Duke sat up in his bed, reviewing all his notifications from the past day. Even though he was getting them as they came, he had still found himself minimizing most of them and saving them for later. The most amusing was the 50 experience he received for defeating the assassin. Only 1,300 more of those and I can level. The second half of a tier is always the hardest. What a strange system.
He had received a number of Ability increases, and even an additional point of Endurance. The biggest increases were in REGENERATION, DUNGEON SENSE and TELEPORTATION. As he reviewed all the changes, he found his subconscious doing some calculations in the background. When he thought about it consciously, he was shocked at what he had discovered. His Mana pool had grown extreme, over 2.5 million. If he poured all his Mana though OVERCHANNELING his TELEPORTATION, his ultimate range was 18 figures. Another calculation put it over 10,000 light years.
Could I reach Earth with that kind of range? I would have to know if Earth is even in the same galaxy or universe for that matter. But the possibilities are amazing. I could visit other stars, other planets. The possibilities are endless. Then again, I haven’t explored a tenth of THIS planet. And now I have to come up with some response to Pahst’s assassination attempt. I wonder…
As Aurelia had already gotten ready and left for the day while Duke slept, he got himself ready quickly, putting on one of his daily outfits. He paused, remembering his wardrobe malfunction and delved into the information on his DUNGEON MANIPULATION. Eventually he found the formula for how much value he could take out of a dungeon through the Ability. The formula was rather simple as it was his Ability rank times 100 plus his Level within the rank. It currently sat at 333 gold.
I hope that formula changes as I rank it up. Only being able to take about six or seven hundred gold worth of creations out of a dungeon seems pretty lame at a Master rank.
Duke went downstairs for breakfast to see the common room nearly vacant. His confusion cleared up when he realized that it was already afternoon and he had slept most of the day away.
“Good afternoon, Duke. Can I get you something?” Calen’s friendly bovine face greeted him.
“I could use something to eat, I suppose.”
“Coming right up.”
Duke settled down in his typical chair, adjusting it slightly to make it more comfortable. A server brought his lunch out moments later. Duke was sure there were restaurants in Cloudspire, and he might even have a royal chef that he had never met but he was absolutely sure that nothing would ever top the food and service at the Inn. Cooking time was nonexistent, and the food was always perfect. “Maybe I need to move the castle into a dungeon.” Duke chuckled at the idea.
“Perhaps someday you will be able to, but your skill is not anywhere near that level yet.”
Duke turned to the voice to see a figure sitting in the chair next to him. The figure was humanoid but made of the substance of space. It appeared to be a vast emptiness that started to draw Duke in like the gravity of a black hole. He felt himself being pulled from his chair, panic rising in his very soul as absolute annihilation sat next to him. And then, a moment later, Sam sat next to him.
“I guess you aren’t ready to see that aspect of me just yet. Someday soon, I hope. For now, I’ll stick to this limited form for your sake, Duke.”
“Um, yeah. That was a bit much. And hello, Overmind.”
“Hello again, Duke. You have become my most fun to watch Contestant so far. Were you trying to see just how far you could push your REGNERATION yesterday? Or was that something else?”
“I nearly died, you know. Cut me some slack.”
“Did you? Perhaps. Maybe next time, don’t let the assassin stab you. Or maybe use your Abilities to heal yourself before your Health runs out.”
“I used everything I could think of, and I figured it out before the end.”
A slow, disappointed headshake greeted Duke. Next time use the near infinite resources around yourself. As he spoke a potion bottle rose from the table. It had a label on it written in English that simply said, “Poison Cure”. “You were inside a dungeon space. You have the Ability to manipulate reality within such a space. Admittedly your Ability is still new to you, and you have not had the time to explore its extent, but you have enough creativity to at least begin to realize what you are capable within one of your own dungeons.”
Duke stared incredulously before what he was being told started to dawn on him. The Overmind started to grin as he could see the wheels turning in Duke’s mind.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“By the time of the Contest, you need to be able to create and manipulate a planetary dungeon.”
“And how long do I have to get ready for that? And what is this Contest that I’m supposed to be preparing for anyway?”
“These are questions that I cannot answer for you. There are rules that even I must adhere to. I have advice I would give you but you most likely will not receive well nor follow.”
“OK, now I have to hear it.”
“You should sever your ties to this kingdom and these people. They will slow your growth. Pursue your enemies and annihilate them. They will be nothing before your power and with them out of the way, you can seed dungeons across the entirety this small planet before moving on to bigger targets.”
“Yep, you’re right. Not doing that. That’s not who I am.”
“I did say that you would not appreciate this advice. But it is the fastest way to grow your power. Imagine what your power level would be with the backing of hundreds of dungeons or even thousands of them providing you power.”
