Nenn spent the rest of the morning being hounded by potential applicants. It was hard to turn them down, but there were only so many positions available, as Velnoriss had explained last night. A party caps out at 6 members. Anymore, and the experience growth would be cut down dramatically. Nenn was able to bridge this apparent belief by confirming that The System differentiates between solo, party, and raid kills. It only made sense that a raid would earn a lot less experience per kill, especially when the kill did not demand a raid-sized effort to defeat it.

So far in Nenn’s dungeon delving party there was quite a mixture of classes. Elkorin the naga warrior and Shirley, the mute monk made up the dungeon’s frontline. Then there was the naga shaman who was still recovering from her duel against Nenn. She would be joining the backline of the party.

Nenn himself was in the middle of the party as a jack-of-all-trades druid should be. He could step into any role with some measure of success. This left two positions available. With the current talent the fortress had available, it was a hard decision to make. Out of the newly integrated, no one else had stood out as an exemplary talent. Well, for the moment anyways, they were brand new and had a lot of time to distinguish themselves.

Around midday, the Obelisk began to periodically flash, warning everyone of the soon-to-be newly integrated arrivals. Nenn reformed his root-based podium once more and took up his spot along with Velnoriss and Elkorin. Just as the flashes began to occur more frequently Nenn’s attention was drawn to a human runner, who was making a beeline towards the raised platform.

“We have humans at the gate!” Nenn recognized the runner to be one of few people chosen for guard duty today. While there was probably nothing out in the valley that could challenge them for the time being, it was good to get in the habit of defending oneself. And so, some of the newly integrated were put on guard duty.

“Did they say who they are?” Nenn asked.

“No, they didn’t, even when we asked. They are looking for a ‘tinder cat’. I haven’t a clue who they mean by that, so I said I’d ask around and get back to them,” the guard said. The guard looked around the crowd of people to see if anyone had reacted to the name.

“Ah yes. That would be me. One moment,” Nenn said. He casted [Shapeshift - Deathstalker]. What happened next was the oddest sensation Nenn had ever felt in his life. He felt the death-aspected mana in his wooden half begin to swirl and expand, while the life mana shrank and retreated into a small ball focused around his heart. The world grew fuzzy to Nenn. One moment he was standing upright, the next he found his vision lower to the root floor of the podium, and his body was now horizontal.

He stretched out his back in the way only a cat could do, and it felt wonderful. The sensation of being in his deathstalker form felt right to Nenn. Looking back it felt as though he had spent the last day in the wrong set of skin, even though that skin was his human base form that he had spent decades in.

Nenn looked around, and the onlookers were silent and still as they stared at Nenn. Velnoriss, Elkorin, and the other naga survivors were a little more animated, but their faces conveyed looks of shock, awe, and disgust.

“Uhh, maybe you should consider not doing that in front of people,” Velnoriss said, as he finally broke the silence.

“Why not? What happened?” Nenn asked. “It’s a little hard to tell from my angle. All I see is the world get fuzzy, then suddenly I find myself on the ground.

“Well, to put it bluntly. We just watched your body melt into a giant black puddle of goop. You were just a black puddle and a small white core. Then the goop began to reform itself into your current shape,” Velnoriss said.

“Oh… Okay, yeah. I can see how that would be mentally scarring,” Nenn said. “But how long did that take?” The Obelisk was still flashing behind Nenn, and the guardsman was still standing where Nenn had last seen him.

“Less than ten seconds, I would say,” Elkorin said. “The process happened in thirds. A third spent melting, a third spent as a puddle, then a third as your shapeshifted body formed. Not the cleanest shapeshifting I think I’ve ever seen. Back home, the process was always seen as being a fluid shifting from one form to the other.”

“On that, we can agree. No in-combat shifting then. I’m glad I learnt that before trying it for real. Although maybe…” Nenn trailed off for a moment as ideas flashed through his mind of how he’d like to improve the ability.

Someone in the crowd coughed and Nenn’s focus returned to conversation at hand.

“Oh right! You said there was a group looking for me. That’ll be the humans who managed to escape from the Helkis’ army. Please let them in and bring them here. We will chat right after the soon-to-be newly integrated get settled.

***

The Obelisk did its job, and forty new beings appeared around it. Nenn didn’t even need to raise his voice this time. It probably helped that both sides had racial representation present. Or it could have been the talking, driftwood-looking cat. Either way, Nenn said his bit about forging a future together, then Elkorin and Velnoriss said their bit, and everyone split to do their respective jobs.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Nenn didn’t have to wait long before the four familiar faces of the Denver group made their way through the central grounds of the fortress. Upon seeing Nenn’s familiar deathstalker form the group relaxed.

“Holy shit, you actually managed to do it!” Ivan said. The warrior’s face said it all. Days of stress and exertion instantly faded away into a smile. The whole Denver group shared that experience of relief.

“You could have done it without managing to ruin half of the fortress though. Look at that, now we have a big-ass tree to work around now,” Sarah, the named rogue said. “And, I see that you lived up to your name, Tindercat. You managed to burn a lot of the unruined sections. It’s going to take multiple hours of work to replace those.”

