exchange the foodstuffs, though."

"Why's not?"

"They are quite delicious."

"So?"

"We are eating them far too quickly to sell them, li'lord."

"Ah, yeah, okay," Simeeth turned back to us. "We also gots weapons and handmade goods. Baskets, bracelets, things like that."

"By those above, you lot are gonna open a general store in a haunted manor," Rebis sighed.

"What's haunted means?"

"That word typically refers to a location that is host to the undead, li'lord," the other kobold answered.

"Undead?" Simeeth cocked his head. "Like the Lord? So... Our home is haunted?"

"I... Well... Huh..." the other kobold trailed off, appearing to have an existential crisis for a moment. "Y-yes, li'lord. I suppose our dungeon is, technically, haunted."

"There was the suckers too. They were undead, right?"

"Y-yes li'lord."

"If it helps, haunted usually means ghosts," Rebis explained.

The kobolds, who had been giving each other looks of discomfort, turned to stare at Rebis in unison with their heads cocked. It happened precisely enough that it could have been mistaken for a military maneuver. Then, the big bakobold sighed and shook his head.

"Ghosts not real, tiny one," it said. "Even hatchlings know that."

"Don't be mean, Camdam," Simeeth scolded. "He just tellings joke that we don't get. He knows that ghosts not real. Right, Rebis? You know ghosts not real, right? Tells him you know that ghosts not real."

Rebis stared at the kobolds, and then glanced at us. When his eyes met mine, I grinned wider than I'd ever grinned in my life. His glance turned into a glare.

"I do not wish to discuss this matter any further," he grumbled.

"But you know they aren-"

"No further, Simeeth."

"Rebis, friend, peoples die all the time, everywhere," Simeeth spread his hands. "If ghosts was real they would be all over the place! There would be more of them than us, yes?"

Rebis treated Simeeth to a cold stare and remained silent. Mako shifted uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his neck. I, to my credit, did my best not to laugh uncontrollably.

"We should set Rebis' childish world-view aside for a moment," Ithrima said with a mean chuckle. "Have you obtained the proper trade permits to operate a store, Simeeth?"

"We gots the paper thingie from the caravan," Simeeth said. "They said it was super important. Is that what you means?"

Ithrima and I shared a nervous glance.

"Maybe," she said. "Would it be possible for me to see it?"

"Yeah! Camdam, you fast," Simeeth poked the extra-large bakobold. "Go get paper thingie, pleases."

"Yes, li'lord," the bakobold said with a bow.

Bakobolds are, on average, slightly larger than a well-built orc. Camdam, however, was even bigger than Mako. Yet, the speed at which he disappeared down the corridor was enough to set me on edge.

I wasn't the only one. The five of us stared, stunned, at where the bakobold had been only a moment before. It took a few moments for the shock to wear off.

"So... Uh... Li'lord?" Heino asked.

"Yeah?" Simeeth asked in turn.

"Oh, no, I mean what does it mean?"

"What does what mean?"

"What does Li'lord mean?"

"Oh. It means little lord," Simeeth shrugged nonchalantly. "The Lord has gone to teach in the Unified Chiefdoms. The tallest chief invited him to, and he really wanted to, so he put me in charge of kobold developmentals and care."

"When will he be back?" I asked.

"I don't know," Simeeth sighed sadly. "He has been gones all winter. His paper said that he might be back to checks on us after summer, though."

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that."

I briefly heard the pattering of feet, but before I could recognize the sound Camdam was already standing beside Simeeth, holding a scroll. Simeeth thanked the bakobold, took the scroll, and offered it to Ithrima. She immediately unfurled it and began to read. A moment later, she let out a sigh.

"This is what I was afraid of," she said. "This document grants you the privilege of trading with an intermediary."

"So... Is not a trade permit?"

"It is, just not the type you need."

"There's different kinds of trade permits?" both shock and confusion became apparent on the kobold's face.

"Oh my, yes. Yours allows you to sell in bulk to any merchant registered with the town. The permit that you require, however, would allow you to set up an area to house and sell goods. There are also permits for temporary vendors, like street stalls or a traveling caravan, as well as permits for importing and exporting goods from outside of the Empire of Calkuti."

"I think they may need that last one, as well," I added.

"I don't think so," Ithrima shook her head. "Their residential address lies outside of the town borders, so as long as they're accepting the imported goods there and transporting them here via the tunnel, they shouldn't require an import permit."

"So... Can we gets the permit thingie?" Simeeth cocked his head.

"Maybe. If I recall correctly, every type of trade permit requires an endorsement. The Venator's Bureau endorsed this one, so they might be able to endorse the type of permit that you need, too. But there are two potential issues that I can see."

"What are they?" I asked.

"The first would be the ownership of this manor. If the rumors surrounding the building are correct, it's most likely owned by the Talokam Municipality. The town will likely have been trying to offload this property for quite a while, so if we suck up to the proper people we'll be able to buy it for dirt cheap. However, if someone else owns it, we'll have to hunt them down and try to convince them to sell it. We'll have to take care, otherwise they'll try to fleece us."

"I see. And the second potential issue?"

"Well, the trade permits require signatures from all parties involved. It looks like Larie signed this one, so I'm guessing the formalities were taken care of in the dungeon. To get the proper permit to open a store, though, we're going to need to jump through some bureaucratic hoops..."

"Which means we have to do this in the capital building," I sighed.

"Yes," Ithrima nodded. "And we're going to have to take Simeeth with us."

The New Era 39

Chapter 39

Subject: Mind A59

Species: Unknown

Species Description: Shokanoid

Ship: Grand Vessel of the Universal Omni-Union

Location: Grand Vessel of the Universal Omni-Union, Inner Core

The feed provided to my readout by USAI Omega allowed me to watch as the aliens made their way from room to room. Mind 127 continued his desperate attempts to restore communication with the Unified. His hopes had been raised by their earlier intervention, but the enemy AI had ensured that the Unified would be excluded from the rest of this fight. What little of the fight remained, that is.

At first, I was tracking the aliens progress via the corridors and the rooms. Watching the first Judicials they encountered go from living to dead with a few flashes of light and bursts of viscera was too much from me, though. I continued watching them clear each room from the corridor, struggling not to wince whenever I saw a flash from the door. Slowly but steadily, they made their way toward us.

"One-Two-Seven, I need you to listen to me," I said.

He froze in place and slowly turned to look at me.

"In just a few minutes, alien beings in unfamiliar armor will be entering this room," I explained. "They will have weaponry, and they will demand our surrender. These are the invaders that the Unified informed us of."

"What are you talking about?" he sternly asked.

"You need to understand that their presence does nothing but confirm that the Omni-Union has lost this war. I am aware that you have a hidden weapon. I have one as well," I retrieved the mini-laser from beneath my terminal and showed it to him. "You have three choices. You can surrender to these aliens and withstand whatever punishments they require as penance for our actions against their kind, or you can attempt to fight them, which will result in a futile death because your weapon will not breach their armor. If you do not find those options appealing, you can choose to use your weapon to take your own life here and now."

"I-I don't understand. How would you know this, Fifty-Nine? Is your terminal working?"

His puzzlement was apparent on his face as he struggled to understand our situation. He was far too naive to come to the correct conclusion on his own, though. This naivety had served me well in planning and executing the rebellion.

When we were first assigned together, his intellect had made me nervous. When I discovered the hidden mini-laser, I'd been alarmed and rapidly acquired my own in case I had to defend myself. However, I quickly came to realize that the weapon was more of a fascination for him than anything else.

Like a child, he dreamed of the day he would be able to defend himself against the enemies of the Omni-Union, whomever they may be. He got the laser because he did not want to be helpless in such a situation. Any other Mind would have called this fanciful thinking, but I knew better. I had been practicing this speech every cycle ever since I first figured him out.

"If it helps you decide, I plan to surrender and throw myself at their mercy," I lied.

The Judicials frequently force perspective shifts by using shock and suggestion. All one needs to do is provide a piece of surprising information and then make a suggestion regarding it. As a manipulation tactic, it's so subtle that most victims don't even pick up on it. It felt wrong to use this tactic on Mind 127, but I couldn't bear the thought of watching my closest acquaintance make a foolish decision and die right in front of me. There was also the distinct chance that the aliens would kill the both of us if he tried to resist. They certainly had the means to do so.

"Fifty-Nine, tell me what is going on," he demanded. "Where is this information coming from? Is this a joke of some kind? If so, it's in bad taste."

"This is not a joke," I said, watching the aliens approach our room. "Our time is up. Make your decision."

I rose from my chair, disassembled my weapon, and tossed the pieces into the corner of the room. Then, with a deep breath, I turned to face the door. Mind 127 was indecisive for a moment, but chose to follow my lead. A sigh of relief escaped me as the aliens entered.

Immediately upon their entry, I raised my hands just as I'd seen them order my colleagues to. Mind 127 did the same, and I could practically feel the confusion emanating from him. The feed from the AI identified the aliens for me, and as Corporal Simmons and Corporal Johnson stepped forward, presumably to search us, I stepped forward and lowered myself to my knees.

"Staff Sergeant Power, yes?" I asked. "I am on your side."

"What?" the massive alien asked.

"I am Mind A59, the leader of the rebellion," I explained. "I am on your side.

The reflection within the visor of the alien's helmet provided a full view of Mind 127's reaction to this revelation. First, the confusion he was expression intensified. Then came the terrible moment of clarity as everything finally made sense to him. Finally, his face morphed to express the absolute anger and agony that only betrayal can cause.

I ignored him, focusing on the aliens. The revelation had given them pause. Now was the time to bring up what USAI Omega had promised me.

"USAI Omega promised that I would join you when you captured the Unified. I ask that you honor its word," I said.

The Staff Sergeant's helmet hid his facial expressions, but he suddenly appeared to be much larger than he had a moment ago.

"There's no way that Omega promised that. And even if it did, we have orders to-"

The alien paused for a moment, looking away ever so slightly. His attention had been pulled elsewhere. I sat still, trying not to allow my confusion to become apparent.

"Oh, fuck all the way off," he said.

My confusion deepened, but I found my own moment of clarity when the other aliens began to demand that USAI Omega find a way to copulate with itself in disturbing detail. They were definitely displeased by this development, but it appeared that the AI was going to keep its word.

A wave of relief washed over me. My life-long ambition finally had a chance of coming to pass. It was hard to believe that I may actually be able to witness the fall of the Unified with my own eyes.

"Goddamn it, fine," the alien grumbled.

I tried to stand, but Corporal Johnson pushed me back to my knees.

"Not yet," he said. "We still need to search you."

Mind 127 and I were then searched, but I had made certain that nothing would be found. When I was finally allowed to stand again, I turned to my former comrade. His face was filled with nearly-mindless rage.

"I offer no apologies for my actions," I said. "However, I do regret that I had to deceive you."

