Mathew walked out of the office area and readjusted his robes. The conversation with Maria left him thinking of how he was going to handle this Lord Luvenar person. Based on what she was saying, the man had the same power Keith did, only stronger.

He could barely stand against Keith. If Luvenar did the same, Mathew was worried about how it would work on him. Hell, how would it work on his summons?

In the World Dungeon, he had used his Axioms on Jeffery and his Wisps with zero problems. However, when he tried it with Agnox, it was only met with a powerful backlash. Agnox was able to push through Keith’s power, so Mathew assumed the imp could at least withstand the Lord's power.

But Cherry? She was doomed. Which left him with one choice to ensure her safety. He held out his hand and a circlet appeared in his hands. It was a gift from the Black Snow faction. He had yet to use it, not finding a reason to yet.

It would allow him to mitigate any issues his summons face, but carry that burden himself. He only tested it once with Agnox and found it somewhat useful. In the end, he found it pointless. Why plan for failure?

This was only useful if he knew he and his summons would be in a position where they could die. Just like the Apprentice floor in the World Dungeon. Just like now.

Mathew put it on. It weighed more than it looked like it would. That just helped it stay on his head if he moved around. Thanks to his ritual to identify the magical properties of items, it had a minor enchantment to prevent it from falling off his head as well. Although, anyone could just grab it off his head without a problem.

Before he walked back to meet with Captain Henderson he received the notification that he had officially claimed the Hearth Crystal, as well as an update on his quest related to the object.

Timed Quest: Path to Sovereignty, Part II

You have reached the lowest levels of official status within The System. Climb to higher ranks to gain better benefits. From this point forward, others on this quest can steal what you’ve acquired thus far by simply killing you.

Acquire 15 Hearth Crystals: 6/15

Acquire 25 Dungeon Cores: 17/25

Reach Level 80

Rewards:

Title upgrade

A choice reward based on how the quest is completed

Teleportation Network unlocked for Blue Oaks

Time Left: 269 Days

When he returned to where everyone was at, he nodded at the woman. “Guardians should be on their way. I imagine it will take at least two days. Maybe less, I let Guardian Prime pick the route. His only objective was to get all the Guardians here as fast as possible.”

“Good. Now all that is left is to invade the Dungeon. While you were talking to her, I did accountability checks. In total, we have just under a hundred people ready to fight. With a team of twenty-five including myself that are Apprentice rank.”

Henderson pointed to the north, “Based on word of mouth, I’m guessing around two hundred Elves in that Dungeon. Ranging from high Beginner tier to Medium Apprentice, minus their leader.”

The woman looked Mathew in his eyes, “It’s bad. Did the woman tell you what happened when he visited them?”

The Summoner nodded, “Yes. Seems like a stronger version of Keith’s power.”

In a low whisper, “Are you sure you can do this? We can find another way. Set up traps outside the Dungeon. Wait until reinforcements come. We have options here.”

“We have to. The longer we wait, the faster they can prepare a defense. At that point, it would be who has the most resources, and I am placing my money on them.” Mathew said, looking back at her. “He can gain more levels, train his powers. I can do that, but we both know they have outside knowledge. They know things we don’t and are better prepared. Plus they have who knows how many humans trapped in there with them. I wasn’t told, but if they have humans fighting with them, who is to say they don’t have some as slaves? This Lord Luvenar guy reminds me of some political people from before Earth was taken over.”

Henderson sighed with a nod, “Okay. But we do this the right way. No hero work, understood?”

“Are you telling me what to Captain Henderson? I thought I was the one in charge here.” Mathew joked. He knew she wanted to keep him alive.

“Keep up the snark and I’ll remind you who really is in charge. Goldy will wipe the floor with you.”

“Oh, they have names now? Let me guess…the other one is Silvery? Gray-y?”

“....okay I’m changing the names if you are just going to make fun of them.” Henderson rolled her eyes. “When do you want to march into the Dungeon?”

“Now.”

Lord Luvenar sipped at a goblet filled with wine. It was a special batch. Made with berries that only ripen once every thousand years. He himself wasn’t that old, barely, but still not a millennium Elf yet.

His throne room was empty. He wanted privacy to enjoy himself before he watched the humans get slaughtered. The elf was miffed. He honestly thought he could wait longer before revealing his hand. Pretending to be a friend of the humans was thrilling.

