Chapter 20

The spiders were poor experience for him, being mostly levels ten and eleven, but Lo still gained enough experience to reach level nineteen. He had already been close to level eighteen before the invasion had begun thanks to the culling of the gnolls in his original dungeon, but clearing this new dungeon was surprisingly lucrative. The spiders were weak but numerous, and quantity was a quality of its own.

The monster cadre he was leading had lost five of its eight gnolls and four of the rock spiders. Each of the survivors, including the two other Korgoath, had gained at least a level apiece from the constant battle over the last three hours. Although they had lost some of their numbers, the survivors had become individually more effective against the spiders and the occasional snake over time. Leveling was only part of that; the experience of fighting the same enemy time after time had done as much to increase their effectiveness as the Experience that the system logged.

Thinking of Experience, Lo allowed himself to feel a bit of annoyance at the portion which was siphoned away from him and directed towards his master’s growth. It wasn’t defiance, necessarily. One logical part of him knew that if he was forced to serve a human master, he would prefer that his master was not weak. As such, the siphoning was serving the end of making his Master more powerful, and thus served Lo indirectly.

He also reflected, begrudgingly, that he had gained more experience while under his master’s care than he had in three months previously. That was certainly worth some consideration. He had been spawned at level eleven, reaching level seventeen had taken him years of careful hunting. While stalking the gnolls in the darkness of his original dungeon had been thrilling, especially when he found a group of two or three which he could rip apart and vanish before their calls roused a sufficient reprisal from the other hated jackals, hunting by himself had been been less rewarding than hunting as part of a pack.

They had found the entrance to the foreign dungeon, and the core room. Lo was not convinced that his party had cleared the dungeon entirely, but he thought it was time to report to the humans their progress. Perhaps they had culled enough of the spiders that the human weakling and the sorceress would feel confident in killing what spiders remained.

“We return,” he instructed. “Back to the master.”

The other Korgoath obeyed without question. Lo was the only one to escape injury thus far; the junior which had previously suffered a spider bite had suffered two more during the course of the invasion, and the other had been bitten by one spider and a snake. They were both ready to retire and recover their health.

The gnolls, however, bristled at being commanded by Lo. The three survivors growled and barked at him, and Lo decided that he’d had enough. He pounced on the least injured of the three and tore its throat out. The surprise lasted long enough for him to tackle a second one. The third attempted to attack, but Lo’s junior Korgoath came to his defense and ripped it apart.

The rock spiders shifted nervously at the betrayal, but did not interfere. Lo approved. He was rather fond of the rock spiders, they made for useful fodder and distractions. With the gnolls dead, he left them for the dungeon to reclaim and led the others to report to the master.

~~~~~~~~

The king was in his study when the news came about the presence of a new monster in Tilluth Valley. The report included the name of the creature, and Fenard paused his correspondence to find the beasts entry in the Bestiary of Peotash the Younger. He sighed in relief that, compared to many of the options, this particular monster was not terribly dangerous. No, that wasn’t correct. It was dangerous, but less aggressive than other options.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, considering whether or not the development required a response. Tilluth Valley was just a small holding. If the core had gone completely out of control they would have been forced to destroy it. He knew that the unique fruit trees in the valley would have withered and died in this event. While it was a small concern in the grand terms of the economy of his nation, every lost holding was impossible to recover without a Controller of sufficient level.

Typically a controller was not considered properly trained until level fifty or higher. Fenard expected it to take fifteen to twenty years for Tom to reach that stage, depending on which subclass the boy unlocked. Conqueror would level faster, but the boy’s control over Cores would suffer for it. Inheritor would take longer to level, but the end result would be preferable for the kingdom.

Well, that much was firmly outside of Fenard’s control, regardless. The system would assign whichever subclass it deemed appropriate for the boy. Hopefully, in the unlikely situation that Tom was offered a choice rather than having it simply assigned, he would consult with Antoine before making the decision, and the Hero would advise the boy of the value of the Inheritor subclass.

He turned his mind back to the present problem. How to respond to this development. Or whether to respond at all. The Flame-lynx posed a small threat to the children of the valley, true, but not enough to trigger an evacuation or the destruction of the Core Stone. Provided the villagers take the situation seriously and properly educate their offspring on how to keep themselves safe, they could go on with life as normal without intervention from the state.

Even if he did respond, what shape would that response take?

He turned his attention back to his correspondence, remembering a request from one of his liegemen to grant holdings to a third son. He had initially dismissed the request; the family was not especially important in court and although he had several vacant holdings, he preferred to reserve them for someone who had shown sufficient merit. Such as Madame Silva, once her itinerant career came to an end.

If only the Winged Knights had not been at the southernmost tip of the kingdom when things had first begun to go wrong! Silva might not have been able to convince Antoine to entrust the boy to her care, but she would have at least insisted on accompanying the Hero on the journey south. And, hopefully, stymied the risk that the boy would be exposed to along the way.

Honestly, how foolish of the man to risk the boy, conquering wild dungeons while the boy was still level one. There was protocol on how to level a Controller, and that protocol existed for a reason. Even if Antoine destroyed the wild cores after Tom had finished experimenting with them, the boy’s actions and choices now could affect his entire career!

If the boy failed to unlock Collaboration due to Antoine’s interference, Fenard would order the Hero’s execution. Well, maybe he wouldn’t go quite that far, but he’d find some action which would make Antoine regret his interference. Confiscating the man’s remaining fortune, perhaps.

He turned his mind back to the subject at hand. The liegeman that had petitioned him had mentioned in the letter a number of virtues that his son possessed, and a love of hunting was one of those attributes. Fumbling through his past letters, he eventually found the petition and refreshed his memory.

Lubald Worth. Age twenty-one, level thirty-two Warrior, subclass Archer and Ranger. After some consideration, Fenard took out a fresh sheet of parchment and began writing the pronouncement that would raise Lubald to the rank of Lord and appoint him as the protector of Tilluth Valley. Hopefully the freshly minted Lord would appreciate the opportunity to hunt the elusive Flame-lynx, and the presence of such a hunter in the valley would keep the population of the predator in check.

