"Take me to your leader," Stanley said to the guards at the front entrance of the building, his eyes tracking upward as he spoke. His gaze climbed until his head was craned back to take in the building looming into the sky. Stanley stared up at it. Cool! These buildings were so much bigger up close.

All around him, more skyscrapers pierced the sky. Stanley had never been to Manhattan before this, much less to the downtown area. Sure, Boston did have its share of skyscrapers, and Stanley had gotten a good look at plenty of them, but they weren't quite like this.

"You coming in or what?" the guard said, interrupting his thoughts.

Stanley stopped his tourist impersonation and brought his gaze back to earth. "Oh, right. Yea, just give me a sec."

He turned back to the truck and away from the building full of humans. A building he hadn't noticed until they were almost on top of it. He suspected primarily because of how densely populated the surrounding spider-infested skyscrapers were.

"I'm gonna meet the neighbors," Stanley said to the truck's occupants. "With Caff," he added. There were a lot of neighbors in there, and it didn't hurt to bring backup. "Sara, that means you're with Zeke."

Sara opened her mouth, and Stanley cut her off before she could voice the protest he knew was coming, "I will ground you again if I have to…" He meant it both literally and physically, and Sara knew that from experience.

"Okay," Sara said sullenly. She'd gotten a bit too excitable in the last couple of days and started running too far from the others. It wasn't a big deal when Caffeine was following her, but he hadn't been with her the last time when she and her mom almost died…

That settled, Stanley turned to Zeke. "I would start with all of you together here. The numbers are extremely high, and I expect you to get swarmed."

"Don't worry, Stanley. I'll keep everyone safe," Zeke said, smiling.

Stanley nodded, frowned at the empty spot where his mimic chairs used to be, and called Caffeine. "Caff, come." Walter had put both chairs into his storage… that wasn't supposed to be possible to do with a living thing, and it still wasn't, they'd tested. Yet Stanley knew that damn chair was a mimic, and he was not going to be gaslighted by a fucking chair. It would slip up eventually…

Caffeine followed eagerly, running ahead to sniff the guards at the building's entrance while Stanley approached. None of them reacted with hostility to the pug, which was a good sign.

You have entered a Human Lair: [The Towering Kingdom]

That was… grandiose, and it wasn't labeled as hidden either. He wasn't sure what that meant…

Stanley walked inside rather than flying. Partly to not show them his power yet, but also because he wanted to test something, and this looked like the perfect opportunity. At least, he expected it to be one.

He was right. They led him past the elevators to the stairs, and where else would the big boss of a so-called kingdom be but on the top floor. Granted, stairs weren't what they used to be for the current crop of humanity, and his escorts hopped up each flight effortlessly. Caffeine followed their lead, enjoying the game of chase. Stanley found he could do the same, though with more of a workout than the others. Of course, he did it anyway since that was exactly what he wanted. Stanley hadn't tested it yet, but he was curious if his lower effective strength would allow him to raise the attribute with less work compared to someone without his traits.

It was a long climb, and Stanley didn't rush. Instead, he took his time as they ascended to study the people filling the building, both their Souls and whatever he could feel from his mental touch. There were many of them, at least thousands or tens of thousands. Every floor, every room, was full of humans. Stanley couldn't understand how they fed so many, much less how they dealt with the surrounding spiders. But he might find out…

They led him all the way up to the top floor, to the penthouse, obviously. Massive double doors greeted him from the top of the stairway, and they swung open at his approach.

Stanley strode into a literal throne room after thousands of stairs, and still not one point of strength gained for his effort. Seriously?

The room was a grand hall with crowds lining the sides of the room, leaving a gap down the middle that led to a dias and, atop that, a throne. It was a bit much. Was it like this before, or did they build this on purpose? Though, Stanley wondered if Nate had something like this…

"Announcing, Stanley Cascade, come to petition the King of the Tower!" The sudden shouting startled even Caffeine as they walked through the doors, and Stanley glared at the man. Petition the king? They really went all in on this Renaissance shit. He also hadn't told them his name… Did they have some kind of identification ability?

Stanley shrugged; he would ask them before he left. He strolled down the aisle over what looked like marble tile, illuminated by glowing chandeliers overhead. Meanwhile, Caffeine trotted back and forth, sniffing random people on both sides. None of them did more than glance at the dog. No pets, no treats, not even a smile. Definitely something wrong with these people.

