Silver Face climbs down from the bicorn, a formidable beast with dark fur and muscular legs. Inside the tent and, as soon as he is three steps away from Moonsong, he kneels down. The joints of his plenilunium armor clink during the obeisance gesture. The very handsome elf, with long silver hair, and barely 250 years old, presents a summary of the invasion. Moonsong gives Silver Face a cold stare, and Blood-And-Guts her usual light smile.
"Two of the three walls have fallen. The human army is decimated and cornered. I set up patrols around the kingdom to capture any human seeking to escape. Thanks to such measures I can assure you, my beloved, that the slave capture line is now fully operational. We have over 300 slaves ready to be transferred to the underdark"
"What about the castle?" Moonsong gets straight to the point.
Silver Face smiles confidently, though none of the elves miss the slight shaking and clinking of armor.
"The humans proved to be more stubborn and resilient than we expected. But I am sure that in an hour we will conquer the castle," says Silver Face.
"One hour...?"
Silver Face nods.
Moonsong closes her eyes and remains meditative for a full minute. As soon as she opens the eyes again, Moonsong's hand moves like a blur, drawing the curved sword whose edge whistles through the air, slashing and spraying blood on the ground. Silver Face's head falls and rolls, the body collapses moments later.
"I am surrounded by incompetents..." Moonsong mumbles. She returns the sword to its sheath and rises from the throne.
"You continue to kill your husbands, no one will want to marry you willingly" says Blood-And-Guts without wiping off her smile.
Moonsong ignores the mocking words of her guardian and walks out of the tent, stepping over the corpse of Silver Face.
"If you want something well done, you must do it yourself" the elf murmurs and takes the bicorn's reins. The beast is not even fazed by the death of its previous rider. Moonsong jumps onto the mount and turns it in the direction of the kingdom. She shakes the reins and the stallion takes off.
"Bring me the first captain's head as a souvenir!" Blood-And-Guts shouts behind.
Moonsong does not respond, she is too focused on accomplishing her mission. The king must die before the agreed deadline.
***
The Imp approaches the pit's edge, stands on tiptoe, and stretches her arm as far as possible, but still can't reach the surface of the crystal. Arrax grunts in exasperation and orders the disciple from before to lift her up. The disciple nods and hurries to take the Imp by the waist to lift it, a simple task when the creature is small and malnourished.
The Imp's fingers touch the crystal and an electric tingle runs through her body.
Inside Jimbo's blue space, a new message in red letters appears.
Connection point found. Do you wish to formalize the external link?
Surprise and excitement freeze Jim for a couple of seconds, but soon on his ethereal face a big shark grin breaks out.
«Fuck yeah!»
The circles begin to turn.
Formalizing link...
25%...
50%...
80%...
100%.
Link completed.
New lines form another circle with more information, data about an unnamed Imp. But such information is overshadowed by the new sensations. The blue fog recedes and Jimbo's consciousness flies beyond, leaving the crystal and floating in a dark but solid place, illuminated by fires on the walls and the glow of his own blue crystal.
Jim can move to almost any direction without being sensed or detected, like stretching an invisible appendage from the core. It's astonishing to see himself, tethered by ethereal boundaries to what looks like a gigantic floating crystal. But he is even more surprised to turn around and find people.
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A king and what looks like his family.
A guy with long black hair and hooded people.
A woman in armor and soldiers like her.
And a trembling Imp in the hands of a hooded woman.
None of them look happy to be there. Unlike Jimbo, who if he had a human body would be shaking with excitement at meeting real medieval fantasy characters.
«Hello!»
Jimbo tries to speak, but his words come out as beeps and reflections of light along the crystal surface.
"It's communicating!" Arrax says with a shaky smile accompanied by an expression of growing alarm. The wizard would have preferred to perform the ritual without his king present and during a calmer situation. "Imp, quick! Translate us!"
The disciple returns Imp to the floor. The little demoness hesitates to speak, but in the face of possible punishment decides to be cooperative. Her voice is raspy.
"This... How is it...? That thing you do... Salute?"
"Who, saluting me? Is it acknowledging me as its master and creator?" Arrax questions with bloodshot eyes, barely holding back the urge to step out of the circle and shake the Imp by the shoulders.
«Who is this madman?»
The imp is smart enough to avoid translating that last one.
