Days did not pass inside the dungeon. There was no sun, no shift in scenery, no telltale sign with which to convey the passage of time. At least, that's what it seemed to Sylphia and Letty. The same could not be said of the sith. These dogmen had a concept of time even within the unchanging dungeon and it related to their time of eating.

Soon after the announcement of their God's new name, the siths returned to the slit cave - the place they called 'The Temple'. There, they left offerings of mushrooms and fish for their Gods. They referred to this offering as 'Lunch'.

The meal did not go down as well this time around. No longer dying of starvation, Sylphia was repulsed by the uncooked food.

Ugh... raw fish and mushrooms again? I'm not that much of a picky eater, but there has to be a limit somewhere...!

With nothing else to eat, however, she could hardly complain. Not openly, at least.

She was about to lay a pinch of slimy meat on her tongue when the spark of inspiration hit her.

With a flick of her finger, she poked the flank of the girl sitting beside her and said, "Hey. Hey, Letty."

Contrary to her expectation, however, her target was not sensitive in that spot. She merely kept chewing happily on her food, cocking her head and going, "Mm?"

Ugh, you ought to be more picky with what you eat! She sighed. "Do you think you can teach the sith how to cook? For our own sake, too!"

"Cook...? Hmm... I'm not sure. I can try, but..."

"Mm! Anything would be great! The siths aside, it might not be a good idea to keep eating all these raw foods for us."

"You're right... I don't know if I can teach them to make better food, but if it's just grilling the fish on an open flame.... well, this mushroom though..."

The young girl glimmered in delight. "That's it! That's great! Grilled fish sounds great! Maybe just throw in the mushroom too anyway! Mm!"

"Eh? Uh, mm... okay..." The scribe lowered her head. "I'll try..."

"Yay!"

It was too late to do anything about the food they were already eating, however.

I didn't position myself as the Goddess of War for nothing.

With Sebastian in hand, she stood in front of around 100 siths.

I'm weak on my own. And even with Letty at my side, we stand no chance of saving Rika from those damned kobolds. I need the strength of these sith!

The dogmen clumped together into small groups who knew each other. In all definitions, they could only be described as a disorganized mob.

I noticed it even during the clash with the Kobolds earlier, but these guys just fight however the heck they want. No concept of formation, tactics, anything! They rely entirely on individual strength and skill, so they can only fight like savages. This, despite them having the ability to manipulate such a high quality of material like Mythril...

Unacceptable.

She took a deep breath. "Fall in!" she shouted.

As soon as those words left her tongue, her black haze erupted from her body and covered the Siths. In an instant, the dispersed dogmen fell into straight lines arrayed in front of her. They exchanged nervous glances, with one another, wondering, perhaps, what their newest God was about to say.

I had Sebastian catch me up on the story of this cave, and oh boy, what an absolute shitshow.

She marched up and down their formation, yelling with a deeper voice than she normally used, "Listen up! I am the Goddess of War, and from now on, you are all under my command!"

The siths barked in acknowledgement.

"You will obey my orders to the letter! You will learn everything I teach you, and everything I teach you, you will pass on to others!

"In these coming days, you will learn how to kill! But any old savage with a stick can kill. No, you will be efficient, effective, and every life you take, you take for a purpose!"

With a flick of her wrist, she unfolded her fan, covering his mouth, but presenting his face towards the confused siths.

"Sebastian has told me everything. The enemy is numerous. Your food is running out. Even your very home is in peril!"

Her brows furled and eyes narrowed.

"And you call yourselves warriors."

Like a wave of despair had emanated from Sylphia's lips, the siths one by one lowered their head, whimpering, mumbling in shame.

It seems the siths are proud monsters who look up to martial prowess above all else. That's a good start, but, left alone, it can metastasise, and cripple them with unnecessary traditions that will make it hard for them to become what I want them to be - cold, efficient killers. Machines of war. Soldiers, loyal only to me.

