~~~Lee~~~

The way the anubi looked at Lee made him feel extremely uneasy. That, and what they'd told him about the undead. How Stanley was doomed to fight a supposedly unbeatable foe… That was why he'd avoided the garage the day before and instead gone to join Martin's evening training in the field outside.

It didn't give him more bonus attributes; lots of people had tried that, despite Martin telling them it wouldn't work. But it was still sword training, and Lee hadn't forgotten how outmatched he'd been against the elves...

Training Complete.

+1 All Base Attributes

His morning training still gave him the attributes, though, and then Lee had to go see what the anubi wanted... after a shower.

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to them. Hell, he had a lot of questions to ask. What bothered him the most about them was that they'd practically sold themselves into slavery... to him.

So that was his first question when he finally laid eyes on Trak again. "Why? Why did you swear that oath?"

"I..." Trak hesitated, still bowing...

"Stop bowing already! It isn't right!"

"Forgive me, my lord."

Lee gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to yell at the little guy. "I'm Lee. Not a lord. Not my lord. Just Lee."

"Our matriarch begs an audience, my l..." he choked on the last word, almost bowed, then hurried into the stone room while pulling his magic necklace off.

Bradley had apparently come back at some point and built them a room. He'd built a lot of rooms... none of which had doors yet. Lee followed Trak in, pushing aside the blanket acting as a door for now.

He watched Trak place the amulet gently around the neck of the anubi Lee presumed to be the matriarch.

It was the older anubi they'd all been looking at so much the day before...

"My lord," she said softly, and immediately held up a nearly white paw. "Please have patience with my children, human Lee. I was the one who bade them take this leap. I was the one who bade them to flee and leave so many of our pack behind. Now we grieve for what we lost and what we sacrificed. I beg you for your patience."

"I..." Lee swallowed his protest. "Why did... was it... why the oath?"

"Allow me a question of my own," she breathed, barely above a whisper. "Why did you accept us into your service?"

"I... for potions." No point in lying. They couldn't do anything about it now... or could they?

She smiled, or at least he felt like she did. "Honesty. Thank you."

"So, why..."

"Trak will answer all your questions, but my time nears its end. Please indulge me. What will you do with my children?"

"I will release them from their oath..."

"Do not."

"But... can't you swear a better one? Something like a mutual defense pact?"

She smiled again, closed her eyes, and sighed out in the faintest whisper. "I made the right... choice."

Then she died.

It was so sudden that Lee didn't believe it at first, but Mana Mind didn't lie, and he saw her core form as the aura that usually kept him out vanished... The keening howls that followed only made it worse. "I..."

He retreated.

This was... something he didn't know how to handle. The sorrow was palpable, even without his lordly understanding helping. The howling made him want to cry...

So Lee retreated and left them to their grief. It was all he could do.

The guards in the garage looked alarmed at the noise, and Lee took a minute to tell them what was happening. He didn't know what funeral rites they had, so it was best to cover the bases. "Just let them go wherever and do whatever they want."

Lee went back upstairs for breakfast, but he could still hear them crying and didn't feel like eating anymore... even though he needed to. So he summoned a plate and hid himself in the silence of his soul storage while working on his latest idea for new runes.

The exploding plates were a solid weapon, but he expected they would prove less useful on the more sturdy monsters. The flies were weak but made up for it with numbers, making them a perfect enemy for his bombs. They'd probably work great on the ticks as well... whereas something like the chickens might take more effort.

His runes worked better the more they focused on improving the item itself. Even extending his machete blade came with a drastic loss in cutting power compared to the actual physical edge.

Blowing up the plates unleashed power, sure, but it was less bang for his buck than he could achieve with clever runes. He could enchant the plates into circular blades and kill far more flies with the same amount of mana. Assuming he could throw or make the plates fly around... which was exactly what he wanted to do.

His first attempt was just to make it hover in place with a mana-repelling rune. A mana magnet. Of sorts.

