《Alive?》


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1


    Awakening


    This is such a stupid way for our civilization to meet its end.


    If only someone had the curiosity to look at the northern continental glaciers over the last few hundred years¡­


    There were so many things we could have done to save ourselves, we could have moved the City, erected a giant wall and many other things... but we did not.


    Even until a few minutes ago, had we gotten our act together, we could have still saved both the City and ourselves¡­ but yet again: we did nothing.


    I look outside of my room, toward the ocean. There is a black line growing from beyond the horizon: a tidal wave so massive it defies reason.


    would say there is no more appropriate end for our species than us awaiting our death without trying.


    I may look like I am criticizing the others but I am the same. I too am too busy moping and being self-conscious to take actually take a step forward and do something about it.


    Then again, if we were not like that, we would not be facing this problem in the first place¡­ and more importantly, my life would not have been so boring and fruitless.


    It is not my place to complain, though. I did nothing to change myself or the situation I was in. Even in my last moment, I am still doing nothing¡­ unless you count waiting for death as doing as a choice.


    There is still time, I could leave the city, go into the world, explore, and live an unfamiliar life in an unfamiliar world.


    But I will not. ¡°I really wish I had that kind of resolve!¡±


    Upon those last despondent words, I put myself to sleep: the type no one ever comes back from.


    <><><>


    ¡°I am awake?¡±


    That should not be possible! I should be dead, this was the eternal sleep spell: instant death with no hope of return¡­


    Did it fail? I must have been interrupted by the wave¡­


    No, who am I kidding, the spell is perfect: it has been used by my people for eons and never once did it fail.


    Is it not more likely that I made the mistake?


    Should I consider myself lucky? Since I somehow survived both my spell and the tidal wave.


    Either way, I have no clue where I am. Last I remember, I was in my room but there is only darkness around me and this is not the darkness of a moonless night, unless it is inside a closet, far underground during said moonless night.


    I try opening and closing my eyes but it makes no difference. How strange though, not counting magic tools, there should at least be some mana in the air, and yet I see nothing.


    I do sense mana though, but it is either very thin or far away.


    I try to move, but to no avail, I know there is some resistance but I do not feel it¡­ yes, I do not feel.


    I try pushing harder and harder and then, suddenly my arm move. It was only for a bit, but it did move.


    There is something off though. Ever since I have awakened, I cannot help but feel that there is a sense of incongruity.


    I care not for that conclusion. I would even go as far as to say I am reluctant to acknowledge it but it seems like the only option.


    ¡°Am I interred?¡±


    Why did I have to go and say it out loud?


    Do not panic! No, it is too late for that. Calm down, Me! Take a deep breath and think about something else.


    A deep breath? Great job, now there are even more things I do not want to think about!


    Forget it all. Calm yourself again. Take a deep breath.


    I am not doing on purpose. I just do not know any other relaxation technique.


    I sigh, but there is neither sound nor feeling of air on my lips.


    ¡°There is no way around it: I did not survive.¡±


    I do know much about the undead, but I think I am rational.


    Well, there are the constant panic attacks and the denial of reality, but I think they are pretty natural reactions to my situation.


    I do not feel particularly murderous or hateful either,  although that might be because I have yet to find someone or something to feel murderous about.


    I feel sane, but then again, oneself is the least suitable person to determine one¡¯s sanity.


    ¡°At any rate, I am a specimen worth studying. Unless, I really start murdering the living, in which case that would make me be a deadly curiosity.¡±


    While I was occupying myself with all this internal monologuing, I managed to move my hand in a position somewhere I can see.


    Is it really seeing? It feels somewhat different from what I am used to.


    At least, I can make out the flow of magic circulating in my hand, and it appears thicker and stronger than in my memories.


    I try clairvoyance, farsight, and a lighting spell, but none of those work. Which is not exactly surprising since I am buried under... under what?


    I do not know, but what I do know that digging myself out will take a long time, a very long time.


    I was never the most athletic person around¡­ but not the worst either.


    Well, it should not be so bad, I am not a person anymore, and if what I know is right, I do not have to worry about hunger and tiredness.


    If, what I know is right. I am no expert on undeath, and my own experience already disproved a lot of what I know¡­ knew to be true.


    Oh, right, there is always teleportation, it can get me out of here in an instant! Or kill me¡­ there are¡­ were a lot of stories of people crashing against buildings and the ground at incredible speed.


    In life, I was not the most courageous and enterprising person around ¨C which is saying a lot considering my kin ¨C and death does not seem to have cured me of my fears.


    Let us get digging, and I will keep teleportation as my last and final option.


    <><><>


    I have reached the outside. Finally.


    It has only been about two or three days ¨C as perceived by me. I cannot speak for the accuracy ¨C of constant labor.


    ¡°Thank you ground for being so soft!¡±


    Many more thanks to my new body, I like how it is so strong and immune to fatigue. I mean, normally, I am pretty useless without magic.


    I attempt to stand up but instantly fall back down. Among other things, my center of balance is wrong and it feels like treading on ice.


    Unable to stand up and so I decide to crawl and as I progress towards the exit, my senses get more and more overwhelmed¡­


    At first, I only felt it was strange to perceive living things, no matter how small, but they were very few of them and it was not that different from mana perception so I paid it no mind.


    But I had to change my mind when a gust of wind suddenly thrown thousands, no billions of them at me!


    The vision ¨C for lack of a better word ¨C was too much for me.


    Overwhelmed by, and despite the fact I should not be able to feel pain, all I could do was to scream in pain and terror.


    ¡°STOP! MAKE IT STOP!¡±


    But it is not like those tiny creatures chose to come in the first place, they go where the wind carries them without a will of their own.


    ¡°I WILL KILL YOU ALL!¡± says a voice that I do not recognize as mine.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    The vision stops. I do not know if the Me that is not Me killed them, or if the environment of the tomb that used to be my home did, but it does not matter.


    I crawl back to my damp ¨C or so I assume ¨C  dark ¨C undeniably ¨C hole.


    I am myself again. It is as though my previous murderous instincts were a lie¡­


    If this is the way undead perceives the world, then it is no wonder they are so deranged.


    My cowardice saved me there, Had I teleported, I would probably be a raving bent on world destruction by now.


    These new senses of mine are dangerous, insanely so. If I am intent on leaving ¨C  and I am ¨C I need to learn how to control them¡­ and myself.


    ¡°I am so glad this place is so dead!¡± is certainly a strange thing to be thankful for, but I really am.


    The feeling my sight gives me is reminiscent of a detection spell, although, in many other ways, it also reminds me of my mana perception.


    The latter, I already know how to control but not the former, not yet.


    Nevertheless, I am not without options. Creatures that can use magic to detect life and mana are not rare and as such, there are spells to conceal both.


