Ralia quietly went around the house dusting off the dust that accumulated on the furniture when they were away. She sneered when her tail thumped against the sofa causing it to screech. The soft clinking of dishes came from the kitchen as Hope cleaned them, and Bella effortlessly glided through the house carrying two large baskets of laundry. The differences in their household skills are plain for all to see. A crash came from the kitchen, and the two of them rushed inside. Water soaked the front of Hope’s dress as she stared at a broken plate laying on the floor.

“Are you trying to wake the master,” Ralia hissed.

Hope stared at them with teary eyes, “I’m sorry,”

“Be a little more careful dear,” Bella set the baskets down, “I’ll clean the mess while you get changed into clean clothes,”

Hope nodded and ran out, but she quickly pulled off her dress and threw it onto the clothes pile. Ralia sighed as she watched the fey run upstairs in her undergarments, her stomps echoing through the house. A growl reverberated from her throat.

“Be patient with her,” Bella sighed as she threw the pieces into the rubbish bin.

“You’re going too easy on her,” Ralia said crossing her arms, “She needs discipline.”

Bella smirked, “Then why didn’t you do it,” Ralia growled at the taunt which caused Bella to chuckle, “It’s because of you, she has the habit of running around naked.”

“Is everything alright down there?”

They both jumped and quickly rushed into the main hall where they found Nathaniel leaning against the second-floor railing. Dark patches sat under his eyes, and his hair a mess. He scratched at his stubbly cheek as he yawned.

“We’re sorry for disturbing your sleep master,” Bella said with a bow, “Hope had an accident in the kitchen, but Ralia and I are taking care of it.”

Nathaniel perked up, “Is she alright?”

“I’m fine master,” Hope ran up behind him and hugged his waist, “But…I did break a plate. I’m sorry.”

Nathaniel brushed her hair, “It’s alright sweetie,” he said, “Just be more careful next time.” Hope nodded vigorously against his side.

“Please master, go back to bed,” Bella said, “You were up late last night, so you must be tired.”

“She’s right, you need your sleep,” Ralia stepped forward, “We’ll take care of everything.”

“How can I argue with that,” Nathaniel chuckled, “Thank you ladies. Really, I’m glad to have you here.”

“We’re glad to be here too,” The three of them said. Nathaniel smiled at them and disappeared back into his room.

“Once we’re done, we should probably leave the house,” Bella said turning around, “That way the master can get some proper sleep.”

Hope stormed down the stairs.

Ralia hissed at her, “Quiet, the master is sleeping,”

“Sorry,” Hope whimpered, “It’s my cybernetics.”

Bella gently brushed Hope’s hair, “Just be more careful. Now let’s finish cleaning.”

The women went back to cleaning and were finished by the end of the hour. They slipped outside. The cool autumn breeze blew as the late morning sun provided some warmth. They passed a group of housewives, who greeted them before going back to their gossip.

“Do you think that they…”

“Of course, look at them. Nathaniel must be taking them to his bed, especially the elf.”

“Scandalous, he should settle down and find himself a proper human wife.”

Ralia growled, but Bella couldn’t help but laugh. The women’s voices disappeared as they continued down the street. Not many people were out now. Most were taking care of the harvest or out logging, but a few of the youths wandered about trying to avoid work. They passed two young men, who snickered at them as their eyes lingered over Bella and Ralia, and they passed a group of young women who greeted them warmly.

“I’m starting to like this village,” Bella smiled tenderly.

“It’s fine,” Ralia scoffed as she snapped her tail as another group of young men approached, “I only care that the master is here.”

“I like it here a lot!” Hope laughed, “It’s nice to be around the forest again, even if stuff gets stuck in my hair.”

“Why don’t we ask Sierra to give you a haircut,” Bella said, “Cutting it short should stop that problem, and the master might enjoy seeing you with a new style.”

“Okay, let’s go see her now,” Hope ran off to the tavern.

They made their way to the tavern, and Hope burst inside. Oden and Sierra were cleaning the main hall. A few of the village elders sat around sipping on drinks as they enjoyed the peaceful quiet.

“Good morning,” Sierra smiled at them, but she continued to look past them, “No Nathaniel?”

Ralia smirked as she sat at the bar, “Master was up late last night, so he’s still asleep,” she said biting her nails. Sierra glared at the dragon-heart which caused Ralia to chuckle.

“Stop teasing her,” Bella said sitting next to her, “Master was working late last night.”

“I see,” Sierra sighed in relief.

Hope grabbed onto Sierra’s arm, “Can you give me a haircut?”

“Of course, sweetie,” Sierra smiled taking her hand, “Let’s go up to my room.”

“May I come,” Bella said.