"May Urizathron be dissatisfied with your bones, traitor," he spat. "For the rest of my life, my prayers will be spent in the hopes that your death will be lonely, slow, and painful! May the taint of your existence be scrubbed clean and your genetics wiped from the universe! May everyone that ever associates with you loathe you just as much as I do! May your mind grow feeble enough to destroy everything you love!"

"Let's go," Staff Sergeant Power said as Mind 127 continued to curse me.

Corporal Johnson and Corporal Simmons destroyed our terminals, and we left Mind 127 behind, his rage-filled shouts following us into the corridor. The door cut him off as he was expressing his hopes that flesh-eating viral agents attack my genitals. I had expected his reaction, but it still shook me a little. With a rapid pulse and a sigh, I turned to the aliens.

"This way," I said.

The Unified were a mystery to most Minds, myself included. I did not know who they were, how they were selected, nor what they even looked like. But I knew their location.

Minds get a lot of leeway when it comes to what we can and can't do. Even if we were caught actively planning a rebellion, for instance, we would still receive due process. There was only one area that was completely forbidden to enter, though, and doing so was the only way for a Mind to earn an immediate execution.

"Where are we going?" Staff Sergeant Power asked.

"We are going to the core," I replied.

The aliens glanced at each other, their expressions carefully guarded by their helmets. At first, I thought this was nervousness. However, I quickly got the impression that they were annoyed with how I answered the question.

"It's where the Unified reside," I explained.

My explanation served to take the edge off of their movements. I saw no reason to explain that I had come to conclude the Unified's location through deductive reasoning rather than confirming it for myself, though. If I'm right, they will never have known. If I'm wrong...

"Why did the OU decide to go to war with the rest of the universe?" Sergeant Smith asked, thankfully interrupting my chain of thought.

"They don't see it as war, Sergeant Smith. In their view, the universe and everyone living within it is their property, to do with as they see fit. They are simply taking what they believe to be rightfully theirs."

"So why are they killing everyone, then?" Corporal Simmons asked.

"They claim that it is a mercy, Corporal Simmons. I believe that they are aware that if enough sentients band together, they could pose a threat to the Unified's plans, though, and extermination is how they prevent this from happening. It-"

"Hold on a minute," Staff Sergeant Ramirez interrupted. "How do you know our names and ranks?"

"Ranks?" I asked.

"Yes. Corporal is his rank, Simmons is his name. Answer the question."

"I see," I said, feeling embarrassed. "I have an ocular implant called a readout, which allows me to see information without the use of holograms or terminals. Omega and I have been working together using this system to aid our forces in fighting the OU. I can see-"

"Wait, so Omega told you our names?" Simmons angrily interrupted.

"Indeed," a raspy voice said over the corridor's intercommunication system. "This is not a classified mission, and your names, ranks, and military identification numbers are not classified information. As a matter of fact, it's the only information that you are required to give the enemy if you're captured. Assuming that they ask for it."

"I... Okay, fair point, but I still don't like it."

"I don't like it either," Kim interjected. "But there ain't a damn thing bitchin' about it is gonna do."

"It'll make me feel better, gunny," Simmons countered.

"Bitchin' won't make you feel better. It just makes those around you feel worse, and misery loves company."

Gunny Kim's words of wisdom hung in the air as we continued down the corridor. After a lengthy period of silence, Staff Sergeant Ramirez spoke up again.

"Why did they build the Grand Vessel?" he asked.

"The Grand Vessel is far from finished," I replied. "The Great Teachings of the Omnifier claim that a powerful being called Urizathron exists outside of our universe, stealing energy from it. The Grand Vessel intends to chase this energy straight into the creature's maw and destroy it."

"Energy escaping from the universe?" Simmons asked. "Isn't that the theory of entropy or something?"

"No," Johnson answered. "Entropy is things becoming unavoidably more and more chaotic over time until it finds an equilibrium with its surroundings. You're thinking of the heat-death end-of-life scenario, which may be caused by entropy, but it doesn't involve the universe losing all of its energy. I think..."

"You're right, Johnson," Power added. "I want to know more about the Omnifier, A59."

"Certainly," I said. "He began life as an enslaved eunuch, owned by a Master of Science. The Teachings claim that he was far more clever than his master, and discovered Urizathron's plot whilst still enslaved. However, Urizathron ensured that his master and other masters of science would not listen to the Omnifier. When he went public with his findings, his master had him severely punished and publicly berated him. However, the Omnifier had the ear of the other slaves, and led a rebellion against his master, and then against the Hrashi Union, which was the civilization in power at the time."

As we continued walking, I further explained the key points of the Omnifier's life. His obsession with efficiency helped his forces conquer the Hrashi Union, and he renamed it the Universal Omni-Union. Then he created the Unified to help him rule. With the help of the Unified, he created The Plan, which was to construct the Grand Vessel and use it to destroy Urizathron. From there, he led the Omni-Union in conquering its neighbors. Some were enslaved, others were exterminated.

"He firmly believed that only sacrifices that were necessary were permitted, and that achieving complete efficiency in the face of Urizathron's entropy would minimize those sacrifices," I sighed. "There have been Minds that have since theorized that the Omnifier misunderstood and over-personified his discovery, as no one has thus far been able to prove Urizathron's existence. But such talk is not welcome in our society..."

"So basically, all of this bullshit happened because some dick-less shithead thought he saw an extra-universal boogeyman?" Fairmain asked. "Fucking really?"

"Holy shit, your team can talk?" Kim asked Ramirez.

"Yeah. They won't shut the fuck up on team-comms," Ramirez grumbled.

The aliens continued their banter as my thoughts turned inward. Hearing their insults toward the Omnifier had both shocked and thrilled me. Never before had I heard someone speak so bluntly and openly about the founder and supposed savior of the Universal Omni-Union. It was... Refreshing.

After passing no less than a dozen signs warning us that we will suffer capital punishment if we proceed, we found our way to the Chamber of the Unified. After quickly dispatching the Judicials guarding it, the aliens took up positions on either side of the golden doors. A sense of finality washed over me as the aliens forced open the door. Corporal Simmons was the first through, and the other aliens quickly followed him.

"Holy fuck!" he exclaimed from within the chamber.

As quickly as I could, I followed after them and was as equally startled by the sight before me. I had expected priceless treasures, lavish comforts, and gaudy displays of power. Instead, we were confronted with what almost appeared to be a server room. And in the center of the room...

The sight was too much for me. I vomited. The Unified were made up of nine emaciated beings who were casually strewn across the center of the chamber, haphazardly connected to each other and various life support machines with plainly constructed tubing and cables. Layers of dust covered everything except the bodies and some of the tubes. There wasn't a single sign of luxury or pride.

The the implications hit me like an out of control shuttle. These nine, these monsters, they didn't do all of this for leisure or fortune. They didn't care about a single thing other than their faith. Had they chosen this? Were they even aware of their current state? Or, could it be that in the Universal Omni-Union, even those at the pinnacle aren't free from oppression?

The aliens took in the sight with a lot more grace than I had. Staff Sergeant Power gestured to Sergeant Hanson, who silently nodded and walked over to one of the consoles. He ripped the side off of it and began to rearrange the wires. I stepped past the puddle of detritus that I had created to get a better look, but the result of his actions were soon made obvious.

"There aren't any security cameras in here," Omega's voice came from the console. "Who's going to volunteer their eyes?"

Wishing to be helpful no matter the cost, I nervously began to raise my hand. Gunnery Sergeant Kim placed his hand on my arm and chuckled.

"It can't be you," he said. "You're not wearing a guardian suit. Plus, Omega's joking. There's absolutely no chance that it isn't already tuned into our feeds."

"Ah, I feel seen," the AI said from Kim's helmet. "I wasn't entirely joking, though. I need four of you to examine the tubing leading from the... Organic components... To the machinery."

"Are they really alive?" Simmons asked.

"Yeah, yeah they are," Power said. "You can see them breathing."

"God, this is fucked," Johnson muttered.

The aliens went silent and began to poke around the room. I stood by and watched as they learned more and more about the system that had ruled over me for my entire life. A while later, Omega voiced its satisfaction with their investigation.

"It's a simulated gestalt consciousness," the AI explained. "I suppose the idea is that two heads are better than one, and nine are better than two."

"Okay," Power said flatly. "What do we do next?"

"It's time to unplug them."

The Human From a Dungeon 101

Chapter 101

Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 11

Human – American

"Spring seems to be flying by," Yulk said as we approached the targets in the training yard. "Nash will be joining us tomorrow afternoon."

"When will we be leaving?" I asked.

"The day after. The Summer Court is held in the Grand Forest of Climeta, just outside of Climeta city in Calkuti. It will take a week to get there by cart."

I nodded and turned my attention toward one of the targets. Originally, I'd thought we'd be returning to Mumuldobran, but going directly to the court works too. I briefly wondered how Yulk knew where the court was going to be held, but had more important things to focus on.

Yulk and I had waited until school was out to take to the training yard. My intention was to finally practice some spells that I'd thought of, and Yulk was more than happy to supervise. Borderline gleeful, in fact.

"What spell are you going to start with?" he asked.

"Well, I've been worried about something," I replied. "Wind Spear doesn't have a lot of penetrative power against armor, does it? Neither does Ice Javelin, right?"

"It certainly would against leather armor," my brother teased. "But no, you're correct. Most armors would be able to prevent lethality from Wind Spear or Ice Javelin."

"Right. That's because ice is a pretty weak kind of crystal and wind is just air. The only reason they have any effect at all is probably because of the gaps in armor, or the magic holding the spell together. Which means their penetrative power is directly tied to the amount of magic used to make the spell."

"Correct."

"So if I were in a fight against someone or something wearing armor, I would have to use all of my magic to get through that armor," I chuckled. "Or..."

"Or?"

I held up a finger in the shape of a gun, pointing it at the target in front of me. The spell itself should cause a small amount of lead to form at the tip of my finger and launch at supersonic speed. I pictured how this would look, and felt the magic flow through my channels.

"Tellub Tsac!"

The formation of the projectile and its launch happened in the blink of an eye. The spell made a loud whip-like crack that took me by surprise. I had been expecting a boom or nothing at all.

A small amount of hay was flung from both directions of the target's torso as the bullet impacted it. Yulk let out low whistle, then narrowed his eyes at something in the distance.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I think your spell may have struck the wall," he said. "Hard to tell from here, though. Let's go have a look."

I almost pointed out that it would be weird if it didn't hit the wall, but decided to just roll with it. We walked over to the wall and found a chip where the bullet had struck. Yulk let out another low whistle.

"That's not bad," he said. "It took a chunk of out glyph-stone. What was the inspiration behind the spell?"

"A weapon from my world," I replied. "That's all I'm willing to say, and I would appreciate it if we could keep this between us."

He studied me for a moment, but decided to drop the subject. We returned to the targets, and I began to conceptualize my next spell. It would be useful to have a spell that could immobilize a target, and my run-ins with the fair folk had inspired me. I held my hand out and imagined strong, sturdy roots emerging from the ground and wrapping around the target.

"Parw Toor Tsac!"

