Three days after the party, Nero followed Prince Tyre to the place selected to put the castle he bought from Amaryllis. Dimensional pouches were weird. Things shrunk fast as they were drawn inside the open mouth of the bag. Nero had no idea how would a whole castle come out of the pixie's pouch but he intended to find out in a few hours.
Behind the prince, his entourage of noble sycophants followed. They learned their lesson and none of them attempted to approach Nero, save for the Count. They met at lunch one day and mostly talked about his cousin, the card shop owner. Totally innocuous but Nero didn't dislike Count Honeywitch. He was a good lord and Nero had to part with the information he was from Hom, the minnid village in the Count's domain. If disclosing that was for good or bad it remained to be seen.
Earth mages molded a hill, compacting the earth and creating a solid stone cliff. The stone was magically reinforced and perfected, without any flaws, cracks, or stress points. Only one ramp allowed access to the flattened plateau and that wound up from the back up to the side. Invaders would have to walk a narrow (for an army) ledge, barely able to hold one carriage and a horseman side-by-side. They walked up and found the pixie hovering over the middle of the plateau. Exhausted mages rested under the shadow of a thin tone ledge sculpted by them.
"Here we are, Guild Master," Tyre's voice boomed. "Show us the merchandise."
"Aye, aye," The pixie answered him and shifted her attention to wave at Nero. "Here it goes! Keep out of the marked line!"
A rough polygonal shape glowed over the smooth stone top of the plateau. Some soldiers walked backward to get out of it. Once everyone was away, Amaryllis opened her pouch before flying high up. She waved her arm as if toss sand around. Sparkles flew from her pouch and sprinkled over the glowing polygon, multiplying as they went and blocking everyone's sight with their glow. Once Nero's eyes recovered, a castle sat on the hill as if it was there all the time. It was both amazing and depressive at the same time. He didn't see the effect but he suspected it had something to do with the marks.
He reached the conclusion that Amaryllis' pouch must have some sort of special effect. It should be either purple or probably orange-grade. While everyone including Nero gasped in amazement, Amaryllis floated down in front of the prince.
"All right, show me the money!" She said to his face.
It was always amazing to see how she was unfazed by the prince's status. Tyre looked at one of his personal bodyguards and he took a crate from his own pouch. Amaryllis giggled, opened it. Inside twenty tall glass boxes were brimming with high-ranked Essence crystals. She took one of them out of the crate, closed it, and made the crate vanish. After people became very interested in the box worth ten million, she also vanished that one separately.
"Thank you for your support, Guild Master," Tyre said out loud. The nobles behind him nodded.
"Right-o. I did it for the money, I don't care about supporting you. Make sure you keep your ownership of this rock," She said as if it was an ominous prophecy.
"I shall take your advice to heart," Tyre placed a hand on his chest. "And you don't need to worry," Tyre said while he slowly met the gaze of all the nobles, making sure they were paying attention. "Your godson will be safe with me."
Nero felt a strong urge to cover his eyes with his hand. For a moment he wished Tyre would just urinate on him already. His disgust for the prince soared but he forced his face to remain calm. A couple minor nobles even opened their eyes wide.
Tyre clapped his hands. "Well, gentlemen, let's see the castle I bought. This way!"
It was Nero's first time visiting a castle. The sturdy stone structure was sturdy and solid. The walls where thick and the passages sized for the ten-feet-tall Minotaur King. Nero felt as if he was in a giant's house. The castle had no doors, windows, or furniture. No wood, metal, glass, or any other material. Only stone. Nero was sure it was all inside Amaryllis' pouch if she hadn't used it or gifted it away somewhere as she did with Crystal's bedroom.
The castle had a central keep, star-shaped walls on the side facing the direction Coriander's troops would come from. The towers were sturdy enough to hold several siege engines and the height advantage would allow them to fire further than the enemy's range. It was perfect for a defensive battle. Tyre spared no words to describe how amazing the castle was and what a bargain he got to save the time and effort to build it for two hundred million Essence.
After they spent hours walking all over the castle, finding several flights of stairs leading into the non-existent basement and had a boring meeting regarding troop placement and what additions they needed to make, Tyre chose a door in the King's wing to place the garrison of the shelter. Nero half-hoped Tyre would abandon the shelter for the castle but he ordered Nero to recast the portal inside one of the waiting rooms that were the most defensible.
