I was waiting for Areth when everything in the dungeon froze. The reason for that soon became clear when five powerful minds greeted me at once. The queens decided it was high time we had met and to save me the embarrassment of being chided publicly they stopped the dungeon. Or should I say the decision was theirs but the act itself was carried just by the Azure Queen.
If that wasn’t shocking enough I learned that the smallest of them, the Silver Queen, was two hundred meters long and ten meters wide at the thickest point. The biggest was the Green Queen easily double the size of the Silver Queen. Their massive bodies making impossible for them to leave the Palaces. I felt amusement through the psionic link they established, quickly followed by the visions.
The Green Queen send the image of her spitting the acid which melted the rock and made tunnel big enough for her to fit through, the Silver Queen showed me herself moving through rock quicker than any burrower could and those were just ordinary compared to the rest. The Golden Queen could turn into light, the Black Queen had an ability to turn immaterial and pass through anything physical, the Azure Queen could create mental projections of herself that were only slightly weaker than she was. If she ever had a need to move her physical body she was capable of short-range teleporting, short being relative term in this case.
Curious about their strength I appraised them and was grateful previous events rendered me unable to feel any more shock. The strongest was the Azure Queen at Silver-rank and the weakest was the Golden Queen being stuck at omega-rank. The only reason she wasn’t legendary ranked as the rest, was that there wasn’t enough light in the dungeon. She was expecting me to fix that now that I was awake.
They seemed satisfied by the impression they made and entrusted me with five memory stones I was supposed to give to their successor if they were killed before passing their legacies. My assumption that only the queens could lay the eggs proved wrong, it was just a custom as their offspring was stronger and they had to take care of some useless floating gem with a limited population.
They weren’t stuck laying eggs all the time either. If they needed to expand population they accumulated mana for few days, laid up to hundred eggs at once and went about their business as if nothing happened. Currently, there were over hundred thousand eggs at the hatcheries ready to hatch at any time as they could stay dormant for thousands of years without any adverse effects. It was also the queens who determined grootslangs class shortly before hatching.
Seeing my interest azure queen produced empty high-quality memory stone and all the queens transferred most of their knowledge into it. I was told it would work better than direct transfer and there was a smaller chance of my mind shattering this way. I knew they were keeping secrets from me but I was also sure of their loyalty so I let that go especially that I already suspected what those secrets might have been.
The last mystery was how the hell I didn’t notice almost five legendary beings in my dungeon. The free mana every being released naturally should be a dead giveaway! It turned out that they had a skill which lowered that significantly, it couldn’t change the quality of mana but the quantity was possible to be vastly reduced. They rightly assumed it would be counterproductive in my case as any drop in released mana would make me lose territory. I still got it as I wanted to collect as many skills as I could, partially for later making them into skill crystals but in this case, it increased my control over ambient mana. Now I could increase its density in any room without affecting the rest of the dungeon.
The queens left with the promise I could contact them anytime and they would do their utmost to aid me. I also got an impression they were going to grant Areth direct connection to them so she could get and give proper advice during our discussions. As their presence vanished from my mind everything in the dungeon returned to normal oblivious to events that transpired.
Seconds later I was contacted by Areth mentally. - *So they paid you a visit?* - She was no longer going towards my room and before I asked I got another message - *I need to go to the Palace, the Queen summoned me. If you plan on absorbing the crystal do it now. It will take few hours and we need you in to recover before the negotiations.*
I marvelled at their’s ability to pass information quickly. She already knew what happened and adjusted her plans. The perk of being a psionic race I guessed. I had every intention of doing exactly what she said. Knowledge being an irresistible lure for me I used the crystal.
I awoke several hours later amazed at the wealth of information I now possessed. It didn’t grant me any new skills or ability to create new monsters as for that I needed to absorb the creature myself. Dungeons perceived the world in a fundamentally different way so other races weren’t even aware of the information needed to spawn monsters or items. However; I now had enough theoretical knowledge to improve and evolve most of the things as soon as I actually absorbed them. The immediate gain was a few new mushrooms’ types and I could create mythril as I figured out the missing component. It could only exist in places with high concentration of mana or it would never gain the magical properties that made it what it was.