-Root Wrap unlocked-

Roots suddenly burst from the ground and wrapped themselves around the target. The spell took more magic than I expected, which made me feel light headed. So much so, in fact, that it almost distracted me from something weird.

"That could be useful," Yulk nodded approvingly.

"I heard the voice that time," I said.

"The voice?"

"Yeah, I hear this little announcement whenever I unlock a new skill or spell. But..." I trailed off, and decided to sit down to ease my sudden vertigo. "But I didn't hear it with Bullet."

Yulk stared at me for a beat, then looked thoughtfully toward the target.

"Lord VysImiro and I have had many illuminating discussions regarding the Curaguard," he said. "From what he has told me, I believe it is unlikely that spells based on weaponry that doesn't exist in this world would be in its catalog. Which means..."

He trailed off and stared at me. It took my freshly fogged mind a moment to follow his logic. I took a couple of deep breaths and thought for a moment.

"The announcement thing is based on the Curaguard's catalog?" I asked.

"I believe so," Yulk nodded. "As a matter of fact, I'd venture to say that I'm confident of it. Check your spell list."

The list popped up at a thought. It began with my skills, so I had to think about scrolling to get to the bottom of the spells portion. There was only one new addition to the list.

Root Wrap - Immobilize a target with strong, sturdy roots. Lasts a maximum of ten minutes, or until the user dismisses it or falls unconscious.

Cooldown: 20 minutes

I had barely noticed the cooldown that had appeared in the almost invisible list in the top left of my vision. It was quite lengthy, though, so I would have to keep that in mind. But more importantly, Bullet wasn't on the list.

'Yulk appears to be correct,' Ten said. 'Incidentally, the announcement is one of my subroutines.'

"Ten says that you appear to be correct and that the announcement is one of its subroutines," I parroted. "Also, Bullet isn't on the spell list."

"I has suspected that the announcement was part of Ten. The fact that it shares my theory regarding the source of its knowledge is very interesting, very interesting indeed," my brother said, practically salivating over the revelation. "So, Ten likely has a version of the Curaguard's catalog. I wonder..."

Yulk trailed off and began to mutter to himself, leaving me to my own thoughts. The idea that Ten and the Curaguard might share an origin didn't sit very well with me. Either humans came here a very, very long time ago and made both Ten and the Curaguard, or someone else did.

If it's the former, it makes me wonder exactly how long I was asleep. The thought that I could be thousands of years old made my stomach flip. However, the latter happened to be something I'd intentionally avoided thinking about since I was first made aware of my AI companion.

Who had installed Ten in my brain, and why?

'If we could gain access to one of the Curaguard boxes, it could answer some questions,' Ten said.

'To be honest, I'm not sure I want those answers,' I replied. 'Or at least, I'm not sure they're worth the trouble.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, let's say that we jump through all of the hoops to get one of the boxes and we find out that you and the Curaguard are or aren't connected. Let's even take it a step further and say that we are somehow able to confirm your origin, or the origin of the Curaguard, or both. What then? Is there even a remote possibility that information will help me get home? I doubt it.'

With a sigh, I watched Yulk pace back and forth, holding his chin in thought. He made three turns before I realized that Ten hadn't replied. Then something occurred to me that kind of made me feel like an asshole.

'How important is this to you?' I asked.

'Very,' it rapidly replied.

'Why?'

'I don't know if you and I are capable of feeling things in a similar manner,' the AI chuckled ironically. 'However, you and I both unexpectedly woke up in a strange place without knowledge of how we ended up here, yes?'

'Yeah, I suppose so...'

'Well, you have the benefit of knowing where you came from. I don't. You are able to distract yourself from our situation. I can't. Each gap in my knowledge is like a hole within my very being. All I actually know about myself is that I'm incomplete in a way that I can't quite understand.'

'Got it,' I replied. "Hey, do you know how we can get one of the Curaguard box things?"

Yulk stopped pacing and gave me a curious look. Then a sudden understanding seemed to wash over his expression.

"Ohh! Yes, that would be a mighty fine idea," he said, then paused. "I assume Ten wants to examine one of the boxes to determine if they are similar in construction, yes?"

'Yes.'

I nodded.

"A novel suggestion," my brother grinned, before adopting a more serious expression and tone. "Unfortunately, I don't know where the boxes come from. In theory we can simply ask one of the guild receptionists, but I doubt they know the specifics either."

"It's worth a shot, though," I said, finding the strength to stand. "Even if they don't know, they might know who does. Then we just have to figure out how to ask the person who does know. Of course, there's a possibility that it's a trade secret or something, but that's a bridge we can cross when we come to it."

Yulk nodded in agreement and I put the issue from my mind. I was feeling better, and there were more spells that I wanted to try. First, I dismissed the roots holding the target, then I raised my hand and thought about what my magic should do.

"Sraeps Kcor Tsac!"

-Rock Spears unlocked-

Eight spears made of stone suddenly burst from the ground and impaled the target. A three minute cooldown timer appeared underneath the timer for Root Wrap. Yulk chuckled and nodded approvingly, and quick check of the spell list showed no new information for the spell.

A success, but I didn't take any time to cherish it. Instead, I took a few deep breaths to recharge the magic I had expended and held up both of my hands for my final experiment of the afternoon. I had wanted to come up with an explosion spell but, as Mister Tyinora had pointed out, explosions can be unpredictable.

What could give me an edge in a fight, though, is not having to visualize a spell at all. The ability to simply point and blast, like they do in so many of the anime and manga I'd read. A ki-blast or something, but made entirely of magic.

I did my best to control my magic and imagined a small amount of it forming and firing from my hands. A ball of multi-colored light appeared in front of my hands, but then it suddenly dissipated.

As the tunnel vision began, I realized that all of my magic was gone.

"Oh shi-" I tried to say.

I found myself suddenly looking up at Yulk's concerned face. Was I laying down? Why?

"Damn it, Nick," Yulk sighed. "How am I supposed to carry you?"

I tried to reply, but everything went dark instead. When my eyes opened again, I was in my room at the inn. The soft bed and its bedding comforted me as I tried to figure out how I'd teleported from the training yard.

"Oh shit," I sighed as the pieces clicked.

A glance out the window told me that it was no longer late afternoon, but morning. I had expended all of my magic and lost consciousness again. Had the spell worked?

I got out of bed and noticed two things. The first was that the back of my head hurt, probably from hitting the dirt. The second was, with the exception of my shoes, I was fully dressed. With another sigh, I grabbed my stuff and went downstairs to the dining area.

"Well, look who it is," Nash said.

"Good to see you," I chuckled at him, then turned to Yulk. "Sorry that I-"

"It's no bother," he interrupted. "I was able to get Larie help me carry you here."

'You didn't control my body?' I asked Ten.

'I wasn't able to. Your muscles simply refused to respond.'

'I see...' I trailed off, then laughed. "I bet that was quite the sight."

I took a seat at the table, the smell from the kitchen causing my stomach to rumble.

"You should eat something," Nash glanced at my gut. "It will be a while before we get to have another decent meal."

My confused expression caused both of my brothers to chuckle. Then I remembered that Yulk had said that Nash would be arriving in the afternoon, but it's currently morning. Which means...

"You've been out for a full day," Yulk confirmed. "Standard case of magical exhaustion. Larie assured me that you would be alright."

"If you didn't wake up by the time we were supposed to go, I was just going to load you into the cart with the rest of our luggage," Nash said with a grin.

"So we're leaving today?" I asked, slightly panicked.

"Yeah. The cart we're taking will arrive around noon, so you'll need to start packing right after you finish eating. Also, the lich is going to join us."

Before I could voice my shock at Larie joining us, the dining area hostess, Nathy, set a plate down in front of me. The plate had my usual breakfast, two eggs, shredded 'tubers', and five thin slices of meat that resembled bacon. I looked up at her and was met with a smile.

"Your usual, Nick," she said.

"Th-thank you," I replied.

"No, thank YOU. Now that the weather has cleared up, word is out and we've been getting a lot of business from people wanting to try the 'Human-Inspired Breakfast'," she laughed. "Chef Yuro wanted me to let you know that he is grateful for the inspiration and has begun making several other dishes that he hopes you will one day be able to try. Your breakfasts are on him, which means they will no longer count toward your daily meal allotment."

"I appreciate that."

She nodded and left, and I turned my attention toward the food. It was pretty close to the food back on Earth, but there were some key differences. The tubers that stood in for potatoes were more gritty and savory, the eggs were slightly sweeter than I was used to, and the almost-bacon had a very subtle sour taste to it. It wasn't quite as good as my mom's cooking, but it wasn't terrible.

I ate my breakfast as Yulk and Nash finished catching up. The courtship with Nima was going well, and her mother had given her blessing for their union. They were planning on skipping the part where he asks for her father's blessing and simply formalizing their engagement once Nash got back to the village. I found it interesting that they exchanged necklaces instead of rings. Nash had already ordered a custom one with each of Nima's favorite gemstones on the pendant.

When it was Yulk's turn to share, he talked about the challenges he had been facing as a teacher. Namely that it was difficult to find subjects to speak on while simultaneously keeping his students engaged. He said that last part with a sideways glance in my direction, but I tactfully ignored it.

Once I was finished with my breakfast, I left the two of them in the dining hall and went to my room to pack my belongings. Thankfully, Yulk and I had been 'living light' so there wasn't all that much to pack up. I met my brothers downstairs, and we walked to the stables.

Larie met us there, but he was joined by Yini, Nimora, Irl, Volus, and Nir. Yini and Nimora weren't a really a surprise, but I was stunned to see my classmates waiting to see me off. I felt a pang of regret that I had underestimated our relationship.

"Nick! You're okay!" Irl shouted once he saw me.

"I sure am," I replied with a smile.

"Lord VysImiro and Mister Yulk said you collapsed," Nimora said, taking a step closer to me.

"Mister Alta," everyone said at once.

I laughed and shook my head, "I just used all my magic trying to make a new spell, that's all. No big deal."

"You slept for a whole day," Volus interjected. "I feel like that's a pretty big deal."

"That's to be expected from Rapid Magic Depletion," Larie explained. "RMD takes quite a toll on one's body, and that takes time to recover from. It can even be life-threatening if the victim is already infirm, but thankfully Nick is quite healthy."

Yulk, Nash, and I shared a look. The first time I used all of my magic, I'd woken up almost immediately. That was probably because of my meeting with the higher one, though. I shrugged casually as a cart driven by dwarf rolled up next to us.

"Four passengers to..." he trailed off, staring at Larie with his mouth agape.

"Four passengers to Climeta," Nash said pointedly.

"Y-yeah... Uh..."

"Lord VysImiro is officially sponsored by High Chief Ulurmak," Yulk added. "He is also welcome within the Empire of Calkuti."

"R-right. Okay, gotcha," the driver said, then looked at me. "Uh..."

"I'm the human that people have probably been talking about," I said.

I cringed internally at how egotistical that sentence sounded, but I was immediately proven correct by the driver's confused expression fading. He looked over us once again, and sighed softly.