The 'king' held up a hand, and one of his guards shouted, "That's close enough!"

Stanley took another step before he stopped, a little pettiness in the face of their ridiculous charade. Then he waited… and waited. He was fine with that and content to study the people around him, starting with the king.

He was a man, obviously, and middle-aged if Stanley was guessing right; he was never good at that, and the man wore an actual golden crown. But no queen that Stanley could see… Surrounding him was a squad of men, all wearing matching shiny metal armor and holding… halberds? Stanley thought that was right. They also had swords at their waists. It was all very pomp and circumstance.

The crowds were a mix of more normal clothes, but those closest to the throne were wearing more outlandish and ridiculous outfits that would be right at home in a Renaissance fair. Were they supposed to be the nobles of this kingdom? Maybe they each ruled a floor of the building? The numbers might actually be right if that was the case…

Stanley saw the king open his mouth and cut him off. "I claimed the Lair…" He went into his spiel about the benefits and costs of compliance versus defiance.

Shockingly enough, it did not go over well.

The king held up a hand, and the angry mutters quieted. It was like a movie… "I don't recognize your authority in my kingdom," he said, "and I do not desire nor require your protection!"

His voice was thin and reedy, nothing like Stanley's deep and majestic voice. I love my new Skill!

"The orb weavers are no threat," the king continued, "and if you think a B-Grade, which I'm sure you were mistaken about, is a threat to me… then you are mistaken!"

A tittering ran through the crowd, and Stanley frowned. These people were weird. The king sounded like he was trying to talk old-timey but wasn't very good at it.

Stanley shrugged. "Don't care," he said and turned to leave.

He didn't especially want to fight all of these people. Not because they were strong, which some were, and at peak C-Grade if he was right in his judgment. No, it wasn't worth the trouble. They weren't even hunting outside… In fact, Stanley had seen no sign of anyone from this tower outside. Did they grow food inside? He hadn't gotten a good look at the basement on the way in… Maybe they just created it with magic? Anything was possible nowadays.

Stanley would just clear all the buildings around them first. Those were the most lucrative in terms of Cores, anyway. It might take a day to pull off, even if he put in the extra effort, but the gains would be worth the trouble. If he did have difficulty with any groups from this 'kingdom,' Stanley would just take their legs as promised.

In his mind's eye, Stanley saw the king wave a hand, and then the large double doors slammed shut with a boom. Apparently, the king did want to fight.

"You come into my city!" the king shouted. "Threaten my people with slavery and death!"

I didn't do either of those… A little maiming maybe, but not death, and certainly not slavery. Wait a minute… Was the king quoting a movie? Choose your next words carefully; they may be your last as king, Stanley thought and then frowned. He was quoting the bad guy now…

"I will give you one chance to bend the knee and swear fealty," the king said. "Do that, and I might forgive your insult."

"Hard pass," Stanley said. Was the guy an actual king like Nate? He felt strong, but not even close to the level of the spider boss. They got his name somehow… but couldn't tell how powerful he was? Maybe he should have used the Source a tiny bit for his speech.

"So be it," the king said, smiling. He definitely wanted to fight. "Haydon, I think this peasant needs a demonstration of why it is better to kneel."

Wow. Calling him a peasant was a low blow.

One of the king's guards marched forward, raising his halberd as he came on.

Stanley smiled. He was still looking for a test subject… "Say, does this guy have a loving family?" No one answered his question as the man marched closer. "You know, a wife? Kids?" Nothing.

Caffeine was watching the advancing figure but also glancing at Stanley as if reluctant to fight the man. That was fine. Stanley didn't want Caffeine to get involved anyway.

Then Haydon was in range, and he lifted his weapon high… Caffeine tensed… and Stanley opened his mouth. "Stop Moving." He had been suppressing his Words of Power skill as much as possible this whole time, but no more. He also thought using only one word would've sounded cooler, but wanted to make sure it would stick on the man, who Stanley was pretty sure had more attributes than him.

More attributes or not, the man stopped moving. Well, almost. He was still swinging the weapon down but in very slow motion. Stanley didn't waste the opportunity.

"Empower Soul."