    Thankfully, I used to hunt wyvern a lot, so I am adept at those spells.


    I only need to inverse the effect, to hide life from me rather than the opposite.


    It might be wishful thinking, and I have no guarantee it will work, but what else can I do?


    I cast the new spell and crawl out again ¨C altering the spell was easy since it was only a matter of changing its direction ¨C and find nothing: not a speck of life.


    ¡°Should I consider that a success?¡±


    It proves it works, but in retrospect, it was not just a matter of changing the direction: I need to be able to filter what I see if I am to use these senses at all.


    Do I really need to? Using farsight or clairvoyance to move around would be easier and far less dangerous¡­


    I crawl back inside, dispel the spell, and make some more adjustments. Now, it should filter all creatures smaller than a beetle.


    ¡°This place is so desolate.¡±


    It appears only smaller life-forms can strive in this environment¡­ then again seeing how they suddenly died earlier, strive might not be the right word.


    I look intently at the few insects and feel no incentive to kill them.


    This is a good start, but not enough to prove my rationality.


    For my next experiment, I catch a worm. Not by choice, it was the only one who did not, or rather, could not flee from me in time.


    ¡°I do not feel like killing you either.¡±


    I release the creature, and it tunnels away from me as fast as it cans: my words were obviously wasted on it.


    Now that there is no immediate risk of going insane, I want to get a good look at myself and see why I am unable to stand up.


    And the actual reason is pretty simple: I am a skeleton but not of the fresh variety.


    It is strange that my bones are like stone and yet appear to be undamaged.


    ¡°I was hoping for a fleshier undead.¡± But that might be for the best: rotten flesh is not a pretty sight, and it probably makes it worse when it is your own.


    At least, I now have good explanations for my lack of sight, tactile sensation, and also why I have a new center of gravity.


    Although, when I was crawling and digging, I knew where the ground was; it had a resistance to it, albeit not as obvious as when I was alive and certainly not up to the point I could tell what I was touching.


    I cannot help but as myself this question. ¡°How does it work?¡±


    It is very obvious that the undead must have a number of ways to detect and feel their environment¡­ otherwise, they would not be much of a threat.


    This sensation is peculiar but worth studying, but it will have to wait until later. For now, I want to concentrate on perceiving my environment and getting around.


    <><><>


    I often heard the words persistent, vicious, hateful, tireless, hunger-less being used to describe the undead.


    On the other hand, falling all the time, being unable to get up, getting stuck on walls and tripping over every stone, were not usually used, if ever.


    So why does only the latter apply to me?


    I stop using clairvoyance, forcefully shut magic vision, and then make the life concealment spell as powerful as possible.


    Doing so, I hope it will help develop my other senses.


    <><><>


    At least a day as passed ¨C there was light when I first got out, then it was night and now there is light again.


    Other than that, I cannot tell: I cannot feel the temperature and the salt flats and ruins covered in shells and dry mud do not give me much information to work with.


    I cannot say I have made much progress with my senses, but at least I can awkwardly walk a few meters without falling.


    ¡°This is not so bad for a four-days-old.¡± Or is it a bit over seven hundred old? I suppose it depends on how I count.


    <><><>


    How much time has passed? I do not have the slightest idea: it could be days, it could be weeks.


    One who does not eat or sleep does not feel the passage of time in the same way.


    However long, my training as paid-up: I have reached the level where I can perceive my surroundings well enough to not fall over pebbles ¨C farewell my mortal enemies, your existence will be promptly forgotten ¨C and other small obstacles.


    I have never considered the fact that skeletons¡¯ feet have barely any surface to them, and it makes it very easy to trip.


    Which reminds me. Note to self: ¡°I need some shoes with a lot of padding.¡±


    What about my sense(s?). I can use them, but the inner working completely eludes me.


    It is as though I have a projection of my surroundings in my head that I can expand or retract at will.


    How precise? Very precise¡­ so much that when I expand it too much, it becomes painful to process.


    Yes, painful. Despite having neither flesh nor nerves, the undead have an uncanny number of ways to feel pain and tiredness.


    How lucky of me to have retained the worst part of being alive.


    I suppose a tireless body and a tireless mind are two entirely separate things.


    Stranger yet is how the projection is somehow linked to my ability to feel: even when I am not touching objects I can sort of tell their texture, albeit not as well as when I touch them, and even less so than when I was alive.


    Dare I say I have all the basics covered now?


    Probably.


    Should I now explore my weaknesses?


    Certainly.


    Do I want to do it?


    Absolutely not! This is going to be painful, and that is something I am absolutely not looking forward to.


    Nevertheless, it has to be done. Common sense says that undead are weak to Chi and fire. Although I fail to see why fossilized bones would be weaker to heat than flesh.


    As I am going to cast many spells, it also appears like a perfect opportunity to test my concurrent casting skills.


    In life, my best was around five similar spells, or three of a different nature¡­ assuming it did last not for too long and did not mind the slight headache.


    I first conjure a temporary elemental construct of fire, then one of ice, of lightning of Chi, of Sha and lastly, a lesser golem.


    That is six spells at once, and yet I feel fine.


    There is a notion that Undead are creatures of Sha but ever since I have become one of the undead, I have not been able to differentiate between the states of mana.


    Before doing something that will obviously hurt myself, I modify a healing spell to use Sha instead of Chi ¨C a very weak one, because I am not a masochist ¨C and cast it over myself.


    Nothing notable happens, which is a good start.


    Next, I cast clairvoyance then scrape my left pinkie bones with a sharpened stone.


    I had not taken the time to observe it yet, but the wound closes incredibly fast and in a few minutes, it is as good as new.


    For the next test, I hurt myself again, albeit far more deeply than earlier.


    It is interesting to note that both times, there was no feeling of being hurt.


    I cast the Sha infused healing spell and see the wound close in a matter of seconds.


    That confirms the theory: Sha acts for undead like Chi for the living and I can still heal myself when I get hurt.


    It is peculiar though, as healing spells ¨C or at least the one I altered ¨C normally boost the body¡¯s natural ability to repair itself.


    I do not know why or how my fossilized bones can have such properties, but I suppose it is yet another interesting trait of the undead.


    For now, all that matters is that I can now pursue the other experiment knowing I can heal myself if need be.


    I am still fearful of Chi though. I got hit by a Sha bolt once when I was a child, and it was not a pleasant experience.


    I start with fire, since it is the one I am most curious about ¨C and the least fearful ¨C then ice, lightning, Sha and stone.


    Unsurprisingly, I take the most damage from the constructs with a physical component, nominally the golem and the ice elemental.


    There is little doubt that as a skeleton, I am much more resistant than when I was alive.