The plate flipped over almost immediately and slammed into the ground. Sorry, Three. The second one worked better, except for hovering thirty feet above the courtyard... A few tweaks later, and he had one that would hover a few feet above the ground. Without flipping.

Then he had to figure out how to combine that with a cutting rune... and a way to make it chase monsters... or even just move in a programmed maneuver.

Lee stopped before trying to get the cutting rune on there.

The last thing any of them needed was a deadly weapon flying around in here. Because it turned out Martin's magic teaching skills helped teach more than sword fighting, and now they had a school going in the courtyard.

On that thought, Lee finally noticed the many turning heads that were watching his magic show with intense interest, and to the detriment of their schooling...

Sorry, Martin. Lee took his plate and the burrito before fleeing upstairs. He was supposed to have another hunt later but wasn't in a big hurry to get back out there after that last trip. It wasn't as pressing to gather cores anymore, either.

Alejandro had sent people back out yesterday to gather the thousands of cores left behind from Lee's slaughter.

That had made a huge dent, but wasn't all. Lee saw a new pile of cores in front of his door before he got there.

Hundreds of cores. Donations from the grateful survivors of his border run, no doubt... a reward for... his death.

I died.

That instant of blinding light. Flesh searing heat. Darkness... the void... the end. Nothing.

No! Lee tried to take a step... and landed on his hands and knees while his vision blurred. No! He clapped a hand over his mouth before the scream could escape.

no.

He curled into a ball on the cold cement, both hands clasped over his mouth to muffle the screams that he choked down into mere sobs.

It hurt so much... he didn't want to remember.

More than all that, Lee didn't want anyone to hear him. He didn't want them to see him like this... They didn't need to know it was all a sham. They didn't need to know he was weak.

He tried to crawl to the door... to get inside, where he would be safe... but he couldn't move.

Lines of power hummed along beneath him, hidden behind a veneer of cement that did nothing to block his senses. It was into that tapestry that Lee sent his mind. His thoughts rode along with the glowing energy as it flowed non-stop through the lines and patterns.

He basked in that comforting light until the shaking subsided and the tears dried up.

Lee finally crawled to his feet sometime later, but didn't look toward the anubi, where it was bowing with its face to the floor... He could order it not to say anything. It had to obey him. Right?

"Trak?" He wasn’t one hundred percent sure which anubi it was.

"Yes, my lord!"

"I want... can you take those cores away?"

"At once!" Trak sprinted over and started shoveling the cores into a series of small pouches.

Lee went past him into his apartment and dropped onto the couch. He sat in a daze for too long, then shook his head and stuck the hover rune back onto the plate. Self pity wouldn't help anyone. Not him. Not Stanley. He needed to keep moving. It was the only way to survive. The only way to save Stanley.

So he went into his soul storage and got back to work.

He made no progress because Trak hadn't left after collecting the cores... Now he was bowing outside the door. Poor guy. He already swore to serve me and only found out afterward how big a mistake it was...

Or maybe he wanted to ask for their freedom?

Lee sent a thought to Three and was pleased to see his door swing open on its own. He'd been worried the day before... not that he could detect much difference in the runes between now and then. They were all still blindingly bright. But there was less rebar sticking out of the walls... so that was a good sign. Right?

"Come in, Trak. What do you need?" He wouldn't mention his breakdown if the anubi didn't...

Trak didn't look directly at him as he hurried through the door, but Lee saw his eyes roving around the space. Then he flinched when the door closed behind him, bowed again, then held up the cores... "Where shall I place these, my lord?"

"Keep em."

Trak stiffened and then lifted his head. "My lord, are you displeased with your subject's offerings?"

Lee sighed. "No, Trak. And they aren't my subjects." You're my only subjects. And your mother... or grandmother wanted me to keep you enslaved.

"It is common for the weak to serve the strong. Paying a tribute for protection is only natural."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

I didn't save them, Lee thought. I saved Alejandro and Saira... I don't even know any of these people. Matias saved more of them than I did... and he died. I died...

Everything felt wrong... He was alive... but he had died. They thanked him for dying... rewarded him for dying.