It wasn't actually an attack, and Stanley didn't intend for it to be one. That was important considering how his skill worked, and he made sure to view this man as non-hostile as possible. Given how easily he could kill him if he had to, Stanley felt like taking a swing at him was no big deal… though, he did step out of the way of that swing.

The friendly man trying to split him in half with a massive halberd stumbled and fell as his weapon slammed into the marble floor, sending chips of stone and dust flying.

Stanley frowned at the sight. It looked as if his Soul buffing attempt worked and had even helped Haydon break free from the 'stop moving' command… but now the man's Soul was… wild.

The man looked up at Stanley; his eyes as wild as his Soul. He scrambled on hands and knees toward Stanley, leaving his weapon behind. "Mister! Stanley! You have to get out!"

Stanley took a step back.

"Get my family!" the man yelled. "Get them out of here! Please, I beg you!"

It turned out he did have a family. But… What the hell did I do to him? The crowds were muttering now, and the king was confused and a little nervous…

"Go!" the man yelled, still crawling forward, before looking back, "The king, he…"

"Enough!" the king shouted, now very nervous and very angry.

Haydon's mouth snapped shut, and he stopped moving. But not because he wanted to… Stanley could feel his Soul struggling. "I…" Haydon squeezed out a word through his clenched jaw, "Renounce…" and another one, "Oath!"

As soon as he gasped out the last word, it was as if a great weight had lifted from him, and Haydon surged to his feet. "Stanley, the king is mind…"

"Restrain them!" the king shouted, and his voice boomed, drowning out Haydon. At the same time, he pointed a golden scepter at Stanley, and magic blasted from the end. Simultaneously, more magic flew from the crowds and other guards.

Stanley watched the magic coming for him in slow-motion. He was starting to understand what was happening here and wanted to confirm it. So he only leaned aside from the incoming spell in case it was deadlier than expected. It hit him in the arm, and…

[Mental Domination] Resisted.

That was bad. So very bad for the king…

[Binding Chains] Resisted.

[Gravity Crush] Partially Resisted.

[Stasis Circle] Resisted.

[Icy Binding] Resisted.

[Ritual Circle of Holding] Resisted.

There were more, a lot more, and Stanley resisted all of them, including the magic circle beneath his feet. It was a massive thing and looked like it was engraved under the stone… He was still studying it when the king sauntered over.

"Stanley, Stanley… you should have accepted my offer. Now I'm going to make you regret it for the rest of your life."

Caffeine sat beside Stanley, his head tilting at the man's words but otherwise staying put. Either he was following Stanley's lead in the situation, or maybe he understood that some of their attackers might not be attacking willingly…

"You're going to swear an Oath now," the king said.

Stanley ignored him, still staring at the floor as he thought about exactly how he wanted to hurt this… thing. Death seemed too… merciful.

Haydon was down. Not dead, but maybe unconscious. He hadn't resisted all the magic. Stanley hadn't either. He could still feel the increased gravity making his body heavy. But that was it. Since moving himself was the easiest thing in the world for Stanley, it didn't really matter. Plus, it looked like it was one of the effects coming from the floor beneath him, and he could probably walk or fly out of it to be free of the magic.

"…swear fealty to King Leonidas…"

Stanley blinked. The moron had definitely been quoting the movie…

The king's guards had followed him from the dias, and now they surrounded Stanley and the king as he kept babbling. Their Souls felt too… calm. No one other than the king had really reacted to Haydon's outburst. They thought it was weird and were confused, but none of them seemed concerned about what he'd been saying. Were they all dominated? But then, what was that bit Haydon said about renouncing an Oath?

"Are you too scared to look at me?" the king said; Stanley wouldn't call him Leonidas even in his mind.

The king's words triggered a memory, though, and Stanley suppressed what would have probably been a very nasty smile as he said softly, "Our eyes don't meet."

A single soul in the crowd surrounding them twinged at his words…

"What the fuck does that mean? Just swear the oath already!" the king yelled.

Stanley had kept his Soul close the whole time until now. Still looking at the floor, he expanded his Soul Shield to include the king. The man felt it, and unlike his wannabe namesake, he was not a fearless leader. He quailed under the pressure as Stanley piled on with enthusiasm.