    Last is Chi and¡­ I am really not looking forward to it.


    As an extra precaution, I order the Sha elemental to heal me, and cast a modified slow acting spell over myself.


    ¡°Elemental, cast an atta¡­ touch my hand lightly!¡±


    PAIN assails me, quickly followed by a spell of darkness.


    When I come back to myself, I find myself welcomed by the sight of small craters and the still fuming corpse of a bird.


    It does confirm a weakness to life energy but¡­ I cannot call this experiment a success if that is what happens every time I am hurt.


    As even magic beasts know to use the opposite element when they fight ¨C even wyverns, who have stomachs for brains ¨C my weaknesses are all too apparent and if that is what happens, then I am not fit to go out in the world yet.


    I know I need to build some resistance, but the training is going to be painful.


    <><><>


    I always had the habit of speaking to myself, but it has been getting worse and unlike when I was alive, I cannot use the excuse of the recording tool.


    Even back then I had a feeling of loneliness and disconnection ¨C like everyone else ¨C but it cannot be compared to now: they might all have wanted to be left alone, but at least they were there.


    Right now, I am as isolated as one can be as apart from the occasional bird, there are no animals.


    Those lands belong to the dead, but despite my condition, I do not consider myself one of them.


    I would give anything to have a Child by my side, or a rabbit¡­ or anything as long as it can interact with me of its own will.


    I do have the theoretical knowledge to make one ¨C a child, not a rabbit ¨C but without materials, documentation, and tools, it is nothing but a pipe dream.


    There were hundreds of them in the city, at the time our demise but seeing as I cannot detect any mana, I doubt there are any functional ones.


    I look at the Sha construct, who has been my only surviving companion over the last few weeks.


    My training is showing results: I can now bear some pain and have no trouble moving around in a difficult environment.


    I could train more by increasing the stimuli, but I am neither courageous nor masochistic enough to do that. Also, I feel like staying here is no longer an option as I am getting to the point where I would tame a wyvern for the sake of having company.


    I take my recording device ¨C I made it from a big salt gem and stone ¨C to register my thoughts.


    ¡°Recording!¡±


    Where does my mana come from? What is its nature? I seem to have an inexhaustible supply, yet there are barely any in the air and it certainly does not come from my food.


    Since I have no measuring tool, I obviously cannot be sure but as I said, there is so little around that I should see the difference


    Am I tapping into an outside reserve? Does it come from my body? Does it have to do with the theorized fourth state of mana?


    ¡°Stop recording. ¡±


    I know firsthand that there exists a frightening number of tiny life forms floating all around me. They might be the one giving me their mana ¨C in which case, I am probably killing them by millions ¨C but I have no way to know without looking and I do not want to go through that experience again.


    As for my next move, there used to be a forest in the south, down the mountains and crossed by two rivers.


    I think this new environment will be suitable for training, and hopefully full of animals. Dare I hope tamable ones?


    I mock myself. ¡°Meet the new undead, gloomier than any of the previous breed!¡±


    Something comes to mind and I take my recording device again.


    ¡°Set new entry as auto-read for any new registered owner. Recording!¡±


    If you have found this tool then it means I am dead... Deader? If you follow the western river north up until the mountain, you will find an artificial path in the mountains.


    Beyond stands a salt plain, but long ago it was the center of civilization. We had great knowledge of magic and we stored it all in a great vault.


    Whoever you are, it can be yours. You only need to dig it out.


    Please, do not let our wisdom die with us, it was the only thing we could be proud of.


    ¡°Stop recording!¡±


    I may have chosen the easy way out before, but I have been given a second chance and I do not intend to squander it: I will live to the fullest, even if I have to fight to.

 Chapter 2

    Encounter of the smallish type


    ¡°Recording!¡±


    Traveling through the forest has been a lot easier than anticipated, although I sometimes suffer from bouts of panic that do not go away until I use magic to ¡®look¡¯ at my surroundings.


    Between my new senses and the markers I set along the way, there is no way I would ever get lost and yet I still feel disoriented and oppressed.


    I know it is not claustrophobia as I never suffered from it while I was alive. No, I believe it is the backlash of losing four out of my seven senses finally getting to me.


    When I was still in the city, the loss was bothersome, but there were not many obstructions and the danger was non-existent.


    Here, there are gigantic trees, roots, creepers, animals and magic beasts. On their own, none of those things are a threat, but they still force me to be constantly wary of my surroundings at all times.


    ¡°Stop recording!¡±


    I should be recording my experience and thought, but this is less and less the case. Most entries are like the last one, barely disguised complaints about my situation¡­ a situation I deliberately put myself into.


    As for acquiring some company, I cannot see it happening anytime soon: whether it is animals or magical beasts, all seem to flee at the faintest hint of my presence.


    Not that a pet was ever my main goal, it only looked more realistic than finding an intelligent life-form who would welcome a talking skeleton.


    My loneliness has once driven to entertain thoughts of taming wyverns. They are stupid and fearless creatures, so they probably would not be afraid of me, but they are also known to obey more powerful beasts such as lesser dragons.


    I know: forced servitude is not the same as companionship, but if push comes to shove, I would choose that any day over solitude.


    <><><>


    ¡°Recording!¡±


    I have discovered signs of woodcutting and logging.


    This is unquestionably a sign of intelligent life!


    I am excited but also baffled as to how I am going to approach them. No matter how well-spoken I am, it does not change the fact that I am undead and a skeleton to boot. Prejudice is unavoidable, and I know so little about myself that I cannot say it is wrong.


    For now, I will restrain myself to observation, learn about their ways, and devise a method of contact.


    ¡°Stop recording!¡±


    <><><>


    ¡°Recording!¡±


    By following the tracks, I have found a small settlement inhabited by two similar, yet very different species.


    Both have grayish skin and similarly complexes pointy ears, but that is where the similarities end.


    The most numerous of the two species is about a third of the other in size and has six digits and two opposable thumbs; just like me. The other has only five.


    That is all I could detect for sure from afar. When I attempted to use farsight to get a better view, the big ones looked back at me, so I stopped immediately.


    ¡°Stop recording!¡±


    <><><>


    ¡°Recording!¡±


    Despite the difficulties, I have taken some rough measurements.


    The little ones are built very lightly and only stand about sixty centimetres tall. There are some differences though, as I have seen a few with well-defined muscles. The shape of their hands is just like mine: six fingers and two opposable thumbs.


    The big ones appear almost as large as they are tall. Obviously, that is not true, but they are so abnormally large and muscular that this is the impression they give. I mean, most of them do not reach two metres - about two-third of my own height - but they are still larger than me by a wide margin.


    The strangest part is that apart from dragons, they are the only species I know with five fingers.