The young minnid didn't waste time. He kept the Class card that allowed him to use the portal with [Autonomous Spell] always ready when he was with Tyre. He vaporized some Essence crystals, showing the nobles he needed that as an ingredient to make the portal. It would be good to mislead them. He chose a random password and walked inside the gatehouse, shutting the portal behind him. After he told the two knights inside the password, he opened it again, walked outside, brought Tyre inside, and told him the new password after the portal closed. It might sound weird but that was their protocol. Security was paramount.
But that meant Nero didn't have to worry about moving the shelter to and fro anymore. He was finally free to study.
----------------------------------------
Two weeks went by with Nero only showing up to eat and change the portal's password three times a day. Outside, they were shaping stone, deploying troops, training the novice recruits, delving. All Nero did was read the books he was given. He was very bored. His silver lining was when Mayleefa finally came around on his promise to get him gear to improve the shelter's size.
He once more went on a walk with the buffalo-kin knight.
"I'm sorry, Nero, but getting permission to delve was hard. The nobles don't want to let you step inside a Dungeon, they say it is too risky if you die. Therefore, you'll have to go with an escort," Mayleefa said.
"I won't trust an escort," Nero said. "I can handle myself alone."
Mayleefa shook his head and raised a hand to stop Nero. "Let me explain. Your escort will be all prisoners. They will go under orders to keep you safe. If you don't get out of the Dungeon, they don't need to bother coming out at all. Their lives are forfeit. All of them have a strong desire to live, as our mental evaluation showed. His Highness assured that on his honor."
Nero raised an eyebrow. Prisoners? He didn't doubt Tyre's promise if there was a single redeeming feature of his was that he was a person of his word. And no, that didn't redeem him at all. But he wanted to delve or he felt he'd die of boredom. And if the prisoners believed they'd die if they hurt Nero, he felt it was assurance enough.
"I want a complete Status of all of them. And I want a pool to choose from. I'll take three or two at most with me," Nero said.
The plan he concocted was simple. He would not pick anyone with a strong detection Skill or perception stat. Delving with his [Invisibility] build, he could always ditch his escort if push came to shove. Turn invisible and slink away.
Mayleefa nodded. They probably predicted that demand. It was well known by any Adventurer that team synergy mattered a lot.
"That's okay. Let's check on our prospects then."
Nero followed Mayleefa out of the shelter. There were a door and guardhouse in the room now, and sturdy metal-reinforced wooden bars to block the door if needed. The castle was swarming with people. They had to furnish the whole place, put doors, windows, build defenses, and... apparently decorate it enough to be worthy of the prince's vanity. Nero saw a red carpet with golden embroidery running down the corridor to Tyre's bedroom. He took the master apartment that once belonged to the minotaur king. Most of the knights in the tent camp moved outside. Only Nero and the prince's bodyguards didn't move out. The harlots too remained in the shelter. The only change in that aspect was that Tyre wasn't spending all the time with them so the noise wasn't constant.
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They walked down to the entrance and into the left wing. There they found Valanaegornif's office. The sign at the door read "prisoner liaison". Mayleefa knocked twice.
"Enter," The elf's grumpy but still melodious voice came from inside.
They entered and Valanaegornif smiled when he saw Nero. "So, our tiny hero comes to my humble office. Here are the Status Sheets of the prisoners. Pick your team. You need two from this list."
Valanaegornif grumbled and pushed a leather folder in Nero's direction. He sat down and opened the folder, looking at the carefully drawn sheets.
> Name: Arden (Bear-kin)
>
> Crimes: Assault and battery, robbery, grievous bodily harm, murder, racketeering
>
> Class: [Warrior (Green) 28 / 112]
>
> - Special: Your Melee attacks deal 20% more damage.
>
> Strength: +30 (+49)
>
> Vigor: +42 (+58)
>
> Endurance: +33 (+49)
>
> Agility: +11
>
> Dexterity: +22 (+41)
>
> Reason: +7
>
> Willpower: +5
>
> Perception: +12
>
> Charisma: +5
>
> Skills:
>
> [Piercing Strike]: Spend X stamina to ignore up to 10*X% of the opponent's defenses, reduced by the target's Vigor.
>
> [Steel Body]: Add a third of your Strength to Vigor and Endurance.
>
> [Shield Bash]: Spend 1 stamina to attack with your shield. Chance to stun the target on hit.
>
> [Vitality Healing]: Spend 5 stamina to heal wounds based on Vigor and Endurance.
>
> [Sure Feet]: Add a third of your Vigor to Dexterity.
>
> [Steel Muscles]: Add a third of your Vigor to Strength.
