[{Dreamweaver of Nightmares} has leveled up]
I used [Journal of Nightmares] and absorbed both classes, all with a silly smile on my face. I had managed to get the last win, and it was a hell of a win. Not to mention the level up I had gotten from this exercise.
{Dungeon Acting Ruler}
> Administering a dungeon is nothing like a city. Your citizens are equally composed of humans and monsters, and the latter do not have a vote or respect your decisions.
>
> You have been bestowed the powers to rule in the absence of the true monarch of the dungeon. Save for them; your word is the law and shall be obeyed.
>
> Citizens under your rule who obey the laws will receive a boost to their experience of 10%, and while performing duties in the name of the dungeon, their stats will increase by 3%.
>
> Your abilities are designed to spot opportunities to increase efficiency, administration holes, and planning improvements.
{Object Corruption Meister}
> Controlled corruption for the greater good. Corruption is a tool like any other; it can destroy what it touches, but it can also bring out what was hidden beneath layers of System protection.
>
> A meister whose weapon is corruption; their target objects. Their abilities can corrupt items such that corruption no longer affects them. Good if you get what you want, not so much when the result is subpar.
>
> For when that happens, they can cleanse corruption and start anew. But don’t do it too often, or the object will crumble.
That was satisfying to read; it covered our most immediate needs and allowed both of them to expand in the exact directions that they wanted. I wanted to believe that my new class played a big role in achieving this result. Perfectly controlling where corruption acted and how must have had a big effect.
“Alright!” I clapped my hands. “This settles the matter! Yasmin, if you use your new shiny class, what should be the next thing we do?”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
While I knew it wasn’t a magic crystal ball that could tell us our future, the description did mention finding opportunities. I had my own list of things I wanted to do, from launching our own attack on the Sanctum to expanding our domain to other planets.
“Clearly, we need to prepare for the next attack and bolster our defenses.” I rolled my eyes at her. “We need to do that, you don’t,” she remarked as soon as she saw me.
“Is that so? Make sure our little army is not slacking, then. By the time I come back, I expect them to be level 50. If you have to, pull strong animals from outside the dungeon and let them become corrupted.”
“Actually…” She looked at me with squinted eyes. “So this is how it works? That’s a ridiculously dangerous idea… If it works. Okay! You’ll see!”
I was unsure of what kind of mental discussion had been going on in her head, but I couldn’t help but laugh a bit at her.
“Where are you going?” Claudia asked out of the blue, breaking the mood.
“To the nearest city, whatever that is! I was hoping that you could point me in that direction.”
“I don’t think you want to do that,” Claudia quickly answered. “That would be Urdin, and their Church is much stronger than what you found here. No offense, Yasmin,” she quickly added.
“And by that, you mean?”
“They are an independent city, but it is said that the best candidates for the Sanctum come from there. And it’s not an unfounded rumor. The city army is composed of those who aspire to reach the Sanctum, and their sole reason to live is that. They didn’t attack us because they didn’t see us as a stepping stone, but now that we have killed the Fourth… I’m sure they will.”
“I’m not sure if you are trying to convince me to stay away or the opposite. They will potentially attack us? Then I’ll destroy them first.”
“What? No, that’s not what I me-Screw it, you will go, right?”
I waved my hand and winked at her. It was obvious I was going there, no matter what she said. We needed to annex some more cities to ensure supply routes, and eliminating the competition in the process was a nice bonus on top.
“You do you… Head north; normally, it takes five days if traveling by horse.”
“Is it safe for me to leave? Are we sure the Sanctum won’t attack?” I looked at Yasmin as I asked.
“Nothing is sure. However, right now, they should be assessing their losses and coming up with a plan. They won’t send another platoon of the Fourth, and the higher divisions are probably tied down fighting greater threats. And they can’t send the Second or First, otherwise, the Congregation will use the opportunity to strike them.”
“Is that so? Then take care of the fort and don’t burn it down! And, of course, if anything goes wrong, let me know immedia-On second thought, couldn’t you just summon me?”
“Worst-case scenario, we can try,” Claudia intervened. “I am not sure we can bear the costs of doing that for long, though… Maybe I can make those summoning machines my first pet project.”
I was tempted to stop her; we didn’t need it just yet, but the urgency was undeniable. The sooner we had summoning with pure magic with no System intervention, the better. Whatever resources we were using, I was convinced our dungeon was nowhere near to covering the costs.
Artificial costs taxed and collected by the System itself.
There was no point in delaying my departure anymore. They knew what had to be done, and there was nothing for me to tell them. Everything had to stand in place until I came back.