- Chapter 7 -

Seventh Heaven

I took a depth breath to calm myself. Gravis moved forward, placing himself in between me and the entrance. Is it the Dwarves? Have they found us? I knew it was a risk but this location was quite the distance from their capital, or any of their cities for that matter. How could they track us down so soon? My expression grew gloomier when I thought, they also probably looted all the valuables in that area of the old Dungeon! Damn! “Gravis.”

“Yes, my Lord?”

“Can you command undead? Because I have many in my Core.”

“Of course, my Lord.”

“That’s excellent. You said you could sense them? How confident are you in defeating them?”

“Don’t worry, taking out their leader will render them helpless before me.”

I frowned at his words. How can you tell the Dwarves are that undisciplined... or is it that the leader is the only threat? Maybe they underestimated me because I’m a new-born Dungeon. Still, how can he be so sure? “Gravis! I don’t care if an army of bunnies comes marching through that door, they are NOT to be underestimated.”

Gravis was quick to reply, “I would never neglect the safety of my Lord.”

“Good. Neutralise them as quickly as possible. We can’t let them send word back to request reinforcements, or even worse, inform others of my Death affinity. What my Core looks like would probably leak too.” As I started searching my Core as quickly as possible I muttered, “Hopefully Dwarves being here is just a coincidence and not officially sanctioned.”

Knowing I was distracted and could immerse ourselves even more deeply in shit if I made a mistake I focused on the task at hand and asked, “How many can you control?” Pulling out more than that would be bad.

“It would depend on the type of Undead my Lord.”

“Err…I think they’re just called skeletons?”

“Ten shall be sufficient my Lord.”

“OK.” I nodded. Assuming his confidence in soundly defeating the invaders wasn’t ill founded, I decided to search for Undead that looked leaner and faster. This was under the assumption that the biggest problem would be making sure they didn’t escape. In other words, chasing them down. But that was easier said than done. They were literally all bone and no muscle. I had to guess- would it even make a difference though? Looking them over I picked 10 Skeletons that I, like earlier, believed to be Elves. Of the ones I picked eight had long and slender swords while two of them had long- and frankly delicate looking- bows. Yes, some ranged warriors would also be a good idea, I’m sure. Plus, Elves are always one of the stronger races in, like, every fantasy world... right? I notified Gravis to be ready the moment I took them out for fear of them shrugging of my control. For the first time since he faced the entrance Gravis looked away, appraising his soon to be minions.

“As to be expected of my Lord. Skeletal Elves- and ones on the verge of becoming Fallen at that.” His excitement translated into enough movement to shift the shadows that obscured much of his face. I saw his mouth curve ever so slightly into a smile. I wished the shadows stayed where they bloody where.

That ‘smile’ could have been the twitching of a dried and gaping wound but I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. I felt a little chill run up my spine watching it. I had to come to terms with the fact that this world… can produce this. “Oh?... Good,” Came my strained reply. What kind of nightmarish world am I about to die in?

Parallel Me chipped in, “It’s a good thing we put them away. An Undead type ‘Fallen’ is a when the corpse retains instincts, impulses and sometimes fragmented memories of who it once was. While it makes them a lot more versatile, being able to think and learn to a degree, it also proportionally makes maintaining control harder.”

“My Lord, I will now use a command spell to permanently take control, however I implore you to focus your mana on not resisting lest you unnecessarily waste it.”

“Yes, of course.” I called upon my previous, merger experience, and willed them to defect to Gravis.

“Call of the Undead!” Gravis shouted. Dark light pulsed from Gravis’ raised hand. The Skeletal Elves stood straighter and simultaneously looked to Gravis. Not saying a word Gravis once again faced the wall. The Elves followed suit, the two archers flanking him on either side while the swordsmen took the vanguard.