"Tell me: what does a warrior do?" She leered at the sith right in front of her. With its eyes being on either side of its massive head, Sylphia focused her glare into just one.

"W-wan!" its voice cracked as it let out a bark, "T-to fight the catlings...?"

"I see. What then, if the 'catlings' aren't around?"

"Wan...?"

"There are no catlings to fight right now, are there? So, what do you do? Do you sit on your ass all day, scratching your armpit!?"

"W-wan! No!"

"What is your name, soldier?"

"Wan! N-name?"

"Did I stutter!? Asked for your name!"

"W-wan... I..."

"What!? Are you so scared that you forget your own damn name!?"

"W-wan, I don't have a name!"

"What!?" She screamed right in its face. "Are you messing with me, huh!?"

It shook its head. "Wan! N-n-no, my Goddess!"

"Bark!"  a different sith interjected, "Dear Goddess, we dogmen are nameless!"

"Huh!? Who said that!?"

"Bark!" The sith behind the one Sylphia was bullying raised its hand.

She walked beside it, looking down into its eyes with a sharp gaze. "Is that right? You don't have one either?"

"Bark! Yes, my Goddess! Though a title is sometimes given to the honorable few who prove themsleves worthy..."

"That so...?" She rubbed her chin. "Hm. At ease, then."

As she stepped back and continued her march down the line, the siths each heaved a sigh of relief.

Geez, Sebastian, you idiot! You didn't tell me about that! Fucking hell, I almost embarrassed myself over there!

"Ahem." After clearing her throat, she once again raised her voice. "I called you all here because you are all warriors. It's your occupation. Your duty!" She slipped a nasty glance in their direction. "But look at the state of your village. Look at yourselves. If fighting catlings is all you're good for, then it looks to me that you've all failed!"

The siths exchanged nervous looks with one another.

"Thus, I was called here. I will remake you. I will carve away your weakness. You will learn to fight, not as warriors. But as soldiers!"

The siths mumbled that word amongst themselves. "Soldiers," they said, amidst hushed barks.

She grinned. "Now, first lesson."

For her demonstration, she had a few volunteers spar against one another. She allowed them to fight, using toy replicas of their favored weapons, however way they wished. Invariably, they fought man-to-man, even when one side had a couple more members than the other. The siths would pair up and fight in a chaotic melee, with those without a 'partner', just waddling around with a weapon in hand, seemingly waiting for their turn.

This is ridiculous. What is this, a cheap action movie?

"Alright, alright. That's enough." She stopped the fight before the two 'extra' members even took a single swing.

"Arf! How was it, dear Goddess?" asked a sith with a deep brown coat and a scar running across its snout. His miniscule tongue hung down as he panted, having taken part in the practice battle. "Arf! Our finest warriors have honed their skills from years of fighting, and can even take on multiple catlings at once!"

"Hmm... not good enough. Is that really the best you can do?"

"A-Arf!?" It flinched. "I apologize, but may I ask what was unsatisfactory?"

"Hmm..." she grumbled, "for one, why the hell were these two not doing anything?"

"Wan!" One was quick to lower its head in shame. "I'm sorry, my Goddess... Wan! The opportunity didn't-"

"Opportunity?" She raised an eyebrow. "There were a dozen guys around you, and you could've hit any one of them in the back or something!"

It cringed. "W-wan!? I-in the back!?"

"Arf!" the brown sith interjected, "But, my Goddess, how can we do something so dishonorable...?"

Aha, there it is.

"Honor?" She reacted in disgust. "If that's what's making you fight like idiots, then you don't need it. Throw it away."

However, instead of backing down, the sith instead fell on its knees and pressed its head right into the ground, saying, "Arf! Pardon my insolence, Dear Goddess! Arf! But even if you are the Goddess of War, I cannot allow you to insult the honor of a warrior!"

