Aurora
Opal and Mira started to leave after we exchanged information but paused before they reached the door. They exchanged a look before walking back to the throne. I tilted my head wondering what the problem was.
“Um. Aru? Why does your friend listing have you as Aurora?” My heart dropped a little. I hadn’t thought about that. I really should have. Thankfully, this archina form while beautiful, didn’t quite have as many facial muscles to reveal my mistake.
I leaned back and waved a hand in the air dismissively. “Because that’s my full name. I have been alone since even before all the shit went down. I don’t like to tell people my name until I know them better.” I might be talking out of my ass, but I hoped it worked. From what I could tell you were sort of required to be a loner to play this race.
Mira looked at me with narrowed eyes but then shrugged. “I guess we didn’t exchange dets per say, so whatever. Let us know if you need us. We’re taking off.”
I waved with a smile, thankful that she’d dropped it. I knew they were probably going to be suspicious, but I would be more surprised if they weren’t. Especially given how this place operated. I would need to have my gun fixed before the month was up. Having only one shot at full power wasn’t going to do me any good.
Dropping back into the chair after the two left, I relaxed for the first time in the last seven or eight hours. While I wanted and needed the crash course on the city, it was still a lot to take in in one session. I jumped up and made my way to the door at the side of the throne room. Through a silk sheet that was made from the finest spider web, a nice-looking room that was solely for my use came into view.
A massive bed was the centerpiece. There were a number of other interesting objects lying around but they were mostly related to the culture of the place. Shoa had apparently liked to read, as there were stacks of books that almost went to the ceiling surrounding the room. I checked to make sure there weren’t any traps or anything of that sort. Shoa might have rigged the place should she lost. Of course, I could just be paranoid.
I fell back into the bed and enjoyed the silks. I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep for a few days. Other than being knocked out, I hadn’t slept since I’d gotten stuck in this world. I would have to find a way to fix that. Even if it came with a risk, I had always enjoyed closing my eyes and going to another world for a few hours.
Sitting up, I pointed my hand at a corner in the room. I focused on my main form and thought about connecting the two for a split second. When I felt the link, I quickly used my mana to summon a Greater Demon. I modeled them after the Archanic race but kept them mostly human.
Finally, a woman dressed like a maid appeared, parts of her body wisping off as tendrils of shadow. She bowed, her current like hair flowing around her as she did so. “You’ve summoned me, Quin, my queen?”
I jumped to my feet and walked over to Quin. “I have. You are to be this form’s guard and protector. Never leave its side unless ordered.”
The new demon bowed even deeper. “As you wish.” Her body quickly lost its solid appearance as her form faded into the shadows. I could still sense my link to her though. I walked back over to the bed and laid down before disconnecting from the body.
Opening my eyes back in the dungeon, I was hit with a massive migraine. I guess prolonged usage of telepathy to control my new bodies took its toll. I rubbed my forehead and just rested for a few minutes without doing anything. The migraine didn’t hurt per say, but it was still uncomfortable. I would have to take it a bit easier to avoid experiencing them in the future.
While I rested, Zaras walked into the throne room. “Welcome back, my queen.” If he was back, that meant they had returned from the other dungeon. My mind snapped back to clarity, headache forgotten. The rest of the group came in after him.
“How did it go?” I asked once they were all lined up in front of me. While unharmed, Roland and Harvey, sported several tears in their armor and cloths. Whatever they found had put up a fight it would seem.
“They were many earthen monsters. Their complete lack of blood made diving the dungeon harder for us. We managed to reach the first boss. A golem that most of our magic simply wash off. After a harsh battle, we finally managed to defeat it.” Zaras explained. Roland stood and walked up to me with something in his hand. He held it out like a priest making an offering. I pursed my lips but reached out and took the cloth covered object.
Removing the cloth, I found a necklace. I could feel the mana coming from it. The dungeon part of me wanted to absorb it, but I wanted to check it out before I destroyed it. I would hate for it to be unique and find myself unable to reproduce it. Holding it up to my eye, I examined the stats. It was an Epic item. The Gem of Oris. Not sure if the name meant something.