Duke paused for a moment, thinking about how much that would indeed push his Characteristics. What would his Psyche be with a 1,000% multiplier? His Mana would be beyond imagining.
“I understand what you are saying but I am not that person. I protect my own, not abandon them.”
“Yes, that is your nature. Just know that the more dungeons you plant the more your power will grow. If you can evolve your Title, you will see even greater effects. Also, if any of your dungeons reach high enough Tier, they will provide you with additional options. This one is the closest but even it has quite a distance to travel before it gets to that point.”
“You seem to be investing a lot of time and effort into me. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the hell out of it, but what do you gain from all of this?”
“That is another thing I am not permitted to reveal in total. But I can tell you this, your performance in the Contest will help or hinder my own power as well as yours. But beyond that, the collective power of all dungeons is a benefit to me. The more you plant and the more they grow, the greater benefit for both of us.”
“So, you can’t give me the full story, but planting and growing dungeons will increase both our power. I think I need some overalls. I’m a freakin’ farmer.”
“Right now, you are only planting dungeons. Someday you may be able to sow them. Then you would be a true Dungeon Farmer. My time here grows short. There are other things this avatar needs to do soon. If you feel the need to cling to your people, then make them powerful enough that they can last when you are absent from this world.”
Duke watched as the Overmind’s Avatar faded from sight, folding into a single point of space before winking out with a pop. He tried finishing his lunch but it was cold. With a thought, he re-created it and enjoyed it. That’s gotta be less than 300 gold, right?
When finished, he contemplated two separate plans for the rest of his day. One was likely to be fun while the other could save a lot of bloodshed if it worked. He knew which one he wanted to choose but he also knew which one he was going to choose.
Upon arriving in his throne room, Duke immediately sent for Lord Greengold. It did not take long for the man to arrive, full of energy and smiles – the man was truly enjoying his new role. Duke had stepped away from his throne, so he met Greengold nearly at the door to the room.
“Thank you for coming. And so quickly I might add.”
“It is my pleasure, Your Majesty. What can I do for you?”
“I assume you have been in Pahst’s throne room. Can you describe it to me?”
“Not a whole lot to describe as it is literally a copy of yours. She has no originality whatsoever.”
“Oh, well, I guess that might make this easier. Thanks. You can go back to doing what you were doing.”
“Um, sure. You’re, um, welcome.” Greengold left the room looking bewildered but hurried back down to the Ministry of Trade. There were trade agreements to negotiate!
Duke, on the other hand, sat down in his throne and started OVERCHANNELING his CLAIRVOYANCE to see if he could get a look at Pahst’s throne room. His vision blurred and blinked in and out several times before it slowly focused on a throne room laid out exactly like his own. It was more than a bit disconcerting. His vision wavered a few times before it again locked in on the other throne room. There he saw Queen Pahst sitting on her throne.
The Queen looked agitated about something as an advisor of some kind entered the room. He was an older man judging by his grey hair and slightly bent posture. Duke watched as his Ability drew sharper and sharper until it became crystal clear, and he could finally hear what was being said.
“– failed. Duke still sits upon his throne and our agent has been captured. This was a risk that we talked about, Your Majesty. One we may well have avoided if –”
“Do not speak to me with such insolence. How could this have failed? Was he not poisoned with the venom?”
“He was, but he overcame the venom.”
“That’s not possible. My venom is final. No one can survive it.”
“And yet he lives, Your Majesty. What are we to do now? There certainly will be a response.”
“Will your agent speak?”
“No, Your Majesty. She is bound by a life oath. She will die before she speaks.”
“Then we shall find another way to kill this upstart and take the full kingdom that is rightfully mine!”
Duke’s anger rose. She could have left things alone and I would have left her alone, but she had to go and do this. Time for a response. His plan solidified. I’m going to show this bitch what happens when you mess with the Duke! Er, or the King? Fucking callsign. Whatever.
He waited for his Mana to regen to full before beginning. Then, with the flexing of will and Ability, and a whole lot of Mana, he appeared in the large special detention chamber within the Lake Front Dungeon. But he was not alone. Queen Pahst stood on the opposite side of the room looking absolutely shocked.
“You sent an assassin for me. Bad choice. Now sit here and stew while I decide your fate.”
“You!” Her enraged scream reverberated off the blank stone walls. And then her body began to transform, morphing into a human/spider hybrid. Her face elongated with several compound eyes taking over her forehead and chelicerae sprung from her mouth. Her body elongated forming a spider’s abdomen and sprouting eight legs to support her. She charged at Duke, preparing to strike with her venom.
Duke TELEPORTED back to his own throne room before she could reach him. Threat contained. Now what do I do with her?