The reincarnator formerly known as Bruce Gold has been coming to terms with his second life. That was until the peaceful city became a hot spot for invasion. The teenager was thrust into the mountain dungeon with the rest of the citizens and, for the most part, went unnoticed.
Bruce Gold had been a good child on the back end of puberty before he died. That said, he wasn't happy about having to repeat that stage of life again whatsoever and was currently at odds with himself.
For all appearances, he wanted to keep up the facade of being a good son. Even if his parents knew he was special they hadn't let him leave the house in months, not since his last growth spurt. It was only thanks to the war that his mother was forced to move them to a safer location, albeit reluctantly.
No matter how much Kieran had begged her to let him play out, she hadn't given in. But after gaining a slight grasp on the power known as magic -and with his parents caught in the same panic as the rest of the city, Kieran managed to slip out of their sight.
A brief squeeze on the stream of time was all it took for the teenager to disappear. He hadn't actually teleported anywhere, instead he stopped time momentarily and made a hasty break for it. Through the caves, through the tunnels, all the way to the large stone doors that signified the entrance of the dungeon.
He was free.
Not that he wouldn't return to his parents. All he wanted was a quick tour of the city that was now his new home. Plus, all teenage boys snuck out now and then. It was only natural to be a little rebellious.
Kieran didn't want to upset his parents or make them worry. He was thankful to have them. The orphanage where he had lived on Earth wasn't the worst place to grow up, but all he had ever wanted was a family. Now, after sneaking out, he felt as though he was breaking their trust.
He could have attempted this many times from their home, but Mark and Tina Ely always had their eye on him. Plus he was still building his confidence and coming to terms with the fact that he could use magic. Time magic, no less.
Time Mages were the rarest of the rare, or so he had overheard, and he was now one of them. He couldn't believe his luck. From orphaned nobody to superstar status and all it had taken was his death. Kieran wasn't pleased with the last part, but it had happened nonetheless.
Poor Bruce, he thought, smiling as he slipped through the empty town. The only people around were those holding the line on the outskirts. The rest of the citizens - as Kieran knew them - were in the forest, fighting the King's army. Throughout both his lives, the budding Time Mage could be classed as an adult in either world and he thought he was prepared to see war.
Not to participate, but only to observe.
It was strange at first and Kieran felt alone. Alone in the forest, hidden behind a tree near a large, black tower. The only citizen present to watch as the enemy army approached.
'Where are Varona's defenders? Don't tell me it's just those guards back there.'
Bruce began to panic. Maybe there was a reason his parents hadn't let him out into the world yet. Maybe it was because this world was just as messed up as his last, only in a variety of different ways. Dungeons and magic are not subjects of everyday discussions on Earth unless your after-school club is dedicated to fantasy in some aspect.
Just as Kieran was about to break the laws of nature for a third time that day, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen appeared with three children. It was strange that Kieran thought of the children as good-looking, but his concept of time was skewered and he just went with it. There weren't any seedy feelings after all, so there wasn't anything wrong with his observations.
Before she could speak, the children started talking amongst themselves and the King didn't seem too impressed with their dismissive tones and ridiculous requests. He let off the scariest-looking magic that Kieran had ever seen. Not that he'd ever witnessed any firsthand. Instead, his knowledge was limited to manga and anime but they didn't do the attack justice.
A blade as black as the tower beside him cut down every tree as it flew toward the four females. The three children somehow erected a magical barrier, but it was in vain as the magical attack broke through, and the woman and children too.
The woman took the brunt of the attack as it carried her into the tower behind, severing a few limbs in the process. The children were hit by a smaller portion of the King's magic, but it was enough to cease their movements and end their lives there and then.
It was then Kieran realized that he was absolutely shitting himself.
The extent of his power so far was the ability to stop time for ten seconds. Roughly ten seconds. It was enough to slip away and make it past a couple of unsuspecting guards, but to evade an attack like that? Bruce didn't know if he could do it. Hell, he didn't even want to find out.
The only reason he was still there was because of the amputated woman. She wasn't dead yet. Worst of all, the young Time Mage wanted to help her. He was even debating running in, picking her up, and then stopping time for as long as he could while running as fast as his little legs would take him.
He knew it was foolish.
That he would probably die.
He was still going to do it though. What good was magic if you didn't use it to be a kickass hero? Saving the damsel in distress was always his favorite part of the anime.
Just as he was about to enact his plan, the woman spoke. Kieran didn't catch what she said as his heart beat so hard it was the only sound he could hear. Instead, what he saw next made him question his eyes as another woman appeared. Identical to the first in every way except that this one had all her limbs still and this time, when the full-bodied, green-haired beauty spoke, Kieran heard her clear as day.
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"Kill them," she whispered.
Then the darkness opened up and everything inside, from monster to man, was aimed at the human army behind the King. The woman herself was gathering an insane amount of power in the palm of her hand and in no way seemed like she needed the young man-child's help.
Instead, Keiran watched on in fascinated horror as the King's army was decimated and the earth was torn asunder as the woman released her death ray.
What a world.
Kieran Ely, Time Mage
Dungeon Stories Volume 4
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Everything is back on track.
Finally.
My day-to-day tasks have increased slightly, but on average it's not too bad.
Mornings consist of breakfast with the triplets, followed by a meeting at City Hall. There, I have to listen to a bunch of reports from the people in charge of the tasks delegated to them. This is by far my least favorite part of the day.