This one was definitely in. He even pulled a slingshot enhancement between Strength and Vigor with his Skills. A meathead meatshield probably specialized in sword and board whose only redeeming feature was his ability to withstand damage and heal himself with Stamina. But Nero didn't even need Skills to hide from this guy. He moved on to the next.
> Name: Rodther (Ietermahue)
>
> Crimes: Desertion, insubordination, theft, robbery, assault and battery, trafficking, smuggling
>
> Class [Acrobat (white) 27 / 90]
>
> Attributes:
>
> Strength: +25 (+50 damage with light melee weapons)
>
> Vigor: +20
>
> Endurance: +54
>
> Agility: +51(+101 Dodge)
>
> Dexterity: +47 (+72 attack speed with light melee weapon)
>
> Reason: +5
>
> Willpower: +8
>
> Perception: +6
>
> Charisma: +2
>
> Skills:
>
> [Nimbleness]: Add half your Dexterity to your Agility for Dodging.
>
> [Quick Strike]: Spend 1 stamina per minute: Add half your Agility to the damage and attack speed of your light melee weapons.
>
> [Numbling Strike]: Spend 1 stamina in addition to the cost of a melee attack. You have a chance to cause [Numbness] on a target, reducing their Agility and Dexterity by half your Dexterity for 5 seconds.
>
> [Enduring Evasion]: Add half your Endurance to Agility for Dodging.
>
> [Mitigate Damage]: When taking damage, spend 3 stamina. Add half your (Agility+Dexterity) to Vigor for the square root of (Willpower) seconds.
>
> [Flying Dagger]: Spend 1 stamina to throw a light melee weapon at a target Dexterity yards away. You deal additional damage based on your Dexterity.
A papercut build, this one could be called. He focused on fighting with daggers trusting to evade the enemy's attacks and finish the fight before he ran out of stamina. While that didn't happen, he had staying power in a fight. The problem was, he burned through his Stamina at a vertiginous rate.
The ietermahue were a race of beastfolk from the south-eastern continent that had a long muscular tail and scales on their body but were not reptilian. The scales were made from a hardened material like nails or claws. A warm-blooded race with great defense and the ability to curl for added defense. Their tail added to their balance. And they were never unarmed with sharp claws on their hands and feet. On second thought, this guy didn't need to worry about defense beyond using [Mitigate Damage]. He was probably fast enough to run away if things got tough.
But Nero didn't even need to look at the other profiles to select the two from that list. He browsed the others, but none of the other prospects had what he wanted. Nero would stay on the back row shooting with his rifle so two tough front-liners were the best. Now he only needed to know the two pre-selected party members Valanaegornif wanted to push on him.
"I'll pick these two. Who do you intend on pushing on me?"
Valanaegornif smiled. Nero couldn't help but find that grin creepy. "Your old friends, Cesar and Husk. Now, before you reject them, let me tell you. They are underperforming. They are not meeting their quotas and the punishment for that kind of behavior is to send them on higher-grade Dungeons to see if they can farm more. But between you and me, we know this is a form of delayed execution. I know how you minnids stick together and thought you could help them."
The idiots couldn't even stay out of trouble as prisoners.
"Cesar and Husk, really?" Nero groaned.
"Yes, really. Look, I know you had bad blood between yourselves, but I brought them here to protect them. In fact, they came with me on the same train you did."
Nero pinched the bridge of his nose. Things started to fall in place like a jigsaw puzzle. Katia was collaborating with Valanaegornif to get her son and Husk a better treatment in the prisoner farms. And now the elf captain was going to send them as spies with Nero. He wanted to say no, but Valanaegornif did his research. Nero had no doubt the two village idiots and bullies would really be sent to die in some Dungeon too strong for them. And probably pin the blame on Nero, since he refused to use them. The amount of shrieking Katia would make would be legendary.
He would take them just to stop the imaginary woman from doing so in his imagination right now.
"I need to review their Status too. And let me tell you, if they are useless, then that is it."
"Of course," Valanaegornif's grin crept with malicious glee as he figured out he'd stirred Nero's emotions. "If they're useless, then that is it. We'd be doing them a favor."
He took two status sheets from a pile of paper on his desk and pushed them toward Nero.
> Name: Cesar (minnid)
>
> Crimes: Grand perjury, contempt, insubordination, theft, treason
>
> Class [Warrior (blue) 21 / 134]
>
> Special: This Class has an extra Skill slot.
>
> Special: Add a fourth of your Strength to all physical Attributes.