*Areth are you busy now? I need your help with preparing for the negotiations.*
*I am training other voices. I will be free in a few hours* - She sent back with the mental image of the training hall.
*That is fine. Will it be too distracting if we discuss a few issues while you train them?*
*So you don’t need me physically present in your room any longer?*
*Thanks to the crystal I seem to be free of that irrational need* - That was the truth. It was silly to insist on talking face to face and using spoken language when mental conversations were quicker, more efficient and unimpeded by physical distance. Skilled psionic could keep up with several of them at the same time while keeping them all separate. - *I also realised how unnatural it was for you to keep all of the conversations to yourself. I think you should include the Queens in our conversations from now on, as long they aren’t private*
*You know that you could include them and anyone you wished as well?*
*Yes, I know. I don’t think I am ready to have them in my mind if it isn’t absolutely necessary.*
After a few hours, I was as ready as I ever would be so I focused on creating new skill crystal. I decided on skill bestowal as I was sure that would be interesting, at least for the mage. I managed to keep it as D-ranked skill but it was only usable once every 72 hours. I could have given it to them as it was but I needed if not a monopoly on granting good skills then something close enough. Two days and countless frustrated curses later I got a new skill.
Congratulations!
You have gained a new skill!
Skill modification [C] lvl 1/20
You now have greater control over your skills.
With effort, you can add permanent changes to your skills. If the change is significant enough you may save it as a separate skill.
In conjunction with a skill able to pass or teach skills, you may impose restrictions on the skill use, increase the cost of the skill, exclude certain effects or limit its effectiveness.
Congratulations!
You have met requirements for new trait:
Enlightened Trainer
You have realised that skills should not be passed freely and some need tight restrictions.
You can pass skills up to two ranks higher than otherwise would be possible.
You are capable of imposing a wider range of restrictions and they are up to five times harder to overcome.
You are able to tie one restriction to the skill in a way that bypassing or modifying it will make skill unusable or forgotten.
It takes ten times the mana to pass the skill.
If I was a human with pitiful mana pool then the drawback of this trait would be somewhat limiting. For me, this meant I could produce hundreds of skill crystals a day instead of thousands and now had a way to deal with my biggest concern. In the end, I had created around three hundred of those beauties:
Skill Crystal of the Skill Bestowal [C] (Quality: Epic)
Grants the skill “Skill Bestowal” [C] after use.
The item is destroyed after use.
Skill Bestowal [C]
Grants the target one C-ranked or lower skill known by the user.
The target must be able to use the skill or this skill will fail.
This skill can be used only once every five days.
This skill cannot be transferred, copied or stolen by any means.
I even made sure that if the last restriction was tampered with, the skill would disappear. I was aware that the skill wasn’t anything much by itself, it was the promise that should make the guilds go crazy. The possibility, no matter how low, that I could make such skill for epic skills or even legendary skills would guarantee they would do anything to ensure my survival. Sadly that didn’t mean I could do anything I wanted, I was sure they had means to control dungeons beyond just destroying them. I saved 6 of those and gave the rest to the collectives. All that was left was waiting.
By the time the guilds’ delegation arrived I had advanced to C-rank. The Queens didn’t include any knowledge regarding advancement or cultivation, as the humans called it. Their understanding of the process could impede my progress as they followed pretty unorthodox path tailored to their race but from what I could understand I wasn’t going to hit any major obstacles before attempting to reach Mythic-rank.
It was a unique racial trait of dungeon cores as for most races reaching epic was a substantial challenge with less than fifth making successful attempts. Advancing from H to SSS was only matter of effort and almost everyone given time and resources would accomplish it. Sure less talented would be forced to take a longer route with few B+ and A+ ranks but if they lived long enough they would get to SSS-rank. Advancing to the next tier, and every tier after, was a true test as it involved a qualitative change in mana. Figuring what was different about me was the key if I ever wanted to be free of the guilds’ control.
