Toru
"The Hunters have returned with fresh meat! Go to the 1st Level if you want some!" announced Forge, the Sin Imp of Wrath. Beside him stood Yolo, the Sin Imp of Greed.
It had been three hours since the 200-plus Warrior Imps had begun lumbering the oak and pine trees on the second Level of the Dungeon. All 500 trees had been cut down and piled up at the center. They complained about needing food for the last hour, so I asked Forge to inform us when the Hunters returned.
The Warriors cheered and roared in excitement. Yet, because of the Imp Laws, they still looked to me for permission.
"After you are done eating, clear the forest outside the Dungeon. Lord Rai needs 8960 more tree trunks for his Monster Breeding Farm," I emphasized, wanting to stress the importance of their task.
I deliberately avoided revealing the total number of tree trunks needed initially to spare them from feeling overwhelmed. It was the right decision, as many of them visibly trembled at the thought of the future workload. Despite this, they all voiced their acknowledgment and hurried to the gate connecting to the first Level of the Dungeon.
Noticing that I hadn't joined them, the Sin Imps approached me. Using Impan sign language due to his damaged vocal cords, Yolo asked, "Are you not hungry?"
"I am, but I won't settle for animal flesh. I am letting my hunger build for Human flesh and brains. It will help me overcome their minds after I consume them." I explained.
"Your brother Torak taught you that?" Yolo asked, and I nodded.
"How long will you wait to eat a Human?" Forge asked.
"Two more days. Lord Rai wants me to become his spy. I am sure he will provide them for me." I inform.
"Speaking of desire. Amon's is so strong that he has studied Four Human Languages since we arrived here." Yolo informed.
"That's impressive! Where is Amon?" I ask.
"He is at the Claypit near the river in the Grasslands above. He is trying to make clay tablets to store his knowledge," Yolo answers.
"Knowledge about what?" I ask.
"Amon learned the art of spell crafting from his old human master. He knows how to write the Bloodmancy skills he created into spell scrolls, but with mana paper unavailable, he is trying to write them on clay tablets to teach them to the Human Imps with Bloodmancy affinity who wish to become Mage Knights," Yolo explained.
"That's generous of him." I pointed out.
"Gluttony doesn't awaken within a generous Imp. I'm sure it benefits him in some way," Forge reasoned.
Suddenly, the artificial sunlight in the 2nd Level shuts down and restores itself within five seconds.
"Is the Dungeon losing power?" Forge asked.
The Miner Caste Imps, supposed to be mining in the stone deposit, came running to talk to us.
"The Miner Golem taught me this signal! It means the Dungeon is in danger from invaders!" the Miner Caste Imp informed.
We hurried to the Grasslands and encountered our Warrior Caste, Hunter Caste, and the twenty Human Imps surrounding ten smiths, twenty miners and twenty builders from another Imp Tribe. They seem to have come through the front entrance of the Dungeon. I could tell that all of them were of Iron or Steel Rank. One Leader Caste Imp that hadn't eaten a Human stepped forward from their group to address our Human Imps, who they assumed were in charge of our tribe.
"I am Jamma, the last Leader Caste of our tribe. Though I have just matured, I speak for my tribe. We came here from the Ruin to seek refuge in this Dungeon, not war!" He announced.
"Refuge? What happened to the rest of your tribe?" Valgrind asked as he stepped forward to converse.
"They were massacred by the backstabbing agents of the Heroes Church, who launched their surprise attack on us while we hosted them for a feast. My High Chief ordered me to evacuate our Non-Combat Caste Imps through the tunnel that extended to the front entrance of the Dungeon. We used to come here to steal a few animals when we ran out of meat to eat." Jamma informed.
"There was a tunnel? Doesn't that mean those Humans will follow you here through it?" I asked as I came to Valgrind's side.
"We sealed the tunnel behind us so that they could not follow. But we didn't expect another Imp tribe was already inside the Dungeon. So why are you all here?" Jamma asks.
Valgrind and I explained how we became minions of the new Dungeon Lord. The news of his return surprised these Imps.
"Where is your Dungeon Lord? I am willing to pledge allegiance. If he will help us take revenge on those Humans." Jamma requested.
"Lord Rai went to the ruins to get Mana Crystals," I inform.
Right then, Nazrat strode into the Dungeon, accompanied by his formidable Dark Fae Bear. Following closely behind was a menacing Giant Iron Scorpion with six tails and a Giant Iron Beetle adorned with six horns on its head. They served as mounts for two Warrior Golems, three miners, and three humans. Two of the humans lay unconscious and limbless, while a third struggled in vain to free himself from the firm grasp of two Miner Golems. His black robes had been torn to cover his eyes and gag his mouth.
Lord Rai's Warrior Golem Avatar had evolved. His new Mana Sword and Mana Shield caught everyone's attention.
