Misunderstanding leads to conflict, and lies are always misunderstood. It’d be a boring world if people suddenly decided to be honest.

~Morrigan, The Mysterious Goddess of Fate

Rosdoe had remained relatively peaceful after Crow’s people took over Vana Syndicate. But the entire city had a palpable tension that was building toward panic. It was like everyone inhaled sharply and held their breath, waiting for something to happen. It was even affecting Crow’s cultivation because tense minds disturbed the flow of mana in the city.

Nin’s people took less than a day to repair the wall, gate, and door. Mara filled the outbuildings that housed guards with her people, and soon the entire manor was bustling. They locked it down hard, not allowing any visitors to enter. People from the city council tried to come by a few times but didn’t try to force their way in. Right now, they had no actual evidence of wrongdoing and knew that the syndicate was now under Mara’s control. And while no one mentioned it, the council all knew that she had a lot of evidence of wrongdoing which made them break out into cold sweat.

Regardless, Crow didn’t plan on using any of that information unless they caused problems. It was enough to assuage their fears, and because of the straightforward way they brought it up, the council ordered the city guards to leave them be. Not that they’d willingly interfere unless ordered. It meant that Crow and his people experienced a rare moment of peace.

Mara’s people avoided direct criminal behavior, like theft, assault, and the like. Her casinos and other money-making schemes relied on people to bring them what they needed and then tricked them out of it. The city did not deem it illegal, just frowned on. However, it did alleviate the council’s concerns with Crow’s people. They wouldn’t punish them for other people’s stupidity, provided that is all they were doing.

None of that was important anymore. It wasn’t just Crow, but every cultivator within the manor’s grounds felt it. There was a subtle change in the air that things were finally coming to a head. Jumping to the top of the manor’s walls, Crow looked toward the west.

“What see?” Otto asked.

Crow looked over at him and shook his head. It wasn’t something seen but felt, and he knew tonight would be a sleepless night. Mara and Nin approached him, and the others gathered around. Song Xue spent a lot of time in the underground tunnels, securing things and releasing prisoners. She was also present because even she felt it.

“What do you want us to do?” Mara asked.

Before he could answer, Crow looked toward the south and saw a small contingent of heavily armed men approaching.

“Commander Drock,” Crow greeted him from atop the wall but didn’t open the gates.

“Invite me in?”

“Not sure. I doubt I can stop you from entering, but maybe my rejection is based purely on principle.”

“What does that mean?” Drock’s eyes narrowed.

“I believe you know that your interest in my wife goes beyond what I’d consider normal.”

Drock’s eyes roamed to Crow’s left and saw Mara standing next to him with her hand on his shoulder. A frown graced his face, and then he burst out laughing.

“I admit you have an enormous pair of balls on you. However, she’s my niece. Her father married my little sister. So I agree, my interest in her is above normal. Her father told me to keep an eye out for her and her sister.”

“Is Esme around?” Mara asked, her tense body relaxing. She didn’t expect this was the reason, and neither did Crow.

“I found her, but she’s with that Duncan boy. The two were drafted by a decently powerful sect, and they had already entered the next floor. They are safe. But all of you… this place is no longer safe.”

The gates opened, and Drock led his people inside. They didn’t approach the manor house but looked around in surprise. There were a lot more people handling the walls than he’d expected, and they hadn’t been sparing effort in building up their defenses. Drock nodded in admiration of these youngsters.

“You did all this?” Drock asked Crow.

“I don’t lead that way. You can consider the people around me as generals with equal say in all my matters.”

“You trust them that much?”

“I do. My father once told me if you have people around you, you do it for two reasons. The first reason is that you trust them, and if you trust them, do so without reserve because doubt will only strain that relationship.”

“And the second reason?” Commander Drock asked, curious as to who this kid’s father was. When he met the kid, he felt his authority didn’t match up to this boy. It was uncomfortable, but seeing how much Mara and the others cared for him, he felt their trust wasn’t unfounded.