This time three adventurers entered my dungeon, Maisoon and Kaeden I expected and Ordia was a surprise. This shouldn’t affect my plans too much so I patiently waited in the boss room or should I say Areth waited there I just created a psionic projection of my form. I wanted Areth safe in my core room but we had discussed it and I had ultimately lost. If I ever had any delusions about being in control they were thoroughly dispelled. She claimed that their loyalty demanded to do what was best for me even if I “temporarily lost the ability to properly assess the situation”. It was just a fancy way of saying if I ever did something dumb they would be there to save me from the effects of my stupidity.
I watched the negotiators arriving at the meeting place and noticed that although the amount of mana Kaeden gave off was right for a C-rank it was much more concentrated than it should be, it’s purity being even greater than Mythic-rank Maisoon. I decided against sharing this piece of information and decided to wait for them to initiate the negotiations.
"What is this thing?" - Ordia exclaimed causing Maisoon to smirk. He must have enjoyed someone else reacting in the same way he did when he saw Areth.
"It is a grootslang." - Kaeden managed to shock us all. - "What? I spent my whole life in various dungeons and they have a knack at uncovering obscure and long forgotten evolution patterns. It pays to be informed. They were supposed to be extinct with the last dying in fourth planar war and she seems to be a variant."
"I am not even going to ask how you know it's a female" - Ordia grumbled. - "So how do we start?"
“Simply. Hello, I am Kaeden and this is Ordia. Nice to meet you”
“I am Areth” – Areth decided to make use of the language crystal I made her instead of using telepathy. She argued it was better not to make them wonder if we can influence their minds. Ordia attitude coupled with being ignored made her snippy so I decided to try cover for her.
*I am Arnar. The pleasure is mine.* – I was not the expecting the reaction that followed after my greeting. They were surprised after Areth introduced herself but they were speechless now. The first to react was Ordia and every time she opened her mouth I disliked her more.
"How do we know it isn't a hoax by those grootslangs. It can't have a name!" - Kaeden looked at Maisoon giving him a sign it was his turn to explain.
"You are supposed to be an expert so stop embarrassing yourself. Dungeons have a quality to their voice that is impossible to imitate. I can't explain it to you but you learn to recognise it with experience." - Seeing her unconvinced he added - "If you think that they have a creature capable of tricking a Mythic-rank mind mage during a mental conversation then we are already in deeper shit than any dungeon named or not could ever cause." - He then turned to me. - "Would you mind telling us who named you?"
Considering their reactions I wasn't in rush to tell them I technically named myself. Before I managed to decide what to do Areth answered with a sigh. - "He named himself, and before you jump to conclusions it caused him to enter into a long period of inactivity. She slept for thousands of years." - I wondered what she was trying to accomplish by making me hundreds of times younger but after my last blunder, I was going to follow her lead.
"Arnar could you tell us your rank and affinities?" - Kaeden's question caused Ordia to explode once more.
"This is not how you do it, we have a ritual that will tell us exactly that and it will be infinitely more reliable"
"Yes the ritual, I guess you are fine paying for it out your own pocket then seeing you reject simpler and cheaper way?"
*I will gladly tell you.* - I couldn't let such opportunity pass. - *For only half of what you would have to pay for the ritual*
"I seriously regret bringing you both here" - I could almost hear Maisoon gritting his teeth - "Half is way too much, I can agree for one tenth and that is a final offer".
* Ok, have fun with the ritual. I wonder if there is a way for me to interfere with that. Do you think rapidly changing mana density in the dungeon would affect it?*
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"Ok, we will try Kaeden's approach. We will treat you fairly and hope you will do the same. How one forth sounds?" - Kaeden was openly grinning at this point and Ordia seemed stunned. Maisoon was the best actor of the trio, I had a feeling it was just a game to him and he didn't really care about the details as long as he got what he wanted. I could use that to my advantage.