    ¡°Stop recording!¡±


    <><><>


    ¡°Recording!¡±


    I have grown weary of saying small and big ones all the time.


    From now one, I will use ¡®Imp¡¯ for the former and ¡®brutes¡¯ for the later.


    I know both names have some connotation, but they are also reflective of my own feelings: the imps are ugly and the brutes fit the definition in every way.


    ¡°Stop recording!¡±


    The sun rises, and the imps come out to prepare food in cauldrons taller and larger than themselves. The fires and cooking instrument seems overly big and dangerous for small creatures, but they work with an efficiency that shows a long practice.


    I expected to start eating at once, but their actions give me pause.


    ¡°Recording!¡±


    Morning has come and parts of the imps prepare food using a number of big cauldrons.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    For the most part, the uninvolved wait patiently for the food, but the ever-vigilant brutes stand guard around the settlement.


    I see two scrawny figures put some colorful masks on then retrieve bowls far too massive to be their own.


    The cooks have finished and come in turn to put some carefully selected food in the bowls.


    This is not for the masked ones to eat, though. Instead, those two lead a procession of both species toward a strangely decorated piece of tall wood set a small distance away from the houses.


    I observe the strange and incomprehensible actions taken by the masked imps and their followers.


    I have no understanding of the strange happenings, but I will still report what I see.


    There is a massive slab of stone at the feet of the feet previously mentioned decoration and both masked have stopped right beside it to chant before depositing their bowls and prostrating themselves.


    Mirroring the masked ones, the following imps are now doing the same under the watchful eyes of the nearest brutes.


    As for the other, they show little interest in the proceedings and even though they should have no idea of my existence, I cannot help but feel that they are on to me.


    The weirdness only continues for a few minutes.


    Whatever it was, it has ended. The masked figures and the rest are walking straight to the cauldrons.


    While both species share a meal, the food they left behind being eaten by foxes.


    If it is a method to placate predators with food, then it does not seem very efficient.


    Could it be an attempt to domesticate the small carnivores? That seems highly unlikely, but I can see no other reasons.


    Stop recording!¡±


    Is it really possible to tame wild animals with food? Somehow, I doubt it, but I cannot deny the possibility that it might make them less fearful and hostile.


    Something new is going on, the imps are dividing themselves into groups and walking toward the forest.


    Each group is accompanied by one to four brutes and one of them has stopped about twenty metres away from my position.


    Standing at the edge of the forest, they divide themselves into pairs while the single accompanying brute stands guard.


    But why is there only one, and why does it not follow after them like the other? I can only assume it is because they are only a few dozen metres away from the village but¡­


    Now that one of the pairs is in view of my hiding, I realize they carry different tools. One has a basket, and the other a long knife.


    The imp with a blade speaks happily (¡°Found mushroom, take them.¡±)


    What? I do not understand the language but I still more or less get the meaning¡­ In this case; I think it has found something and wants the other to put it in the bag.


    The imp with a basket does not answer immediately, as it seems focused on something. I see it at a patch on the ground. (¡°There are good mushrooms here, cut the feet!¡±)


    I am certain it is asking the one carrying the blade to cut something.


    Blade imp ¨C for short ¨C  appears satisfied. (¡±Lots and lots of mushrooms. Soon, we will have a great feast. What about the chestnut, are they ripe enough to pick?¡±)


    I surmise they are satisfied with their discoveries... or discussing food. Probably both.


    I do not understand how it works, but whatever it is, I am starting to get the hang of it.


    Blade imp looks up, right at me and silently breaks into a sprint toward the village.


    The second one has no idea why the other one is fleeing, but it does not take him long to follow.


    Try to. Its heavy basket gets stuck into branches and the small one falls flat on its face.


    I take it as my cue to leave my hiding place and drop to the ground.


    I approach slowly, speaking softly all along. ¡°I am not hostile. I only want to help you.¡±


    Stuck, Basket Imp is unable to turn towards me but not knowing what is coming does nothing to reduce its terror. (¡°Don¡¯t eat me, I don¡¯t taste good!¡±) His tone changes slightly, becoming almost hopeful. (¡°Take my basket; it is full of goodies!¡±)


    Eat not? Eat? Oh, I get it! It¡¯s offering me the content of the basket in exchange for its life.


    The poor creature does not know what it is saying, food means nothing for the undead but I suppose it has yet to see me.


    I liberate it from its burden and lower myself to appear as unthreatening as possible and that is not an easy task for a skeleton almost five times its size.


    ¡°Stay calm while I heal you.¡±


    Basket imp becomes even more afraid. (¡°Don¡¯t kill me.¡±) It screams. (¡°Help! There is a scary giant skeleton!¡±)


    I cast a fast-acting healing spell over the small being. It feels opportune seeing as the wounds are shallow and the imp well-fed.


    I could supplement the mana for the healing to reduce the stress on its body, but it would take a lot longer and I want to assure the creature of my goodwill as soon as possible.


    Still, because of its small size, it might feel slightly anemic later. Truthfully, I would always rather use a slow-acting spell since they are less taxing on the body, but if I do not calm this one soon, it might die from a heart attack before long.


    Basket imp looks at me with eyes like saucers. (¡°The skeleton is not killing me?¡±) And I suppose this face is one of bewilderment. (¡°The skeleton healed me?!¡±)


    Next, it asks something with a friendly and hopeful tone. (¡°Are you a friendly skeleton?¡±)


    The speed at which it recovered from its fear is commendable, and now it speaks non-stop in an over-friendly manner.


    It speaks too fast for me. I do I get an impression here and there though, and the little I get is either about food or size.


    Seeing how it looks up a lot, I suppose it is asking how I got this tall.


    The imp starts rummaging through its basket and offers me food with a joyous sound.


    I was wrong, it was not talking about height, but width. ¡°I cannot eat nor do I need to.¡±


    At least I do not think so, it is not like I know everything about my body yet.


    I am suddenly struck by an incomprehensible urge to give the creature a nickname. ¡°Would you mind if I refer to you as ¡®Basket¡¯?¡±


    As it continues to give me food, I put the mushrooms in my mouth to show how useless they are to me. One after the other, the fungus falls through my lower jaw and hit my rib cage before flopping sadly on the ground.


    Basket look at me with intense sadness. (¡°You cannot eat? Eating is good, eating is life. You must eat or you will die! Hurry, try these, they are the best.¡±)


    It pushes another batch of mushrooms in my hand and they soon follow the same fate as their predecessor.


    While we contemplate, two brutes arrive at the scene and look in confusion.


    Not for long though. Obeying their instinct, both creatures attack me with a force far beyond what befits their stature.


    The force is impressive but my barrier stands fast and disperses it around.


    I am not the least bit worried; they are strong for their size, but they do not compare to magical beasts, much less wyverns.