“Of course,”

The three of them headed upstairs. Ralia scoffs but followed behind them. Sierra pulled out a stool and wrapped a towel around Hope’s shoulder. She pulled out a pair of shears and a comb from a drawer as Hope sat on the stool. Sierra slowly snipped small pieces of Hope’s hair away.

Bella leaned in, “You’re quite skilled,”

“Thanks,” Sierra laughed as she combed Hope’s hair, “A lot of villagers have been coming to me for haircuts, so my barber skill is a decent level.”

“What’s you class level?” Ralia said, sitting on the bed.

“Level six,” Sierra glanced at her.

Ralia laughed, “Only six!”

“I’m basic rank,” Sierra scoffed, “I don’t level as fast as higher ranked people.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Ignore her,” Bella knocked Ralia on the head.

Sierra nodded as she continued to cut Hope’s hair. After a few minutes, Sierra stepped away. Hope brushed the hair off her dress and looked in the mirror. Her hair barely brushed against her shoulders with the ends curling inwards.

A large smile came to Hope’s face, “It’s so light,” she laughed, swinging her head.

“I’m glad you like it,” Sierra hugged her, “Just let me know when you want another one.” Hope hugged her back, rubbing her face into Sierra’s chest. “Would you guys like to stay for lunch?”

“Sure,” the three nonhuman women said.

Nathaniel stretched and rose from his bed. He peeked out of the window and noticed the sun setting on the eastern horizon. The multiple long nights finally took their toll. He pulled on his clothes and headed downstairs. The smell of food filled the main hall, and Nathaniel’s stomach growled loudly.

“Master’s up!” Hope ran up the stairs and hugged him.

“You got a haircut,” Nathaniel smiled running his hand through her short hair.

“Yep, we went to Sierra’s, and she cut it for me,”

Nathaniel chuckled, “It looks good. We should get her something nice as thanks.”

“Why not more underwear!”

Nathaniel smiled nervously, “We’ll…talk about it,”

Nathaniel and Hope made their way downstairs. Ralia and Bella were setting the table. A pork stew was ladled into each of the bowls and water filled the cups. They each took their seats and enjoyed the simple meal. Laughter rang through the room, along with friendly teasing. Nathaniel was grateful for the comforting atmosphere that the women brought.

They all worked together to clean up, and then sat together in the sitting room. Ralia and Bella sat on either side of him with Hope sitting on his lap. They all watched the fire burn in the fireplace.

“Are you going to work late tonight again,” Hope yawned looking up at him.

“I am,” Nathaniel kissed the top of her head, “I’m almost done with this project, then I’ll go back to a normal schedule.”

“Couldn’t you hold it off for one night?” Ralia leaned against him running her finger along his arm.

Nathaniel kissed her, “I know you’re lonely,” he said, “This should be the last night, I promise.” Ralia sighed on his shoulder.

“We look forward to that,” Bella smiled, “We’ll be the first to see it, right?”

“Of course,” Nathaniel hugged Bella, “I’m sure you all are going to love it.”

“Then we shouldn’t keep you,” Bella nodded taking Hope, “Come ladies, let’s get ready for bed, so the master can get to work.”

Ralia and Hope looked at Nathaniel with a sad smile, then they followed Bella into the bath. Nathaniel watched them disappear before heading to the dungeon. Once he was close, Nathaniel [Warped] into the main chamber.

“Welcome back master,” Seneschal said.

“Evening Seneschal,” Nathaniel said heading to his workshop, “Let’s finish Project Paladin tonight.”

“I’ll get the training room ready while you finish the project,”

His workshop was a mess. Multiple armor pieces made of mithril-steel alloy sat on the central table. Nathaniel grabbed a piece that consisted of smaller segmented pieces. He flipped it over to reveal the orichalcum circuitry underneath the armor piece and started carving runes into four of the pieces. To most people, the rune would look with an intricate swirl with a cross, but he could make it out as a large e with small x near the top.

[New Rune created: Exponential Enhancement Rune]

[New skill created: Power Armor smith]

Nathaniel brushed off the shavings, “That should be it,” he smiled, “I’m going to get changed Seneschal, please have the armor pieces moved to the training room.”

Nathaniel headed to the changing room and stripped out of his clothes. He slipped on a skin suit and pulled up the zipper on the side of the chest. Orichalcum bars with neural transmission runes ran along the suit giving it a skeletal look. A level three power core sat in the center of his chest encased in an orichalcum ring. He stepped into the training room where the pieces of the armor sat on a long table. Two maintenance bots were waiting on him.

Nathaniel stared at the pieces on the table, “Two years,” he said with a sad smile, “I’ve taken everything that I’ve learned and put it into this single armor. Is it enough though?”