"Huh!?" Sylphia stormed over to it, planting her feet right in front of its head. "What is this 'honor'!? What use is your precious honor when your stomach is empty!? Will your honor till your fields? Will your honor hold up the roof over your head?" She then turned her fiery gaze at the other siths around them. "Can your honor defeat the enemy at your gates?"

"A-arf!" The sith barked, but did not budge.

She sighed. "Is that your answer?"

Looks like they'll need a bit more convincing.

Leaving it at that, Sylphia returned in front and continued pacing. As the tension settled, the siths soon came to the brown one's aid and helped him back to his feet. Mud dripped down its snout as it returned to its place in the line and stood once more in attention to its Goddess.

"Of course, I've learned of your history. Throughout the years, you steadily lost your territory to the enemy. Your farms were taken, your homes destroyed, until, finally, here you are, cowering in the last corner of this cavern that still belongs to you. But for how long?"

The siths hung their heads in shame.

"You are teetering on the edge of extinction." With a flick of her wrist, she folded the fan and slapped it into her hand. "Know that I have not come to fight your battles for you."

Those words sent a jolt of anxiety coursing through the dogmen before her.

"Ultimately, your fate, and that of every soul in that village is in your hands. Thus, you will be forced to choose. Will you stubbornly hold on to the ideals of the past?" She lifted her arms and pointed towards the settlement. Even at that distance, the inhabitants could be made out from the brown and blue matted ground, moving about in their daily lives, be it toil, play or rest. "Or, are you ready to sacrifice everything for those you have sworn to protect?"

It was a decision no sith was ready to answer.

"As I said, I have come to mold you into machines of war."

"Woof, War...?" said a nearby sith.

"War." She said with deep foreboding. "There is no honor in war. Only misery and death. You will learn to hate it. To fear it. But above all else, to fight it, better than anyone else."

The air stood still. A dark hazy smoke covered the immediate area in a sickly thin film that not only penetrated the coat of the siths, but Sylphia's own skin.

The siths glanced at each other but none dared to speak.

She snickered. "Let me show you."

Thus, she called for another spar. Only this time, she split the Sith warriors into two groups. One group, she armed only with toy spears, and the other, she let each warrior select the toy weapon that suited them. Because of the tendency of groups of warriors to clump together, the group which selected their own weapons were slightly larger.

She then took command of the group that was forced to use spears.

Immediately, one sith from her group approached her. "Orf! My Goddess, I apologize, but I am not very skilled with a spear, having used a blade all my life..."

"That's alright," she said, "it's easy."

On the other side, the sith with the brown coat - the one who defied her, led the mob of disorganized Sith.

I see, he must have been a respected warrior or something. Makes sense they'd clump over to him. Sylphia grinned. That's good. That means if I take him down, his friends will falter.

Though toys with no sharp edge, their weapons all mimicked the real thing to a high degree. The toy spears were just as long as the real thing, and the toy swords were just as heavy, if a bit thicker. As for shields, they all settled for Sith-sized mushroom caps.

"Okay, listen to me for a second." Sylphia gathered the siths in her group and instructed them on a simple spear formation - the spear wall. One by one, she looked at them in their black, beady eyes, telling them what to do, urging them to work together, and to allay their concerns. By far, the biggest hurdle was convincing them to keep the formation no matter what, focusing their attacks on individuals in range, rather than finding their own opponents in a duel.

In response, the Siths all nodded in concert and gave a symphony of various barks.

"Good." Sylphia smiled. I hope you all really get it. I'd like to not have to resort to using my magic, since I also want to see how the baseline sith performs without my buffs.

By the time she stood up, her black haze had already accumulated into a thick cloud over them.

That's something I haven't tried before... I'm already used to giving out specific commands to micromanage my units, but I wonder if my Command skill can control them passively, and still make them fight in the way I want? I know it somehow relays the correct interpretation of my commands, from my experience in Ealdton. I gave the guards commands they weren't used to receiving, and yet, they still obeyed my orders in the exact way I wanted. But how far does it go? Well, only one way to find out! It's time to push the envelope on this skill!

