Arriving back at the battlefield, Duke could see the backside of his massive Portal spanning the center of the area like a colossal manhole cover. He could see numerous disparate reactions from the remaining troops below. Some were simply standing of sitting numb from the trauma while others were busy organizing themselves and some were out-and-out celebrating.
He was able to spot the Legion clearly among those in the organizing groups. They were gathering over the center of the portal. It was the exact center of the area and perhaps they felt it was the easiest to reach form all directions. In the center of them all, Duke spotted a golden arm sticking up above the others. He flew down to investigate.
To his delight and disbelief, Aurelia sat astride her warhorse in the center of the gathering Legion. He landed next to her in a spot the Legionnaires had cleared for him and saw firsthand the cost of the struggle. There were less than one hundred Legionnaires standing around them, all battered and torn. Aurelia’s armor was in bad shape, the left arm and leg of her armor barely hanging on by shreds of leather. The rest of the Legionnaires sported similarly tattered armor. All looked exhausted but thankful to still be alive.
“You look like you fared well, Duke.”
“Magical healing is a wonderous thing,” Duke responded as he activated as widespread a CLEANSE and RESTORE as he could manage. With his new Mana pool from his Tiering up, the area was tremendous, covering the entire battlefield. The simple feel of being clean and wearing newly restored armor sent a wave of relief through the area. Buckles that had broken, straps that had stretched, armor that had dented into uncomfortable positions all moved back to where they should be. That simple act elevated the mood of the survivors more than the notification had.
“Thank you, Duke. That feels a whole lot better.” Aurelia looked around herself, counting the remaining Legionnaires. “Is this all that survived? Ranlin, are there any others?”
“No, General. Ninety-four of us remain. The Legion has been broken.”
“We will rebuild then. Everyone here is an elite warrior in their own right and fit for leading a Legion of their own.”
Duke smiled at the looks of determination surrounding him. He nodded to Aurelia, “General, would you care to take your Legion home now?”
“I would very much like to bring the Legion home.”
Duke opened a Portal back to Cloudspire for the Legion to return home. They marched through with their heads held high, but Duke could see the haunted look of soldiers that had survived a traumatic battle having lost friends. I will have to keep an eye on them. This could break them in ways that nobody could predict. I’ve seen it before when Coltrane was the only one to come back from his entire wing. If I wasn’t there to take him on as my wingman, I don’t think he’d have made it.
When they finished moving through the Portal, Duke closed it. He was greeted by a growing group of survivors wanting to go home. Even the groups that had been separated and were milling around aimlessly in shock seemed to gather together into their individual nations seeking a way home. Duke directed them all back through the open Portal to the staging area where he re-established the myriads of Portals back to their home nations.
Duke was pleasantly surprised to discover that opening and maintaining this many Portals no longer strained him. While waiting for everyone to leave, he pulled up his Ability notifications into a single consolidated list of upgrades.
***
Your Abilities have seen significant, and even unique use. There are gains and a caution: Do not abuse the privileges of your Class further. This was a singular circumstance but there are rules on DUNGEON CORE CREATION for good reason.
Your TELEPORTATION Ability has increased to Grandmaster 143
Your REGENERATION Ability has increased to Master 29
Your DUNGEON MANIPULATION Ability has increased to Adept 16
Your LIGHTNING Ability has increased to Adept 34
Your OVERCHANNEL Ability has increased to Adept 146
Your MENTAL FORTITUDE Ability has increased to Adept 82
Your FORCE Ability has increased to Practiced 7
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Your FLAME Ability has increased to Initiate 6
Your POISON Ability has increased to Initiate 21
Your ACID Ability has increased to Initiate 9
Your Wind Ability has increased to Novice 15
Your ICE Ability has increased to Initiate 36
Your EARTH Ability has increased to Initiate 18
Your LIGHT Ability has increased to Initiate 37
Your UMBRAL REAPER Ability has increased to Adept 110
Your SPELL RESISTANCE Ability has increased to Initiate 47
Your SIMULCASTING Ability has increased to Practiced 37
Your CLEANSE Ability has increased to Practiced 62
Your RESTORE Ability has increased to Master 102
Your REMOTE CASTING Ability has increased to Initiate 21
Your INVENTORY Ability has ranked up to Adept 3
Your ARMOR SKIN Ability has increased to Adept 109
Your FLIGHT Ability has increased to Adept 12
Your COMBAT SENSE Ability has increased to Master 67
Your AURA of PROSPERITY Ability has ranked up to Practiced 4
Your SOULFIRE Ability has ranked up to Practiced 7
Your DUNGEON CORE CREATION Ability has increased to Adept 137
Your DUNGEON MONSTER CREATION Ability has increased to Novice 17
***
Duke pondered the message and his Ability gains as the staging area cleared out, survivors heading home. What is that about rules for DUNGEON CORE CREATION? The Overmind didn’t tell me anything about them and there is nothing in the Ability description that speaks to rules. The only thing close is “With a high enough rank in this Ability, you will be able to define parameters of these dungeons such as style and monster type.” That doesn’t say anything about restrictions. I guess it’s trial and error for now unless I can ask the Overmind about it.