Mayor Kana updates me on anything that needs my attention in Varona, which isn't half as much as it used to be. Raff reports the changes in Tune, he also likes to mention how his job would be easier if I put more time in there myself. Although, from what I've seen, he seems to have things covered and I was never expecting the coastal city to change overnight.
Also, Light complains at every meeting about being left in charge of Orad. He complains that the countryside city is too much of a boring place and that nothing interesting happens there.
That's right, I shipped Light out to Orad for a while. I didn't send him alone though and sent my gold-hungry Categorizer with him. Simon is there to oversee the dungeon. Even though there are only twenty floors of Goblins, people are prone to making mistakes while not paying attention or when showing off. We don't want them dying out of stupidity, giving the small dungeon a bad rep. Once the city guard has been shown the ropes and conforms to my orders, Simon should be able to return to Varona.
That doesn't mean Light has stopped complaining about his posting though and he voices that fact at every meeting. Seriously, he should be happy. Sophie is with him -pregnant as she may be, specifically because there's no danger there. All he has to do is patrol and make sure they're distributing food like they should be doing.
Is checking on the quality of people's lives that boring?
I'll switch him out with someone else soon. I thought I was doing them a favor though. Never mind. I debated sending Noir first, that would have been doing me a favor. After deciding there wasn't anything that needed demolishing, I held off on that idea.
After the morning meetings, me and the triplets enjoy a nice walk outside the city. We move through the areas already unlocked in the direction of Ishda. It would be faster to port to the opposite side of the dungeon-owned land, but then I'd spend my DP before Amber could inform me it was lunchtime.
Plus, it's boring. This way I get to enjoy myself a little.
Instead, we opt to stroll through the morning's early sun, sometimes taking out a monster or two on the way. Most of the time it's just me holding the creature down while the triplets shamelessly beat it to death, but at least they're leveling now. That's what it's all about.
I knew I'd find a way.
Plus, they're wild monsters we gang up on so... Who cares about their feelings?
Don't pop up. Don't pop up. Don't pop up.
...
Thank the Core.
For a second there, I was half expecting a notification telling me that monsters now need to ascend to the next plane of bullshit. Thankfully, that didn't happen.
At some point during my acquisitions, Amber lets us know it's lunchtime and we head to Ali's. Afterward, I drop them at the Coliseum, which is the triplets' least favorite part of the day, Sometimes I stay to watch their progress, they've been doing much better recently. The levels they earned on our morning walks have helped them gain enough strength to finally beat the Ringmaster's first group of Stone Golems.
Alone, I might add.
Bear, doesn't participate in the girls' fights anymore. He's over twenty levels and an evolution in front of them now. He is also a gigantic Bear who can fight on two feet. No longer a cub, the evolution he earned increased his size tenfold, and instead of carrying the Cave Bear, Violet now uses her pet as a mount. Still, he has his own matches and Randy puts him against stronger Golems in his own corner of the Coliseum.
If I'm not watching them train, I'm busy dealing with tasks that need not only my attention, but my DP too. Raff, Kana, and Light, usually have some tasks they need me to carry out around the same time the girls are fighting. Other than myself, Me, and Sis, no one else can spend my points. Even then, those two are only able to spend what I give them.
Once the triplets are done with their matches, I too am done for the day and we enjoy a nice dinner together. Usually in the company of others as everyone is generally done with their day jobs by that time. We chat, laugh, tease and slightly insult each other, but all in good spirits. Just like tonight.
That was when something odd happened, or at least I thought it did. Time seemed to stand still for the briefest of moments before it corrected itself. I was about to mention it when Anya pushed a glass of Jack in front of me and after downing it, I passed the time skip off as nothing.
That bit of strangeness did remind me that I still need to find a Time Mage though. Rare as they are, I'll probably have to unlock and search the entire continent before I come across one of them. Not that I'm in a rush to find the hermits of the magic world, but sooner would be preferable to later.
After dinner, believe it or not, is when I hone my skills. Not in any physical sense of the word though. My evenings are spent reading. When that awful elf Hiroshi died, I absorbed the remains of three Dungeon Cores he had taken into himself before reaching Varona. I also gained a shit load of monsters and features I've neglected to sort through.
Now that I'm actually going through it, I'm barely making any headway. There are so many different types of features that I could use to benefit my dungeon, I really should have gone through the list sooner.
Still, it'll probably take weeks to finish going through it all so I'm in no rush. Due to my laid-back way of acquiring land with the triplets and my advisor costs being low, I always have points left over to test out new features after dinner. It's become the highlight of my day and I look forward to this time.
Today, however, it isn't a feature I've decided to go with. Today it will be what the System specifies as a monster. Instead, I'm hoping for intelligent family members because I have an important mission for them when we reach Ishda.
These points are being spent on Vampires. Lesser Vampires first. They have a human appearance as expected, but animal-like intelligence. They can follow orders but don't make good decisions on their own. After an evolution, they become your average, run-of-the-mill, Vampires. The next step up is no longer animalistic in the brains department, instead they have a one-track mind. Ready to serve and advance.
Honestly, all they talk about is advancing to the Noble rank.
Which brings us to the third-tier Vampires. Nobles. Damn, they look good. They even give the rest of my family a run for their money. Seriously. It almost feels unfair to the rest of the population, though they're not doing so badly in the looks department themselves.
Noble Vampires are clever and calculating. They should be able to blend into the capital's population easily. Ishda is missing a few of their nobles after all and I can easily erect a few mansions when I get there. That will give the impression that not only are the new nobles wealthy, but they're capable too. I'll also throw a cave's worth of gold their way, making it more than just an impression and solidifying it as a fact.
Gold is bilingual after all.