It offered a fifty percent boost to Earth based magic. I pursed my lips as I wondered if that would translate over to my abilities as a dungeon core. I spent a few more moments looking it over to make sure it wasn’t dangerous. I still wasn’t sure which of the four had caused Losa’s death. Once I was confident, I wore the necklace. I waited, but there wasn’t a feeling or sensation like I had expected. I felt exactly the same.
Flexing my fingers, I pointed my hand at the wall and used a stone sigil. A shard of rock that was easily as deadly as a long sword flung from my palm and impaled the wall deeply. That should have been more along the lines of an arrow. That was a pretty good increase in power.
I looked back to my vampires. “Well done. I’m pleased with this present. Did you fall back after the boss?”
Zaras nodded. “Correct. The monsters further in were not only made of stone and earth but possessed armor and magical weapons. We deemed it suicide to explore further.”
“Very well. We will retire for now and I shall speak with each of you on how best to approach this challenge.” I smiled warmly at them each. “Get some rest. You deserve it.”
The group bowed then left the throne room. Before they left on their trip, they really didn’t have a place to relax, but in one of the many new rooms there was a bar that served, well, water and blood. That was all we had to offer right now. There were also rooms that had coffins that they could sleep in. My monsters were able to sleep unlike me, the jerks.
I rubbed my head and looked off into the distance. I needed to decide my priorities. It might be months or even years before I was able to reach the seal of the Demon Lord that could potentially bring back Losa. Since this was my life now, that wasn’t exactly a problem, but I feared if it took too long the chances of bringing Losa back might grow increasingly more impossible. I wanted to reach that Seal as soon as possible.
Jumping to my feet, I started to pace as I considered my plan. I had to be present. I wasn’t sure why I thought that, but I was sure that if the Demon Lord got free, he wouldn’t just stick around. Rezdona had gone back to her previous claims from the looks of things when I mentally visited her. No doubt, Astrar would do much the same.
Leaving the throne room, I made for the prison. I would have to rebrand it soon to my magical workshop. Taking a look at the massive magical circle carved into the ground, I walked to a section and used my earth magic to alter it slightly. This otherworldly magic was close to clairvoyance only with much larger range.
I kneeled in the center of the circle and pressed my hand down. Magic constructs formed around my hand like when I used my other magic. It grew until it overlaid the engraved circle then the two began to harmonize. When I was done pouring in enough mana, I took a deep breath then visualized what I sought. The Demon Lord, Astrar’s Seal.
My vision flew straight up until it was over the mountain overlooking the forest. My point of view began to move rapidly, as I memorized every detail as pictures. After a few minutes, we arrived at a ruined temple in the center of the forest. A powerful aura emanated from it. It would take a brave soul to approach this site.
My vision sank back into the ground. What might as well be a dungeon protected the Seal. I would need a small army to fight through some of the monsters I saw. I finally reached a circular door that had runes engraved over every centimeter of its surface. As I peered at the door, I felt something start to peer back. It looked like Astrar was awake and was just waiting for the seal to be broken.
“Can you hear me?” I mentally sent. There was no reply. I narrowed my eyes. If he was awake, then I wanted to communicate with him before I freed him. I wanted a guarantee that he would revive Losa.
I broke the connection and stood up. I pulled some parchment out and began to draw the path that I saw. It took more than a few pieces to get everything, but I soon had a decent map of the Forest up until the Seal. “Close to two hundred kilometers.” My current link with my homunculus only afforded me at most ten kilometers.
Quickly checking my status, I saw I had enough mana for a few Paragon Vampires if I added up my mana stones. I had the Primal Gold to thank for that. The outcropping was generating no small amount of mana just by sitting there. I left the prison and made for an empty room. There were a few ways that I could increase my telepathy range. The first and easiest one I planned to try was to summon an artificer to create gear that would boost my range.