"Golems!" Jamma yelled in surprise, and his Imps bared their fangs and claws, ready to fight their old nemesis.
Nazrat yelled, "Who the hell are you?" Then he rushed toward Jamma. I came in between them and quickly explained the situation to Nazrat in the Impan language so the Jamma and his Imps could understand us. Lord Rai and Battle Master Harkin got off their Giant Iron Beetle mount to come over and listen.
"After the Spelltome Users of the Heroes Church slaughtered your tribe. Their Necromancer raised the dead before we arrived there. We battled and laid them all to rest and captured the Necromancer." Lord Rai informed Jamma in the Impan language.
Jamma and his Imps were surprised by the news. They looked at the bound-up Humans and agreed that the one who still had his limbs was among the Humans who attacked them.
"A Golem who speaks Impan? Were you an Imp before?" Jamma asked, and Lord Rai explained his Class as a Golem Summoner and how he learned Impan.
"Since your tribe defeated the Necromancer and his Undead, it is your right to consume him," declared Jamma as his Imps voiced their agreement. He added, "We are willing to serve you from now on if you will accept us," bowing with the rest of his tribe.
"I don't accept just words of loyalty. I want all of you to sign this Mana Contract and agree to the consequences that come with it," instructed Lord Rai as they pulled out the Dungeon Minion Contract and a Mana Pen for them to read and sign individually. While they were doing so, he came to speak to me.
"Toru! Eat the Necromancer and make it hurt." Lord Rai instructed.
I blinked in surprise as the Necromancer was tossed in front of me by the Miner Golems from the back of the Giant Metal Scorpion. The Human groaned from the impact but then sat up straight. I approached him, removed the Black rags that blinded his sight, and pulled out the gag that prevented him from speaking.
The man was stunned by the sight of so many Imps and started sweating when he saw me look at him as I licked my lips.
"No! NO! No! Don't eat me!" The Necromancer yelled before I jumped onto him, ripped off his remaining black robes and sank my teeth into the flesh of his leg. The man screamed and cried as I kept taking off chunks of flesh, working my way up to his neck.
The other Imps watched in fascination as I tortured the Necromancer for several minutes before the blood loss finally ended his screams. Then, I cracked open his skull with my fist and ate the juicy brain within it.
I suddenly felt the Necromancer's mind within mine, and we began to have a battle between willpower. His desire to live was insignificant compared to my desire to take his identity and serve the Dungeon Lord. My hunger to consume his remaining flesh also added to the fuel, helping me overwhelm his mind. I assimilated his memories and skills into my body, which began to change. Most of my new body reflected him, but it was more muscular. The horns, ears, tail, fangs, eyes, and claws remained the same. From his memories, I learned that he was called "Talon Gorma," a spoiled brat with delusions of becoming a powerful warrior to escape the shadow of his family's chef lineage. I skipped over most of his life and went to the last few hours and felt repulsed by what he did to the infant Imps. I was glad that I tortured him at the end of his life. I let his soul slowly disappear so it didn't contaminate my own.
The transformation took a few minutes to complete, but once it was done, I ate the rest of Talon's body and stood up to thank Lord Rai for the meal.
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"Are you still Toru?" Lord Rai asked.
"Yes, I retained my identity. Now I need one more to become a Human Shapeshifter." I inform.
"Take the one wearing metal armor. But deliver a quick end. These two Humans weren't with Talon." Lord Rai informed me, and I nodded.
The Golem Miners carefully brought him down to me. I gave him a merciful end before I consumed him. This time, there was no battle of wills because the mind within was a shadow. I consumed his memories and skills easily. I learned that his name was 'Raveson' and discovered that he was a fifteen-year-old Clay Rank adventurer who was the son of a Blacksmith. A Knight arrested his father for a false charge, and the Smithy was confiscated. So Raveson had to become an adventurer to earn money for himself. He wanted to steal Mana Crystals from Imps to pay for his father's release, but he got captured. Sadly, after losing his limbs, he gave up hope of surviving. I decided to merge the remainder of his soul with mine instead of letting it disappear so he could live on through me.
The merger didn't change much in me, but I felt like Raveson's values and ambitions had become mine. The most important was to clear his father's name and return the Smithy. The other was to become a Knight and challenge the Knight responsible for the false charge.
[You have gained the skill 'Human Shape Shifter']
A voice in my head informed me. I immediately created a mental image of 'Raveson,' which began the transformation. My hair turned black, my skin turned brown, and my eyes became grey. My muscle mass decreased, but not much since the Raveson was a Steel Rank Sword and Shield Warrior. The storage ring dropped to the grass when my tail was absorbed. I picked it up and pulled out Torak's armor and weapons to equip.
