The scar that ran across the face of the planet was nothing compared to the small piece of moon missing from the sky.
How can she be that strong?
The young woman's power defied everything he knew about life, or his old life at least.
The Time Mage formerly known as Bruce Gold was petrified at being alone in the forest while an army was invading. After all, he had never seen an army's worth of people in person, only scenes like that on TV. On the receiving end of their invasion, however, it was fair to say that Kieran Ely regretted his decision to sneak a peek.
Then - as if the army wasn't bad enough, the forest was filled with man-eating monsters, the types that can generally be found in your weekly fantasy manga. Spiders, wolves, bats, and even a few hundred slime were present. That in itself would have been the strangest sight had they not been accompanied by an army of Assassins.
The people that can generally be found strolling around town loving life, or in Talia's Tavern enjoying a good ale loving life, or on guard duty, somewhere or other, still loving life, were fighting alongside the monsters, culling the human army by the masses.
The last thing that Kieran had seen pushed him over his limit. He was shocked at the - minuscule at best - planetary destruction caused by the beautiful, young woman.
Her eyes, a subtle shade of green, didn't imply that she was capable of such feats; King Aldus had seemingly felt the same way before he had disintegrated with three of his subordinates, leaving his army obliterated and high-tailing it away.
That wasn't allowed however as the Assassins dropped into the shadows and the woman disappeared in a snap. Unable to stop himself, Kieran couldn't help but shake uncontrollably beside the tree he was hiding behind.
It was mind-blowing. Sure, he could stop time for a few seconds, but that was nothing compared to the beam of obliteration that had out-trumped the King's blade of magic.
What happened next was, by all accounts, even stupider.
Kieran heard the sound of combat to the east and followed it.
Why?
He had no idea but his legs carried him forward as he continued to question himself. At every opportunity, Kieran would stop the flow of time for as long as possible to avoid missing any crucial blows. The moment of magically-induced carnage still played on his mind. It was destruction like nothing he had ever seen.
The Time Mage ran until he reached the action. It wasn't what he had expected, even with the monsters he thought might be there. Most of the creatures he had seen in the first fight were still in the same location finishing off stragglers.
The Assassins that had disappeared into the shadows utilized a teleportation skill as they arrived before Kieran. Even with his time blips, he felt a little cheated being the last to arrive.
Not that anyone knew he was there.
They were all too engrossed with the army of demons flooding out of the portal. Forming multiple rows around the doorway to hell, the Assassins fought hard but the demons looked strong. For every dozen that fell, so too did an Assassin.
After he had laid his eyes on the demons, Kieran was furious with himself. He couldn't believe he had made his way to the next battle instead of returning to the mountain dungeon. He had been gone for twenty minutes at this point. Surely, one of his ever-watching parents had noticed he was missing and they were probably searching the dungeon as he watched the carnage.
Unbeknownst to the citizens guarding Varona from the city's outskirts and those inside the dungeon, an army of more than one million demons was trying to force themselves into this plane in the forest outside their home. There was so much going on that Kieran could only do one thing to help.
He ran.
He wasn't an Assassin. They looked awesome. In his brown tunic and green pants, Kieran thought he resembled some country hick. It had been a novelty, but that had long since worn thin. After seeing the Assassins, Kieran wished to be as cool as them.
If Abi had known this, or known of Kieran's existence at all in fact, then she would be groaning. Another - what could be an - exemplary Mage wanting to follow in the steps of her unique summons.
One of the guards noticed a blip of a person before it disappeared as he ran past stopping time once again. Still sprinting he went through the residential district and into the usually-bustling street that housed Lucinda's Liquids. Round the corner, he passed Ali's and from there it was a straight run to the center of town.
He could see the Academy of Dark Arts, the place his parents always talked - argued? - about. The first time he had seen it was earlier on that day. The crowd he and his parents had been part of was led towards the main building and around the side. At the back of the campus, between two smaller buildings a pair of large stone doors sat, the entrance to the dungeon.
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Kieran didn't have the same conceptions as the rest of Tironia when the subject of conversation was about dungeons. His knowledge came from the life of Bruce and his short-lived, but majorly loved, hobbies of reading fantasy novels and playing the old Nintendo RPGs at the orphanage.
Without hesitation, Kieran backtracked through the tunnels and caves that led him to his freedom less than half an hour ago. He hoped against fate that the Assassins could somehow push back the demons and that the green-haired woman would defeat the king.
He had seen them standing off as he made his way through the forest, but Kieran had already decided he would be a burden if he stuck around any longer. He thoroughly wanted his parents to drag him home, scold him, and then ground him for eternity.
It was nice having parents and Kieran didn't want to lose them.
That said, after seeing the angry and disappointed look on their faces, all he wanted to do was curl up into a ball and forget that the day had ever happened.