I did just that, creating a new Paragon. I focused on the image of a researcher that was versed in the magical ways that had such a job. A man that wore a lab coat that was dyed black soon stood in front of me. He had a handsome face that bore a pair of glasses that possessed at least a dozen different lens on each side.
“Name?” I asked since I had a lot of pent-up energy.
The vampire bowed, looking even more elegant than Zaras which I found hard to believe. “Everild, my queen.”
“Everild. I want to you create items that boost mental abilities. If you can focus it even further, then telepathy.”
“This will require materials of at least level two. The higher the better.”
“Okay. I’ll acquire these for you. For now, practice with what we have.” I had a nice city of workers that should be able to acquire everything I need. All the more reason for me to grow that place into a much stronger realm in the Labyrinth. I smiled to Everild and made sure he had everything he needed to work. Being a dungeon core had it perks at times.
Once I finished with the new vampire, I hopped into my other body. Stretching, I got up from the hidey hole and made for the exit. Walking outside, I enjoyed the glare of the sunlight. I might still technically be a vampire, but this body didn’t have to deal with that. I walked in the direction of Maxwell’s village. It was in range of my current abilities, though only just barely. The white wall that kept me from peering into the zone soon came into view. Soldiers patrolling the walls and standing guard outside the gate were a clear sign that he was building up his strength.
It looked like he’d already replaced most of the people that my little gift had killed. A bit of regret welled in my heart, but if I hadn’t done that, I knew I would have gone insane. I would just have to figure out a way to make it better. Countries in the real world have been doing that for centuries.
I straightened my dress and walked up to one of the guards. Not surprisingly, they drew their weapons instantly. “Halt! This is Lord Maxwell Orfen’s territory! Identify yourself!” I waved since I didn’t actually know if there were proper etiquettes to follow.
“If you could fetch your master for me. I need to talk to him. Trust me, he’ll want to hear me out.”
The guard looked at his compatriot before slowly lowering his weapon. “And who shall I say is calling on him?”
I smiled and bowed. “A friend.”
Maxwell
I was laying on a bench that one of the villagers had made at some point with a nice cool cloth on my head. Teleporting this many people so many times was draining whether they were handing me their mana or not. Rowena was giving them a tour at the moment, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before they came back to bother me.
Part of me was glad to be back though. The trip had been… I’m going to say positive over all. I was still in the air about Lapis. The dragon in human form was likely going to be the death of me, but that was tomorrow me’s problem.
“My Lord!” Since I didn’t recognize the voice, it had to be one of the newer NPCs that had joined the village recently. I groaned before I sat up and looked at the man. He was dressed like one of the guards.
“What is it?”
“There is someone outside the gate that wishes to speak with you. She says she is a friend.” I scratched my chin, wishing elves could grow beards, before I nodded. It was likely one of Razz’s players, but it might be someone else. A small voice even suggested it might be someone related to Aurora, but that would be foolish.
I got up then teleported to the gate. I immediately spotted the redheaded woman leaning against a tree outside the wall. She had either a dagger or something else on her waist. Glancing around, I didn’t spot any obvious traps or ambushes. We were ten meters from the wall. Which was fully patrolled now.
Teleporting down, I walked out to meet the woman. “Hello. You wished to speak to me.”
Her calm expression was replaced with a glare, most likely from surprise at my sudden appearance, but she took several breathes and calmed down. “Sorry about that. Anyway, I am Kaga.”
“You already know me, but I’m Maxwell.” I glanced down at her wrist and found a tattoo. So, she was a player. A human from the looks of it. Lapis went through my head reminding me that just because they walked on two legs didn’t mean they weren’t some sort of monster.
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“Yes.” She rubbed her head, messing up her hair in the process. She seemed at a lost to what to say, so I waited. I had to admit that I thought she was cute. I sort of had a thing for redheads. It was sort of a stereotype, but most of the redheads I’d met were like flames. You had to be careful not to be burned. Kaga coughed. “Listen. I was a player in this area before the big change. I was hoping to join your town.”
