The dungeon was already being transformed. The ongoing renovations had started within the old summoning site, making sure it was prepared to host the new machinery that I would be getting from the city.

Construction here happened quite differently from what I had seen on Earth. The most obvious difference was that almost no manual labor was involved in the process. From carrying materials to raising walls and rearranging rooms, absolutely everything was done with magic.

The process took hours, which I couldn't say I was happy with, but it was already better than the many days it would take without magic. A single [Architect] could bring down a room and build it back up within a day, but the whole building was another story. I was not in a hurry as long as we could have a secure settlement in a reasonable timeframe.

Reasonable meaning before the Order decided to attack us. Yasmin wanted to believe that without any means of transportation anywhere close, it would at least take them two or three weeks.

Part of her explanation relied on them considering us small bugs and not stupid enough to have stayed here. It would take a while for the information to find its way back to them, and that was our margin of operation.

There was no time to lose, and I wasn’t needed at the dungeon. My only reason to be there would be to keep anyone from corrupting, but I trust Yasmin and Pol knew when to stop.

I had given the citizens three days to evacuate. Those who had followed Yasmin—and now me—had been given the mission of informing the city. If they had done their job, my visit today shouldn't be too problematic.

This time I went straight for the city. With what I was about to do, it didn’t make sense to be careful with trackers. I bee-lined for the gates without a second thought about my energy; my recent growth made using energy to propel myself trivial and negligible.

I didn’t have to worry about anyone. My previous visit had been to save Yasmin, and a grand entrance would have spelled death for her. Now I could just go in and cause a ruckus. In fact, I wanted a ruckus.

They didn’t see me coming until I used the gates to stop myself. Like a missile that just found its target, I blew part of the frames when I put my energy on them.

Dust flew, creating a commotion and a cacophony of shouts. Soldiers were jumping into action, running, and raising alarms as they tried to figure out what was happening.

“Listen!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “This city will belong to me by today’s dusk. I will not fight those who ch-”

An arrow came aiming for my head; the attacker clearly visible in my view way before the arrow even began flying. Sighing, I created a small blade of energy and sent it to meet the arrow.

Split in two—wood and metal alike—the projectile lost all its power. My blade, however, continued unperturbed until it met the person and cut it in two.

“As I was saying, don’t play hero. Either join me or run away from the city. I don’t want to kill innocent people just for the sake of it.”

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The shouts had stopped and been substituted by whispers that I could not hear. Some looked at me with fear, while others pointed accusing fingers. There was no movement until, finally, one of them stepped in front.

“You are the one that killed the Oracle, right?” I nodded. “So you want to take the city peacefully? My life is here; it always has been. What happens if I stay?”

“Do me a favor, will you? Gather everyone who has decided to stay and bring them to the Church's stairs. I will answer you and everyone else there.”

I took impulse and flew above the heads of the puny soldiers. The city might have been independent, but it was evident since the expedition to the dungeon that their levels were low. They were lucky enough to live in an area with little to no monster activity, and it clearly showed in their experience.

I ignored the frightened looks I got all the way there and sat on the familiar, endless stairs that lead up to the bland and undecorated Church.

As soon as people started gathering, I asked for anyone capable of amplifying voices. I needed everyone to listen carefully, and that was the best and only way.

“I've just been asked, ‘what does it mean to stay here?’”

I opened by addressing the one doubt I was sure everyone shared.

“Right now? Nothing. I won't ask you to fight for me or to defend the city from the Order. If you stay, you are committing to a life without ties to these sects or the System. However,” I raised my finger, “there will come a time when my power will be a thousand times what it is now, when I will have earned the right to be respected, and when I’ll expect loyalty in retu-”

“You are a monster!” Someone shouted from the sidelines, just to be immediately shooed away.

“He's right, you know?” I answered. “By the skewed definitions that the Sanctum has given you, I am corrupted and that makes me a monster. These inculcated thoughts are precisely what I want to free you of.

“How many of you have heard of the class {Third Eye of Corruption}?” When nobody asked after five seconds, I continued. “That's right, none. That's a class I created myself, without the System intervention. And right when it happened, it became clear: magic exists without the System, which only serves the purpose of chaining you and dictating your progress. Without it, you are free. Truly free. You can experience magic and classes without any artificially imposed limitations.

“If that makes me a monster, so be it. What I am offering today, if you choose to remain here, is to live under this banner. Corrupted. Monster. An error. You will be called many names. All of them, because others will fear you.

“But I've decided. This will be our city, born from the desire to be free and powerful.”

So many people started shouting their own questions at the same time that I could not get to any of them. I had to wait for a whole minute and almost beg for silence until I could finally point to a single individual and listen to her.

“Why do we have to become a… corrupted, yes, to stay here?” She was a second away from saying ‘become a monster’.

“That’s simple. Unless I get rid of the System for you, you will die within these walls: every last bit of this city will be inside a dungeon. Unless you are corrupted, your possibilities of survival are lower than one in a million.”

The volcano of voices erupted again, and once more, I had to wait for things to calm down.

“Do you think that whoever invented the System did it out of good faith? They have a vested interest in controlling you. Limiting your growth. Summoning you at their own pleasure. Sending you to a certain death if you become a threat. I am free, and so can you.”

For the next few hours, I found myself repeatedly wishing that they would have just tried to defend the city and I had to fight. That was way more enticing than answering the myriad of questions for which I didn't yet have answers.

When would the city convert to a dungeon? What would happen with monsters? The answer was easy; kill them for experience. Timelines for when I planned to start converting people. Question about what would happen with their current cases.

It was a mess—a boring mess. Until it stopped being one.

“I’m afraid, youngster, I cannot let you do any of that.” A deep voice made its way from the top of the stairs, right out of the Church’s door.