I couldn't help but gape at the contrast between their movements under Gravis’ control and mine. They worked in perfect tandem, showing coordination and purpose that put my previous efforts to shame. Metal clashing against metal resounded as the Elves raised and interlocked their shields, bringing their swords above their heads, pointed forwards and angled slightly downwards. They marched forward, almost in a half crouch. Gravis, flanked by the two rangers, moved at a slower pace. Eventually the warrior Elves were only a dozen or so meters from the entrance, with Gravis and the rangers more than two dozen meters behind them. I placed myself in front of my Core, ready to manipulate some earth into people's faces, preferably at really high speeds. I knew I wouldn’t be able to, my experience saw to that. But just in case, I was ready.

Crack.

A crack had spread on the compacted rock that was my blockade. It shook and grew with every thud that echoed throughout the cavern.

Boom.

The cracks grew wider and longer. I think I could see movement on the other side.

Boom.

One final blow sent rubble flying everywhere. There was a moment of pause, prompting my heart to crawl up my throat. Then the enemies shuffled onto the field. What? Undead slowly flooded out into the cavern, moving as one. My mind spun as I tried to understand what was happening. Movement originating from the invaders stopped those thoughts in its tracks. The invaders spread out and a figure cloaked in black emerged from the centre. It strode forwards with confidence before it raised his arms above its head and faced the ceiling. I could hear it inhale like a corpse taking its first breath. Its breath was ragged, course and-

SPLAT. A sinister streak of dark lighting sent parts of the figures head catapulting backward, decorating the walls in rotten goop. Gravis kept his arm raised as he intoned, “Create Undead!”. The figure’s falling body stopped midway as a foot burst out of its chest and landed firmly on the ground. The body started to twist and writhe as one limb after another clawed its way out, pushing away bone and muscle. Gravis’ new creation stood erect and shrugged of the remains of the figure that clung to his body. “Take control of those Undead.” He commanded.

“As you wish.” came the rasping reply. “Call of the Undead.” The would-be invaders stopped moving.

It’s over? After waiting a few seconds and nothing still happening I said, “Well that was anticlimactic.”

“Sorry my lord. Should I have out on a show?”

“Ah... no… no, it’s fine. I told you to neutralise them as quickly as possible. Good job.”

“You flatter me my Lord.” Gravis bowed.

I need to unravel this situation. So, the invaders weren’t Dwarves? He never said anything about dwarves. They’re Undead... that would explain how he was able to sense them. “Do you sense any more hostiles Gravis? And are these ones under your control…?”

“I sense no nearby threats. Those Undead are under that Lich’s control and he is under mine.”

A Lich? “Are you saying that, effectively, all these new Undead are under your control for the price ‘one’?”

“Yes.”

Oh, that is cheat-y. No wonder the Undead are public enemy... number two? Demons are number one, right? What sort of power do they possess that makes them public enemy number one? Thinking back to the Undead that were so easily subdued when I first arrived I couldn’t help but ask, “Why did they attack?”

Parallel Me explained, “They’re attracted to the high levels of mana- it is essential for their growth. But if your mana can’t subdue them fast enough then you’ve just attracted monsters just want to claim this territory for themselves.”

That sounds problematic. “Gravis I want you to clear out clear out and blockade the nest room.”

“But my Lord, you will be unprotected!”

Parallel Me said to Gravis, “Leave the new Lich here, that way if anything happens you will know. Besides it’s only the next room.”

“As you wish.” Gravis replied.

Watching Gravis leave Parallel Me cautioned, “Are you sure about this, it’s risky.”

“We’re currently the one of the most valuable treasures in existence and totally defenceless at that. Everything we do is risky. We need to take advantage of the fact that we probably haven’t been discovered and hopefully won’t if we isolate ourselves. Until we are ready that is.”

“If he dies the new Lich will be a threat.”

“You called Elder Liches, quote, ‘walking calamities’. If he can blockade the path to us we will have less raids to worry about.”

“He is a Superior class monster, nothing is likely to be a threat to him. Especially since, for some reason, the undead have only started to start spawning now. And the longer we leave it the worse it will get.”