That caught me by surprise. I didn’t think there would be any other players near here. “Why are you coming now?” I asked forcing down my suspicion. Even if she was lying, it might be interesting to see where it might lead. Was there another lord in the area trying to sniff out the competition?
“Look. I’ll be honest with you. I was a scout for another guild that wanted to move against the goblin lord here. When the change happened, I lost everything. Only one person was left in the guild and they went—let’s just say it isn’t pretty. I’m stuck out here in the middle of nowhere, but that might be for the better.”
I thought about what I saw back in the city. A young woman on her own in this time of upheaval might be hard. Sasha explained that while this world still operated in many of the same principles as before. Many safety features had been removed. Kidnapping, raping, and other atrocities were a real threat to worry about. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“As for why I didn’t outright seek you out, well. I didn’t know you were here to be honest. My camp was on the other side of the goblin village. Then they were attacked by something that nearly decimated the village. When I investigated, I found your village. After that, I spent a few days observing your people. From what I can tell, it looked like you were kind and benevolent to even the NPCs.”
I nodded. While her story made sense, I would be an idiot to outright trust her. That said, if it was true, then it would be cruel of me to force her to stay out here on her own. The nearest human city was hundreds of kilometers away. I tapped my chin as I thought about the problem. I could teleport her, but I’d have to scout the way first. There was also the fact that I was basically running on fumes from the day of teleporting the Jade Collective here.
“Tell me, why is a human so far from human territory?”
Kaga laughed. “My friend was a lord. He wanted to create a new human land since as you know the humans in this game are a bit… racist. He figured we could take it from the war loving goblins and orcs.” She shrugged like it was a fact. “It was a game after all.”
I thought about Razz. He was basically the same in his thoughts. It was a game so he should just take what he wanted. “You don’t see it that way anymore?”
“Nope. At least not with you.” She covered her face which took on a grimace. “I really don’t want to be in a village filled with stinking, filthy goblins. I might make it back to the human lands with a few months of travel, but…” She let the sentence hang. I knew where she was going. It wasn’t safe.
Sighing, I finally nodded. “Alright. You can join us. You’ll have to pull your weight though.”
Kaga saluted with a grin. “Sure thing, Maxwell.” I gestured for her to follow me.
Returning to the village center, I spotted Rowena. I ran up to her. “Hey! Glad I caught you. How are the new arrivals?”
Rowena drew close and covered her mouth so no one could see. “They are much more versed in the game than us. The contract covered a lot of stuff, I just hope it was enough.”
“Hey. You went over the contract as well.” I wouldn’t have done this without her go ahead. That she was having second thoughts worried me. “Have they done something that was cause for concern?”
“No. Nothing yet.” She sighed and pulled back. “Sorry. They were just so skilled in how they set up their teams and got to work that it threw me for a loop.” She shook her head. “Its fine. Its fine.”
“Alright. I really hope so since I have a year long contract with these guys. To break it early will not only be expensive, but dangerous since they know where we are now.”
“You’re right. I’m good.”
I nodded then grabbed her shoulder. “Trust me. You’re the only one that I trust with my life.”
“Thanks, Max.”
I squeezed her shoulder gently then took a step back. “By the way, did you see where the blue hair one that looked like a child went?”
“No. She gave me a serious do not approach vibe.”
“Yeah. That was wise.” I pulled her close again so only she could hear me. “She is a fucking dragon.”
“A drag… How’d you manage to get one of those?” she asked shocked.
“She’s not really under my control. I slammed into her nest while teleporting and she found me interesting. Let me tell you that its already caused more headaches than I cared for, but there have been some benefits.”
“Alright. I’ll keep my eyes open.”
I nodded and pulled back again. “So, how’s the village?” A lot can change in two days. Several buildings that I had queued were constructed and waiting for people to be assigned to them.