    The brutes enormous fist stops again and again at a dozen centimetres away from my skull and I really wish they stopped.


    Basket screams at the two brutes in panic. (¡°No violence! This one is a good friendly skeleton! It healed me! Don¡¯t be afraid, it isn¡¯t one of the scary bad!¡±)


    The two Brutes waver, but their instincts soon get the upper hand again.


    This is a conundrum. I could easily dispatch them, but the brutes and imps have a symbiotic relationship.


    Unlike the imps, the brutes do not seem to have much in the way of intelligence and I am sure that hurting any of them, no matter how lightly, will only cement their opinion of me.


    More importantly, doing so might frighten Basket.


    Seeing no way out, I use gravity to propel myself over the trees, then change the pull southward, away from the city and this place.


    A few minutes later, I land in a clearing, depressed by my loss.


    I should not let it get to me, it proves there are intelligent beings out there and next time, I will not make the same mistake!


    ¡°Recording!¡±


    Today, I discovered a shocking truth: not all languages are derived from the Words of power.


    This alone made me realize the foolishness of my prejudice. The language was a result of our magic affinity, but not all creatures are the same


    For example, the little I have grasped of the brutes¡¯ magic circuit was indicative of enhanced physical might but ill-suited to the pursuit of magic.


    The imps¡¯ circuit, on the other hand, was too complex to read properly, but I suspect it played some role in my understanding of their language.


    In conclusion, next time I make contact I will have to get over two hurdles: learn the language and hide my nature.


    ¡°Stop recording!¡±

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3


    A first look at the city


    After I finish moping, I fly up again, decided to find more signs of intelligent life¡­ and it does not take me long to find large fields of cereals and fruit trees a few kilometres down the southern edge of the forest.


    In the middle is a city at least ten times bigger than the one I used to live in. The buildings are much more densely packed. Assuming individuals about my size, the population could easily reach the twelves of thousands or even a dozen times as much if they are as small as the imps.


    I fly low to keep myself out of view and I draw close to the fringe.


    As I do, a myriad of strange voices screams simultaneously in my head.


    ¡°KILL THOSE FOUL CREATURES, GOD COMMANDS IT!¡±


    ¡°CLEANSE THIS LAND OFFERED TO US BY GOD!¡±


    ¡°DESTROY THE GODLESS MONSTERS!¡±


    ¡°TRAITORS, ALL OF THEM! KILL THEM BEFORE THEY KILL US ALL!¡±


    ¡°WHERE IS GOD? WE ALL ROT IN THE NETHER.¡±


    I do not understand what the voices are, but I have soon forced to acknowledge there is nothing I can do to dismiss them.


    Feeling more disheartened than ever, and despite the constant hammering, I sort my thoughts and prepare a new entry.


    ¡°Recording!¡±


    I found a city much larger than the one I used to live in.


    Normally, I would make that the focus of my report but I have stumbled upon something even more interesting, and that I believe to be linked to the undead part of myself.


    As soon as I came into view of this city - figuratively speaking - ¡®disembodied voices¡¯ manifested within my head.


    Pondering on their nature and the content of what they ¡®say¡¯ - for lack of a better term - I can postulate two things.


    Firstly, the voices have used concepts unknown to me, which makes it clear they are an entirely separate entity, or more probably a myriad of separate entities.


    Secondly, there was no such manifestation near the Imp¡¯s settlement. While it is entirely possible that it is due to the scope of the population, there is another interesting possibility: Could the ¡®Undead¡¯s¡¯ hatred be directed at civilization rather than life itself?


    From now on, whenever I use the term ¡®Voices¡¯ it will be in reference to the disembodied voices.


    ¡°Stop recording!¡±


    Things are getting so interesting¡­ the only pity is that I had to die once to get there.


    <><><>


    I observe the city and its people from within the forest with farsight. The metropolis is  surrounded by an enormous wall, but there are also some slightly smaller ones inside.


    Extending from the city, there are four wide roads, each connected to a gate. Those gates are guarded by metal golems, and each being entering the city must first present them a small wooden plate, or exchange rounded pieces of metal for one.


    I am very excited, so far, I have counted three different species and all of them seem to act as equals.


    ¡°Start recording!¡±


    There are three species coming in and out of the city and I will list them by size.


    The smallest appears reptilian but seeing them go without a care for the sun, I doubt they are actually ectotherm and there were some individuals among my samples that I believed to be pregnant. Without further study, I cannot yet dismiss them being ovoviviparous.


    The tallest adults I have seen were around one hundred and fifty centimetres tall and even if I have seen a few children I have yet to see any babies.


    From the appearance alone, I have little doubt that they are descendants of the Krok tribe, sometimes we encountered them near swamps and rivers.


    I myself saw one myself when I was still alive, and they were far bigger and muscular than the current individual. Just like the Krok of old, they have six fingers.


    The following creature is barely bigger, yet somewhat resemble my kin.


    Compared to us, their features are coarser, hairier and have only five fingers.


    I have a hard time differencing the adults from the young. I mean, the females tend to be smaller and less hairy than their male counterparts, but so does the young.


    Anyway, there is more variation in sizes than within the previous species: some individuals can be as small as one hundred and forty centimetres or as tall one seventy.


    Just like it was the case with the size, there is little consistency to their build, I have seen small muscular individuals stand near tall and fat ones.


    The last species reminds me of foxes, but their mouths are flat mouth and their fur is very short.


    There are very few variations in height among the adults, but it is not as pronounced as in the previous species, most specimens stand around one hundred and ninety with some rare individuals pushing beyond that.


    Most of them tend to have thin bodies and lean muscles, but I did see a few who were fat and flabby.


    Just like the previous species, they only have five fingers.


    Overall, despite the differences, those three species, and the imps and brutes before them are much like my own: the face, nose, arms, and legs follow a similar template and the only major differences are the eyes, ears and skin.


    ¡°Stop recording!¡±


    There are many stone and earth golems working the field as one would expect, but the proportion seems pretty low compared to the global population¡­ I would say there probably fewer of them than in the city.


    It might sound counter-intuitive, but the metal golems are the more numerous. It is not entirely impossible to make temporary construct out of metal but it is highly unlikely considering the poor efficiency.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    I do not get the reasoning behind the assignation of many greater golems to sentry and patrol duties but I do not know much about their culture to make an educated guess. For all I know - even if it does not look like it right now- it might be too dangerous of a job to give to people.


    I might not have encountered any myself because were as afraid of me as normal animals, but their number was a lot higher than when I was alive.


    Still, I would like to know what method they are using to avoid mana deprivation with so many inefficient metal constructs going.


    I cast invisibility, and every anti-detection spell I know on myself and position myself near the road to get a look at the creatures¡¯ magic circuits when they pass along.