When the vast majority of survivors had departed, a small group remained, gathered as if waiting for Duke. He floated down to them, seeing a few familiar faces including Amara Laya and Thelanos back in his kobold form.
“You are the instrument of Teldin’s salvation. I thank you deeply for this, Champion.” Thelanos’ world held a level of reverence that Duke did not understand. He had been fighting for his own survival as much as the rest of the world.
Other voices joined in his praise as well and Duke responded with as much humility as he could manage, deflecting their praise as he framed the positive against the vast loss of life. It was Amara Laya that changed the tone for him.
“Duke, humility is a fine trait for a king, but all know you have been named the Champion of Teldin, and this is not only an appropriate title, it is who you are. It was you who brought us all together with your Portals and it was you who was able to discover and exploit the Hounds’ weakness. Do not think for a minute that this will be forgotten anytime soon by anyone that was here. We all answered the call to defend Teldin – you are the one who made it possible.”
As others’ voices joined her sentiment, Duke started to realize just how much he had stepped into the planetary limelight. True, this world was minimally developed and did not have communication or transportation infrastructure to cover the planet like others might, but the system had made it clear that he was known to everyone now. There was no hiding his role in all this and his kingdom was in for some more rapid changes.
Without warning, the small crowd of leaders was pushed aside as a new figure walked into their midst. This one was fully four meters tall and dressed in white robes with golden trim. His long hair was a mix of white and blonde that moved as if constantly blown by a breeze despite the still air. Even his beard carried the same wispy texture and coloring. It was his eyes, however, that were the most striking physical feature. Beyond the physical, he held a presence that was overwhelming. Each of the leaders unconsciously stepped several steps backwards and dropped to their knees, even Thelanos.
Duke stood looking up at this presence, feeling the enormous psychic pressure but he refused to kneel. As the figure slowly approached, Duke felt his knee start to bed, his Psyche overwhelmed. Not going to kneel before whoever the fuck you are. Not now, not ever! Duke poured more than six thousand of his unspent Characteristic Points to bring his base Psyche up to Ten thousand which brought the modified score over one hundred thousand. The weight and force of the presence washed over him but had no further effect. Duke straightened his legs and stood tall.
A smile spread across the features of the approaching figure, and he spoke. His voice rumbled with absolute authority, shaking the ground around him with its resonance, “This is the strength of will I expect from my Champion. I am well pleased. My children, reveal yourselves.”
With a rippling of air, nine figures revealed themselves, adding their own auras to the aura of the old giant of a man. Duke immediately recognized Ghastul, Gaiathia, and Orgath and realized that he was now standing before the entire pantheon of Teldin.
“I see recognition in your eyes now, young one. Yes, I am Aehocho and these are my children. A number of whom you are already acquainted with. We have all come to personally thank you for saving our world. Though we were unable to act, we were here, watching closely. We saw everything that was done, everything that was said. We saw you send your own troops into the fight without pause or consideration. That was a decisive move and if you had not, the others would not have joined the fight. The druids were the only line of defense before then and they were losing quickly. I saw when you-“
Aehocho was interrupted as a glowing core formed out of the air before him. “Get on with it. Give the boy his gifts and move on. It’s time for me to take him away from here.” This was the first time Duke was in the Overmind’s full presence. He was certain that if he had not poured so many points into his Psyche he would have been crushed to the ground. As it was, he was pushing himself to stay upright.
The gods all looked frozen in place with strain on their faces. Duke wondered if the Overmind’s aura was affecting them as badly as their affected most mortals. With a bob of the core, the Overmind’s presence lessened, relieving the pressure. The core then floated to take station over Duke’s right shoulder. The movement spurred the gods into motion.