“We’re doing well. We got a lot of work done, but there is always more. The transfers were the same as always. Displaced with nothing but death waiting them.”
“Got it. I’m going to grab lunch and go through all the new information. Let me know if you need me for anything.” I was hungry after the teleporting trek here. Plus, going through everything would be best when sitting down. I’d walked into a tree once when I had gotten too engrossed in the menus.
“You got it. I’ll also go about finding them a good chunk of land for them to set up their guild base.”
“Umm…” Kaga said. I had completely forgotten she was there.
I coughed and gestured to Kaga. “Rowena, this is Kaga. Her story is a bit complicated…” I quickly explained the situation to her. She looked worried but accepted my judgement on the matter.
Kaga put a hand to her chest. “I’ll be best use to you with killing stuff. I’m quite familiar with the area around the goblin village.”
“I understand. We’ll let you know. Feel free to explore the village. There really isn’t much to see yet.”
I gave them a thumbs up then moved over to the canteen. I grabbed the communal meal for the hour, a soup with some dried meat, before I found a quiet place to work. I could have gone to the manor, but I found I enjoyed the sounds of the village at work. Maybe it clear what I was working for.
Pulling the menu up, most of it was the same as the last time I looked. A few values had gone up, with the material resources being quite a bit higher. The golems were really pulling their weight. I opened the Nation tab and was given a stark reminder that I had a National Power to choose still. I quickly tabbed on the screen since it felt like the menu was mad at me with the blinking red text.
Treasures of Nineth Heaven – Generates a resource of Random (Level 4- Level 7) value inside your territory.
Ships of the Night – Create a portal of Trade with a random city in the world. (City will be accepting of your race, ideology, and theology).
The Great Path – All creatures move with a bonus inside your territory.
The Unspoken Truth – Reveals a hidden mystery of the world within fifty kilometers of the center of power.
I had to lick my lips. All these were awesome. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want all of them. After a long debate and a quick message over to Rowena, I decided to go with Ships of the Night. A bit of personal curiosity went into the decision as I knew I could replicate spells generated by these system messages. If I could replicate the portal for this, then I might be able to boost our strength tenfold overnight.
A ghostly building appeared in my vision. Much like the other structures, I would need to place where I would want it to go. I had finished my meal anyways, so I jumped up and went searching for a good location for the almost temple like structure. The label claimed that it was for trade only, but as a lord I had to consider the city that it connected to falling to enemy hands and becoming hostile.
Eventually, I settled on a site a bit outside the main village, including the planned expansion. It still placed the portal well within the walls. I would order a fort and walls to be built around it later, but for now, I would have to settle for my commander issuing orders to patrol the area.
Once I had the portal positioned as I liked, I clicked build on the menu. The ground bubbled before it burst as blue and black material flowed like water out from a spring. The liquid spread until there was a nice flat platform. The liquid then flowed up into a multifaceted ring that floated seemingly at random. I couldn’t help but watch with rapt attention. This was a truly magical scene.
The rings began to spin until there was a thrum as a transparent sheet of energy formed in the middle. The ring was easily large enough for a carriage to fit through with some extra space. The bottom section of the ring went into the platform making it flat for anything coming through. It was amazing to say the least.
Walking over to the portal once all the magical effects were over, I reached up to touch the portal formed in the center of the rings. A jolt of energy tossed my hand back not to mention giving me a tingling numb feeling in my hand. A message sprang into my vision.
Only Envoys and their caravans may use the portal. Please register your Envoy. Envoys will be protected for twenty-four hours while through the portal. Should Envoy attack any host city members, they will forfeit protection and be rendered unable to travel back through the portal. After twenty-four hours, Envoy will be pulled back through the portal.
Interesting. At least that meant an army wasn’t going to march through and take over. They would be pulled back through the portal after twenty-four hours. It looked like envoys were protected from harm as long as they don’t raise their hands against the host. I would have to make sure my diplomat was a patient person.