Alejandro must have told people he needed cores. Now they kept coming.

It was a good thing. He needed the cores. But every one of those little glowing rocks—each smiling and grateful face—all of them dragged him back to that void... where he died.

Trak had his face back on the floor when Lee wiped a sleeve through his eyes. It was embarrassing, but the poor little guy probably thought he had to stay.

"You can leave, Trak. I'm sorry about your... matriarch, but I can set you free. All of..."

"Forgive me, my lord! Do not punish my pack for my transgressions! I beg of you!"

"I'm not punishing... Wait... what did you do?"

"My lord... forgive me. I do not know where I have erred, but I beg you to punish me alone!"

"Trak, what are you talking about?"

"You... wish to cast us aside?"

"I just want to free you. It doesn't mean you can't stay here. Everyone will love you if the potions work like Mar said they did."

"My lord, may I... speak freely?"

Lee sighed. "That's all I've wanted you to do since we met."

"You hold a legendary class. I believe it to be the Runic class, but as I have only read stories that most consider myths, I cannot say for certain. What I know without doubt is that I will do whatever is asked of me without hesitation if you will only allow my pack to remain in your service!"

"How do you know I have a legendary class?" Was it why they all stared at him? Did he have a glowing L on his forehead?

"I... everyone knows... do they not?"

"How?"

"I can feel it, my lord. It is undeniable. Even the mindless beasts would know you on sight..."

"They..." Lee remembered all the times monsters chased him and only him. "What does that mean? Is that why they all attack me? Why?"

"Because... you will drop a class shard if you..." Trak groveled again, as if afraid his words would offend. "If you die."

"I..." Lee wasn't sure how to process the news. Class shards were apparently a thing, and... everyone would know he was a legendary class and that they could take his class if they killed him. Forget hiding the Mana Well, this was... "Wait, beasts can use class shards?" He had a hard time picturing a giant frog as a runic…

"Some, though I suspect they would take the attributes instead... it is said to be enough for instant advancement to the next grade..."

"And everyone will just know that?"

"Ah, perhaps your world is young enough that the knowledge has not spread. Do you know how many generations have lived since saturation?"

Lee remembered someone saying something about saturation—a flash of... static.

"Generations? It was... maybe a few weeks ago? I'm not sure, exactly. It feels so much longer... and we already have E-grades popping up."

Trak froze again. "Saturation was only two ten-days ago?"

"Something like that. Why?"

"My lord," Trak gasped. "That's..."

"What?"

"Your world is advancing! Whoever claimed it must wish for a higher grade dungeon!"

There was a lot to unpack in that statement, but Trak rushed on before Lee could decide what to ask about first. "If anyone can survive the coming storm, it will be you! It must be you! Please keep us with you! None will serve more faithfully or..."

"What are you talking about? What storm? Who claimed what?"

Trak collected himself and barked more slowly. "Apologies, my lord. I would not presume to imply ignorance..."

"Just tell me! I already told you to speak freely."

"Dungeon worlds do not advance this fast without intervention. As this world is only F-grade, the only explanation is that the Great System has granted a god dominion over this world and that one wishes to advance the dungeon to a higher grade. It will make our survival difficult, but with you... a legendary class, we will have a chance! Please, do not cast us out! We will serve..."

"I'm not kicking you out!" Lee shouted. He would have felt bad about screaming, except Trak looked ridiculously happy at the outburst.

"Thank you, my lord!"

"What do you mean by a god?"

"It is the title given to those higher grades who... well, I don't know how they become gods... It is said they hold a power greater than anything else."

"Like liquid mana?"

Trak perked up. "Is that what you use, my lord!? I knew it was mana... but so much!" Then Trak's eyes widened, and he threw himself on the floor. "Forgive me, my lord! I ask of things beyond my station!"

"What part of speaking freely don't you understand? So liquid mana isn't what the gods use?" Lee had a bad feeling about where this was going.

"Yes," Trak said, sitting up slowly. "Something beyond even your mana, my lord. I do not know what it is, but I have felt it... once."