Toying with them. Occasionally stealing one to play with himself, although they didn’t last long. Humans were always fragile creatures. Planets that were fresh to The System always had weaker species. Growing up without 99% of what one could achieve forced a society to grow only to fall at the power of those who were superior.

“To think, humans are going to enter my domain without my permission. My my…what sort of punishments should I give out for this insolence? Removal of skin? Perhaps forcing them to eat each other or starve. There is the classic battle for my entertainment, but these humans are just so weak. It wouldn’t be much of a fight, just two monkeys slapping each other with wooden sticks.”

Lord Luvenar frowned. “Humans. Monkeys. Bah, same things. Lesser species are all the same. Lesser.

One of the servant doors opened and closed softly. He was in a good mood and wouldn’t punish the servant for making a sound. That is, if they had something interesting to say.

The servant waited in a kneeling position for several minutes before his Lord gave him the order to speak. “Speak.”

“My Lord, the humans are about to enter your Dungeon as we speak. We count less than a hundred, however, we know more could enter behind them at any moment. The head guardsman says all preparations according to your exact specifications have been completed. Based on your scout's reports it is assumed that the leader of Blue Oaks is entering. A human named Mathew McGonald. The human isn’t even Level 60 yet. None of your people have seen him fight but he has an assortment of random creatures with him. A Dryad, an unevolved Infernal Wolf, a Dryad that is believed to be a Child of Gaia, as well as two wisps. There is no additional information at this time, this servant is done.”

The entire time the servant hadn’t moved from his position. Lord Luvenar spun the wine in his goblet around. “Interesting. Very interesting. A Summoner with so few summons? He must be one of those special kinds that focus on fewer but stronger summons. That means if one is removed, he loses a significant amount of power.”

He wasn’t talking to the servant, only to himself. “Servant. What ranking is the human on this planet's rating system?”

“As of last checked two hours ago, he is the third highest level. Number one is a human with a Level of 81. The other is a human with a Level of 65. It should be stated that the second human has not gained any Levels in the past few days, while the first placed human gains levels almost daily.”

“I would enjoy killing them all. I suppose I can sate myself by toying with the world's third strongest. It could send a message to all the other humans. No matter how hard they try, they are weak compared to those with power.”

Lord Luvenar placed his goblet down on the arm of his ivory throne. “Servant, you are dismissed.”

He didn’t hear the servant leave. “Good. He realized his mistake. Servants with skills are hard to come by while I am stranded on this planet. Once the second phase starts I can finally acquire additional support.”

The Lord walked over to a door that only he was allowed to use. It was unlocked and any other elf could use it, however, they would die. Not because of any spell or enchantment. But because it was his ruling.

A Lord's decree must be followed. It is the natural instinct for the weak to obey the word of the strong. If they don’t, they die. It is a simple fact of life.

The Feathered Halo clan is built upon this fact. Their Goddess herself had said so. “Those who don’t bow to the might of wind will be blown away.”

Lord Luvenar entered his own private room. Inside were many personal items. Pieces of art. A bed was made for him and any warm guests he had. A dresser carved from the wood of his clan’s home tree. On one side was an armor stand and three weapons.

The armor was a perfect set of leather, bone, and feathers. It wasn’t tribalistic, no, it was made for one with noble blood. Each part was handcrafted to give him the appearance of authority. The bones came from an animal that he doubted he could kill alone, at least at his current level of power. The leather came from another creature that felt like silk. The feathers were decorative, coming off his shoulders like a cape.

Next to the armor was a green wooden bow. The wood was said to come from Gaia’s domain itself. “I wonder what that little Dryad will think when she sees a piece of her home killing her.”

The two swords were the only weapons not made for him. They were a gift from his aunt. A fearsome warrior who gave up the life of nobility to cultivate a new tier of power their clan has never had.

She gave them to him before he came to this planet. He remembered her words. “These two swords are enemies. However, when enemies share a common enemy, they become allies. May their conflict be a lesson for you as you take this planet for our clan. When you make enemies, give them a new one and have them fight each other for you.”

One blade was wrapped in a sheath made of gold. Even standing a few feet away he could feel heat radiate off of it. The other sword was cold. Not like ice, but it reminded him of the one time he had seen a necromancer perform a ritual to raise an entire grave full of bodies.

Lord Luvenar knew how to use swords. His sword fighting skill was Beginner 8 after all. Perhaps he could get it to rank up after fighting the human leader and killing him with these gifts of a weapon.