“Only one way to find out,”

Nathaniel nodded as the maintenance bots set two boots on the ground. He stepped into the boots and the bots secured the plates to the skeleton of the under armor with a satisfying click. Piece-by-piece the bots secured the plates of the legs, and then took the piece with the exponential enhancement runes and locked it to the spine. The back pieces locked to the spine and wrapped around to the side so that the front chest pieces could be secured. Lastly, the neck was secured, locked to the chest and back, and the helmet slid on with a hiss.

The moment the helmet was secured, the magic from the power core shot through the orichalcum circuits. This resulted in veins of blue energy pulsing along the armor. An image of the room appeared in front of Nathaniel’s face making it like he wasn’t wearing anything over his face at all and status information sat along the edge of his vision.

[Paladin power armor created. Status: UA]

[New skill created: Power Armor Lv. 1]

[As the creator of power armor, you have been granted the talent: Power Armor Expert]

“Testing movement,” Nathaniel said.

Slowly, he raised his hand. There were no restrictions to the articulations of the fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulders, and the neck moved freely as he looked around the room. His footsteps sounded with a heavy thud, but he couldn’t feel the weight of the armor.

“Movement test complete,” Nathaniel smiled, “The motor runes are working. Next, testing the neural control rune.”

Nathaniel focused on his HUD. A comprehensive list of all the runes carved into the armor appeared along with the amount of power still available from the power core. Power: 100/150. Fifty points of power were diverted to the motor runes. Nathaniel activated the speed runes in the legs by focusing on the winged symbols on the HUD, and the power dropped to ninety-six. He ran the length of the training ground in seconds, and the power remained the same. He activated the shield rune in the left arm causing a medium sized heater shield to appear, then he activated the arcane cannon in the right arm. The power dropped to fifty points, and with a thought he deactivated all three runes.

“Test complete. Activating the runes seems slow, but I’m thinking that’s a skill issue rather than a defect in the armor,” Nathaniel sighed, “The last thing I want to test tonight is the exponential enhancement runes. Lower shields.”

The walls enclosed around him. A single light kept the enclosure lit as he activated the first enhancement rune. The power dropped to seventy-five, and electricity coursed through his body.

• Stats:

o Strength: 45 (Max) (2,025)

o Dexterity: 50 (Max) (2,500)

o Constitution: 90 (8,100)

o Intelligence: 205 (42,025)

o Wisdom: 85 (Max) (7,225)

o Charisma: 30 (Max) (900)

“First rune is a success,” Nathaniel said licking his lips. There was a tingling sensation in his mouth, “All stat values have been squared.”

“Should we test two?”

Nathaniel nodded, “Activating second rune,” The electrical sensation intensified, but thankfully it was not painful.

• Stats:

o Strength: 45 (Max) (91,125)

o Dexterity: 50 (Max) (125,00)

o Constitution: 90 (729,000)

o Intelligence: 205 (8,615,125)

o Wisdom: 85 (Max) (614,125)

o Charisma: 30 (Max) (27,000)

Nathaniel grunted as the tingling ran through his mouth and down his whole body, “Test complete,” he said raising his arm. It felt like his arm wasn’t even there, “Note, base stats values have been cubed.”

“So, two runes enhance your base values by a power of three,” Seneschal said worriedly, “Master, you have four runes carved into that armor. If the pattern holds, then all four will enhance your stats by a power of five. I doubt the armor, or you, would be able to handle that much power.”

“Agreed,” Nathaniel said, “I’m certain my legendary rank is what’s allowing me to handle this much power already. After testing, place a lock on the armor so that I can’t inadvertently activate all four runes,” Nathaniel took a deep breath, “Deactivating runes.”

The power ceased coursing through Nathaniel’s body, and it was replaced by exhaustion and pain. Nathaniel’s screams tore through the space as the walls quickly retracted, and the maintenance bots rapidly disassembled the armor. Finally free, Nathaniel walked around the room with a stiff gait, and after a few moments the pain subsided.

“Damn, I think that was the worst cramp I’ve ever had in my life,” Nathaniel panted as the maintenance bots held him up. “I’ll need to train myself up before I can use more than one rune.”

“I’ll have your room ready for you,”

“Thanks Seneschal, I don’t think I can make it home in this condition.”

Geega sat on top of his golem with a green oculus over his left eye. The contraption allowed him to see through the eyes of his familiar, a mechanical owl that he had sent up ahead. It showed him a small human village sitting on the edge of the dungeon.

“I don’t understand!” Geega scratched at the few strands of hair still on his head, “Humans don’t claim dungeons, they strip them bare. So, why is one here?”

“Could the humans have changed,” Ubaal said staring up at his master.

“Humans don’t change,” Geega snarled, “Their strength lies in numbers, and their ability to come together. With Everhall being as lush as it is, they have no need of harnessing the power of the dungeon cores.”

“Then, what should we do?”

“We’re taking that dungeon,” Geega sighed pulling off the oculus, “Regardless of anything else, we need that core!”