A timer hovered over the portal, so either the recipient of my portal was debating what the situation was, or it couldn’t be used continuously. Either way, I had six hours until anything new would happen with the portal. After the guards I had ordered for arrived, I left to get back to work on other matters.
Frist, I assigned people to the new structures. I was still in the process of making the city self-sufficient. It would still be a long time before I could have people creating their own businesses and such. Though, I looked forward to that day. While I was gone, Rowena took the liberty of assigning most of the new arrivals to the guard. Other than a few that I felt I couldn’t afford to let remain in the guard, most stayed.
Going through everything that I had missed in just two days took nearly eight hours. I really had to find an advisor or a Second that I could trust to manage the city while I was gone. Rowena was good and thorough, but at the same time, she was a player. She wanted to be out adventuring in this new world, not stuck babysitting my land.
I sighed and looked up to the sky. Evening was getting close. I only had about twenty minutes until the timer on the portal wound down and less than an hour before the new arrivals got here via the portal. I really had to figure out a protected way to get them down. A one-way portal would be best.
“One thing at a time, Maxwell. One thing at a time.”
Aurora
Maxwell and the one named Rowena went their separate ways. I debated what I was going to do now. I had made it inside the village like I planned. With a shrug, I made for some of the buildings. I wanted to learn about this place since I might attack it in the future. Only a few minutes of walking and I arrived at what appeared to be a workshop. As soon I as stepped over the threshold, I got a system notification.
New Skill: Espionage – Using your wits and acting skills, you’ve managed to sneak into an enemy location. Kaga has been accepted as a temporary member of the Alflona. Current Abilities unlocked: Forgery, False Identify.
I dismissed the notification after a quick read. It would make my life easier, though with a quick glance, much like Aru, the skill was tied to Kaga. I ignored that fact for the moment and turned my attention back to the workshop. Only one spot was taken, but there was spots for at least six people to work. Walking over to the table, I picked up a book.
Unable to learn Rune Crafting. Craft profession taken: Dungeon Core.
I chuckled at that, then replaced the book. I figured that would be too overpowered if all my bodies could learn a skill. I felt it was a pity. Since I was in the middle of gathering information, I walked over to the person working in the back. He was carving runes on a plate. The dark elf was so entranced by his work that he appeared not to notice me.
He suddenly took a deep breath as he put the plate down. “Are you done?” I asked.
“Gah!” I looked at him curiously. He really hadn’t noticed my approach. I looked at his wrists, but didn’t find a tattoo. Looked like it was an NPC.
“Sorry. Yes, I am done.”
“Hmmm…” I gestured at the plate, and he seemed to hesitate but handed it over. I didn’t have the runecrafting skill, thus I couldn’t identify it. “What is this a rune for?”
“Lightning trap.”
“Huh. Interesting.” I handed the plate back to the elf. I burned the rune into my brain. I might not be able to craft it, but I would avoid it in the future. I thanked the man then left. Maxwell’s village had a library and Mage’s tower built. Sadly, I had to leave when I found they were barely stocked. The library had some basic lore stuff, while the mage’s tower might as well have been a watch tower, it was so bear.
By this time, it was fully night. I had to find a place to stash my body. When I walked back to the town square, I found a caravan of horses and carriages. I walked over to join in the commotion. “Traders?” I asked more to myself.
A woman that had a jade necklace nodded. “Lord Maxwell created a portal earlier today. They came through there.” My mind flashed to the Ships of the Night option. I had chosen the resource node over the trading option. It would be interesting to see who answered the call of a group of Dark elves. If I remembered the lore correctly, the race was hated through the realm.
When I finally managed to peer through the crowd, I snorted when I saw that the caravan was made up of dark elves as well. I guess that was possible. Maxwell and what appeared to be the leader of the caravan shook hands. I pursed my lips not that excited that Maxwell’s power was growing.