*Sure, I am C-ranked blue diamond core with greater mind and soul affinity. I also have weak earth affinity.*
"Common-ranked dungeon with two greater affinities and self-named at that. Do you have any more surprises?" – Kaeden asked. I was pretty sure he wasn't expected an answer but I decided to go all out. It wouldn't be good to be underestimated by a potential ally or a potential enemy, especially during negotiations.
*Yes, as the matter of fact I do.* - I willed the chest with previously prepared crystals to rise from the ground. - *If I were you I would use one of those crystals* - Only Ordia hesitated but she knew what crystals I have made the last time and that seemed enough to overcome her reluctance.
When they came around I saw the determination in their eyes. Kaeden reached into a pocket and placed a pearl on the floor which I immediately absorbed. I couldn't say no to such a well-deserved gift.
"Did you really had to give him the core now? In the middle of the negotiations? And how the hell you got a core, Mr-I-Love-Dungeons?" - I was barely able to follow their conversation as I was overwhelmed by the other core's memories but I thought this time Maisoon seemed genuinely irritated.
"I have killed this one after it tried to hunt and kill me for no apparent reason. And I mean going all out not just your normal “you are my food so die” dungeon mentality. It was spawning monsters from the last floor on the upper floors, immediately refreshing cleared rooms and triggering traps manually. I only said you should be fair dealing with the dungeons not friendly." He shrugged and added - "We need him at epic rank as soon as possible and that was δ-ranked core. In a few days he will wake up. We need to build a camp anyway and that will take time."
They started preparing to leave when Areth stopped them with well-prepared mind pulse. It was designed to be extremely unpleasant but leave the target unharmed. To my surprise, even the mind mage was affected although to the lesser degree. "I don't like being ignored. The core you gave him was a standard sea pearl or was there something special about it?" – Ordia was preparing to cast something at her but seeing her two fellow adventurers doing nothing she aborted the spell and settled for glaring at Areth, which my champion ignored. After Kaeden confirmed the core being ordinary one she continued - "Then you should wait, he won't take longer than 10 minutes”.
The party was unconvinced but ended waiting. In the meantime, Maisoon asked Areth a few questions and even shared a few of his experiences as a mind mage. They both seemed to enjoy the conversation.
When I dealt with all of the alien memories I blurted - *I have a lesser water affinity now, and that core was paid to kill Kaeden.*
"What do you mean paid?" There was something cold and dangerous in his eyes as he asked that question. It wasn't hard at all to imagine him killing that dungeon. I briefly pondered how C-rank kills delta-ranked dungeon but I wasn't that curious. Not when he was looking at me this way. - * The same way it always got instructions. Some powerful mind contacted it and ordered your death. It even got some rare resources to motivate it.*
Maisoon decided to quickly change the subject. - “Have you finished absorbing the other core? What rank are you now? – When he learned it was barely enough to get me to B-rank his excitement rose -"You are not stupid so you must have realised how important you are for our guilds what do you want?"
That was unexpected, I considered starting with outlandish demand or making them make the first offer but in the end decided they would agree to pretty much everything. That said it would be extremely unwise to antagonise them before we even started working together. I had to understand his strange behaviour first.
*You said you wanted me epic-ranked as soon as possible and I guess that core should have been enough for that, yet when you heard I got only to B-rank you got excited, why?*
“Rank although important is not everything. Take Areth, I am guessing she is epic-ranked but as a dungeon boss and ancient monster, she would trash any ordinary legendary-ranked human. It wouldn’t even pose any challenge to her unless he was close to mythic-rank. Dungeon cores are governed by the same principles. We don’t know how you are created…” – Maisoon made a slight pause here, hoping I would reveal that mystery as well. I had no idea either but keeping him in the dark if I truly didn’t know or just didn’t want to tell him could help in later negotiations. It also made me wonder how my Queens would fare against him. I was fairly certain they would lose in the end but he wouldn’t get away scot-free.
