(xxii)

Through rapid experimentation Lazarus learned that he was not limited to requiring bodies when summoning undead. Nor was he limited by their upkeep any longer. He was, however, severely limited in range. His newly summoned undead could only operate inside of his claimed territory. However, within that territory they could move and react with impunity.

Deciding that his first goal would be to extend his reach, he consulted Ces for the best way to do that. Her answer was less than helpful.

“I am unsure, Father,” the spirit purred, “I assumed you would know? Most dungeons that I have been exposed to in my prior life expanded over an extended time. Usually many, many years.”

The Lich scoffed. “Bah, we don’t have time for that nonsense. Why would I wait years, from the sounds of it decades, to make my revenge and execution of that Archon fellow a reality? He may even die of old age by then!”

“I doubt that, Father. Archons are very long lived, and even more difficult to kill,” Ces explained. “This one has been alive for several hundred years and may continue to live until assassinated or an unfortunate accident kills him.”

The Lich could accept this explanation. For now. But it still flustered him that he didn’t have a way to extend his range, which was currently limited to his ‘core’ section. He couldn’t even see down the hallways that came into the room, limited as it was.

Looking around he took note of what he had to work with. Then he observed the roots that were, quite literally, growing out of himself.

“Interesting. Why would the roots still be alive and operational if I had no command over them?” he wondered aloud. Focusing, he pushed his awareness into the root, traveling along it, albeit a much slower pace than Ces did, to its point of termination. Which happened to be under a bakery.

Expanding his awareness from the tip of the root, he could see the interior of the shop.

“Fascinating. But I still don’t have control here. Hmm, let's experiment,” he said, the thoughts echoing around his mind.

He attempted to summon an undead in the center of the shop, but the spell rebounded in a flash of blue light, startling both himself and the occupants of the bakery.

“What in nine hells?” grunted the massive baker. He really should stop sampling his own goods.

The baker and his workers began a thorough search of the shop for anything mysterious or out of place. Finding nothing after several minutes, they collectively shrugged and returned to their work. Filthy peasants, having no curiosity beyond what was in front of their noses.

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Trying a different tactic, Lazarus slowly released his mana into the bakery. His count began to drop precipitously, but slowly, ever so slowly, he began to claim the area around the top of the root. Granted, it was a small space, but if this continued, he would be able to summon a nearly limitless stream of undead from the area.

That would cause pandemonium.

Eyeing his Mana, the Lich noted that it was absolutely soaking up his stores. He had nearly eight thousand to begin with but had dropped to nearly seventy-five hundred just from claiming a few square feet.

The cost was outrageous. Nevertheless he pushed on. He required territory to summon his undead, claim the region around him, and begin hunting down these annoying cultivators. Then he could continue his journey… somehow.

Tinkering with the claiming process, Lazarus found he could set it to continue without him. Finding a drain rate that was roughly a third of his current accumulation, he would be able to choose one or two more spots to begin invading without sucking himself dry.

For hours, and possibly days, Lazarus followed each root out from his core. Ces would occasionally answer a question he had about the city, or about its history. This only made it easier for the Lich to find local vulnerabilities that he wouldn’t have otherwise.

During his explorations he found only two locations he couldn’t access. One of those was a layer of the world below them, somewhere deep in the earth was a pressure that prevented them from going deeper. Lazarus wanted an escape route, just in case, but couldn’t go any deeper to secure one. In the end he worked with Ces to extend a root out far past the city and into the wilderness he could use to carry his core should escape be required.

The other inaccessible location was the palace.

Annoyed, but not unsurprised that the Archon had such defenses, he chose the City Guard Headquarters basement and the local Adventurers Guild training hall as the two other locations for him to expand into.

It would take a while to grow into an area he could use, but being an extension of his core room, he would have full authority over those areas. He estimated they would need a week to grow to the size he needed. A week he could spend saving Mana, conducting experiments, and testing out his newfound abilities and limitations.

He may have been a core of some kind now, but that didn’t preclude him from continuing his pursuit of knowledge, magic, or the sciences. In fact, he hadn’t had much of a chance to really delve into creating works from his old world. Something that he would have to remedy here as he was sure his average undead would be unable to stop the Archon.

No.

He needed something bigger. Something stronger. Something far, far more dangerous. Perhaps on par with himself even. Considering this, he asked Ces what her opinion on the matter was.

“Father, summoning such a companion or familiar comes with extreme risk. The stronger the servant, the stronger you must be to control them. Right now… well Father, right now you are not that strong,” Ces admitted.

As much as he hated admitting it himself, the spirit was right. He needed to gain power first. In order to do that he needed to level up. Thinking about this, he come to a single, very annoying conclusion.

He was going to have to create a dungeon.