    Being blinded by the spell is not a problem for the current me, but on the other hand, I do not know how useful my spell will be since just like me, the residents of the metropolis could have senses I have never heard about.


    Thankfully, they do not, and this time I am able to finish my studies without being detected.


    As it stands, none of the three species is well suited for magic. The foxlike creatures are by far the best of the three, as proven by the number of - laughably bad - enchanted tools they carry compared to the other two.


    Nevertheless, that fact alone explains why there is such an overwhelmingly high number of permanent constructs.


    Being both curious about their activity so far from the metropolis, and how they interact when they are not under the watchful eyes of their peers, I follow some of them in their travels. After all, it is common knowledge that individuals act closer to their true nature when there are fewer of them around.


    My observations take me to the eastern confines of the forest, and very soon I realize that the further I go, the less diverse the population becomes.


    In fact, by the time I have traversed a large river, all the settlements are inhabited by a single species, the dwarfs - the ones that look kind of like me is hurtful to say every time.


    There are still individuals from other species traveling along the road - always with cargo -, but the relationship appears far less cordial than in the big city.


    As I continue to travel south-east along the road, I discover a strange group. If it were not for my life perception, I would have missed them altogether, as they lie in bushes and tall grasses away from the road.


    Something about them does not agree with me, and I decided to observe from afar.


    As is the case with many travelers, this group carries a variety of wooden and metal objects, but unlike these, every single member carries at least one or two.


    <><><>


    Finally, they stir, I must say it is high time because I was about to abandon my observation.


    The reason for the sudden change seems to be a group of travelers. Most of them are reptilian, but a group of foxes is also accompanying them, carrying the same type of instruments as the off-road people.


    I still don¡¯t understand the cultural significance of the object, but since one of the reptiles also carries one of these long-curved sticks, it contradicts my earlier theory of tools or status symbols reserved for the bigger races.


    Those in hiding stat moving around discreetly and their ways remind me of ambush predators, which might be why they made me feel uncomfortable in the first place.


    The forest people - all dwarfs - suddenly get up and start doing some strange movements with their wooden tools. In an instant, many small wooden rods rain upon the poor traveler, killing most of them¡­ As for those who did not, they are quickly finished off by the predator long knives and metal poles.


    The rods are quickly retrieved, along with the corpse, cargo, and the deceased possessions. Once they are done, they remove all traces of their terrible act, much like hunter clean their traps to avoid alerting future prey.


    This is exactly why I wanted to see how those creatures acted away from civilization.


    Is that the reason why there are so many golems? Is the city a special place of enforced peace? But if they do not get along, why do they visit each other?


    In retrospect, I should have guessed the sticks and poles were tools of murder: it is self-explanatory when you think about how low their magic affinity is. It makes sense that they would develop tools to cut and pierce while keeping their distance.


    Even so, I do not think I could have ever thought of it on my own¡­ a life without magic just does not make sense to me.


    I will continue to observe this group a little longer to see if their actions condoned by their peers and how the brethren of their victims respond.


    <><><>


    This time, they are attacking other dwarfs. For me, the fact that this was never about species or territory makes their actions even more reprehensible but for the survivors, it was only the beginning of their ordeals.


    Unlike what happened earlier, the females and young-lings have been captured and are forced to walk south. From the evil dwarfs'' attitude, it seems as though they are worried about pursuit and their fear often manifest into verbal and physical violence against the poor captives


    <><><>


    I have continued my observations for almost two days now and despite my decision not to reveal myself, the disgusting deed committed against the captive almost compelled me to deal with them.


    If it were not for my current nature, I would have gone. As one of unliving though I doubt I would be accepted and it is very likely the victim would see me as an even bigger threat than their captor and attack me.


    I wish I knew enough of their language to explain myself.


    I look again at the tortured souls and wonder if putting an end to their suffering would not be more merciful.


    A bit less than Half-a-day has passed, and the dwarves have suddenly increased their pace and I cannot help but wonder why they waited until they reached a difficult mountainous terrain to do so.


    The answer comes in the for a group of metal golems. The large metal construct appears to have a way of knowing the approximate position of the dwarfs and are in hot pursuit.


    I fly a bit nearer to get a better look, and realize I was wrong about them, they are not constructed but living beings.


    Coming closer also gives me the reason why they can follow their quarry with such ease: their magic circuits are highly specialized toward physical strengthening and detection. And that is not all though, although not as developed as the foxes, the quantity of mana inside their bodies probably means they at least capable of simple spells.


    How a creature of metal managed to develop this way is a question I would love to have to answer to.


    While still keeping an eye - figuratively - on the dwarf, I concentrate my attention on their pursuit. If they continue the way they are going, they will miss their target by a wide margin.


    As I ponder on a way to show them the right direction without revealing myself, they suddenly change direction.


    In that direction is a scout whose species I cannot tell by size or magic circuit. About two metres tall, the creature is clad in hard leather and its magic circuit that I can only describe one as born trackers. In fact, I would have missed it altogether were it not for my magic vision.


    They are almost on the evil dwarfs, and I somehow find myself rooting for their victory against the devious murderer.


    In a display of irony, the killers fall in an ambush. Despite outnumbering their assailant almost two to one, the newcomers are the superior force and make short work of the devious individual.


    To my surprise and delight, despite being from a different species the metal creatures and their allies provide shelter and care for the captives as though they were their own.


    What can I say, my liking of them grows by the minute!


    I do not know if it is because I relaxed and made some noise, but one of the creatures stop and push up what I had assumed to be their face. Under the metal mask is Krok, with eyes full of intelligence and suspicion.


    It Sniffs the air and calls the others.


    Had I still, a heart it would have skipped a beat for, despite the thick accent and the shape of the mouth, there is no mistaking these words: it is The Language! My species¡¯ own speech!


    I am so delighted that it takes all my strength of will to stop myself from calling up to them.


    I take a figurative long breath then slowly fly back north, toward the heart of the forest.


    The metal vestments have given me an idea: I only need to create one for myself and I will be able to dissimulate my nature.


    Soon, I found myself dreaming of a future where I exchange words with others!


    The wake-up call is harsh though. Where am I going to find enough metal to cover myself?


    Considering the state of my room, there is no way I can access the vault. I never visited it myself but I know it was far underground¡­ it was the most protected part of the city though so¡­


    I better go and ascertain the situation by myself, and even if it does not work, I have just remembered something else: Imps and brutes had metal tools. As badly made as they were made, the size and shape were adapted to their physiology, which means they have access to metal.


    ¡°I have hope, now!¡±


    ¡°FOR THE EMPIRE!¡±


    ¡°GOD BLESS US!¡±


    ¡°AVENGE US!¡±


    I do not have long lost hope of the ¡®voices¡¯ stopping on their own, but I sure wish they started making sense.