Stanley didn't hold back with his Soul, wanting to soften his target up for the next bit since he could only use one word.

"Kneel."

The king went down hard, barely catching himself on his hands and knees.

His guards, to their credit, reacted instantly. But, unfortunately for them, so did Caffeine.

The pug filled the airspace above Stanley with his body, and he Growled.

Everything stopped, and silence reigned.

The king broke the silence. He was fighting Caffeine's stun and Stanley's Words of Power but managed to lift his head enough to meet Stanley's gaze from his hands and knees on the floor.

"This is where our eyes meet," Stanley said, and it was so fucking perfect that he couldn't help the smile crawling onto his lips. Of course, that might have ruined the cool image he was going for, but Stanley still smiled. It was so sweet that he was actually feeling less murderous toward the man after that wonderful setup.

It took the king a second to understand, but Stanley could tell when he finally got it. His face turned red, and then power thundered into him.

Stanley could feel the power flooding the man as, first, his guards collapsed, and then the rest of the people in the throne room followed, their energy draining out of them and flowing into the man, now climbing to his feet in red-faced rage before him. "I'll kill you!"

The wave of power kept coming; after the throne room, it came from the floor below, then the next, and all the floors down to the first.

The man before Stanley went from a peak C-Grade to a B-Grade in a moment. Then his power kept growing.

It turned out the man actually was a king because this looked a lot like what Nate was supposed to have. He also might have been right about not fearing the orb weavers. Hell, he might even be able to take the B-Grade with this much power…

"You have no idea who you're messing with!" the king roared, reaching for Stanley.

Stanley added a touch of Source to his voice… "KNEEL."

The king face-planted hard enough to shatter the marble tiles with his face. Not that it hurt him… much. The man had too much power to be seriously injured by some rocks. His pride, on the other hand… oh, that was hurting real bad—also, his nose.

"You bastherd!" the king screamed, blood running from his crooked nose and fouling his tongue. "I'll kill…"

The three-meter wide beam of white-hot energy laced through with traces of Source didn't blow up the wall to Stanley's left so much as evaporate it. Then it did the same to the far wall and part of the ceiling, letting daylight shine into the throne room from both directions.

While the king was still stunned, Eve flew through the opening, a screaming jet engine on her back. Her right arm was a mess of melted slag metal that might have once been one of her guns, while the left held Daryl's hand. Zeke, glowing like the sun, dangled from Daryl's free hand as they soared toward Stanley.

Eve dropped them both as soon as she reached him, and they took up positions around Stanley, magic springing up from Daryl, golden light held close behind a massive hammer, and a smaller one of Eve's guns glowing white-hot in her hand. Then a swarm of Eve's machines clambered through the hole she'd left a second later.

Stanley stared at them, then at Eve's arm… had she used the Source? Of course, she had; he'd felt it. "Did you…" Stanley turned back to the king, who had recovered from his shock at their entrance. "KNEEL."

"Did you guys come to rescue me?" Stanley said.

Eve was frowning, first at him, then at the king, and at all the moaning people on the floor around them.

"We did!" Zeke said, and Daryl only nodded, his illusions spreading as he took in the situation.

"I felt…" Eve trailed off, looking at the king. "I thought you might be in trouble." Her arm looked… fucked.

"I'm touched," Stanley said, finding that his slightly joking comment was actually his honest feeling. "Thank… KNEEL." The king face-planted again.

Eve looked away from him, her own heightened emotions overwhelming her, and then looked back to glare at him when Stanley used Words of Power. Then her glare landed on the king. "What's going on anyway?"

"I found a king!"

"And he didn't want to share, or what?" Eve actually didn't seem bothered by the idea, but Zeke was aghast.

"Actually," Stanley said, looking down at the slightly more bloodied king, "I think he's enslaving everyone here with some kind of mind magic…"

Eve pointed her gun at the king's head and fired.

Stanley pushed her aim aside enough that she only burned a hole into the marble. "Wait! He has that skill Nate was talking about."

"So? Just kill him," Eve said.

"I don't know if his stolen power will go back or be lost with his death…" Stanley said. He might be greedy and selfish sometimes, but he wasn't monster enough to condemn everyone in the building to become spider food. He also didn't want to be stuck farming Cores for them if they did end up helpless…

"I agree with Eve," Daryl said, knives in hand as he stared at the king. "Far too dangerous to let someone like that live. I'm sure the power will go back when he's dead."