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She took a deep breath.

"Alright!" she waved her hand out in front of her. "Let's begin!"

With a unified howl, the siths in her team immediately fell into the position she taught, forming a wall spears 3 ranks deep facing the front.

Nice! A spear wall! This is great! With this, I wouldn't need to micromanage them as much!

Meanwhile, the siths at the other group looked at them with bewilderment.

This is probably their first time seeing something like this. Alright, time to see what these guys can do. She waggled her finger, beckoning at the mob of siths assembled before her. "Come then, show me what you so-called warriors can do!"

The brown sith bared his teeth. "Awooooo!" He howled, leading his pack forward.

"Bow! Brace!" One of Sylphia's siths said in response. One by one, the siths presented their spears forward, creating a layered wall of spikes.

Oho! They even decided on a commanding officer somehow!? That's pretty cool! Their reaction time isn't quite as fast as when I command them directly though.

In a split second, the mob collided with her spear wall. From just their momentum, several siths took a spear in the gut, in the head or in the chest, knocking them down. Even with their lack of experience, the spearmen managed to blunt the assault, despite a couple managing to break through.

Hmm... They're plenty strong on their own. I tried to lift one of those spears earlier, and I swear, they must be as heavy as those that the King let me try out in the castle. With their tiny size, doesn't that mean they're ridiculously strong!? But strength isn't enough. If these breakthroughs happened in the field, and they panicked like that, the entire formation is done for. I don't really want to micromanage them forever, so maybe I'll drill them after this.

Seeing the frontal assault fall flat against the prepared formation, the brown sith said, "Arf! Disperse! Surround them!"

The ones at the back of the mob spread out around the sides to circle the line.

Oho. With the sudden expansion of the battlefield, she walked backwards to give them room. I didn't teach them to deal with this move, though... Will they figure it out on their own?

The attacking siths quickly ran a circle around their small formation.

Busy with the enemies in front, few bothered to turn around and present their weapons to the ones behind them.

Ah. Sylphia slapped herself on the cheek. Really? They don't have any idea what to do apart from what I teach them? Shit. How inconvenient. Guess I have to intervene.

She took a deep breath and shouted, "Units, square formation!"

The moment the black haze descended on her spearmen, they shifted their formation with all haste. They clustered close together and created an equal number of ranks and files. Their spears then radiated outwards, presenting a gauntlet of spears on all sides.

The hedgehog of spears met the siths attacking from behind. Some were forced to retreat while others pushed their luck and fell to cascading counterattacks.

"Arf... We can't get close..." The brown sith looked on in disbelief.

Sorry, I sort of cheated. Now they're sort of stronger than the average sith. Oh well, can't let my team lose, after all. That would be embarrassing.

For a split second, its eyes met with Sylphia's. In that moment, he received a nasty smirk from the little girl.

This caused the black haze to descend upon it.

"Aaaaaaaarf!" it yelled, "I won't lose! Arf! I shall not allow my honor to be tainted so!"

Oh shit! She covered her mouth in reflex. Not again! Goddamnit! My bad habit's getting the better of me...

He charged forth, using his sword and shield to hammer away the incoming spear points.

Holy shit, he's just tanking all those spear hits. He isn't even wearing his Mythril armor so that's got to hurt! I guess this is why he's so respected by the other siths...

Though toys, their spears were weapon enough that, after several hard hits, even they drew blood from the rampaging sith. But regardless of the damage it sustained, it continued its charge. Wading layer after layer spears,  swinging its sword and shield around to parry the incoming blows, it soon managed to close the distance. It swung its blocky sword at the nearest guy and sent it reeling onto the floor.

"Arf! After me!" it barked victoriously, "Their defense is broken!"

Not a moment after it said this, however, the sith behind the one it just defeated stepped forward in rank, pushing its spear right into the brown sith's abdomen as it advanced.