"Can you change into Talon, the Necromancer?" Lord Rai asked, and I obeyed. I made a mental image of 'Talon Gorma,' and my body transformed into his. It was skinny and had no visible muscle. Torak's armor was too big, but I readjusted the straps to tighten it.
"Good! Now take his Necromancy Spelltome." Lord Rai commanded, pulling out a Necromancy Spelltome and handing it to me. "Can you use Steel Rank Spells, or are you stuck with Clay Rank Spells?"
"My Human Imp body is still at Clay Rank, but when I Shapeshift, I can gain the Rank of the Human I consumed. But the other Human called Raveson was Clay Rank." I inform.
"Good! But the Spell Tome users in that camp will surely question why you changed your attire and lost all your Undead. How will you address that?" Lord Rai pointed out.
"I don't see any issue with that. The Undead were meant to stay behind and protect the Rune per Phil Sin's instructions. As for my change in attire, I opted for a Combat Class that doesn't rely on the Spelltome. However, if I need to shift into the Warrior, I'll have to wear a helmet to conceal Raveson's face," I explained.
"Talon doesn't seem the type for physical combat." Lord Rai pointed out.
"True, but they know how much he hates being associated with his Chef heritage. Becoming a Warrior to get rid of that tag was part of his goals," I reason.
"Alright! Once you gain any useful information about the Landsmeet. Please find a way to summon an Undead at night and have it deliver your messages to the Dungeon. But if we manage to bring it down the mountain. Then instruct your Undead to find the abandoned Gemstone Mine, 20 KM west of the Dungeon. Have it wear this symbol so that we know it belongs to you," Lord Rai instructed and drew the symbol '
"Understood!" I reply. But as I was turning around, Jamma came to me.
"Thank you for giving that Human a painful death. But I need to repay it somehow to show my gratitude," Jamma asked.
"Work diligently for Lord Rai and help him manage the Warrior Imps," I instructed, and Jamma nodded.
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Rai Dharani
After Toru left the Dungeon to begin his infiltration mission. Rachel sent me a message.
[All the trees on the second Level had been cut down. However, 8960 tree trunks were still needed to make the Monster Breeding Farm. You should send the Imps outside to cut the trees]
[That's a good idea!]
"Harkin, I need you to go out and cut 8960 trees before sunrise. Take a hover chest with you to store the trunks of those trees," I instruct, and Harkin obeys without question.
"Lord, does that mean we don't have to help?" one of the Warrior Imps asked.
"Split into two teams of 100 Warrior Imps and battle my Human Imps, who will split into teams of 10. They will need experience fighting large groups of enemies," I said. "Do not aim to kill or draw blood!" I added.
The Human Imps seemed intimidated by the mock battle. Still, Valgrind reminded them they would face a hundred Elemental Beasts at each Level of the Elemental Pillars once we got the Dimensional key. Then, they created shield walls to face the Warrior Imps, who spread out to flank them from the sides. I recalled the Testudo formation of the ancient Roman army and the square formation of Napolean's army. I suggested they use those two methods instead of the shield wall when facing highly mobile enemies. The second round held out until some Imps used their Mana Weapons to break the wooden swords and shields. I was suddenly reminded that they shouldn't keep using equipment made of wood and needed proper metal equipment.
[I would like to remind you that we need to summon Miner and Builder Golems]
[In the past three hours, the Miner Caste Imps mined 1500 stones. The total Stone we have is 15000. So we can summon 30 Golems immediately]
[Please bring the Mana Crystals to the Dungeon Core along with the Stone mined in the Second Level and harvest the Imp souls]
Oh! I will need to tell Jamma about how the Golem conversion process works.
I looked around for Jamma and found him speaking to Miner.
"So you see, becoming Miner and Builder Golems will greatly benefit our Lord," Miner explained.
"I understand. I will do as Toru asked and look after the rest of the Imps instead," Jamma replied. He then nodded to me before going to his tribe to explain what would happen to them.
"Thank you, Miner! Will you be harvesting their souls?" I ask.
"Yes, leave it to me. How many do you need right now?" Miner asks.
"15 Builders and 15 Miners for now. Once we collect more stones, we can convert the rest. Till then, they can assist in the Mines and Tunnel. Take the ring with 1000 Mana Crystals and give it to the Dungeon Core along with all the Stone that was mined." I instruct.
Miner gathered the other two Miner Golems and shared the instructions. The three assembled twenty Builders and twenty Miners and guided them to the 2nd Level. I noticed that the 12 Smith Caste Imps, brought from the warehouse in Rodwin, joined the ten new Smith Caste Imps from Jamma's tribe. They seemed lost and worried about their place in the Dungeon, and Maya, the gifted Rune Smith, seemed to be trying to keep their spirits up. I went over to direct them to go down to the second Level's tunnel project and ask for the help of my first Builder, Golem, to create a Smithy according to their design. Then, I gave them the three Knight Equipment Schematic books and informed them that the Miner Golems would soon deliver the necessary ores to craft the equipment, which cheered them up.