“I’m glad we agree. So, let's purchase some monsters, OK?”

***

“There are so many options… I feel like a kid in a candy store.” I cooed. Parallel Me had just informed me that we had a whopping 100,000 DP to spend, curtsey of being a Godlike Dungeon core.

“Don’t even bother paying attention to the expensive ones, we need to start small. A higher number of monsters will take more of an advantage of our {Spark of Evaluation} ability anyway.”

“Ok, cheap ones… cheap ones… ah I think I found a whole bunch under the ‘animals’ category.”

“Did you say, ‘Animals category’?”

“Yes.” I replied.

Parallel Me stopped looking over his screen and looked at mine. “What tab is that under?”

As I showed him the rabbit hole of tabs he looked confused. “What is all this junk… It’s not supposed to be here…” Pensive, he scrolled through options and looked it over some more. Eventually he said, “I don’t get it. They shouldn’t be here- available for purchase.”

“Why?”

“Any of it, it wasn’t mentioned in the tutorial, and it gave at least a brief overview of everything in it. Take these animals for example; they’re animals not even monsters!”

“What's the difference?”

“Animals are just ordinary organisms, in that they don’t utilize mana. Monsters are organisms that can, at least on a subconscious level because they have mana cores. Wait, I think I remember you getting, as part of an achievement or reward, items added to the store. I think this is it. It must be stuff from earth… what is it sorting it by?”

“Earth? You mean-“

Holding up a hand Parallel Me halted my sentence in its tracks, “Don’t get your hopes up, I haven’t seen any electronics so far and I can’t imagine The System letting them slip through.” Soon Parallel Me gave up trying to figure out the organisation behind the tabs.

“Are animals useless?”

“... It’s not like ordinary animals can’t kill humans.”

“Yes, but; magic wielding people?”

“Magic or not, who wants to be bitten by a snake or let a bear swipe at your face? At the very least they can become monsters, all they need is a little time.

“That sounds like a project for latter.”

“Yeah. We need something useful now. Speaking of which I think Golems may be a good choice.”

“Golems, uh? How much would they cost? How good are they?”

“Well to purchase made of stone from the store costs 1000 DP. They are basically slow-moving meat shields that can only dish out damage if something is stupid or slow enough to stay within reach. Thankfully lower level adventures tend to fall into that slow and stupid category. But more importantly they go very well together with fast moving monsters.”

“OK, so Golems as tanks and…”

“Goblins. Cheap, fast and they breed like rabbits.”

“The things you said we could just ignore? Things with the strength of 5-year-olds?”

“They’re about a head smaller than dwarves and much weaker, yes. But imagine a dozen of them swarming you, frenziedly trying to put their daggers in you.”

“Are they at least smart?” I asked considering his proposal.

“Humanoid monsters have rudimentary forms of verbal communication and culture at least.”

“Do we have to feed them?”

“Purchased monsters can sustain themselves on mana, but it slows their growth if they have to do so.”

“If they breed like rabbits that sounds like a yes.”

“Mana is the world’s best fertiliser, food won’t be a problem,” Parallel Me offered, before adding, “They are only 10DP…”

“So cheap! Well OK, if you say so. Hay, they’re all going to die, right?”

“You mean to adventures? Yes, I suppose most will.”

“So, it’s not worth training them?”

“Death is not always the end. Named monsters can be re-summoned.”

I exclaimed, saying, “Oh, really! Then we should definitely get some monsters with that in mind.”

“Hobgoblins. I’d say that they are the closest a monster gets to a human.”

“Any relation to goblins?”

“Yes, a Hobgoblin is an evolved form of a goblin. In fact, the jump from a goblin (a common monster) to a Hobgoblin (an uncommon monster) is probably the largest jump in power there is amongst common to uncommon evolutions.”

“Look at you, thinking one step ahead.”

Parallel Me evilly chuckled, “That’s not the only idea I have.”

I smiled in response to Parallel Me. Things are final going to get fun!