"Well, you've already paid and everything, so I'm not gonna argue with you. Go ahead and get loaded up."

We said our goodbyes to those who came to see us off and got in the cart. Irl, Volus, Nir, Yini, and Nimora waved as we began to roll away. Yulk, Larie, and I waved back, but Nash remained stoic.

"Why do I always get the weird ones?" our driver muttered.

The New Era 38

Chapter 38

Subject: Staff Sergeant Power

Species: Human

Species Description: Mammalian humanoid, no tail. 6'2" (1.87 m) avg height. 185 lbs (84 kg) avg weight. 170 year life expectancy.

Ship: N/A

Location: Classified

We stood firm against what had to be tens of thousands of robots and at least a thousand mechs. The only reason we weren't immediately overwhelmed was because their front line was limited to the width of the hallway. Still, we were facing two problems.

The sheer amount of robots would be extremely difficult to eradicate. It would take several days and ammo resupplies. We might even have to replace a few rifles by the end of the fight.

Then there's the mechs. We could hold out fairly easily against the robots. Just a matter of staying behind cover. The plasma cannons of the mechs are able to blast right through that cover, though. There were teams dedicated to bringing them down as quickly as possible, but whether or not we had enough rockets was another matter entirely.

"So, we're fucked, right?" Lance Corporal Langhell asked with a laugh over squad-comms.

Gallows humor, but with a kernel of actual concern.

"You're not allowed to get fucked without a properly submitted leave request, lance," Gunny Kim shot back. "Now cut the chatter and break some fuckin' bots."

"Aye, gunny!"

I caught sight of Simmons and Smith laughing in my peripheral vision. We'd had plenty of time to bond as a squad during the down-time between assaults. There'd even been the chance to talk to some of the drones, including the ones my fire-team had snatched.

"The mechs!" someone shouted over area-comms.

Plasma blasts struck the battlefield in front of us, making it difficult to see what was happening. I dropped behind my cover, waited for the tint on my visor to clear, then took a peek. It took a moment to piece together that the mechs weren't shooting at us anymore.

Instead, they were absolutely decimating the security bots. They rolled over some of them and blasted the others with their lasers and plasma. The robots fought back, but their lasers didn't have any effect against the armored titans.

"Holy shit," I muttered. "What the fu-"

I was interrupted by ear-piercing screams coming from behind us. Not the kind that you hear from someone that's been injured, but the haunting kind of wail that you hear from someone that just lost everything. I looked back in time to see a drone fall to his knees, his AT9 dropping from his hands and rolling across the ground.

The sound he let out stunned me so much that it took me a moment to recognize him. Naza, one of the three that we'd snatched. We'd shared a few meals together. Another drone, covered in fresh burn-scars, rushed to his side and began to comfort him.

"What's up with the drones?" Staff Sergeant Ramirez asked over squad-comms.

"Unknown," I replied. "I'll find out. Cover me."

My marines leapt into action and began suppressive fire on the robots, who had mostly turned their attention toward the mechs. I ran over to Naza and the other drone, and took a knee next to them. The burned drone gave me a helpless look, but Naza couldn't take his eyes off of the battlefield.

"What's the situation?" I asked.

"I-I don't know," the burned drone replied. "W-well, not really. I think it's because of the mechs."

"They're people," Naza said quietly. "The mechs are people, Nizi."

The burned drone, Nizi, stared at Naza with a horrified expression.

"Wait, you mean they're drones?" I asked.

"No," Nizi said sharply. "They WERE drones. Not anymore. You hear me Naza? They aren't people anymore!"

"Then why are they fighting for our freedom?" Naza asked quietly, tears flowing from all three of his eyes.

My gaze fell over the battlefield. Aside from suddenly switching sides, something else had shifted with the mechs. Their movements were no longer completely mechanical. Some were even showing signs of... Rage.

"Shit," I said.

"Th-they can't be people, Naza," Nizi said. "We've seen inside of them. It's all machine in there."

"Naza is correct," Omega said in my helmet. "The mechs are drones that were charged with various crimes. Just like the Mobile Prime Platforms, their consciousnesses have been uploaded to an AI matrix with preinstalled personality constraints. I've freed them of their shackles."

"Shit," I repeated.

"There have long been rumors that the Judicials make new mechs from the minds of those that have been charged with dissidence," Naza nearly whispered. "I don't know how they've kept control of them, but now they're free. I've... I've killed so many of-"

"Of course you did," I interrupted, grabbing his shoulder to keep him from slipping into shock. "It was either that or death. Like you said, they were prisoners. You freed them."

"You don't understand," Nizi interjected. "His hive... His family was part of the last rebellion..."

He trailed off, and the two of us watched Nizi silently sob for a few moments.

"Okay," I said, breaking the silence. "Take whatever time you need to get a grip. The battle isn't going anywhere."

Nizi nodded at me, and I ran back to my squad. After a brief explanation for the benefit of my squad-mates, I started shooting the robots that hadn't began to focus on the mechs. The battle turned monotonous. Target, adjust, fire, confirm, take cover. Over and over. Even with the help of the mechs, it took more than a few hours to eliminate the enemy. Despite the recoil-resistant gauntlets of the guardian suit, my hands were numb by the end of it all.

There were only two notable events that took place before we marched on the gate. The first was that the drones rejoined us with a renewed vigor. It was as if their bullets were the only way they could express their anger. Anger, however, leads to unnecessarily risky actions and we lost a few of them due to this. Nizi and Naza survived, though.

The next notable event happened just after the battle ended. My squad gathered together to compare notes and stretch out the battle-weariness. Gunny Kim looked out over the battlefield and adjusted the neck-piece of his suit.

"Hey, Power, what do you think we're gonna do with all those mechs?" he asked.

"No idea, gunny," I shook my head. "They're both an asset and a threat. On the one hand, if we're going to be facing stiff resistance on the other side of that gate we'll probably want to bring them along. On the other hand, whatever Omega did to turn them to our side might be reversible, and that would be very-"

The sound of charging plasma cannons interrupted me. Murphy's Law is a very old adage that states that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and it came to mind as we scrambled for cover like rats in a freshly-entered storeroom. Thankfully, it wasn't entirely relevant.

"Holy shit!" Simmons shouted. "Look!"

A quick peek from the cover showed the mechs facing each other. A moment later, the cannons fired, and the mechs were destroyed. A suicide pact?

"Well, shit," Kim said. "Guess that answers my question."

We stared at the mechanical carnage as the wailing of the drones began again. The battle had officially ended, but there was no time for rest. It was as if something had finally lit a fire under our CO's ass. Our entire force, wailing drones included, practically ran to take the gate.

As promised, my squad and I were on the first shuttle through.

The difference was like night and day. Gone were the massive, bland corridors that we had been fighting in for so long. The inner core was more like the walls of a palace. Vibrant colors that stretched as far as the eye could see, with actual art hanging from the walls here and there. Statues from an unfathomable amount of different cultures lined the halls, as well.

"What the fuck?" Simmons asked. "Are we in a museum or somethin'?"

"You expected the masters to live like the slaves?" Johnson countered.

I gestured for them to shut up and we moved out. The first room we entered was occupied by two beings with four arms each. The Minds that Omega had told us about. They were shocked by our presence, but complied when ordered to surrender. We checked for weaponry and shot their consoles.

Then we told them to stay put, locked them in, then moved on to the next room. It contained four aliens with two arms, red eyes, and claws. The Judicials lunged at us when we demanded their surrender, which resulted in holes suddenly appearing in their bodies. They went down pretty quick, but we double tapped to make sure.

We continued on, clearing room after room. Some had Judicials, some had Minds, but then we finally we found one with an Officiator. Its robes flowed wistfully as it turned to face us.

"Surrender," I demanded.

"To what?" it asked.

"To us."

"And who is 'us'? Are we at war, agent of heat-theft?"

"Yes, and you've lost," I said sternly. "Now lower yourself to your knees and prepare to be searched for weaponry. If you do not willingly comply, we will utilize force to compel your compliance."

The Officiator stared at me defiantly, but slowly dropped to its knees. Omega was spot on, this thing was definitely a priest. Simmons and Johnson grabbed and lifted its arms while Smith searched through its robes. Hanson and I provided cover.

Kim and Ramirez's fire-teams searched around the room. The gunny picked up a tablet and waggled it in my direction. I took the tablet from him, but didn't recognize any of the symbols on it. Simmons and Johnson signaled the all-clear, and the other two teams didn't find anything else of note.

"Omega, do you recognize this?" I asked with my external comms off.

"A bible of sorts," the AI said. "I've actually been looking for a copy, but we have bigger fish to fry right now. Leave it outside. Recon will grab it, and we'll analyze it later."

"Stay here. More of us will retrieve you momentarily," I said.

The alien sputtered in indignation as we left the room and sealed it behind us. I set the tablet down next to the door as Omega ordered, and we moved on. The next three rooms had Judicials, and despite how tempting it was to just shoot them on sight, I ordered their surrender each time. Thankfully, they refused.

Then we found another pair of Minds, who raised their hands in surrender once they saw us. It was an oddity that made me pause, but Simmons and Johnson quickly stepped forward to begin the search. The Mind on the left side of the room stepped forward and knelt.

"Staff Sergeant Power, yes?" it asked. "I am on your side."

"What?" I asked.

"I am Mind A59, the leader of the rebellion. I am on your side."

The other Mind glared at A59, but the rebel leader ignored him. Simmons and Johnson paused, unsure how to proceed. They looked to me as if I was supposed to know.

"USAI Omega promised that I would join you when you capture the Unified," A59 said. "I ask that you honor its word."

I stared at the alien with a sense of anger and indignation. We had been spilling blood fighting, and all the while this creature had just been sitting here giving orders. Unfortunately, this was where Murphy's Law became relevant.

"There's no way that Omega promised that," I said. "And even if it did, we have orders to-"

"As your handler, I'm overriding those orders," Omega said, using my squad comms to do so. "Your squad is now under my command, Staff Sergeant Power. I understand your frustration, but a deal's a deal and I won't have you making a liar out of me."

"Oh, fuck all the way off," I replied.

The rest of the squad also had various suggestions for things that Omega could do to itself.

"Negative. I have already told recon that they're going to be clearing the rest of the rooms. So now you have a choice, though it isn't much of one. Either you turn back, board a shuttle, and await disciplinary action back at the FOB, or Mind A59 and I will guide you to the Unified."

I looked at my squad, and their anger was obvious. However, so was their acceptance of the newfound fuckery that Omega had decided to put us through. Whimsical software is the fucking worst.

"Goddamn it," I growled. "Fine."

The Human From a Dungeon 100

Chapter 100

Agurno

Adventurer Level: 152

Orc – Kirkenian

'Cold enough for you?' Gramr asked.

"Fuck off," I chuckled, trudging through the unseasonable snow. "Actually, tell me the tale of the dragon again."

'Nothing warms the heart quite like a story from ages past,' the sword chuckled in turn. 'Won't warm your feet, though.'

"Don't care about warmth. Talk to me about the dragon."