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4


    Metal suit


    While I fly back home, I try to remember everything I have learned about the Vault. I know where the entry is, have a rough idea of how to enter it and am almost certain that when it locked, an exclusion barrier is deployed to protect it.


    What worries me greatly though, is how much time has passed since the flood. The evolution of the Krok, the unknown species, the size of their city¡­ all of this is indicative of a long, very long time.


    Will its content still be safe after this long?


    I land on the roof of the building leading to the vault and it almost entirely covered in silt. There used to be only a few floors above ground, but it ran deep and the vault itself was at the very bottom.


    I try Scrying but something gets in the way, not dirt like when I was in my room, but something magical.


    I try my new sense, magic vision, but nothing works, it is like there is a wall of darkness in front of me.


    It has to be an exclusion barrier; I know no other spell with such a powerful effect¡­ but it makes no sense: the spell simply consumes too much to have lasted this long. Really, whoever designed the lock must have been a genius among geniuses.


    Nevertheless, these are the facts, the barrier is still running and I can detect the locking enchanted tool far down ¨C fifty metres or more.


    Digging it out myself is not an option, it would take me years. For a very short moment, I consider blowing my way down with attack spells, but quickly reject the idea as there is no telling what kind of security measures there are.


    Worst case scenario, I could break the lock or the key.


    If I had a lot of greater golems, I could use them to clear the way, but I do not and it is unlikely I will find the resources to craft a sufficient number anytime soon¡­ not that they would be good diggers in the first place, after all, they can only do what they are taught.


    Still, given enough time and dozens of them, I could make them dig a giant hole.


    ¡°I need the metal is in the vault, but to access it, I need the large supply of crystal that happens to also be in the vault.¡±


    It¡¯s a shame, but it was expected, if I had really believed I could access the deposit of my kind¡¯s knowledge I would have attempted to do so a long time ago. Direction, the Imp¡¯s village then.


    One hour-and-a-half later, I land in a tree far from the settlement and hide my presence with every known spell¡­ it has already proven not to be enough but what else can I do?


    Using farsight, I quickly find a small stone house with a chimney. Some brutes detect my spell and look nervously around but I do not mind: there is nothing they can do about it.


    Inside, I find some coal ¨C wood coal I think ¨C some black sand and a small nugget of refined iron and a lot of archaic blacksmithing equipment.


    It proves my theory, but gives no indication as to where they have found their iron. Furthermore, there is not enough for me to take from them... not that I would want to in the first place


    It is not all bad though, the fact there is no ore left means they will have to restock soon.


    Before going, I took a few large salt gems with me; they seem pure and large enough to enchant but¡­ it is salt: this has never been the most reliable material.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Truthfully, this is only when you have lost everything that you realized how convenient your former life used to be.


    It is already night time, and no one has visited the forge even once.


    I give a look at my failed attempts down the tree and decide to go look for some quartz.


    I know where to find some, there used to be a deposit we all visited when we were young and wanted to experiment with spells the adult would not give us crystal for¡­ which sadly, means it is very unlikely I will find anything bigger than my inside thumb.


    <><><>


    I cannot say my search was very productive, none of my discoveries were big enough to contain even one-quarter of the greater golem spell but they are of good quality and might fit some useful simple ones.


    I fly back to the imp village and find an unusually muscular Imp in the forge. I watch him light the furnace and pour black sand inside. This strikes me as odd, as I am certain the imps do not use glass.


    Even for me, whose only job is watching, the process seems long and arduous, but I have to admit it is interesting to see what people can come up with when they cannot use magic.


    With pliers, the goblin picks up a dirty clump of molten sand then starts hammering on it until only a small nugget of iron is left.


    It might be exaggerated to call this iron as it still contains a lot of impurities, but I have already stopped caring: I think I know where black sand comes from!


    If I remember well, the stream traversing this village comes from a lake nestled in a crater. The extinct volcano used to be a good source of hematite until we exhausted it during my time.


    Who would have thought that the black sand covering the place was also iron? It seems that scarcity drives creativity.


    Next stop, the old volcano.


    <><><>


    I do not have the tools, but this is not a problem some magic and creativity cannot solve.


    I first conjure a clay golem to act as my pot and centrifuge, and a fire elemental to be my heat source.


    Truthfully, I do not know much about metal and all of it comes is second-hand knowledge. Thankfully, I am not constrained by time and quality: as long as it looks the part and covers my body then it is good enough.


    Even with the bar so low, it is not a walk in the park. Try after try, I mess up and end up with black and brittle steel. This is not much of a problem because I can always re-smelt it but doing the same mistake over and over again without knowing why gets annoying pretty fast.


    Many tries and a lot less coal later, the color and strength are about right, albeit for a bluish tint that persisted since earlier tries.


    I do not mind the color. In fact, I would say it looks a lot better that way.


    Next, though, is the difficult part: giving the metal the right shape. It would have been easier if I had enough metal to make a construct out of the stuff, but as it stands I only have enough to make it a millimetre thick, maybe less.


    First, I conjure a temporary construct out of clay, solidify it with fire then dispel the spell. Next, is to shave the excess part until it is about my size. Finally, I shape the still malleable steel over the mold and quickly cool it.


    As one would expect, this crude method results in lumps here and there, but I smooth them over. Removing the mold


    Ah¡­ It is the right size and shape, but it is in a single piece and full of clay¡­ How can I wear it like that?


    After cutting the suit in smaller parts and disintegrating the clay, I stumble upon the second problem: the metal does not bend. I should have known, but I was too focused on getting the shape right.


    With construct, the spell ensures the integrity and allows the materials to bend in unnatural ways so... is there a way to apply the same effect there?


    The only thing that comes to mind is softening the joints, but a quick test shows how unrealistic and unsightly the whole concept is.


    Firstly, it consumes too much mana.


    Secondly, the articulations will not survive that kind of treatment for long.


    Finally, the way the metal deforms when I move looks unnatural and almost disgusting.


    And then, there is also the fact that I can see my bones through the cuts!


    If I remember correctly, the Krok had cloth of metal rings linking the various parts of their suits, but this kind of detailed work is beyond me.


    I should have never gone with a full metal suit in the first place¡­ I should have copied the scout armor, the one in metal-reinforced leather.


    Even so, it would be a waste to destroy my suit after all the work I have done on it¡­


    I know, I will use leather and sinew for the joints! Yes, that should do well hiding my skeleton, and I could also use it for padding the interior so my movements look less unnatural!


    That is decided! When night comes, I will go hunt some wyvern. Unlike metal, I am proficient with leather.