"A...arf!" It fell to its knees. "How... dishonorable...! How could one fight against so many at once...?"

"Good question." Sylphia herself stepped forward, waving her arm in the air, and said, "Alright, that's it, everyone! Rest up!"

Just like that, all the black haze that enveloped the grassy flatlands disappeared.

Injured siths littered the field. Both groups suffered losses, but, one thing was clear - Sylphia's own group suffered far fewer injuries during the entire exercise.

She crouched beside the injured brown sith and asked, "Do you see now?"

"Arf... I admit defeat..." With the last of its strength, it then crawled to Sylphia's feet and groveled, "Arf, I have disgraced myself, dear Goddess... Arf, not only did I dare defy the Gods, but, as a warrior, I also been found wanting. I have nothing left but shame..."

It then took a mythril knife strapped on his belt and presented its hilt to Sylphia.

"Arf! Please, dear Goddess, take not my insolence against our tribe. Arf! I offer you my head in apology. Arf! Please take it and continue to bring us salvation...!"

Eh!? You're really going that far!? She sighed. "A warrior really is a stubborn thing, isn't it?"

"Arf?" It looked up at its Goddess.

"Listen." She held its cheeks between her hands. Its soft fur rubbed against her skin as she stroked it gently up and down. The sensation vividly reminded her of her stuffed bear in the old world. "From this day on, you're not just a warrior. You are a soldier. On your back, you will carry the burden of your entire village. You are not allowed to choose where you will die. You will either die fulfilling your duty, or in a quiet garden, when you have fulfilled it."

"A-arf..."

"That is why," she whispered, "I cannot let you die right now. Even if the weight of your disgrace is too heavy. You must bear it. Let that be your punishment instead."

"Arf... if such... is the will of the Gods." It closed its eyes.

The sound of ruffling grass blew in with the wind.

"Hm?" When Sylphia turned to look, she saw Letty, along with several other siths, running down the grassy hillside.

"Sylphie, are you okay? I have medicine!" said the young woman as she approached.

"I'm fine!" She stood up. "This one needs some treatment, though."

"Ah, o-okay!" Pulling out some magical herbs and bandages out from her mantle, the scribe was quick to attend to the sith's many wounds.

In the meantime, Sylphia asked, "Have you already taught them how to treat wounds?"

"Mm... they learn quite fast."

"Huh... really?"

Letty nodded.

But they don't even figure out how to cook by themselves?

She rubbed her chin.

Hmm... by themselves... come to think of it, Sebastian told me how they learned how to use mythril... it seems one day, about 500 years ago, some 'apparition' came to the cave and taught them how to make weapons, armor and all sorts of things that made them so deadly today. He's terrible at telling stories so that's all I got out of it, but... 500 years? Doesn't that mean...

She sighed.

Well, either way, it looks like during all that time, their civilization hadn't progressed one inch. Which tells me one thing:

If you don't teach them anything, they won't learn anything.

The self-appointed Goddess of War stood in front of the resting siths and said, "The rest of you - remember what you have learned here today! The siths from my group, especially. Because tomorrow you're going to teach everyone how to fight from the ground up!"

She smirked. Well, that suits me just fine.

Sylphia and Letty returned to the temple.

Around that time, the siths were out preparing their next offering - one they called, 'Dinner'. Letty stepped out in that opportune moment to teach the Sith how to cook, leaving Sylphia and Sebastian alone for a while.

"You know, that personality of yours really took me by surprise, little girl." Sebastian said, his body fanned out on the altar.

"Hm?" Sylphia, laying on her side, turned her attention to him.

"Just by looks, I'd never have imagined that you could act in that fashion."

"Ah, you mean from earlier?"

"Mhm."

"Yeah, I guess not." She sat up, holding her legs to up her chest.

"Was that an act, or..."

"Haha, of course it was an act!" She chuckled. "It just sort of sank in halfway through."