“Sarah, show some restraint. The druid managed to take back the fortress from the naga. Although…” Analice trailed off.

“What I think she means is that she is a little surprised to see naga roaming about. We didn’t think that they had a place here. Maybe you can fill us in on that detail,” Paul the hunter said with curiosity, rather than an accusatory intent.

A couple of birds chirped from the giant tree, and the sounds of weapons hitting against one another at a steady rhythm filled the air. Nenn paused as he gathered his thoughts on the matter. He had been dreading this moment. The Denver group were the last group of people to have an original claim to the Obelisk, and had suffered at the naga’s hands, so to try and change their minds was going to be a task.

Nenn began by telling the Denver group about everything that had happened. From the alligator attack in the middle of the big river, to his indiscriminate crusade through the naga camps. Then about meeting Elkorin, after he had begun an uprising against the guards. He told the group about the Helkis and his plans. How he had planned to use the newly integrated naga as an experience booster to empower himself. Then Nenn described the emptied camps, and how he had found Velnoriss.

He talked about the naga survivors' last stand through the night, and how he had assaulted the fortress the following morning, ultimately claiming victory over the Helkis and his armies. He talked about how he had forged an alliance with the newly integrated naga, citing that they had in fact done nothing wrong, and it would have been wrong to deny them their own chance at existence, especially when they were so willing to work with Nenn. The details behind the angelic entity and the eldritch tree’s involvement were left out.

When Nenn had finished regaling the group and anyone else that had stopped by to listen about his tale, silence befell the gathering as everyone processed what had happened. Ultimately, there were only fourteen naga who could back up his story, so to any human, it was a bit harder to fact check and prove if it had happened that way.

“So, in short, what you're saying is that you took down the naga tyrant, and everyone that’s left is innocent of that crime,” Ivan said.

“Mmm, yes, that’s right. Everyone except for Velnoriss, but he was a forced conscript in the Helkis’ army. He was not here by choice and he was beaten and left to die due to his opposition. He has been a terrific resource of knowledge. Without him we would have been blindsided by the next attack, ” Nenn said.

“The next attack?” asked Analice.

“Yes. Velnorris has said that the other naga warlords will try to claim The Obeliks from us, much the same way that the Helkis had. Apparently the Helkis was a lower ranking warlord, so there are much stronger forces out there. Once word reaches them about a new Obelisk appearing, they will make their way over,” Nenn said.

“So, what are our next steps?” Paul asked.

“We get stronger. The faster we gain power, the better chance we will stand when the naga warlords come knocking. While they are not System-enabled, they can still grow in strength and lethality. The Helkis and his elite forces are a perfect example of that. So to get stronger, Velnoriss has suggested that we go explore some dungeons,” Nenn said.

“You want to go dungeon diving now?” Ivan asked. “After everything that’s happened, you want to leave the fortress in someone else’s hands while we go on an adventure?”

“That’s correct,” Nenn said.

“What’s going to keep everyone in line? How do we know the naga can be trusted? They already-”

“The ‘they’ you are referring to are defeated and dead. I am the guarantor that everyone will remain civil and behave themselves,” Nenn said using [Primal Roar]. The gathered group had a look of fear on their faces as if they had suddenly realized who they were dealing with.

“Let me remind you what happened here. I destroyed an established and fortified army of naga single-handedly. I have only grown in power since then. If anyone acts out against the alliance, they will have to deal with me. This world is not like Earth, where everyone has a say and a vote. Here there is one universal truth. Might makes right. And I am trying to foster a society that treats everyone as equals, with rights and freedoms, just like back home,” Nenn said.

The gathered group was truly speechless. Analice stepped forward a moment later.

“I wish to apologize for my words. I do not oppose the idea of an alliance, and I think that it is a wonderful idea. But there is a part of me that is protesting the idea. When I think about it, I think it is due to the trauma we experienced at the Helkis’ hands. As such, I think, we are of a unique viewpoint that should be considered. We are merely questioning the groundwork that the alliance sits on. We don’t know if the naga leadership is trustworthy, as we haven’t had a chance to meet with them and establish our own relationships.” Analice said.

“That’s fair, and not unexpected. That’s why I have waited for your arrival before I take off to go exploring. I wanted humanity to have their own representative present, which I want one of you to take on that responsibility. I want you all to stay here for at least the night, and get to know everyone. In the morning you can decide who gets the job of being the human leader of the fortress. I expect the rest of you will take the time to get some serious training afterwards,” Nenn said.

“That sounds fair,” Paul said. “We will follow your suggestions, and see how it all goes.”

“Perfect. Now with that done and out of the way, let me be the first to welcome you to the fortress once again. I’ll take my leave and be on my way now, before Velnoriss starts to read me the riot act,” Nenn said.

With that the group that had gathered went their separate ways. Nenn made his way around and collected his party. Within the hour Nenn, Elkroin, Shirly, and the unconscious naga caster who was being carried by Elkorin, made their way through the fortress’s gate and towards the supposed location of a dungeon, following Velnoriss’ guidance.