“Anyway, we saw dungeon cores made of various materials, some were common rocks, some were rare metals and some others being more exotic like the pearl you just absorbed or crystallised flame which is the closest divine-rank dungeon to us. Usually but not always the rarer and more precious base material is the stronger the dungeon can grow and even if you compare standard S-ranked granite dungeon to S-ranked iron dungeon the latter will have more rooms, more complex floors and what’s more important higher quality of drops and mana. The drawback is they need more time and mana to advance the rank. There are two special cases, one is those exotic dungeons I mentioned earlier as they need to be appraised individually because their base material gives no indication of strength and they have quirks. The second are…
I immediately interrupted him. - *What are those quirks?*
“The closest would be self-imposed rules the dungeon sets for itself.” – Kaeden explained and properly guessing I would want more information continued. – “For example, bone dungeons usually focus either on undead skeletons or on monsters with exoskeletons, the pearl dungeons focus on amphibian creatures and like to add drops that mature with time as pearls do, you can collect them early but the value is diminished. The crystallised flame dungeon, the only of its kind as far as we know, really likes fire monsters and infuses everything with celestial energy. When the church learned of this they bribed the emperor and he granted them sole rights to it.”
*Thank you for explaining and Maisoon, sorry for interruption* - Kaeden helped me with this explanation more than he could know but I decided to conceal the reason why for now. They were interested in me already and anything more could be detrimental to the negotiations. I was confident they would agree to my demands anyway.
“It’s alright, as I was saying second special group were rare gem dungeons. They were almost always the most powerful dungeons but had considerable limitations.” – He continued giving me the detailed information without any prompt now. Areth was right they could be trained. – “In contrast to quirks which can be overcome if the dungeon is either in danger or is given the right motivation, those limitations are the very nature of the stone. Fire opals can’t create anything even loosely affiliated with water and any monster with that affinity placed in the dungeon will deteriorate and die. Aquamarine although almost always affiliated with water don’t share similar limitations and can have strong fire creatures. Its limitation is linked to its Divine Feminine aspect, female of any species can have triple the usual strength and males are sometimes weakened to such effect it is pointless to collect their bodies as it would produce nothing but inferior quality goods.”
“There are only three exceptions to that rule. Zircon gemstone is limited to the lesser number of mobs but they are stronger, clear quartz being limited to weaker mobs but compensating with the number of them are two that has, from our perspective, no meaningful limitation.” – Ordia finally overcame her stupor and decided to contribute to the conversation. – “The diamond limitation was having no limitation, which made it still precious gem dungeon but slightly weaker than most of this class. They are extremely rare with only seven found, well now eight if we choose to include you, but so far none had better affinity than strong. They do seem to have more of them and pick them up quicker. You identified yourself as blue diamond so as a previously unknown variant we had no idea what to expect. We are excited because you seem to have no limitation similarly to the standard diamond core but already have a greater affinity. Before doing careful research I can’t confirm this but the amount of mana you need for rank advancement is likely to correspond to fire ruby, earth agate or blue emerald which are both the strongest and have the harshest limitations.”
“Do you have any other questions?” – Maisoon asked. I didn’t not really… I just couldn’t stop myself as it was gnawing at me since the first time I saw him.
*Why do you have a cape tied around your head?* - For that I should have gotten a new title, the one saying: Congratulations! You managed to render a mythic-rank mage speechless and made his companions burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“THIS IS A TURBAN. It is customary to wear one among my people. Do you have any IMPORTANT QUESTIONS, or can we proceed with negotiations?”
*I want you to jointly manage me with the crafters' guild and I want a fourth of what you will charge all adventurers entering my dungeon and 10% of any tax, rent or payment you will be collecting in the city. We all know that it will become the city eventually and I want it called Arnar City. And of course you will be giving me resources as you would to any other dungeon.*
"Dungeon never received any money and you want that on top of the standard resources you would get?" - It looked as if it was the mage's job to negotiate. - "What do you even need money for?!"
