It's the first time I've killed an NPC in this game since I started. The other bodies, the players, have long since turned to dust, but the Ruffian and the Knight are still laying in the dirt. Black veins streak across the rogue instructor's skin indicating his cause of death. I'm assuming that if they're murdered someone can find out how or maybe it's a way for them to be like regular, IRL people.

There is a loot bag and I'm about to grab it when Victoria stops me, "If its all the same to you, will it be okay if we left his clothes? Normally I wouldn't mind, but I don't want to see the effects of your poison on his body."

I access the loot bag and see that his clothes and armor are an option. It never occured to me that I would essentially be stripping a dead body by "looting" it. None of his gear is of any worth to us, except for his own ring of holding and the Life Crystal which we take. The Knight's sword and crystal get lifted, but he didn't have anything else except for a pouch of money, about twenty silver, probably the payment for his services. His armor is permanently damaged so it's Durability is shot. The rest of his gear is no better than our own, so we leave them as well.

"Ardacen! I'm glad you and your group are okay!" Richter bumps fists with me, "I'm sorry we had to meet again like this, man."

I shake my head with a smile, "It's not your fault. Besides, we got a Main Quest mission out of it!"

Each group gained XP differently for the amount of people they fought. My group fought the most, but we also had the most in one group so we split our XP eight ways. The quest mission was only given to the original group of six plus Rachel and Serenity so we split the 2200XP amongst us. The soldiers didn't mind at all since they knew how easily they handled a bunch of higher level immortals at the stage they are on.

"What do we do with the bodies?" Dawn asks non challantly while allocating her new stat points.

"Leave them to the wolves," Ramona replies coldly, kicking a bit of dirt on them.

"Like, will their bodies turn to dust like monsters or travelers?" asks Rachel as she eyes Richter who's trying not to stick out like a sore thumb.

"Eventually," answers Kona, "Maybe in a few days. I'm not sure why it takes that long though."

"Um, I've heard it's for- it's for- it's for necromancy magic," adds Serenity as she fiddles with her orb. "Maybe resurrection magic too, but that's, um, really rare magic."

I get a crazy idea and grab the Rucksack of Holding that I asked one of the soldiers to wear. You can't put spacial magic items inside one another otherwise they both destroy themselves and anything in them.

I left it empty in case we needed to transport anything big, but I use it to scoop a big hole out of the ground, kick the bodies in, and then promptly cover them up. Everyone is looking at me like I just did a magic trick and they're all trying to figure out how the hell I did it.

"Dude. What the hell." It was more of a statement than a question, a comment on the ridiculous use of a magical item.

"I thought he was going to take them in the bag," Ramona looks at me with worry.

"But what would we even do with them? Come on, let's head ba-"

I stop myself from ending my sentence, but continue walking. I'm accessing the ring and I found a letter with instructions from a higher up in the Guild. I hold it up and let the others know what it is before I describe what is written in it, "Says that the people were to be brought back to the guild alive. There's no further instructions after that."

Kona looks up at me, "I don't get it. They kick us out, then they want to sneak us back in? Lord Bertrand must be losing his mind."

I see something in my radar approaching at a good pace, so I tell everyone to scatter and hide as best as they can in the shrubs and trees. I activate Stealth, waiting patiently for them to arrive. It's two riders coming from the north, one looks like a human female with long blonde wavy hair and the other an elvish female with shoulder length pale blue hair. They're both dressed in deep blue leather armor, covering their arms legs and torso. There's a small crest that I'm unfamiliar with on their riding bags. The elf stops both of them before they get too close to me, scrutinizing the space I'm in.

"Come forth. Your skill is too low to hide from me," she commands and I can feel myself reappearing. I hold my hands up and sign for everyone to stay, those who understand holding everyone back.

The human raises an eyebrow at my gestures, "What are you doing?" Her hand reaches for something at her belt.

"Um, greetings, my good ladies," unsure how else I would speak to them, I choose to go with a more chivalrous approach. "I am merely passing through. Please, I am no cause for concern to anyone."

