Kain continued to work with what he had available to himself, endeavoring to make sure that not only would the newly acquired vassal state be well protected but also that it would be ready to join the rest in economic prosperity sooner rather than later. Thankfully, after the elves threw themselves at the defenses and died in their multitudes, the attacks had stopped, which left that area to be more easily managed and modified without the risk of constant harassment.

Still, if anything about the whole incursion had rustled his jimmies more than anything else, it was not the walking tree people, nor was it the fact that there were elves at all. No, what gave him pause was the fact that there were so many types of elves out there, and some of them looked to be so… well, let’s just say that calling them re-skins would have been an overstatement. It seriously bothered him that these elves were, by and large, all different in physical appearance (mostly), but all donned the same kind of outfits and bore the same kind of weapons.

Kai would have been perfectly fine if all of these varied elves with their varied physical features had different ways of doing things, but once again Kain was forced to admit that whoever or whatever was responsible for filling out the rest of Mortis was more or less just as lazy as his younger self had been. When he had heard that there were elves in the former Sultanate, he was sure that such a thing meant that the elves had widely varied cultures and societies.

Nope! It turned out the only difference in such things came from the random elf or two that decided that being a jungle-dwelling militant hippie was not for them and that shitting in the woods like bears and constantly hunting for food was less preferable than living in a larger, more ‘civilized’ area. If by some odd chance, this world was some kind of video game, Kain would have not been remiss to expect thousands upon thousands of people to scream into the void the two words that all who fabricate realities dread to hear.

He could almost hear people crying ‘Muh Immersion!’ into the night, their sorrow and pain lost in the vastness of an uncaring and unfeeling cosmos.

“Wait... What?”

Kain’s thought process ground to a halt as he realized what had just passed through his head. That last bit was… odd, to say the least. It was most certainly not the kind of thing he would normally think of, so, given that and the fact that said monologue was spoken inside his head in a voice that was not his own, he had a decent idea as to who was responsible for it.

“Don’t do that again, please.” Kain grumbled, seemingly to himself. However, he was certainly not at all alone right now.

“Well, you can’t fault a Hkd1[h8 for trying to make things even remotely interesting, now can you?”

Kain looked over his shoulder and stared at the enigmatic entity known as Lord Wolfenstein dead in his(?) eyes.

“Excuse me, but I can’t fault a what?”

Kain had heard LW say something but what he(?) had said sounded like a mix of three different garbled languages, electronic static, an air-raid siren, and someone pressing random notes on a synthesizer. He knew LW was messing with him, but he didn’t really know how to respond to such a blatant bit of trolling beyond sheer confusion.

“Eh, don’t worry about it.” Lord Wolfenstein replied with a dismissive gesture. “Besides,” he(?) continued, “don’t you have more important things to do? We both know that unless the people from Arby’s get some food quickly, they will be running into starvation territory and quickly.”

Kain shook his head and sighed. He did not like having to deal with LW, but it was a burden that he and nearly everyone in power had to put up with from time to time.

“I’ve already had Zero Noir open Dungeon Entrances in every major area and have been funneling food into those places. The menu is already finishing the groundwork for the roads and the fields and ranches were already overproducing their goods. Estimates put them needing to tighten their belts for around one or two days more beyond this point before things start rapidly improving for them. But I don’t believe that you came here today to tell me to pick up the pace.”

Kain’s words barely made LW’s mouth move. However, it was the fact that his(?) mouth did move that was clue enough that Kain had hit the nail on the head.

“Oh, you do know me so well. Or perhaps I have simply been too predictable as of late.”

LW’s words ended there, but Kain remained quiet. It had taken quite a while, but Kain had figured out a way to make that enigmatic being spill the beans more frequently.

“Well, I just wanted to let you know that I really do need for you to uphold your end of our bargain. You do remember it, yes? You know, that deal? I help you get back those you lost and in return, I limit your abilities and you have to conquer the world. Don’t tell me you forgot about it.”

Kain replied that he had not forgotten but figured that there was more to LW’s visit than simply giving him a reminder.

“Yes, well, you may have to pick up the pace. Events are moving at a rate even I didn’t expect. You felt how powerful that foxy woman was, right? Well, the Loong Emperor in Oriant is even stronger than she was… is. You need to get more powerful, or rather, you need to learn how to better control the awesome power you already possess. There are… other forces at play as well and that meaty man who you turned to dust back in the flying city was a sign of one of them. As such, it isn’t just your wife and the giant deep-sea monster girl that need to start pushing their limits. I can… well… help you get stronger, or rather I can unlock more of your power that I sealed, but you’ll need to take time to learn how to harness it, or else you might break the world.”

Kain shifted in his seat at LW’s words.

“How long do I have?”

LW replied that there was no real way of anyone knowing, but that time was of the essence. Certain conditions would have to be met, but there was no way that even the training room that Zero Noir had made would be enough to allow Kain to truly learn to harness the power LW would unlock. However, LW did not want Kain to use the power that he had to take over the world in one go. That, LW claimed, would not be entertaining or fun for either of them.

And so, the two of them decided to unlock more of Kain’s power with each realm he conquered or vassalized. After each successful takeover, Kain would have to go with LW to learn how to control his new limits, which would leave Darksol in the competent and capable hands of Kain’s wife. Kain almost went with LW right then and there, but he wanted to see his wife before taking the plunge.

“Well, I’ll be waiting.” LW replied at the end of it as he(?) began to fade away. “Do hurry up, though. You’re all on the clock.”