~~~~~~~

Name

Tom Weaver

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Health

150/150

Age

14

Mana

291/291

Race

Human

Stamina

140/140

Class

Controller

Strength

12

Level

8

Dexterity

16

Subclass

Progenitor

Constitution

15

Endurance

14

Tom was examining his status when his surviving monsters returned. He was both impressed and pleased with his gains; this dungeon had been quite the haul, considering that he had entered it at level four. He knew he was only gaining a fraction of the experience that each of his monsters gained, but the sum that he gained from having them wipe out an entire dungeon was nothing to sneeze at!

“We return,” Lo’s gravely voice said, interrupting him from his musings. The monster noticed the way that Tom started slightly when it emerged from stealth mere steps away from him, and it snorted with amusement. Tom looked into the breech and saw the other monsters trickling in behind their leader.

“Have you finished already?” Tom asked, having expected it to take longer.

“If we have not cleared it entirely, we remain unable to proceed,” Lo said. “The last of the gnolls has perished. I will not put myself or my pack at further risk without them supporting us. But I believe we got most of the spiders and all of the snakes that we could find. The snakes were harder to find, they hide in crevices and do not always emerge to attack when you pass by.”

“Thank you, Lo. Oh, and congratulations, I noticed that you got some levels,” Tom said.

“You have grown stronger as well,” Lo said. “I approve. I do not wish to follow a weak human.”

“Well, I’m proud to have a strong korgoath leading my minions,” Tom said in reply. “I’ve only just gotten this class, after all. Before long I’ll be strong enough that you won’t be ashamed to serve me.”

Lo cocked his head and seemed amused.

“Did you find the core room?” Tom asked.

“Yes. It is this way,” Lo said, and he led Tom and the rest of the party into the breeched dungeon.

As they passed deeper into the hostile territory, Tom felt the tension growing between his core and the core of the new dungeon. He wasn’t certain, but he was hoping that he would be able to Claim both dungeons simultaneously, and that doing so would relieve the tension he was experiencing. Antoine hadn’t said anything to dissuade him from this course of action, so he assumed that he was doing right.

Tom and the other humans followed Lo into the dungeon, and Lo expertly guided them through its twists and turns, of which there were many, deeper into the earth until they reached the Core room. As they journeyed, Tom continued to feel the unease and pressure that he was coming to associate with bringing his Claimed Core Stone too close to an unclaimed one. When he mentioned it to Antoine, the Hero brushed it off.

“I said that I’ve read everything I could get my hands on about your class, Tom, but that doesn’t make me an expert. I’m quite certain that the most useful secrets about Controller are kept under lock and key by King Ferdy. The family is extremely jealous of their monopoly on Core Stones and Controllers,” Antoine told him. “I’ve only met one other controller, and he used this strategy of using one dungeon to conquer another quite frequently. He didn’t mention feeling any particularly unpleasant sensation when doing so, but he was an experienced Dungeon conqueror before I was summoned. Perhaps he felt what you are feeling now when he was younger and outgrew them as he leveled. Perhaps he felt it every time he delved and was simply so used to the sensation that it wasn’t worth mentioning to his companions. I don’t know.”

Tom accepted the lack of information with as close to equanimity as he could manage. He was displeased to know so little about his Class. Hopefully that would change once he reached the capital, Profons, and he could get a mentor who actually knew how to advise him on what Class choices the system afforded him.

When they found the Core room, the Core was hanging from the ceiling just out of reach, embedded in a stalactite. Sevin boosted Tom up so that he could reach it. The moment Tom’s hand touched the Core Stone, he began pumping Mana into his Claim Skill.

He was surprised when the Core stone not only claimed all of his Mana, it continued to demand more. He was forced to rely on the Core Stone he was carrying, but the new Core continued to demand more.

More, and more, and more.

Tom was astounded, but he continued to pump mana into his Skill until both he and his Core were drained. Then, abruptly, the Skill activated.

Tom lost consciousness, passing out from Mana exhaustion. He fell from Sevin’s grip and fell awkwardly to the ground, losing three health in the process.