The elf scrunches her nose, "Then why do you smell of death?"

"I was attacked by travelers from Kes Rentas and I defended myself. My friends are waiting for me."

They trot their horses backwards when the elf draws a slender sword, "Tell your, friends, to come out then. We are not afraid of you or them!"

Everyone begins to appear from their hiding spots and I hold my hands up to them, "Whoa, I know what this looks like, but please give me a moment to explain!" The human also draws her blade, as well as a golden ankh. Shit.

Victoria steps forward, "Greetings, Your Majesty. Please, sheath your sword."

A slight look of suprise crosses the human's face, "So. The rumors are true. He sent you out as soon as his whore became pregnant before you... I am truly sorry, please know that I am."

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Victoria bows her head in acknowledgement, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I know there wasn't anything to be done."

Its striking to hear her talking this way and I have to shake my head to stop myself from speaking out of character any further.

"I… don't mean to be rude, but by Majesty does she mean you to be the Queen?"

I look around. The other players, Victoria, and I are the only ones standing. The others, well aware of who's presence they're in now, are genuflecting deeply. I too, bow my head but I don't kneel, the other players do the same.

"At least he has manners," the elf whipsers to the Queen.

"I am Queen Herexa Regalus. This is my lady-in-waiting, Lexxes Nightglow. Duchess Grandersil, may we accompany you to… Linqs, was it?"

The soldiers created a dotted perimeter around us as we walked back to the dungeon. I asked Sonny ahead of time to remove the traps and that we would have some special guests. She said something about cleaning the dungeon, but she somehow trailed off through text and I shook my head.

Victoria is walking between them, leading their horses, and chatting with them in her suprisingly pleasent tone. I am most definitely staring at her butt when Lexxes catches me with a glance, whispers at the other two, and all three turn to me without stopping. I give them a sheepish grin and they giggle loudly amongst themselves.

Richter nudges me and Dawn is snickering, "Dude, seriously? You're too cool! How'd you get the NPCs to like you like that?"

Dawn jumps into the converstation, "Ardacen has a way with the ladies!"

A purple tail curls under my chin and Ramona passes by us, along with Kona and Rachel, "He certainly does."

Everyone is laughing, except Elsbeth, who's sad smile seems to be glowing with warmth, and Serenity, who is too shy to be laughing but still sports half of a smile.

I'm blushing harder than I’ve ever blushed before, "Just gotta be nice, I guess. I don't know! I'm not doing it on purpose!"

Queen Herexa calls me to the front and Dawn shoots me some finger guns and a wink, "Get 'em, tiger!" I ignore all of them laughing and slow jog to the queen's side.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"You are a traveler?" I agree, trying to look over at Victoria, but I can't catch even the tiniest bit of eye contact. "Have you killed any Arcians yet?" I assume she means NPCs and I tell her the abridged story of the two recently and I show her the letter.

"Yes, Duchess Victoria has told me about the involvement of the Kes Rentas' Thieves Guild. It is interesting that this is partially the reason for my visit." She sighs deeply, glancing at Vic, then looking back at me, amethyst eyes piercing right through me, "How much time did you spend in the city?"

"Um, not much, maybe only a day. Richter and Rachel were actually in the Guild and spent more time in it than I did."

She contemplates my words, still staring at me, "Then I must have words with them when we reach… Where are we going exactly?"

From our spot atop the incline, she looks down at the cave and then at Victoria. I finally get to see her face, finding a warm smile and the feeling of home.

We avoid contact with the other citizens as per the Queen's request. I dismiss the soldiers, but before I could thank them, they all thanked us. Gorm puts a heavy hand on my shoulder, "The XP is great, but it has been a very long time since we saw battle like that. And the way you took on both classed fighters shows the size of your stones!"

Boulder hits me in the chest, light enough to not deal damage, but still stumble back a step, "I knew you had the Knight. I just wanted to test out the spear's ability. I can't believe a fighter such as yourself is capable of crafting such weapons! We look forward to the next battle!"