>
> Attributes:
>
> Strength: +80 (+100)
>
> Vigor: +40 (+100)
>
> Endurance: +44 (+104)
>
> Agility: +8 (28, +78 Dodge)
>
> Dexterity: +20 (+40, +90 Accuracy and Attack Speed of melee weapons)
>
> Reason: +2
>
> Willpower: +2
>
> Perception: +4
>
> Charisma: +0
>
> Skills:
>
> [Great Reach]: Increase the reach and damage of your melee weapons by [2.5*square root of (Strength + Dexterity) %]. This increase is not visible.
>
> [Sweeping Blows]: Your slashing or bludgeoning melee attacks may strike one enemy adjacent to your target with 3/4 of the accuracy and damage of the original attack.
>
> [Harrying Strike]: spend 1 stamina per 10 seconds. Every attack you make on the same target lowers their Agility and Dexterity by 10%.
>
> [Powerful Blows]: Add half your Strength to Dexterity for the Accuracy and Attack Speed of your Melee Attacks.
>
> [Steel Body (blue)]: Add 40% of your Strength to Vigor and Endurance.
>
> [Minor Regeneration]: Passively spend 1 stamina every 10 seconds if you are wounded. Heal wounds based on half (Vigor + Endurance).
>
> [Fast-Response Muscles]: Add half your Strength to Agility for Dodging.
Nero pursed his lips. That was a brute of a build. How Cesar acquired a blue Class and Skill was beyond his understanding. It was either some dumb luck or some external factor. Cesar was a juggernaut. He could take Rodther and Arden one-on-two, probably. The 27.5% invisible increased reach would make some dodges a hit until the enemy figured out what was going on. His absurdly high physical Attributes for his level would guarantee he'd remain in combat for a long time. He was still as dumb as a brick. Against Cesar, Nero would have to stay away with superior mobility and wear him from a distance.
> Name: Husk (minnid)
>
> Crimes: Grand perjury, contempt, insubordination, theft, treason, assault
>
> Class: [Monk (blue) 21 / 140]
>
> Special: Add a third of your Agility to Reason and Willpower.
>
> Special: Add a third of your Dexterity to Strength and Vigor.
>
> Attributes:
>
> Strength: +21 (+48)
>
> Vigor: +33 (+60)
>
> Endurance: +34 (Stamina: 76)
>
> Agility: +85 (+126 Dodge)
>
> Dexterity: +82
>
> Reason: +21 (+49, +91 Spell Power)
>
> Willpower: +19 (+47, Mana Pool: 89)
>
> Perception: +3
>
> Charisma: +14
>
> Skills:
>
> [Quick Mind]: Add half your Agility to your Mana Pool.
>
> [Agile Mind]: Add half of your Agility to Reason to determine the effect of your Spells.
>
> [Tranquil Body]: Add half of your Agility to your Stamina.
>
> [Quick Reflexes]: Add half your Dexterity for Dodging
>
> [Chi Blast]: Spend 2 points of mana and stamina. Toss a ball of energy up to Reason feet away. Deal damage based on Reason and Dexterity. The target is staggered for 1 second.
>
> [Chi Healing (blue)]: Spend 3 points of mana and stamina. You heal a touched creature's wounds based on Reason and Vigor. For the next 10 seconds, add half your Reason to their Vigor.
This one was called a "Physical Mage". Divest one physical Attribute to the magic ones and then enjoy the double benefits. Husk would become a monster as his Agility rose. It begged the question of how many places did Tyre add his Agility to. If Crystal's build was any hint, to a lot of them.
As Nero reviewed the builds of his two fellow villagers, one budding suspicion arose in his mind. By the time they returned from their shopping trip to Honeywitch, these two had already moved to the tier-II Dungeon. They obtained four blue cards with very good - no, awesome - Attributes and specials. One is happenstance, two is a coincidence, three is a pattern. Four is a repeating pattern. No way they just came across these cards while delving. They must've traded for it, and they didn't visit the city. A laughing leopard-kin came to mind. But while Razzer could very well have these cards, he'd ask for a limb to part with them. Another question rose to Nero's mind. How did they gain that many cards to trade with Razzer? The military report didn't mark green-grade Skills but he was sure most of these on them were.
On the back of his head, Nero's dark side whispered the reason. It made sense, but he couldn't believe. Grinding his teeth, he knew he would have to coax it straight from the horse's mouth.
Nero separated the four Status Sheets and stowed them in his dimensional pouch. "These four. They will be my party. We delve tomorrow."