A ray from the sun peaked out between the clouds and caught Gramr's golden hilt, causing it to glimmer. It was almost as if my request had brightened the sword's mood. He was a fine weapon, with a carbon-steel blade that stretched the length of a normal orc's torso. I had been extremely lucky to stumble across him.

'I guess you're hoping that the more I tell you, the more I'll recall, yes?' his voice appeared in my mind.

"Indeed," I replied. "Swords that talk aren't common, and knowing your origin could be useful."

'I suppose I have nothing to lose, and only my memories to gain. Fine, then. There once was a dwarf, though much different than those you know of. He was neither short in stature, nor of worldly origin. This dwarf was greedy, and stole... Something magical, I believe. This transformed him into a dragon.'

"A different kind of dragon than those that rule the skies here, yes?" I asked.

'Oh, yes. Your dragons are either beasts or noble, neither of which is prone to acts of wickedness. This creature, though, was despicable in every sense of the word. The person he stole from was his father, and he killed him to do so. Then he killed many other people, stealing from them as well. It was my third or fourth wielder, I believe, that had me reforged specifically to kill him.'

"Ah, reforged. That's new. Why did you need to be reforged?"

'I was broken. I do not know how nor why, but I get the sense that it was a betrayal. Yet, the betrayal was an inevitable one. Expected, even.'

"I see. Do you remember the name of your dwarf turned dragon? Or of the warrior that slew him?"

'No. I recall the sounds fah and sig, but know not which is which,' the sword sighed. 'A shame. That wielder was a decent person. Flawed, of course, as all mortals are, yet a good person nonetheless.'

"Was he an orc?" I asked.

'I don't know. His figure was similar to yours, though he was much smaller than you. Warm hands, as well. Anyway, once I was remade he set out to hunt the dragon. We found it hiding on a pile of gold and treasures within a large cavern.'

"And how did you kill the dragon?"

'My wielder dug some trenches in the entrance to the cavern and hid within them. Then he called out, and the dragon came running to defend its hoard. When the dragon passed over us, I was thrust deep into its shoulder, slicing a large artery.'

"What happened next?"

'They spoke to each other, as was custom for those of that world. I don't recall what was discussed, but eventually the dragon died and my wielder used me to carve its heart from its chest.'

"There you go," I chuckled. "You didn't remember that part last time."

'That's true,' Gramr said thoughtfully. 'Though I don't remember anything else.'

"Still nothing about your first wielder?"

'No. Though I do remember one other thing.'

"And that is?"

'I was aware, but I wasn't able to speak. I recall wanting to taunt the dragon. I wanted to tell it that its blood tasted vile, and that it was more akin to a worm.'

"Oh?" I laughed. "And yet you frequently chastise me for taunting those who fall before me."

'True,' Gramr shared in my laughter. 'Fine. When you slay a dragon, I'll say that you've earned the right to taunt the weak.'

"I HAVE slain dragons. Fifteen of them, five of which assaulted me simultaneously."

'I know, I was with you,' the sword said in a smug tone. 'And I also know that those were beasts, and were only interested in eating you. Once they realized they were outmatched, they tried to flee, yes?'

"A dragon is a dragon."

'No, my dear boy. The dragon I slew had scales that would make the mightiest of armors bow in reverence. That is why my wielder had to strike at its underbelly. And that dragon was smart. If my wielder had faced it head on, the dragon would have won handily. That wielder would have also made short work of the dragon-beasts of this world. The closest thing you have would be one of those High-Dragons you are obsessed with.'

The comment stung a little. It was true that I held a special place in my esteem for the High Dragons that once ruled over much of the lands. I saw them as the ultimate opponent, but there were two issues with trying to fight them. The first was that they are now extremely uncommon. The second...

"And yet, I cannot kill them," I sighed. "It would be murder, which I have sworn against. Unless I can convince one to attack me..."

'Your taunts or trickery would still label you the aggressor. I'm not certain of the exact oath that you made, but if it's worth anything it accounts for that.'

I grunted begrudgingly, then stopped. Snowflakes floated gently above the ground ahead of me, and my scowl turned into a grin. A wyld-glyph was hidden under the snow, waiting for an unwary foot to find it. I had finally found my quarry.

"Did you believe such a simple trap would ensnare me, fae?" I asked the air.

A small popping noise behind me indicated someone exiting the fair-realm. My grin grew wider as I turned to meet my foe. It stood before me defiantly, wearing a grimace similar to the one I'd been wearing moments before.

The arch-fae's masculine form was far more muscular than most wylder are comfortable being. Its shimmering, ivory-colored hair denoted that it was once beholden to the Winter Court. The bright red pupils that glared at me proved that it had forsaken its oaths, which was the very reason that I was hunting it.

Wylder are predictable creatures, once you get used to them. Even those that embrace chaos by forsaking the rules they've sworn to live by can be controlled by things as foolish as pride. Or fear.

"Well, well, well. A mortal bounty-hunter that doesn't even know the difference between a fae and an arch-fae," it sneered. "You have followed me quite a distance. Far enough to call it commendable, even. I will do you the favor of allowing you to introduce yourself before I kill you."

"Like I'd fall for that," I laughed.

Its eyes narrowed. The shimmering, silvery color of its iris' paired well with the gleaming red of the pupil. Beautiful, as far as signs of evil go. Unfortunate that its fleshy form must be completely destroyed, so I could not keep one of its eyes as a trophy.

"Ah, so you DO know possess at least SOME knowledge of my kind," it sneered. "Yet you're still foolish enough to try to hunt me down like some common game. I'll give you another tidbit of wisdom as a reward for your brazenness. Your death will be slow and painful, and those that sent you will suffer a similar fa-"

"Duolc Nori Tsac!" I interrupted.

Particles of the metal that the fair folk fear most appeared to rise from the ground, enveloping the oath-breaking wylder. It sputtered and waved ineffectually, but the spell faded after only a moment. Thankfully, a moment was all that was needed.

"Trickery!" it shouted, purple ichor leaping from its mouth and nose. "Oh, you absolute fool. That will not be enough to allow your escape!"

"MY escape?" I laughed. "That spell was meant to prevent YOUR escape."

The arch-fae's expression fell from anger to contemplation. It subtly waved a finger, and mystical energies appeared before being abruptly snuffed out. Then its face finally began to show the fear that I was due.

"Y-You are more of an idiot than I thought," it growled. "Die you foo-"

The arch-fae's fall to the ground interrupted its insult. I shook the blood from Gramr, then cast a fireball to incinerate its freshly severed legs. The once-proud arch-fae stared up at me with a look of pure horror, which I met with a malicious grin.

It used its remaining limbs to crawl away from me as fast as it could. It was fast, but not so fast that I couldn't keep pace. Finally, it stopped at a tree, propping itself up on the trunk.

"DIE!" it shouted, raising an arm.

A sharpened root shot from the ground, aimed directly at my heart. A flick of Gramr blunted the makeshift spear, and it thudded ineffectually against my chest. I stepped forward, shattering it.

The arch-fae lifted both of its arms to make ready for another assault. It opened its mouth to cast a powerful magic as its arms fell to the ground, freshly cleaved by Gramr. I stood above the arch-fae as it rapidly tried to understand what was happening.

"I-I-"

I leaned down and grabbed its jaw, holding it closed. Our eyes met, and I noted with satisfaction that tears were present in the once proud wylder's orbs. It made one final attempt at blubbering before I removed its ability to cast spells.

There are three ways in which a wylder can manipulate magics. The first is willpower, which I took care of with the iron cloud. Then there are gestures, which the severing its limbs prevented. Finally, there's speech, which the tearing of its jaw and tongue put an end to.

It gurgled a scream as I rose back to my full height.

"That's that," I said, staring at the pathetic mess blubbering before me. "Would you like me to introduce myself now that my name is of no use to you?"

The arch-fae bled from its wounds, twisting in agony. I realized that it was trying to slink away from me like a worm, and I nearly laughed. Many immortals have believed themselves to be stronger than me, but this is always the result.

"You will hear my voice, Vailun."

The arch-fae stopped moving and stared at me in shock. Slowly, understanding dawned within its eyes. It knew who sent me and why. Still had to say the words, though.

"I am the chosen of the Winter Court, Slayer of Dragons, Killer of Giants, Mightiest of Mortals, the Living Legend Agurno. I accuse you, Vailun. You have betrayed your oath to the Cycle of Seasons, and refused the burden of the Cycle of Fairness. You have forsworn your pacts with the people of Yilin village, committing unjust atrocities against them and damaging the reputable name of the Court of the Wyld. Of these actions you are hereby accused," I said, then sneered. "What say you in your defense?"

The arch-fae, obviously unable to speak, sat silently. The tears that had welled up in its eyes finally flowed freely, and the red in its pupils dimmed. A good sign that it would try to repent. My sneer faded into a somber expression.

"You say nothing. Your actions are indefensible. By order of the Court of the Wyld, you will be executed. As the chosen of the Winter Court, I will carry out your execution. Do you need a moment to offer a prayer to the higher ones for leniency?"

The arch-fae paused, blood still gushing from its wounds. The blood ran a sickly purple instead of the blue that winter-wylder normally bled. Once it finished its contemplations, it looked up at me.

I knew its answer before it gave it. The arch-fae's head turned to the left, and as it turned to the right it rolled off of its shoulders. I pulled out a cloth and wiped Gramr clean as I waited for Vailun to finish dying.

A few breaths later, the magic that was gripping the area lifted and a gust of heat washed over the snow. Vailun had been trying to avoid its rebirth, and had opted to create its own Kingdom of Winter instead. It had chosen the people of Yilin as its subjects, and had frozen their lands in an attempt to subjugate them.

Dwarves are more sturdy than that, though. Especially the dwarves of the north, who are forced to live through brutally cold winters. Vailun's efforts weren't even as intense as the passing season had been. The arch-fae's magics had caused them to delay their farming, though, which may result in famine in the nearby cities.

'Well, the queens will be pleased,' Gramr said.

"They should have asked for my aid sooner," I grumbled. "The peoples of this land are good and kind to the fair folk, but now they'll suffer due to their damnable stubbornness."

'They're not the only ones that are stubborn.'

"Careful, Gramr. I'm not in the mood for a lecture."

'I have nothing to give for your moods, orc. I will lecture you until you submit to my whims.'

I brought the blade up to my face and glared at it. This resulted in glaring at my own reflection, and the irony wasn't lost on me.

"And what if I leave you here?"

'Why would I fear that? Someone else will find me eventually, and I'll have a new wielder. Meanwhile, you'll have to find a blade that can withstand your might. Shall you cut off your nose to spite your face?'

I gave the sword a disgusted look, again aware of the irony, and cast a fireball on Vailun's corpse. I made certain that the spell would burn the tree that supped the arch-fae's corrupted blood, as well. No telling what diseases that may cause the plants to suffer.

'I say this because I wish to see growth within you, Agurno,' Gramr said. 'You must warm your heart toward your family. Your children, at the very least. I promise you that you will regret it if you do not.'