I could hear the true concern for me he held is his voice and it meant something to me. I nod my head to them as they go off, some to the Mess Hall and some to the Town Hall.

I join the others, convening around Sonny, her light slightly diminished, but glowing brighter as I approach.

[Welcome, back, Ardy. Though we can always communicate with words, it is still good to see you home safely.]

"It is always good to see you, Sonny. Now, have I missed anything important?"

Queen Herexa and Lexxes have their arms folded in concern, obviously in thought over their conversation with Richter and Rachel in front of them. "Like, Your Majesty, its true. I know fer'sure that the Ruffian classes were being sent out on missions into the city. And aren't they, like, supposed to be attacking enemy territories or trade caravans?"

She nods her head, "Indeed, that is their primary targets. Which makes one wonder, what kind of enemy lies inside one's own city." Lexxes takes something out of a pouch that looks like a pocket watch, "Your Majesty, it looks like it will be evening soon. What would you like to do?"

"We must be off then," Queen Herexa says, getting ready to turn away.

Victoria gestures a welcoming hand to them, "Please. It is not much, but you are welcome to stay here the night. You will be much safer here than out there, I assure you."

[Your Majesty, Queen Herexa, I am able to safeguard the entrance to Linqs Dungeon and our warriors here rival any palace guard. Would you consider staying Y/N?]

She smirks, "This may not be the first dungeon I've ever been in, but it is the most polite. We shall stay, but I must insist that we use our own bivouac for the sake of privacy."

Victoria bows, "Of course, Your Majesty." With an eyebrow raised, I sign to Victoria behind our esteemed guests, asking if she was in the military too. She signs back, "She is the military. General." My jaw drops as she leads them to the living area.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Dawn accessing the DM interface screen, "What'cha doin, little lamb?"

Without missing a beat she responds, "Just making a house of bricks, you big bad wolf."

"What? Seriously?"

She finishes her design and confers with Sonny.

[Wonderful design, Lady Dawn. I've saved it as a basic blueprint. At the cost of 50*Lumber and 200*Bricks, we have enough materials to construct six immediately if you would like Y/N?]

"Yes, please, Sonny," said Dawn with a smile, choosing their locations close to the Bath House. As long as the building area is clear, the dungeon uses its own energy to construct the buildings by itself. It causes Sonny's core to shrink slightly, an eighth of an inch maybe, but it is too quick and convenient not to do. "Please inform Victoria that the houses are vacant and that Queen Herexa and Lady Lexxes are free to use one tonight. We'll inform the others and make plans to furnish them and possibly make more."

[Right away. Also, a Sir Connor was kind enough to share his map with me. Apparently, before he ended up in Kes Rentas, he used to work with a small, traveling circus troupe. His map extended my own by 458%]

"Fantastic!" I exclaim, secretly thanking my lucky stars for not accidently killing him, "But what does it mean?"

[I will compile some data and I will attempt to map out the best possible spot for Linqs Dungeon to relocate to.]

I know we all heard/read what she said because all of our eyes are staring at Sonny in disbelief. Dawn shakes the shock out of her head first, "We're sorry, but can you clarify that? I thought you were just going to look for the best place for resources?"

[Correct. I "was" doing just that. But I noticed the addition of a Dungeon Teleport Scroll to your inventory and, in combination with our extended map, moving us is the best next step. I shall include many variables, including: available resources, ambient mana, neghboring factions, and security/isolation. It will take me a while to do so. I'm a dungeon core, not a super genius.]

"But, like, we still love you Sonny! How exciting!" Rachel exclaims. "Come on, Kona, let's take a bath and go to bed. I am SO tired after beating you in battle points."

"What?!" The two playfully bicker as Elsbeth, Ramona, and Serenity follow them.

"Dude, you guys have a bath house? Awesome! I've been using a bucket and a washcloth for days…" Richter sniffs himself as he follows the girls.

Dawn and I look each other in the eyes and draw out a fist each. Without any other provocation, "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

Dang. Guess I have to sort all the loot.