"You've seen the gods?"

"No, my lord! I am far beneath any such beings... but I felt something. The entire city—perhaps the entire world—felt it. The rumors were that the gods did battle above our world..."

"What did it feel like?"

Trak huddled lower. "It felt like power, my lord. Terrifying power."

Trak must have seen something on Lee's face because he quickly added, "It is not a bad thing to have a god already! Depending on how far they wish to progress, we only have to survive, and our advancement is all but guaranteed! Having your world already claimed means we will not have to fear the gods who would otherwise come here... to... claim... it..." he trailed off with nervous glances at Lee.

That was terrible news. "How do they claim worlds?"

"I think they just do... but it is too early for a god to have claimed your world without the Great System's permission. So they must have earned it through a quest."

"They can't just... attack us?"

"The Great System protects dungeon worlds, and the dungeon grade limits the strength of those who would come here to do battle."

Okay. That was good. But Lee could remember someone saying something about... greater challenges... and... static.

"I..." Lee couldn't seem to catch his breath. Something was wrong... "I need to... where's Alejandro? I need..."

"I will find your brother!" Trak bounded to his feet and sprinted for the door. Then he ran back and dropped his belt of pouches. "Your cores, my lord!"

Lee felt like the world was spinning around him as he sat frozen on the couch. A minute ago, the source was just a mysterious power that felt familiar and let him make Three. Now he had a terrible feeling that it was so much more.

So much worse.

He still couldn't remember, but he knew they'd taken it that day in the mountains. They'd done... something to claim it. Sacrificed... something. Their trait... Source Nexus. It had protected them just enough to survive... It wasn't an accident! They'd done that!

Now so-called gods would come to earth. To claim it. They were doomed... and it was all their own fault.

Lee hyperventilated alone in his apartment until Trak came sprinting back on all fours with Alejandro clanking along behind.

"What happened!?" Alejandro burst through the open door, sword in hand and shield ready. His eyes leapt around the room before landing on Lee, and he relaxed slightly. "Lee? You okay?"

Lee told Three to shut the door behind them and then looked at Trak. "Tell him what you told me."

Trak repeated his explanation while Alejandro's eyes widened further and further. When it was done, Alejandro turned to Lee. "Is this power... is it what you told us about? Does that mean..."

Lee nodded while his stomach churned. "Yes. It means the gods will come for me, and you need to run away!"

"Trak," Alejandro said. "What are these gods you spoke of? Are they true gods? You said gods plural, so that means there's more than one? How powerful are they, and can they attack us here?"

"I have heard tales of gods so far above the others that some might consider them true gods, but really, the gods are simply higher grades. I know only what rumors reached me, and subjects involving the gods are always prone to exaggeration... or complete fabrications, because who can check? Honestly, it's hard to find reliable information when one is only..."

"Trak, the gods attacking us?" Alejandro said while nudging the rambling anubi.

"Yes, um, the grade of the dungeon determines who may enter this world. The gods are all A-grade or above, as far as I know. The only god we need fear is the one who controls this world... it could enter as it pleases... You must tell no one of your class, my lord! While our god may look favorably on you and raise you up themselves, they may also decide to kill you and take the class shard."

"See?" Alejandro smiled at Lee. "Nothing to worry about. Just don't kill yourself, and it's all good, right?" He wasn't taking any of this seriously...

Trak wasn't moving as he stared at Lee. Though it looked like he was shaking slightly... Were the gods that terrifying? They'd have to be if people called them gods, right?

He kept not moving...

"Trak? I can still let you out of your..."

"You are..." Trak gasped, then shook his head. "No. That's impossible! You are F-grade... even a legendary class can not touch the power of the gods... I would have felt it..."

Lee eyed the alien creature as a new thought occurred to him, one he should have considered before opening his damn mouth. "You sure you want to stay here, Trak? I have a question for you, one that you may not even be able to answer, but once you hear it, you can probably never leave."

Trak threw himself to the floor. "Ask, my lord!"