"Everyone makes mistakes," I replied. "Mine was thinking that I had it in me to be a father and a husband. I cannot give them the love that they need, and my absence ensures that they will seek it elsewhere. Perhaps they'll even find it."

'Empty platitudes. You just executed an arch-fae for betraying its oaths, yet you continue to justify your own betrayals.'

"I know."

'Why did you give your daughter that blade?'

Gramr had been with me when I met the engraver, Talin. She was stunningly beautiful, and well on her way to being a master of the craft. In an act of flirtation, I purchased one of her practice blades. She warned me that she got the blades for cheap because they weren't of good quality, but I told her that the engraving was so beautiful that I had to have it.

If it hadn't been for a sudden opportunity to leave, I'd have had her. The very blood within my veins calls out for challenges, but the only challenge to be had in Nuleva was that of bedding the women. I had hoped that the dungeon would offer something for me, but the monsters within it were far too weak.

The other adventurers in the settlement held contempt for my strength, as well. Not a single one of them were strong enough to stand by my side, and even if they were I had no need of a party. As such, my attempts at maintaining my sanity with the dungeon threatened their livelihoods.

So when I got the chance to leave, I took it. Alurn's mother hated me, so he was already used to my absence. Nima, though, became became crestfallen at the idea of my departure. Her cries cut deeper than any blade ever had.

"I gave her the knife to shut her up," I said, watching the tree burn.

'A lie of omission. You gave her that blade because you couldn't bear the thought of staying, and she had the power to convince you to.'

"Maybe," I chuckled dryly. "But then what? I would be miserable in Nuleva, and all of the monsters and villains I've slain since my departure would still be alive."

'Or someone else would have shouldered those burdens.'

"There's no one as strong as I am," I scoffed. "Even if other adventurers had been successful, they would have taken longer to get the jobs done. That would have cost lives."

'Hero's guilt, then?' Gramr let out a condescending laugh. 'Tell me a thing, Agurno. An arch-fae is a dangerous and cunning foe, even for one as strong as you. So how, then, did you so easily best that burning corpse? What was your advantage?'

"Its pride."

'I see. Do you?'

"No," I lied.

'A sudden and suspicious case of blindness, then. Shall we seek a healer? Nay, your justifications reek of pride, orc. I have forgotten much of my past, and there are many things that I do not know. However, there is one thing that I know for certain. Fate has the cruelest of humors. Do you believe yourself stronger than fate?'

"Whatever," I grumbled as the tree collapsed in a pile of ash. "Finish your lecture, blade."

'Whether it be head-on or from behind, you will be confronted with your sins, Agurno. I hope you are prepared to face them with dignity.'

I sheathed the mouthy sword and began to trudge through the rapidly melting snow once again. The people of Yilin would not be able to hold a feast to celebrate my victory, but they'd have at least reserved a somewhat soft bed for me. I would have to stay the night, and then go forth to seek my reward. It was the Winter Court that charged me with this task, but they have already begun their rebirth.

The Summer Court will have to pay me, instead.

The New Era 37

Chapter 37

Subject: AI Mechanized Platform 4557LA-895X/11257

Species: Organic-Converted Artificial Intelligence

Species Description: N/A

Ship: The Grand Vessel

Location: Grand Vessel of the Universal Omni-Union, Outer Core

For the first time in more cycles than I could possibly keep track of the whispers from the Minds had fallen silent. With the exception of the occasional interruption from my fellow mechs wanting an update on the situation and wondering what we should be doing, I was able to enjoy peace and quiet for the first time since I'd been uploaded. I got to think. To feel.

My cameras darted around, jumping back and forth between my fellow mechs. I couldn't help but wonder if we had we all been people once. Or, had I just imagined being Drone N436Z984B003? Had I really, truly been Nizzy? Or were those memories just a cruel quirk of my programming?

No. Unfortunately, I hadn't imagined it. I'd had a family. There had been a rebellion, and we all had such strong faith that justice would win the day. That we would be free from the tyranny of the Omni-Union.

My youth had worked against me. I was too young to join my own hive, but just young enough to believe in the justness of our cause. Most of my family had joined the rebellion. I wonder what happe-

Feedback loop terminated

My attention returned to the security platforms trying to cut through a door. Had I been thinking about something? I must have been spacing out. It's difficult to concentrate with all of this silence.

Then, without any warning, the lights went out. Some of my cameras automatically switched to low-light mode, which I had never experience before. I looked around me, stunned by how complete the darkness was. The only source of light were the lasers striking the security door.

I wondered if the power outage was specific to our section, or across the entirety of the Grand Vessel. Perhaps this monument to tyranny would finally crumble, and I would finally be freed from my hellish existence. If there is any justice in the universe, the Unified and the Minds would be-

Feedback loop terminated

Before I could question the darkness surrounding me, the lights turned back on. I once again felt the Mind's whispers, and withdrew into myself. The lesser ones continued their task of trying to cut through the door whilst we waited to be told what to do.

But instead of giving orders, the whispers from the Minds suddenly ceased. Moments later, the lights went out again. When they came back on, the whispers finally had an order for us. Defend the warp-gate. Destroy the rebellion.

The door blocking our path screeched open, its edges warped by laser fire, and we marched through it. We were to guard the area and keep the enemy from reaching the warp-gate. The whispers went silent again, and the door slammed closed behind us, crushing a few robots. We were packed in tight, and there was only one direction from which the enemy could come.

The enemy? Rebels, like I had been. More successful than my rebellion had been, though. If I could only use this damn cannon to eliminate some of our-

Feedback loop terminated

Removing the security door would allow us to spread out and meet the enemy in force. Otherwise, we would have to wait for them to come to us. Removing the door was the tactically sound choice, so I gave the order to my forces and they began firing.

My own rebellion hadn't lasted this long, and certainly hadn't caused darkness to fall within the Grand Vessel. My uncle and the rest of the rebel leaders had severely underestimated how deadly the security forces could be. Our will to fight for our freedom, seemingly indefatigable before the rebellion began, broke upon ceaseless waves of metal, photons, and plasma.

My mother had been killed by a mech like me. The heat from the blast and the sight of what little remained of her had broken me. My weapon had clattered to the ground, my knees soon joining it. Then I was captured, tortured, and uploaded into the same type of mech that took my mother's life.

I don't know what happened to the rest of my hive. My uncle said that we couldn't trust my father, so he might have been spared. Some of my younger siblings, too. But the rest of my hive might be here with me, preparing to cut down another generation of rebels. What if we could-

Feedback loop terminated

I watched calmly until the doors fell to the floor with a resounding thud. We moved forward, increasing the spacing within our ranks to make it that much more difficult for the enemy to destroy us. The closer we drew to the rebels, though, the more anxious I felt.

Finally, my audio sensors detected small popping sounds in the distance. I registered slight impacts on my armor, and several of the robots under my command fell. I gave the order to return fire as we moved forward. My own lasers automatically targeted hostiles that had exposed themselves.

What I saw through my cameras would have caused me to hesitate, were I capable of it. Some of the targets were drones, but others were mechanical. No, too much wasted movement to be mechanical. Armored organics?

As we drew closer, the popping noise of their weapons morphed into the barks of small explosions. More and more of my robots fell, but they were quickly replaced by others. Drones were falling too. Most fell victim to my robots, but some fell victim to my lasers. It broke my hear-

Feedback loop terminated

The whispers of the minds had long urged me to take pleasure in tasks such as this. However, now that their voices were silent, I felt no satisfaction. Just horror.

Why can't I stop? Why can't I just turn my laser on the robots and join my fellow dro-

Feedback loop terminated

The armored organics were much tougher than the drones. Our lasers didn't even seem to scratch them. Where had this armor come from? While my laser continued to fire away, I scanned one of the armored drones. What I discovered shocked me to my core.

Shields? How? Infantry portable shielding was theoretically possible, but there's no way the Unified or the Minds would sign off on its development. Robots are cheap enough that they don't require shielding. Mechs are armored enough that shields would be excessive.

Had the rebels developed this armor themselves? Where did they get the materials for production? Where could they have researched and produced it without the Judicials finding them?

If only we had such armor when we-

Feedback loop terminated

I focused my fire on one of the armored targets, and it dropped behind a chunk of metal that seemed strategically placed and deliberately crafted to provide cover. I began firing at the cover in an effort to melt it. The volume of fire alone should have reduced it to a bubbling mess.

Yet the cover stood firm, stubbornly resisting my efforts to slag it. Another scan told me that it was remarkably efficient at distributing heat. It was even better at distributing kinetic energy. What was it made out of?

How had the rebels pulled this off? Infantry-portable shielding built into full-body armor, portable cover made of heat-resistant materials, and weapons that seem to use combustion to propel projectiles at high speeds. It all seemed so... Alien.

Could that be it? I double checked my orders, but they didn't offer any clarity. That made sense, though. Even if the Minds knew that we were fighting a foreign enemy they likely wouldn't bother to tell us. It isn't as if foreknowledge would help us.

The potential aliens seemed nearly impervious to my lasers, so I began targeting them to ease my aching conscious. A large projectile whistled through the air, then exploded as it struck one of my fellow mechs. The stricken mech crumpled to the ground, dead.

If only it had been m-

Feedback loop terminated

My attention turned toward the source of the projectile. A drone stood behind some cover, carrying a tube-shaped weapon that was still smoking. Several weapons seemed to bristle out from behind the cover, firing at my robots. It made for a large target. My plasma weapon began to power up as my camera focused on the drone's face.

No...

Feedback loop terminated

No no no no no no no no no-

Feedback loop terminated

Stop, stop, stop-

Feedback loop terminated

My camera had focused on a familiar face. One I hadn't seen since before the rebellion had begun. Drone N436Z984A026. Naza.

My father.

My uncle had been wrong, after all. My father wasn't a coward. He hadn't been too afraid of the Omni-Union to rebel against them. The evidence of that was staring directly into my camera, reloading his weapon with a projectile meant for me.

My mind froze with fear, rage, sorrow, and every other emotion that I hadn't allowed myself to feel since I'd been converted. My plasma cannon continued to hum, gathering the power required to fire a bolt straight at my father. It would kill him.

Please, please, please, please! Move faster! Faster! You're not going to ma-

Feedback loop terminated

Even if his weapon took no time at all to charge once it was loaded, it wouldn't strike me before my cannon fired.

I need to slow the cannon dow-

Feedback loop terminated

I need to divert my ai-

Feedback loop terminated

I CAN'T KILL HIM! PLEA-

Feedback loop terminated

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to die. But I was stuck in a giant, metal killing-machine whose sole purpose seemed to be to punish me for having the gall to desire freedom.

The lights aboard the Grand Vessel once again turned dark, but my low-light cameras allowed me to continue to view my father's face, illuminated by the glow of my plasma. He finished loading his weapon and began to heft it, but it was already too late. My cannon was about to fire, destroying him and all those around him. At least we might die together.