The king had frozen after Eve's shot, and their cold verdicts for what to do with him seemed to have finally gotten through his anger because he stopped trying to get up. "Stanley's lying! I would never…"

Eve shot him in the hand, burning a hole mostly through it and into the stone below.

"You bitch!" the king tensed to lunge for her, and Caffeine appeared above him, one foot in his back and teeth hovering over his neck. The king didn't try to move again.

"Zeke," Stanley said and pointed at Haydon. "Heal that guy. I think he can tell us what's happening here."

The king didn't like that.

Haydon woke up fast once Zeke got to him, and unlike everyone else, he was not drained of Power by the king.

"I don't know how he does it," Haydon said. "Everything was normal until you hit me with that… Soul thing. Looking back, I can see so many times…" Haydon shuddered and broke down, crying. "He told us it was normal, it was fine, and I just… believed it. Oh god! The things I've done!" He clutched his head, sobbing.

Stanley winced at what he felt from the man. It must have been really bad… and then Haydon told them everything.

It was worse than he thought.

Zeke put his hands back on the man, shining bright gold, and the violent sobbing subsided. "It's not your fault," Zeke said. "It's not your fault." His eyes were red now, with murder in them, as he looked at the doomed king.

Then Zeke stood, picked up his hammer and took a step closer as he lifted it high.

Stanley stopped Zeke, and Eve burned a hole through the king's head, though it took more than one shot with his inflated power. Stanley liked it better that way. The screaming was almost pleasant as a giant Caffeine stood on the man, and Eve drilled slowly through his skull with beams of searing fire.

Title Earned: [King Slayer]

It was a relief when Stanley felt him die and the stolen power returned to the people it was taken from.

Then the room erupted in pandemonium as everyone was abruptly freed from whatever had been done to them. It wasn't pleasant. Some were happy, but a lot of them turned on each other. Their king had done a masterful job of getting far too many people involved in his twisted games…

Zeke filled the hall with golden light, and Eve fired a few shots over the heads of the more stubborn areas.

The situation was similar on the floors below them, but there was a steady shift in attitude as they descended, and the lower floors were only happy. Stanley assumed they all got a notification telling them their king was dead; he'd gained a title for killing him, after all.

It turned out they all got the Title, including Haydon, and Stanley wondered what Nate would think, especially about the last bit.

[King Slayer]

You have reached above your Station and Killed a King.

All Kings will know that you carry this Title upon sight.

+1% Effect of All Attributes(Hidden Attributes Included)

Kill more Kings to Increase this Effect.

Eve found him later on one of the lower floors, sitting alone while Caffeine played with a large group of children. "This is fucked," she said, sitting beside him, her arm covered in healed skin once again.

"Did they figure out who gets to be in charge yet?"

Eve laughed. "Yeah, right! We are not waiting around for that. We'll be here for months…"

They were quiet after that, content to watch screaming children chase and occasionally ride a big pug around the room. Sara was the most enthusiastic among them.

"She did good," Stanley finally said, "though I heard you scared her…"

"I thought we were in trouble," Eve said. "I just told her to fly back to Walter…"

It was a little more than that from what Sara and Angelina had relayed to Stanley. Not that Angelina was complaining, she had been in complete agreement with Eve when they felt the Source, and Eve rushed to save him.

"You really are my knight in shining armor," Stanley said, smiling.

"Get over yourself," Eve spluttered. "I just… I was worried that…"

"Thanks, Eve," Stanley said, saving her from her failed rebuttal. "It was really awesome to see the calvary coming to save me." And he meant it. Usually, Caffeine was the calvary, but there had been times when even that wasn't enough. Seeing them come flying in like avenging angels… it was… Stanley couldn't find the words, so instead, he pushed his Soul Shield out to let her feel his Soul directly. "Thanks."

Eve sat back, a smile on her lips as she relaxed against the wall. "Sure, anytime."

Stanley frowned as he finally noticed something. Caffeine still had his collar… How did it not break before? Stanley shrugged it off. It was probably made with magic, pretty much everything was these days. Or it could even be Caffeine himself. Maybe he didn't want it to break, so it didn't? Probably something like that.