"I don't think so... It's waving to everyone"
Those present in the room look very attentively at the crystal. Each one has their own doubts and misgivings, but it is King Marc who advances and positions himself next to the Imp. Hilda tries to stop and protect him, but the king orders her to step back.
"Dungeon Core, if you possess the intelligence to understand courtesy, you will have the intelligence to understand our position" says the sovereign with a commanding voice. "You were created by my royal sorcerer, Arrax, to serve us and to be useful... We need your help to expel an army of beings from the darkness that tries to plague my lands with chaos and death"
Jimbo, who until recently was distracted floating around the room, slowly turns his attention back to the king as he realizes the severity of the situation.
«Defending the kingdom...? There's usually a learning period and that happens not until the second or third volume. What a problem»
New beeps are heard. Stares return to the Imp, who merely shakes her head and admits that she doesn't understand what the Dungeon Core is commenting on.
"It's most likely pure incoherence," Arrax deduces. "It is a newborn creature, its intellectual capacity must be just enough to understand the world language. Let us be comprehensive with my creation"
«I'm starting to dislike you»
Once again, the Imp avoids translating words dangerous to her health.
Jimbo holds back the barrage of questions he wants to ask about the new world he is in, and instead tries to go beyond the walls that contain him. He crosses the door and reaches the laboratory, from there he arrives at the cells where sad and resigned looking prisoners wait huddled in the corners. The place reeks of damp and piss, causing Jim to scrunch up his ethereal face.
«Reminds me the orphanage...»
Perhaps the memories amplify the negative aspects, but it is true that at that time his country was going through a bad time and the dormitories of the shelter, whose roof promised to collapse every time it rained, seemed to him a veritable prison where three children shared each mattress for the lack space and to combat the cold.
«Back then I couldn't do anything... When I finally won the scholarship and left, I tried to forget everything»
The castle shakes and dust falls from the ceiling. Jim looks up and tries to lift himself up to observe the outside, but the invisible appendage that connects him to the crystal snaps and pulls him back. A warning that only he can read pops up in front.
-Jimbo the Dungeon Core LV 1
-Ether: 1/100
-Exterior link: Active.
-Floors: 1/1.
Tip 1: Leveling up allows you to manipulate and explore more floors.
Apparently he is limited to that stone basement.
When Jim returns to the core room, finds the soldiers threatening the Imp with spears and demanding she activate the crystal. The Imp retreats to the pit's edge, intimidated by the spiky spears.
«Leave her alone, you idiots!»
Jim rages, causing the sound projected by the crystal to sound deeper. The soldiers startle and look at the woman in armor waiting for instructions. Hilda keeps quiet with a grim countenance, it is clear that she dislikes having to trust a Dungeon Core.
Jim looks at the Imp and notices that she is not human, changing the initial impression where he assumed the girl had some deformity.
«Are you okay, you're really a demon?»
She doesn't answer, too nervous about the humans' presence.
"Dungeon Core, will you assist us in these dark times?" Asks the king, looking increasingly stern.
Jim sighs.
«Do I have another option...? Though I still don't know exactly what I can do, and I can't go very far either»
The Imp assumes she won't cause trouble translating those words and explains to the humans that the Dungeon Core's range is limited. Stares now travel to Arrax, who clicks his tongue annoyed that they assume a flaw in his design.
"Why the long faces? I know that my creation would have limits, and for that I left prepared measures"
As soon as Arrax says that, magical energy bursts like an aura from his body. The same happens with the hooded disciples. The runes and circles on the ground light up. And the flowing ether rises and connects with the Dungeon Core.
An intense warmth comes over Jimbo. So powerful is the energy that he finds it hard to think. New messages appear, so numerous and swift that it is impossible for him to keep up with them. The power of the wizards merges with Jim's, lifting him past the stone cellar, the throne room, the royal bedchambers, and finally the tall towers of the castle.
-Jimbo the Dungeon Core LV 1 + LV 59
A flock of ravens crosses to his left. The clash of swords and the roars of men come to him like a clamor. His gaze is encompassed by a wide sky with a vast realm below, besieged by beasts and dark-armored forces.
Jim's invisible face of surprise slowly and involuntarily changes to a broad smile. Because from his high perspective, where if he moves too far away the soldiers look like ants...
Everything feels like a management game.