"What happens to a dungeon world if, say, I held a god's power? Would we still be protected from higher grades invading?"

"I don't... it is impossible. Forgive me, my lord, but you would die!"

Lee sighed and said, "Show yourself, Three."

Light bloomed from the floor, walls, ceiling, and even the windows in a blazing tapestry of power that couldn't be mistaken for anything but what it was.

A thought to the building later, and it all faded away. Lee knew that no one else outside his apartment had seen or felt anything. Primarily because he hadn't wanted them to. Especially the children in the courtyard...

Trak was visibly trembling on the floor. Not even trembling, he was shaking violently as he whispered, "A god!"

Did I scare him too much?

Then he bowed with his face to the floor and howled, "I vow my life, my pack, and my line to the god Lee Cascade! Our lives are his! To our last breath, we will fight and die in his name!"

You have gained an Oath of Life from the entire Druller Pack of Anubi(Pending full acceptance). If accepted, this oath binds the Druller Pack of Anubi, including all future members and offspring, into your service in perpetuity. Or until such time as you release them from the oath.

Betrayal of the oath by any member of the Druller Pack will result in immediate death.

As the sworn party, their lives are yours to do with as you please.

Accept? Y/N

Lee didn't scream at the lunatic dog. But he wanted to. "What is wrong with you?"

"Forgive me, my lord! I was presumptuous and arrogant! I offer my life in payment! My kin can still serve you, and they will!" He was howling behind the magic translation...

Something about what he said, though... "Why is it presumptuous? Why would I want to kill you for trying to enslave your entire family to me? Stand up and look at me!"

Trak practically bounced to his feet, then stood there trembling. "I..." His eyes widened. "You do not know..."

"Then tell me!"

"We... would... by tying ourselves to your majesty, new paths of power would become open to us. To our offspring. Evolutions that we would never see otherwise! To bind ourselves to a legendary was the greatest option ever afforded to the entire Druller line... But... to bind ourselves to a god... I do not even know where that will lead... I only know that it is beyond my wildest dreams."

"Oath of life? Was that really necessary? Aren't you bound to me already?"

"I... feared you would cast us out. We are nothing to you, and I bound you to protect us... Forgive me. I did not know..."

"You already have to keep my secrets, right?"

"We are bound not to betray you, but we would be free if you ever broke the oath... it is a risk you should not allow!"

"Does the oath of life give you any more benefits?"

"No, my lord."

"Then forget it. I already don't like the first one, but I'll let it be, for now. There has to be a better way for people to get evolutions... So, what about the other gods attacking us?"

Trak straightened and then slumped. "I do not know. My knowledge is all rumor and hearsay. Normally, a graded dungeon only allows that grade or lower to invade. That is well known, but this is unprecedented, or at least not something I've ever heard of."

"It is actually unprecedented," Lee mused. "I got a title for doing the impossible..."

It was obvious Trak wanted to know more with the way he was quivering... "Just some bonus attributes. Nothing special."

Alejandro was still grinning, and his smile only widened when Lee looked at him. "I can't wait to tell Maria that you're a god."

Lee groaned. "What is wrong with you?"

"Smile, Lee. Rejoice in our lives!" He stepped closer and sat on the couch. "I know it is hard, and while I do not know the true price you have paid, I know it is not an easy burden. Let me carry some of it. Let all of us carry some. Together, it will not be so heavy."

Lee eyed Trak. Had the anubi ratted on him for his breakdown?

Alejandro held up his hand, and Lee clasped it, knowing full well what was coming. As expected, the man pulled him into a one-armed hug. "We're all in this together... so take these cores..." He dropped the belt of pouches on Lee's lap. "...and absorb them already. Because I'm going to bring more every day. Also, I'm about to head out to investigate a potential E-grade lair..."

Mana Saturation of Dungeon World (Earth) has reached the E-grade Threshold.

Dungeon World (Earth) has ranked up to E-grade.

As your dungeon grows, you will face new challenges. Gather your allies. Grow stronger. Prepare to defend your dungeon. Fight!

"...wanna come?"