After they left, I noticed that the Forge, Yolo, Priests, Tamers, and Hunters were seated around Nazrat near the River at the center of the Grasslands. He was chatting with them to keep them occupied. I went over to ask Nazrat a question.
"Did you take care of all the predators around the Dungeon?" I asked Nazrat.
"All the ones that could have harmed the Hunters," he informed.
"How long will the food they collected last?" I inquired.
"The Hunters collected enough to last us all two days. But do you want them to get more, High Chief?" Nazrat asked.
"There are still three hours till sunlight. Might as well go fish or hunt for small game," I suggested.
Lock-On and the rest of the Hunter Caste Imps got the message and left with their Hover chests.
I then asked the Priest Caste, "Do all of you have basic healing skills?"
"No, our prayers can only heal our bodies, but we can bless and curse our allies to increase or decrease their stats," Priest Lomar replied.
"Would you mind blessing the Human Imps? I want them to gain an advantage against the Warrior Imps," I requested. The Priest Caste nodded and went over.
"I think that would count as using their skills in combat. They might rank up because of it," Yolo pointed out in Impan.
Then I turned to the Tamer Caste Imps and asked, "Can you tame animals?" They nodded in affirmation.
"Will that help you rank up?" I asked, and they nodded.
"Then go tame the Bison and Elks in the Grasslands. Ride them out of the Dungeon and force the large animal herds to enter it to restore the animal population here," I instructed. The Tamer Imps nodded before leaving.
"Should I join them?" Yolo asked in Impan.
"No, I was just wondering what to have you three do," I informed.
"Ah! Do you have any projects that we can help with?" Nazrat asked.
"Well, I asked the Builder to find a way to bring the Mountain down over the Dungeon entrance, but he has been occupied with the Tunnel project," I informed him.
"High Chief! How many exploding Pine Cones do you have?" Nazrat asked.
"You know about the Pine Cones?" I ask.
"Of course, we have the memories of the ancestors who lived here. The pine trees on the second floor drop pine cones that explode when infused with mana. The ancestors used them to break Human castle walls and planted them in the ground to explode when an army walked over them." Forge pointed out.
Door Knockers and Land Mines?
"Hmm... but the blast radius is 5 meters, so I doubt that is powerful enough." I point out, and I am met with stunned silence by the Sin Imps.
"Lord Rai! Have you not used them yet?" Yolo asked.
"No, but if I had known I would be fighting a Horde of Undead, I would have taken 200 to throw at them. Is there something I am missing?" I ask because they are all looking at me as if I am an idiot.
"How many do you have?" Yolo asked.
"We should have over 500 since 250 Pine trees were properly harvested twice," I inform.
"Lord, what do you think will happen if you put all 500 Exploding Pine Cones together and blow them up simultaneously?" Forge asked.
Suddenly, I felt stupid.
"So if they are combined, they cause a larger explosion? But how do you trigger it from afar?" I ask.
"The more Mana you infuse into it, the longer it takes before it blows up. As long as you fit the explosive in the right spot in the mountain, it will bring down a good chunk to block the Dungeon entrance." Yolo explained.
"Do any of you know the right spot?" I ask.
Nazrat said, "The mountain landscape has changed since our ancestors' time. We need to go out and look." He then called for his sleeping Dark Fae Bear. It rushed over, allowing Nazrat to place Forge and Yolo on its back.
"Hold on! Where is Amon?" I ask.
"He is at the Claypit making Clay tablets that can teach the Bloodmancy Skills he created to your Human Imps with Blood affinity." Forge informed before they all rushed to the exit.
Well, that sounds useful.
Looking around, I realized that everyone was finally doing something productive. However, I noticed that Jamma was the only one left alone. He was watching the Warrior Imps battle the Human Imps. Then I remembered that he was a Leader Caste Imp in waiting, and one Amputee was left. Several minutes later, I had a new Human Imp under my command who retained his Imp identity and gained the memories of a Bandit Chief who had led over five hundred men for five years before the Falar Army took them down, and then the Imps hunted their remnants. I didn't want Jamma to become a spy because he had the memories of a cunning commander with valuable guerrilla warfare tactics. Instead, I appointed him as the General of all the Warrior Caste Imps to help coordinate their attacks against Valgrind and others who were outsmarting them due to the lack of leadership.
The tide quickly turned in favor of the Warrior Caste Imps, who forced the Human Imps to increase their reaction speed and teamwork to avoid losing the mock battles. I then received notifications from Rachel of the death of 30 Imps at the hands of my Miner Golems. There is a stream of notifications highlighting the summoning of 15 Miner and 15 Builder Golems, who immediately went to work on the tunnel and mine the resources of the Dungeon.