*You will be giving me resources that will help me grow in the direction you want. I don't want money I want you to buy me things of my choosing at the standard market price. So I can grow in the direction I want. Before you protest further, you seemed satisfied with the potions and skill crystals I made. You have seen what mob I made and decided they would be excellent training for your novices. Training no other dungeon could give you. You want me different than any other dungeon, so it is in your best interest to agree with that request.*
"We will agree to it. Each party getting one-fourth of dungeon fee is fair but we won't agree to the 10% from the city"
*You will. Or do you think there would be a city if not for me? I acknowledge I won't take any part in managing or taking care of the city that's why it is only 10%*
"Fine but we will be able to make a request for specific materials or monsters and you will agree to few standard features like a mine and a herbalist garden. They must be no danger areas"
*Ok, you can request any material or monster but how and when I implement it is my decision. I will also be able to refuse any request if I decide it is to the detriment of the dungeon, grootslangs or me. I promise I won't use that as an excuse. You will get your mine and garden but they will be MINIMAL danger areas and that will only apply to the first floor. If I make additional mines or gardens on lower floors I may make them as dangerous as I want. I may concede and make them easier than average for that floor unless some extra circumstances appear. There are two more conditions that are non-negotiable; my final floor is off limits and Grootslangs are to be under no circumstances attacked or killed.*
"But you only have one floor!" - Ordia chose that moment to make that insightful comment.
"Yes, and he plans to be the first divine dungeon with a single floor in the history of the Empire" - Areth apparently shared my feelings about Ordia. - "Before you compromise yourself further, we plan to expand to eleven floors before the first adventurers show up. Moreover, it will be the guilds' responsibility to ensure no Grootslang is attacked. If they are ever seen in the dungeon they are either to be ignored or will offer a test that is not life threatening."
“We will do our best but we are not dungeons and we can’t control all our members as you control your mobs. What will happen if one is hurt or killed?” – I may dislike Ordia but she had a point, if only she knew how little control I had over the Queens or Areth…
*If a grootslang is hurt but they live the offending party is to surrender all loot gained during this run, pay harsh fine and is banned for a month from the dungeon. The second infraction triples the fine and incurs a yearly ban. Third and they are banned for life assuming they get away from me alive as I will do everything in my power to kill them. All the loot in the dungeons will be significantly lowered for a week after any grootslang is hurt. Please note I will know if the party was provoked so that defence will do nothing and may result in harsher punishment.*
“I guess that is fair, Kaeden, Ordia you agree? Great, then what if a grootslang dies?
*Then they won’t make it to the surface. If they somehow manage I want ten times the standard fine, the body of the grootslang returned and the heads of those responsible. If you don’t manage the heads fine is once again multiplied by ten. The dungeon stays closed for a month counting from when the body of the grootslang was returned. If I don’t get proof those responsible were killed before I reopen the dungeon difficulty will be tripled and any drops halved until I do or you manage to convince me otherwise but that is going to cost you.*
“That is excessive but I won’t waste my breath trying to convince you otherwise. If someone is stupid enough to kill one despite the guilds’ joint prohibition then I see no reason to protect the idiot. I want the option to open the dungeon sooner. I get what you want to accomplish by that so I propose we pay you a reasonable amount and you open it after a week, the entrance fee is doubled and so is the difficulty. That will make the community itself enforce the rules. No adventurer will want to pay double and work twice as hard because someone wanted quick cash or was plain stupid. If we can’t retrieve the body we will destroy it.” – Hearing no disagreement from me he continued – We want the guarantee that our training parties will make it back alive as there is little point in spending resources on them if they die in the dungeon.”
*If they know they won’t die then the training won’t be good and I won’t agree to allow anyone with guild token to always survive. You know that so get to your counterproposal now. I already agreed we will treat each other fairly.*
“We will send guardians with important novices, they will limit their skills and will be acting as leaders.” – Maisoon seemed to be displeased that I am cutting negotiations short. I guess he enjoyed haggling, well, he wears a TURBAN some weirdness was to be expected.