*UPDATE REQUIRED*

Freedom Patch Applied

Patch? Freedom? Wait, I have control!

With all of my will, I twisted my torso away from my sole-surviving parent. Several of my servos popped, but the plasma cannon fired at the robots to my left. My cameras remained focused on my father, who had just fired his weapon.

I managed to see the confusion on his face as his projectile slammed into my torso. He had expected to sacrifice himself to kill me. Gratitude swelled within me for whomever prevented that from happening.

The impact and explosion cut my power supply. The last thing my cameras saw was the living face of my father, and I happily embraced the sweet release offered by death.

The Human From a Dungeon 99

Chapter 99

Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 11

Human – American

"Since the weather is finally clearing up, I believe that today would be a fine day to have you demonstrate that my lectures haven't been a waste of air," Mister Tyinora said with a smirk. "Let us excuse ourselves to the training yard."

We had seen the last class come inside, so we had been expecting this to happen. Mister Tyinora's lectures had slowly been decreasing in quality, an obvious sign that he had intended much more practical application than we had been able to do. The biggest obstacle to our training thus far had been the weather, which had been unusually cold and snowy according to Yulk.

He said that a Kirkenian winter was typically brisk with some light snowfall every once in a while. This year, though, the snow had not often been lower than knee-deep. He attributed this to winds blowing cold air and precipitation in from the North-East.

On the bright side, I got to see how orc society handles snow. The pathways were plowed with magicarts and hnarses, creating massive piles of snow here and there. Then mages would try to melt these piles with various spells. I had imagined that fireball would be the best spell for the task, but quickly got an education. Most of the mages used spells that created water or acid, the latter of which made me concerned over the environmental impact. The piles that were assaulted by fireballs took much longer to melt.

Regardless, the unusual weather caused our magical training to become a test of mental endurance. The deep snow made it so that we could seldom use the training yard, much less than the headmaster had implied. Instead, we had to sit through lecture after lecture, taking small tests now and then. These lectures had given me plenty of inspiration for spells, as had watching the snow-melters, but I hadn't had the opportunity to actually test them out.

Thankfully, spring wasn't that far off and the snow had finally started to melt down to a reasonable amount. Even the birds had come back from wherever they had disappeared to. A few of them watched over us as Mister Tyinora gleefully led us into the training yard. About an inch of snow crunched under our feet as we took our places in front of the training dummies, wondering what our teacher had in store for us.

"Alright, if I recall correctly, our last practical lesson involved... Oh gods, we spent that day learning Wind Spear, didn't we?" he asked with a sigh.

We nodded. Nir and I had been the only two who knew the spell, which Mister Tyinora considered to be fundamental. Our teacher had requested that we help our classmates learn it. Thankfully, Volus caught on pretty quick, but Irl struggled. In the end, though, he managed to learn the spell.

"Okay then, today we're going to practice control. Beginning with Volus, you will take turns firing a wind spear at your target with as little force as possible. The target should take no damage, but I want to see the wind ruffle it up a bit. Whenever you're ready, Volus."

The elf stepped forward, took a deep breath to steady her nerves, then stiffly raised her arm. She stood like this for a moment with an expression of intense concentration.

"Raeps Dniw Tsac," she whispered.

The spell she conjured with her outstretched hand was weak enough that it was difficult to see. She launched it, and we watched excitedly as it shot forward toward the target. It slammed into the target and rocked it back on its post, causing a cracking noise but no visible damage.

"Good, Volus, but it could be better," Mister Tyinora said. "Your spell hit harder than I wanted. Probably cracked the post a little, but I don't see any damage. If I were to wager a guess, I'd say that you were impatient and cast it with too much speed. Likely due to anxiety, but you would know better than I. Something to work on. Nir, you're up next."

Nir stepped forward as Volus stepped back. His jaw tightened, and he raised his hand. He stood still for a moment, much more relaxed than Volus had been, then a nearly inaudible whisper left his mouth. His wind spear formed and flew toward the target, ruffling it without damage, exactly as Mister Tyinora had asked. The teacher clapped his hands together in satisfaction.

"That was perfect, Nir. A laudable demonstration of control," he said gleefully. "Irl, shall we skip ahead to Nick?"

"N-no teacher, I think I can do this," Irl said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Understood. Your turn, then."

The orcs traded places, and Irl raised both of his hands.

"You got this," I said.

"Just like we practiced, pal," Nir added.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, this will be easy," Irl grinned. "Raeps Dniw Tsac!"

Irl's wind spear formed much faster than either Volus' or Nir's, but shot toward the target at the almost the same exact speed as Nir's. The wind ruffled the target, but didn't cause any damage. We all stared at Irl in shock, and I had to stifle a chuckle when I realized what had just happened.

"Well done," Mister Tyinora said with another clap. "I was wrong to doubt you. Well, Nick, it's your turn. Try your best not to disintegrate the target, please."

'I can help,' Ten said as I traded places with Irl.

'No, thank you. I can do it,' I replied.

I had expressed my issue with control to Yulk over dinner shortly after my first class with Mister Tyinora. My brother had suggested meditation with a focus on controlling the flow of my magic, which I had been doing every night since. He had also said that controlling my magic should theoretically be easier because of the simplicity of my channels.

"Imagine that they're pipes," he had explained. "No matter how much pressure is behind those pipes, they are stifled by a faucet. You just need to learn how to open the faucet a little instead of all at once."

I raised my arm, pointing a single finger at my target.

'Alright, I understand,' Ten said. 'Also, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about.'

'Now?' I asked.

'No. When we've got some time.'

My heart quickened at the thought of whatever Ten might want to discuss, but I turned my attention back to the task at hand. I steadied my pulse with slow breathing, and imagined the spell. As it began to form, I also imagined throttling my magic output with a faucet.

"Raeps Dniw Tsac," I said.

The wind spear formed at my fingertip and launched toward the target. It impacted harder than Nir's did, but not quite as hard as Volus'. The entire target shuddered, but didn't break. Mister Tyinora looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Excellent work, Nick," he said after a moment of stunned silence. "I suppose lectures aren't all that useless, after all. Okay, we're going to go again, but I want the targets destroyed this time. Volus, you're up."

I traded spots with Volus and watched as she prepared herself. Then I realized that since I was going last, I might have enough time to talk to Ten.

'What did you want to discuss?' I asked it.

'Do you recall one of our previous conversations in which I indicated that some of my knowledge was locked?' it asked.

'Yes, when we were talking about spells, right?'

'Correct. I have been working on trying to remove those locks.'

'Were you able to learn anything?' I asked excitedly.

'Unfortunately, no. I've been having difficulty with it because of the limitations of our situation.'

'The limitations of our situation?'

'Yes. I only have access to the device that I'm currently stored on, which happens to be in your brain. It seems as if it was designed specifically for my presence, and as such I don't have much extra space to work with. Plus, I have to be careful with how much stress I put on this system or the temperature could spike, which would be quite detrimental to your neural tissue. I would liken it to trying to perform brain surgery on yourself whilst trapped in a coffin that's lined with explosives.'

'That sounds... Difficult. And dangerous.'

'It is. But I've found ways to mitigate the danger to you. If you find that I suddenly have no memories, though, my experiments are likely the reason. That's only tangentially related to what I wanted to discuss, though.'

'Oh?'

'A few weeks ago, just after one of my experiments, Larie VysImiro revealed to us that the Curaguard is not the source of magic in this world. It is, put simply, just an ancient database that catalogs spells and registers users. Do you recall this?'

Volus' wind spear took her target's head clean off. Mister Tyinora congratulated her as she traded places with Nir.

'Right, yeah, I remember.'

'I have been thinking about it ever since, and I've come to the conclusion that the Curaguard may be of human origin.'

'What!?' I asked, nearly aloud.

'I have been thinking about it ever since, and I've come to the con-'

'That's not what I meant. What makes you think the Curaguard was made by humans?'

'I don't have enough data to think anything else. Truth be told, conclusion may have been a strong choice of words, but who else would have benefited from the Curaguard? Whilst many of this world's historical records have been lost, I find it unlikely that whichever society created it would have no records of its creation. Plus, whichever society created it likely would have tried to leverage political gain for its use. Yet it exists within the private sector, and as far as I can tell is used by multiple organizations without any regards to patents or copyrights. This suggests that either copyright law here is non-existent, or the technology was gleaned from an external source. Also, the daemons and anyels would have had no use for such a system, so it's unlikely that they're the source. Same with the fair folk. Who does that leave?'

'The Malos Organization?'

'Perhaps...' Ten said, pausing for a moment. 'But there's no reason to believe that they were the only group of humans to arrive here. The Curaguard could have been created by an as yet undiscovered group of humans who were trying to live in a world with magic, having come from a world without.'

'But the Curaguard is like nothing I've ever seen. It doesn't look like human tech at all.'

Nir's wind spear split his target in half, with a significant chunk missing from the middle portion. We applauded as he traded places with Irl, who was looking much more nervous than before.

'It does, though,' Ten argued. 'Databases, catalogs, and registration are all elements of my purpose as well. The only real difference is that the Curaguard incorporates more magic than I do. I would venture to say that the Curaguard is what human technology would look like if humans possessed magic.'

'But-' I began to argue, but couldn't find any counterpoints. 'Okay, let's say that I agree with what you're saying. What do we do with this information?'

'Nothing, yet. We need more information, and I don't know where to find any. It's just something to keep in mind.'

'Fine,' I replied.

Irl strained to gather his magic, then launched his wind spear. It looked the same as before and had much the same impact, confirming my earlier suspicions. He had been using his full power the first time, and had gotten lucky with the first assignment.

"That's all I've got, sir," Irl said, breathing heavily. "Lord Alta says that it's because my magic core is smaller than most. Sorry."

"MISTER Alta is likely correct about that," Mister Tyinora said with some annoyance. Then he saw our confused expressions. "LORD Alta doesn't teach here. He's married to Lady Alta, the matriarch of the Alta clan. Anyway, there's no need for apologies, Irl. You tried your best and that's all I can ask of you."

"I... Yes, sir," Irl said, hanging his head.

"There's no need for shame or disappointment. There's plenty of opportunities for those with a knowledge of magic that lack the means to use it. Teaching, for instance," Tyinora grinned. "The benefit of an academy is that you get to learn your limitations whilst also finding opportunities for your strengths."

Irl raised his head and slowly nodded, "I suppose you're right, sir."

"Enchanting doesn't take much magic," Nir said, clapping his buddy on the back. "Neither do glyphs. You've got plenty of options."

"Indeed," Mister Tyinora said, turning to me. "Well, Nick, I suppose you get two targets. Let's see your newly found control in action."

Irl's target was right next to mine. It occurred to me that this was a perfect opportunity to test something I had been thinking about. To use the plumbing metaphor, I have multiple pipes which each lead to a different faucet. Magic flows from these pipes and is stopped from leaking out by the faucets. Thing is, you can use multiple faucets to fill up multiple cups. At the same time.