“The second reason to keep someone around you is that you absolutely trust nothing about them.”

“Huh? That seems contradictory.”

Crow laughed. “If your distrust is that strong, it’s best to bring them in close so you can keep an eye on them at all times. After all, isn’t that why you keep Inspector Sands close at hand?”

Drock’s jaw fell open. His men heard every word, and he wanted to get angry at this kid but couldn’t find it in him to do so. Drock chuckled and nodded his head. “Good. Good. This is the kind of intelligence I can respect, and now I have nothing to worry about. I’ll let Mara’s father know she is doing better than her sister.”

“Now that the greetings are over… Tell me, how bad is it out there?” Crow asked.

He’d been hesitating on whether to leave this place and head toward the stairs. But they’d spent a bit of effort creating a foundation for their future growth. He knew the climb would never be smooth if he didn’t have a foundation that provided information, money, and resources.

More, he needed people. Ascending was not accomplished by sprinting toward the end but by taking a step-by-step approach to building a small empire. Had it just been him alone, it might be enough to rely solely on things like his Soul Carving, but he had wives, family, and others that depended on him.

Drock really found this boy more and more to his liking.

“We tried our best to stop it, but unless powerful figures from above come down to help, most of this floor is going to become host to roving hordes of the living dead. We’ve confirmed that the Hunger Curse has taken hold, and we dare not risk our resources out in the field anymore. Even now, the council is working on extending walls and connecting them in a semi-circle around Rosdoe.”

“Are you hoping the Keystone will aid you?” Nin asked. She quickly gave up the cafe as her headquarters because this manor was near the Keystone. It was for the best if it really did as people claimed it did.

“We know the Keystone has issued missions to aid this floor. However, we can’t rely on it completely. The Hunger Curse isn’t as simple as you think. It can affect beasts and anything with a certain level of intelligence. Some of those ravenous dead also retain a level of intelligence that is scary to see in a horde. If the walls hold, we can burn them down to ash and hope to regain control. However, it is more likely that people will bail and ascend.”

“Why?”

“The Hunger Curse will burn itself out. Once they can’t find anything living, they’ll go dormant and eventually collapse, causing the curse to unravel. They believe if they move up, wait it out, in a year or two, the curse will dissipate. Their thinking isn’t wrong, but not right either.”

“Because the undead can still climb up the stairs, right?” Crow asked. He was curious. He knew ordinary mortals could ascend without feeling the pressure because they lacked a Shield. Otto and Nin, for example, could walk up the stairs now if they wanted. Otto had a Source but wasn’t allowed to get a Shield, which Crow found odd. It wasn’t so bizarre that he rebelled against it, but it made him more curious about Otto’s origins. Regardless, the living dead should be able to climb like any other thing.

“Partially. If they were a cultivator before they turned, they still have a Shield. If they have already traveled to a higher floor, they should be able to climb without issue. But yes, if everyone bails, then they would easily gain access to the next floor. To make matters worse. The next floor doesn’t have a town near the stairs. You’ll understand why later, so unless they can muster an army to protect the floor, it could end up repeating itself. You still missed something important,” Commander Drock said mysteriously, but he pointed north.

“Fuck,” Crow muttered. “Wait, isn’t there an anti-mana formation in place there?”

“That might work if they were taking mana from another source to remain alive. These things are cursed, which is different. They sustain their life by devouring other life. It’s like they are living on borrowed vitality. This impacts the entire tower, which is why we should get some aid soon.”

“We’ll stay and fight for a time,” Crow claimed. The others said nothing because they already knew Crow wouldn’t just run away. However, that didn’t mean they hadn’t already started planning for the worst. All of them now had a decent amount of resources, and Mara gave the storage ring she received from Crow to Otto. So he now had a way to store goods, too.

Nin and Lily cared little, as they’d just hitch a ride in Crow’s Soulscape. Acco, Aine, and Ahote were also given a share of money and resources. It was primarily common goods and gold, which would be useless later, but for now, it was necessary.