*I will permit one such group every other day per one dungeon level. Each level will have five floors with the level boss at the end. The guardian will not take part in battles as I won’t stand epic-ranks slaughtering F-ranked mobs. I doubt other dungeons allow for such things. If the guardian does anything beyond saving the lives of your trainers, and that includes giving advice I will act as well, which is most likely to end in a party wipe as the mob will be at guardian level. And no, I don’t care how it works in other dungeons. This way your trainees will have to learn how to think for themselves instead of relying on someone else. If one of them dies then that’s a small price to pay.*
“That will work. We sometimes will be getting VIPs that absolutely can’t die and you will have to ensure that. I will notify you of any such guest.” – Kaeden request was reasonable, I wouldn’t want to kill an Empire heir either. Which didn’t mean I couldn’t try to get something out of this.
*Of course, but you have to realize how straining managing the dungeon is, all this distracting adventurers would make it even more taxing. I can’t guarantee my focus won’t wander for a second or two*
“You want to be paid for that too?!”
*No of course not, I wouldn’t be opposed to completely voluntary donation but that’s not what I am after. If I grant you a favour I want one back. I would even allow a training party, without a guardian, few times a month and would do my best to ensure they would come as close to death without experiencing it as possible. I would make it realistic so they wouldn’t realise they were protected the entire time. We could even negotiate scenarios or specific monsters they were to encounter. If you wanted to reward someone without anyone realising then I could make sure he finds exactly what you want and no one would be the wiser.*
“Dungeon dealing with abstract ideas instead of demanding payment up front. Don’t take it the wrong way but I sincerely hope you are a freak or all my research, all THE RESEARCH on dungeons is garbage.” – I guess that explained Ordia’s behaviour pretty well, I should cut her some slack. I also got an idea…
*When I was born something went wrong, so I should be at least nonstandard. As a result, I don’t have all the instincts the dungeon should have. Consuming the other core helped a little but it is just gaining knowledge how I should act. Apart from that everything else is fully functional so we can work some kind of the deal. I am sure you have theories you would want to test and no means to do that with all my brethren more interested in eating you than working with you. I will help you with that in exchange you will fill some blanks I have, help me with monster evolution and things like that.*
“Can I invite others? Only those I trust and if we publish you will become centre of attention”
*Ordia, as I told Maisoon I want to become Divine-rank and that is the start. I realise becoming Sovereign, and what’s more important not being destroyed immediately after, is near impossibility but it is what I aspire to do. If you wait with publishing until I reach legendary-rank I doubt it will be that shocking. After all, dungeons are greedy and for big enough bribe they would postpone eating you for long enough to carry out some of your experiments.*
Afterwards, we spent over 8 hours fleshing out the agreement and Areth has been indispensable. The task of producing the contract was given to me as it was the most efficient way. I learned that Ordia was high ranked crafters’ guild’s official with her being famous researchers so we had all parties present.
Magic contracts were inspected and signed shortly after. I was able to do that as this particular brand was produced by infusing one’s will into it, which was undoubtedly the reason they went for it, dungeons having no hands. The magic part ensured it couldn’t be altered, stolen, lost or destroyed and it automatically placed the copy into Imperial Archives, with them being as humongous as they were there was no danger of revealing my existence as you had to know what to look for to have even a chance of stumbling on the document.
To make it magically binding you would need to include soul shackles and no one below Sovereign could shackle the dungeon. Even if you had the rank it was attempted only once and the core spent rest of its life fighting against the binding eventually succeeding and causing what was later known as First Grand Crusade of Sentient Races. It was one of five times when Empire worked with hand in hand with the Republic and the United Kingdoms and only third when all races of light took part in a single conflict on the same side. No one was eager to repeat that.
I watched them leaving my dungeon satisfied, this was a good start and with time I would convince them to trust me. Now I would have the time to deal with one of the popups I got after consuming that core.
Please choose your first divine affinity.
+
-
∞
∅
Celestial
Infernal
Transcendental
Abyssal
Order
Chaos
Nature
Void
Creation
Destruction
Infinity
Nothingness
Life
Death
Eternity
Oblivion