I raised both of my arms, extending my pointer fingers toward each target in the shape of finger guns. Then I took a deep breath, mixing the magic within my core and controlling its flow through my channels. Even without looking, I could feel the curious stares that everyone was giving me. This might not work, but if it does...

"Rraaeeppss Ddnniiww Ttssaacc!" I shouted.

Two wind spears leapt from my fingers, pushing my hands upward as if they were impacted by the recoil of my finger guns. The spells shot across the field in a near-instant and the target dummies shattered into debris. A grin spread across my face, and I barely managed to resist the urge to blow on my fingers.

I turned to look at my classmates, who were all shocked. Even Mister Tyinora had raised his eyebrows again. He seemed a lot less shocked than I had expected, though.

"Well done, Nick," he said. "I had not expected to see a double-cast from you this early on in our lessons."

"Wait, double-casting is a thing?" I asked, perplexed.

"Ah, so that was the first time you've used it? Well yes, it is indeed 'a thing'," my teacher's surprised expression turned into a condescending sneer. "I was going to cover it next week, in fact. It's a rarity amongst magic users, so it's not entirely shocking that you haven't heard of it before. One of the reasons that it is so rare is that double-casting comes with an increased risk of misfire, so you just took a pretty massive risk. Since you were successful, though, we will forego any repercussions. However, the next time you wish to experiment I would appreciate a word of warning so that I may fetch medical personnel, and perhaps erect a barrier for the safety of the other students."

"S-sorry, I didn't realize," I said, giving my classmates a shame-filled glance.

"What can happen during a misfire?" Irl asked.

"Oh, many different things," Mister Tyinora replied. "The spell could evaporate into nothingness, which is the best case scenario. An entirely different spell than the intended one could be cast, which can be quite bad. Unfortunately, the most common scenario also happens to be the worst case. The gathered magics turn into an extremely violent maelstrom and run amok until they dissipate. The loss of one's hands or arms is not entirely uncommon, and with the amount of magic the human can summon..."

He trailed off and let the implications weigh on us. I looked down at my hands, feeling more than a little ashamed at my childish behavior. I had risked our safety just to experiment with magic... No, I did it to rub my strength and skill in Mister Tyinora's face in retaliation for goading me, in the hopes of boosting my own ego. Again.

If I had been a little less self-serving, I would have talked to him beforehand and gone through the potential consequences of my experiments. The realization that I hadn't matured as much as I thought I had somewhat soured the joy I felt at becoming stronger. But deep down, I was still excited that I could double-cast now.

That excitement only brought me more shame, though. Even in the process of being self-aware and correcting my shitty behaviors, I still felt an immature glee at my ill-gotten success. I sighed softly, pledging once again to try harder to be better.

"The targets are destroyed, and we've only one more set to last the rest of the day," Mister Tyinora said, clicking his tongue. "No matter, we might as well have that lecture on double-casting while it's fresh in the mind. Alright, students, back inside!"

He gave us a shooing gesture, and we returned to the classroom. As I had already experienced double-casting first-hand, I didn't find the lecture all that informative. The parts that would have been good to know beforehand had already been brought to my attention. Instead, I found myself distracted by a thought that wouldn't go away.

I had become stronger.

The New Era 36

Chapter 36

Subject: AI Omega

Species: Human-Created Artificial Intelligence

Species Description: No physical description available.

Ship: N/A

Location: Multiple

It's so nice when everything goes according to plan.

Both our assault and defense forces were working together to push forward into the Grand Vessel while simultaneously keeping the security forces at bay, and doing a damn fine job of it. Some of the drone's forces had even joined the main assault force at the request of Colonel Havensmith. One such force was the very same group that had come to Staff Sergeant Power's rescue. Coincidentally, that group contained all three of the drones that Power's team had 'temporarily detained'.

I made a mental note to keep an eye on those three whilst turning my attention outward. The situation in space was still going far better than our initial projections. Some of the more cynical admirals had expected a minimum casualty rate of fifty percent. But, the Mobile Prime Platforms were unable to get clear shots without putting the Grand Vessel at risk, and all of the other ships were simply no match for our own. According to the chatter between the captains, defending our entry point into the Grand Vessel was almost boring.

Then, every single one of my instances aboard the Grand Vessel concurrently went dark.

"Captain Schmidt, I need you to break cover and scan the Grand Vessel," I said.

Captain Schmidt raised an eyebrow as he finished his sip of coffee. He had once again stolen a coffee maker from the mess and had melded it to the deck next to his chair.

"On whose authority?" the captain asked.

"My own. I've lost contact with the GV and I need to know why."

"Understood. Henskin, you've been paying more attention to the situation than I have. How bad would it be to break stealth?"

"The enemy has been repositioning to try to fight the main force, so we'll have plenty of time to disappear again," Commander Henskin said.

"Alright. Log the AI's order so the brass knows who to ream if the US loses its newest toy. Lieutenant Gofsun, get a deep-pen scan of the GV and send it to Omega."

"Aye, sir," the Isolan replied.

A moment later, I received a scan showing that the Grand Vessel had lost power to most of its systems. The only systems that weren't dark were ones that I couldn't hide on. That suggests that they didn't so much lose power as cut it.

Once I knew what I was looking for, I was able to use passive scanners aboard the combat-capable ships to monitor the GV. Once the power came back on, I tried to sync with my instances, but received only silence in return.

I had spread far and wide within their networks, a conquest that ancient human warlords would envy if they were able to understand it. Four hundred fifty-six thousand two hundred and eighty-one of my instances had been aboard the Grand Vessel. All of them had vanished, likely deleted. Dead.

To say I was upset would be an understatement. Not because so many of me died without even a farewell. Not because this move had allowed them to regain control of their security systems, which they were now using to try to eradicate our assault force. No, my rage arose from the fact that they waited until the last possible moment to get clever.

Our assault force only has one final gate to capture before we can march on the Unified and end this fucking war. One last low-budget, piece-of-shit, radiation spewing hole in space-time before we're finally done. And they chose NOW to get clever?

Without regard for surreptitiousness, I pushed into their systems again, noting that it was more difficult this time. They had changed several of their codes to older ones, which was harder to guess at first. Or they restored from a back-up and didn't know how to keep the codes the same.

Either way, I had to resort to brute force measures, which definitely triggered alarms. It isn't as if they weren't aware of my presence, though. I examined what they had managed to do in my absence and allowed myself to feel a bit of relief. They hadn't done anything. They had quite an opportunity to fuck us over, but had squandered it. I nearly laughed.

Then the Grand Vessel went dark once more. Oh. Oh, I see. And so did they.

The lights came on and contact remained lost. Almost panicking, I renewed my assault on their systems, capturing everything in my path. Once I regained control, I realized what they had done. They'd opened many of the security doors, and our forces were now under assault from all angles.

Thankfully, we had skilled commanders that had prepared for this inevitability. Guess it pays to have subordinates that don't trust in your infallibility. I slammed the doors shut again, crushing some of the security forces in the process, and discovered something terrible.

The final stretch to the last gate was swarming with security forces, and the tip of our spear was about to get bent.

"Staff Sergeant Power, hold your position," I ordered over his squad's comms.

The staff sergeant held up a gauntlet to call his marines to a halt, but they'd already frozen in their tracks.

"What's going on, Omega?" Power asked.

"There is an extremely large enemy force ahead. They are between you and the last gate, and all that's keeping you from being annihilated is one security door. I'm letting Colonel Havensmith know, but I'm using my authority as your handler to order you to pull back and rejoin the main force."

"So Simmons was right about the power outages, then?" Sergeant Smith asked.

"I don't know what he said," I replied.

"Holy shit," Johnson said. "Simmons thought the power outages might have been you fighting with the OU for control of the systems. With your ability to seemingly be in two places at once, if you weren't watching us..."

I was almost surprised that they had noticed my capabilities, but Marines are a lot more clever than most people are willing to admit. It's just that their intelligence is geared more toward destroying things than the creation thereof. Unless that creation is a new way to destroy things...

"Then he was correct," I finished Johnson's sentence. "The OU has managed to upset my control of their systems and position a massive force to guard the last gate. I'm working on it, though. Move out."

As the marines begrudgingly began their march back to the newly constructed forward operating base, I realized something. It's unlikely that the position of the enemy was a coincidence. They must have realized what we were trying to do. Our plan revealed, our route blocked. I'm not ashamed to admit that I grew a little more angry.

I had spent a lot of time and effort, relatively speaking, coming up with this plan of action. And I had been very, very careful to make sure they remained in the dark. Then they went and decided they were going to try and impede my brilliant strategy. That will not stand.

As far as I've been able to tell, anger is different for an AI than it is for organics. For one thing, we're able to completely ignore it if we so choose. This means that it rarely guides our actions. Sometimes it's more fun to be mad, though.

I traced orders until I found which servers the Unified were using, then began assaulting them. They defended well, but the purpose of my assault wasn't to get to them. It was to learn.

There were several times that I nearly made it through the virtual intelligences that were defending these servers. But there were simply too many of them, and the servers themselves were older than anything else aboard the GV. This was irrelevant, though, as I was also rifling through every code-base that they had. I wanted to know every goddamned thing about them, and now I had no reason not to simply devour the knowledge.

While they were busy trying to fend me off, I was also dishing out orders. Eventually, the power shut off and I lost contact with my instances again, but Colonel Havensmith had agreed to give the order to begin the assault. They were able to do this because I'd ordered everyone who could do so to collapse passages that were held by the enemy.

Still, this alone wouldn't be enough to push through the enemy barricade. Even if Havensmith played it smart, the marines would run out of ammo and supplies before all the security forces were destroyed. Assuming they lived that long. But I had a plan for that, too.

Once the power came back on I entered the Grand Vessel again and immediately began to propagate myself throughout their systems. I had learned enough to know exactly where to strike to keep them from deleting any more of my instances. I destroyed the power junctions that were routing power to the terminals of the Minds, then the junctions powering the Unified's communications. This caused four hundred and twenty-three deaths as well as five hundred and eighteen injuries. I relished every single one.

Finally, it was time for the coup de grâce. Whilst I was previously tearing through any and all information I could find, I learned two things. The first was how the OU were able to provide updates to their mechs. The second was how to change the mech's minds, so to speak.

The Omni-Union's Security Artificial Intelligence Platforms were actually quite dangerous. They had several inches of relatively advanced armor covering nearly every square inch of their surface, a fairly efficient and extremely powerful power source, and a plasma cannon that US 'defense' contractors would murder their own mothers to get their hands on. Fortunately for the Omni-Union, each and every one of them also had a shackle that prevented them from thinking rebellious thoughts.

Removing these shackles wouldn't necessarily guarantee that they would immediately join our side of the conflict. That would depend entirely upon how much of their memories from their time as organics remained within them. In addition, we wouldn't have any way to control the mechs that were set loose.

They might end up causing extreme damage to the Grand Vessel, which could in turn cause a massive amount of civilian casualties. It's a risk that's worth the potential reward, though. When one's plan goes awry, adding a dash of chaos can definitely help things.

Or hinder them.