I left the crowd and moved into the woods surrounding the village while staying inside the walls. I found a good place to hide by climbing a tree. I couldn’t just sit back and watch. I had to grow my power as well. I disconnected from the body and returned to my dungeon. I rubbed my head due to the headache that sprang to life. Prolonged usage of Telepathy was rough.
With a grin, I closed my eyes again then connected to Aru. Opening my eyes, my chamber in Twisted Web came into view. I rolled off the bed and stood up looking out the window. I really did enjoy the aesthetic of the place. I could stand here all day, but I had matters to take care of.
“Quin.”
The shadow demon appeared in front of me much like a ninja might in those Japanese movies. “Yes, my queen.”
“While I’m here, I want you to take a look around the city. Search for anything that might be a threat along with things that might aid me. I need materials. The higher the level the better.”
“Understood.” The demon faded back to shadow. I rubbed my head before heading out. It had been half a day since I was last in this body, and it felt a bit odd. Kaga didn’t have anything on her back which gave me a sense of being pulled on now that I was in this form. I ignored it and continued out of the temple building.
A few of the ascended subtly pointed and whispered to their companions when they saw me. I didn’t care if I was the talk of the town. I wanted to see if I could get some better materials for Everlid. Following my internal map, I quickly found the market. There was a little bit of everything. I made a note that I needed to come back for some other things later, but for now, I focused on the material.
Window shopping soon brought me to an alchemy shop. I pushed my way in to find an ascended and a non-ascended. The non-ascended moved all over the web covered shop checking over the stock. The ascended walked over to me with a pleasant smile.
“Welcome to the Web’s Diamond. Anything in particular that you’re looking for?”
“Anything level two and higher.” I didn’t want to waste too much time. Better to just have them show me their wares.
The woman nodded and led to the back then gestured to a display. “Here you are.” A shelf had several ores and gems on display. They had up to level four, but the price increased by two digits for every level. I could afford them with the city money, but I’m not sure those in the government would be happy about me spending ten million gold on a chunk of level five Jet Blue Agate without reason. I would hate to be the first leader this place ousted due to her spending.
“You don’t perhaps have a few small pieces that I might be able to take?” If I got a sample, I could recreate them back in the dungeon using mana. It would likely be expensive as shit, but it was cheaper than using gold.
“I’m afraid that would be difficult.” The non-ascended came over and whispered something to the woman. “But for you, we can make an exception.”
“Really?” I asked wondering what the spider had told her.
“Yes. If you give us your endorsement,” she replied with a business smile.
I laughed a bit on the inside. So that was the plan. Even brand new, having the leader of the city say they shopped here would be good for business. I decided it would be fine since I had nothing to lose. Even if they weren’t on the up and up, I wasn’t exactly honest myself. “I guess that’s fine. I’ll even announce it during the next fight.”
“That would be amazing! Deal!” The non-ascended moved into the back then returned with a sack. She handed it to me, and I checked the contents to find a dozen different finger sized ores and gems.
“Thank you. This will help me out a lot.” I left the shop and made my way back to the temple. I had expected to get one maybe two materials and have to plan for the rest, but to get twelve was a real score. Back in the room, I waited for Quin to return. I’d have her take the sack back to the dungeon.
The greater demon reappeared after a bit. One second, I was staring off into space contemplating my life, the next Quin was kneeling in front of me. “I have returned my queen.”
“Oh. Welcome back. Anything?”
“There are several that claim the change of power was a set up. Shoa’s dislike for the position has been known for several years now.”
“Think anyone will do anything?”
“It is doubtful. From what I could tell, the tournament is almost like a god to them. They will not disrespect it’s working. However, expect many challengers in the next one.”
“Great. Well, I expected as much. Here,” I handed her the bag. “Take this to the dungeon. I’ll meet you there.”
“As you wish.”
I let the body drop back as Quin vanished. Returning to my main body, I walked down to the opening. Quin was quick, I only had to wait a few seconds before she appeared, bag in hand. “Excellent. I’ll call for you when I want you to take some things down to my other body. For now, return to guarding.”
“As you wish, my queen.”