"Sank in...?"

She smirked. "What, you don't think I'm cute anymore because of it?"

"What!? Who said you were cute in the first place?"

She giggled. "Isn't it a given? Of course I'm cute, It's a scientifically observable fact."

"You're not even slightly embarrassed, saying that about yourself?"

"It's true, though," She winked. "isn't it?"

The Sebastian's face turned full white. "I'm the one embarrassed for you."

She giggled. "Hey!"

Letty soon entered the cave with an earthen plate in her hand. "Sylphie," she said, "I brought a grilled... uh... cave fish."

"Oh, finally, something cooked!" She jumped onto her feet and followed the fragrant smell.

Sebastian sighed.

Two sticks of grilled fish filled the plate, each skewered with what was probably dried mushroom stalk. The skin still sizzled a light hiss from the fat bubbling up from inside, releasing a light, fragrant steam.

Unable to resist its mouth-watering temptation, the little girl took her first bite. "Ofho, ofhooo!" The hot meat singed her mouth, but despite this, the taste she missed - cooked meat, urged her forwards, despite the pain, and in no time at all, she was ready for her second bite. "Mmm! That's really good!"

Letty giggled. "I'm glad you like it."

"So, did you figure out why they didn't cook anything?"

"Ah, mm." She nodded. "Apparently, Sith have a very rugged stomach, and that they don't ever get sick from something they eat or drink."

"Hmm... I see... but just because they don't need it, doesn't mean the food wouldn't be this much tastier, though?"

"Mm, about that..." She scratched her cheek. "It... seems like they never really thought about it."

"Eh?" Sylphia's eyes flickered. "What? Seriously?"

She nodded. "They didn't really have any problems learning how to cook when I taught them, but they seemed really surprised when I started cooking the fish. Some even thought I was wasting it..."

"Eeeeh...? What's up with that?"

"I... don't really understand... Sorry..."

"A-ahh, no, don't worry about it... Well, the siths aside, we'll need cooked food or we might get sick, so it's good to know you know how to cook."

The awkward scribe took a moment to reply, and even then, only nodded idly. "Mm..." Meanwhile, a distant look clouded her eyes.

"Hm? Is something wrong?"

She pressed her hands together. Then, while fiddling with her thumbs, she asked, "How... long do you think will we take before we can rescue the others?"

"Hmm..." Sylphia crossed her arms. "I really don't know... I'm trying to teach them as quickly as I can but... we might be stuck in here for days, maybe weeks."

That response drew out a glum expression over her face. "I... see..."

Hmm... what can I say...? I really have no idea though. It just so happened that the tribe we managed to take control of was the weaker one. Tsk, if it was the other way around, I could have just gathered everyone in the village and massed an assault on the enemy base.

But I can't let the siths lose either... without them, I might never see Rika again. The entrance is also in kobold territory, so there's no way we can just sneak ourselves out and ask for help.

And even so, what then? Who can I ask for help? The King? Alphonso? Again? I don't want to owe them too much, and besides, why would they want to rescue Rika? The only one they care about is me. They might even use it as an excuse to throw me into a ridiculous situation like they did in Ealdton...

Yeah, no thanks. If it's going down like that anyway, then I'm going to do something about it myself!

She clasped her hands around Letty's. "Don't worry. We'll get them back. I promise."

Taken aback by her declaration, the girl froze speechless. Then, with a meek smile traced upon her lips, she said, "Mm... I hope so."

After eating their dinner, they soon went to sleep.

Sylphia laid, for the first time in her life, in bare dirt. She had nothing with her but a soft pack she borrowed from Letty to use as a pillow, and the clothes on her back. This, along with the unending twinkle of the Mythril crystals overhead, kept her awake for hours on end while she tumbled in her corner of the temple.

Misery set in, preventing her from falling asleep on her own terms. Eventually, however, her own fatigue soon caught up with her, and nursed her to sleep without her even noticing.