Kieran Ely, Time Mage
Dungeon Stories Volume 4
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Noble Vampires are not hindered by the same debilitating effects that the lower evolutions need to be cautious of. The first tier of Vampires turn to dust when they come into contact with the sun. So they're literally no help for most of the day.
Awesome. Sounds about right.
The next tier at least has some resistance to the harmful yet everyday aspects of life. They still can't bask in the rays of light for more than a few minutes, but it's enough for them to perform small errands during the day. Given they're cloaked up, they can stay out for longer if they're needed to.
But at least they don't instantaneously combust into balls of fire like the Lesser Vampires do.
The third evolution, however, has risen a step further. Able to walk the sun-covered streets without fear of setting aflame, Noble Vampires are truly the pinnacle of their species. They're also ridiculously beautiful, like everything I summon, and more often than not I find myself captured by their beauty.
Not that being perfect on the eye is a bad deal. Realistically, it should help with their mission as some people will do anything for a pretty face. Even going so far as to change their ways. That is what I'm aiming for really.
For now, all of the Vampires have been sent to Tune and will stay there until I reach Ishda. Their job for now is to infiltrate high society and learn everything they can because everything is important when it comes to changing the world.
The Noble Vampires will be the new heads of society and will set the pace for the standard of living. Not just for themselves, but for the standards of everyone they can within the cities they're based in. Lesser Vampires, unable to contribute as much as their peers, have been designated butler and maid status, keeping them confined to the mansions where they're less likely to combust. Also, every tier of Vampires seems to be able to use magic to influence and control people weaker than them, which is almost everybody since they had no problem gaining levels at the Coliseum.
Unlike the Triplets.
Magical mind control will hopefully reduce the number of people visiting the Towers of Torture. Taking time to make people see the errors of their ways by letting them have a few days with Samantula and the Arachnids also works wonders, but scaring their souls back to grey isn't the most proficient way to go about what I'm doing. Although, it beats the cycle of reincarnation hands down.
Who wants to wait fourteen years for someone to reach adulthood only to find out they're close to having an orange soul because they've lived negatively to survive? No one, that's who. It's better to solve the root of the problem.
The way of living life itself.
Hence why Tune and Orad have had a multitude of features built for them. Food supply easily surpasses the population's demands meaning there should be no one going hungry in either of my two new cities. Other issues were also addressed with new residential areas and orphanages created in both cities.
According to Light, Orad didn't have many issues and barely had a dozen kids in their orphanage. On the other hand, Councilman Raff asked me to build a second as his had filled up before he could solve Tune's orphan problem.
The housing and homeless problem was much easier to solve. Adults are more capable of taking care of themselves than children so it was a boost in quality of life for them. No longer homeless and with a skip in their step, a good 10% of Tune turned a better shade of soul overnight.
Those Vampires should do well too. More so in Ishda.
Speaking of Ishda, I'm about three-quarters of the way towards our region's capital. On the way, I've picked up whatever farms and homesteads we've seen, slowly increasing my DP amount in the process. It's not the same as acquiring a whole city within a day, but small increments still lead to bigger payouts.
Slowly but surely.
However, I've just realized another problem. One that I hadn't even considered. When the triplets and the rest of the Oblivion Dragons evolve, are they all going to become like Rebecca, the drum-playing Dragon of Rebellion?
That will be hard.
Although, I don't really want the triplets to change their personalities. That's what makes them unique. I doubt Amber would lose her love of food, but I could do without them wanting to do the opposite of anything I say.
That's another one of those bridges I'll have to cross soon. The problem is that I feel like these bridges are held together by yarn. Not tightly interwoven to make the material strong, but individual threads threatening to snap at any moment.
Anyway, the Vampire I put in charge is named Jezebel. She manages the brood that will mind-fucking Tironians into being better people and reports to Raff daily. Raff, in turn, reports her progress to me during the morning meetings in Varona.
Fun times.
Other than my Vampire test projects which are going well, I've also been visiting the Cathedral of Confession since its recent upgrade. Cardinal Carn was adamant that I show up every now and then to reinforce the belief of his flock. Not that they should need it after we beat the King's army, but I don't particularly mind.
It's nice to be appreciated.
The visits consist of me saying a few words, Amber stuffing her face, Blondie being every single person's best friend, and Violet showing off the oversized Bear. Which, believe it or not, people are getting used to. Then again, an Oblivion Dragon riding a Bear is not the strangest sight my city has to offer.
Of the many odd sightings that can be found around Varona, the multicoloured mountain that houses my dungeon is by far the winner. The sight I've come to know as home is breathtaking while being utterly impossible at the same time.
Its growth alone is something that doesn't stand to reason, but the fact it changes and becomes more with every floor, Boss and Mini-Boss, is something else.
Still, I wouldn't change it for the world.