    As the night is still a few hours away, I make myself some tools of murder in imitation of the one the Kroks were carrying. Too many travelers were equipped with them for it not to be suspicious if I went around without one.

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5


    Hunting


    There is a place, about four dozen kilometers west from here, that suit all the condition for a wyvern nest: a high peak nearing the ocean surrounded by a wide variety of hunting grounds.


    I may despise them now, but it first started as fear. I was not always a coward, in my early years, I was a reckless child who would sneak out to see the world, experiment¡­ or whatever struck my fancy.


    Now that I think about it, even back then, I might have been looking for recognition¡­ whatever the case, it stopped the day I was attacked by a solitary wyvern.


    I had taken some precautions, so I was never in any real danger but¡­ the sight of the massive beast hammering my barriers with spells and claws left a mark that changed me forever.


    Later in life, maybe to dispel my fear or to prove myself I had gotten over everything, I volunteered for every hunting mission. It did not work as intended though; I was not afraid of them anymore, but I was still the same as prudent and faint-hearted as ever.


    Wyverns, like many other magical beasts, are driven by hunger ¨C you will almost always find them either eating or digesting ¨C but they are more powerful and cunning and if it were not for the usefulness of their hides and bones, my kind would have never tolerated their existence.


    I know I would not.


    Even now, I cannot help but have mixed feelings. On one hand, they are a precious source of material ¨C most notably the magic organs ¨C but on the other, I would love if they had gone extinct.


    I put an end to my pointless reflections to observe the site from afar and¡­ ¡°That is troublesome.¡±


    That might be the understatement of the year. Not content with surviving the beasts flourished. I do not think I have never heard of such a large community: there are already over three dozen individuals and I am still counting.


    I cannot call this a hunt anymore, it will require finesse and discretion.


    I will attack tonight when most of them are sleeping. If I am fast enough, I should be able to make away with the remains of a sentry before the others find out.


    I hope so. I am getting the feeling that my concealment spells have not been up to par lately.


    <><><>


    While I wait for the night to come, I get a sudden revelation: could it be the Krok detected me because I am undead?


    This, in turn, makes me realize something: I do not know any Words of Power related to Undeath! This should have been obvious from the get-go, so why did I not think of it until now?!


    Since the language is derived from the Words, it should be possible to take it the other way to find the missing words¡­ but it does not work¡­ as though the complete lexicon of Undeath is just made-up words.


    As I ponder on this, more inconsistencies pile up.


    ¡°Recording!¡±


    For a species supposedly dedicated to the knowledge of magic, why did we not put more emphasis on Word research?


    I remember being taught we knew all there was to know and I never once thought about disputing that fact but in retrospect, it makes little sense: the units of time alone make up for thousands of Words and I am quite sure there are many more yet to be discovered.


    Truthfully, no one needs this many: a single one combined with some multiplier will do the trick, but it goes to show the complexity and profoundness of the matter.


    As for the dictionary completion, I have disproved that a moment ago.


    It might have been a measure to prevent the practice of necromancy but how did they stop me¡­ us from thinking about it?


    ¡°Stop recording!¡±


    Whatever the case, there is no one left to answer my question. The truth probably exists somewhere in the vault, but as always I will not know until I can access it.


    I cast the usual spell, and try a new one I call conceal Sha. I do not know if it will work as intended, but that is the only characteristic of the undead I know.


    Invisible or not, I take care of moving slowly and carefully, always on the lookout for signs of life and magic and before long I find a sentry.


    I extend my zone of silence, and without giving it the time to react I shoot a lightning bolt quickly followed by a gravity and stone hammer. Individually, none of these one or two words spell could hurt the creature, but cast in quick succession, they make for a deadly combination capable of fracturing a wyvern skull.


    As I step forward the claim my prize, I sense a¡­ no multiple gatherings of mana.


    I erect a single word barrier only to see it breaks an instant later under a flurry of mana projectiles.


    Of the four attacks, only the last one goes through. My personal protection is strong, so a few Chi bolts are not a threat¡­ but they were only the first of many.


    I hurriedly put a series of quick barriers, it should give me enough time to prepare for the real deal.


    One barrier down and two new enemies join the rank¡­ two down¡­ three down¡­ another four wyverns join in¡­ four¡­ five¡­ and done!


    The next all Chi bolts disperse harmlessly and it only takes an instant for the great beast to realize that their attacks do not work and to change tactics.


    Firebolts, Ice bolts, Lightning bolts, Sha bolts, and even stones projectile are added to the mix. Wyverns are cunning, but such coordination is abnormal¡­ unless they have a leader, in which case, let us just hope it is not a lesser dragon.


    I do not have to think about what if: my second barrier is only meant to disrupt mana and they are bound to take notice.


    The casting of a physical barrier only takes seconds, but each of them feels like an eternity.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Finally, I exult. ¡°Too late brutes, my defense is flawless!¡±


    It has not been two minutes since the start of the fight, but I might as well be blind - which I technically am - between my barriers and the Chi saturating the atmosphere both my mana sense and life vision are useless. To remedy this, I cast clairvoyance.


    I might not be as safe as I initially thought: there are even more wyvern are coming and they are getting bigger and bigger¡­ some of them might even be a match for lesser dragons.


    ¡°To fight or to flee?¡±


    There is no way I can fit my prey into my barrier.


    Should I come back later?


    Now that they know of me, they will not let their guard down for a long time¡­ and at any rate, they seem really intent on crushing me with numbers.


    ¡°Well, if it is a fight you want, a fight you will get!¡±


    I prepare a lightning storm and create an opening in my barrier just long enough to cast it.


    They did not that one coming, I cannot attack through, but I can reshape them!


    In a matter of minutes, giant clouds obscure the sky and thunderbolts as wide as men rain indiscriminately upon the field.


    Chaos ensues and I use the confusion to conjure three powerful golems to protect me as well as four lightning elementals to attack.


    Now supported by my construct, I turn my attention to the largest enemy.


    <><><>


    How long has it been? How many did I kill?


    Three dozens? Maybe four if I count the one incapacitated.


    There is no end to them, whenever I feel I am about to win, even more reinforcement join in, and each time they get more powerful.


    If I were not I undead, I would have reached my limit a long time ago. Sometimes I feel like there are only benefits to being an undead¡­ but at other times I wonder what it will cost me down the line.


    Also, just because I am sleepless and tireless, that does not mean I am immune to boredom and exasperation!


    I cannot get it anymore, it needs to stop! I forego all reason and conjure even more elementals.


    As for me, I take the sky. Wyverns are not good flyers: without gravity magic, they would be too heavy to glide but I can go as fast as I want and make ridiculous turnabouts: a fossilized skeleton does not have squishy parts to worry about.


    Unable to follow my lead, the wyverns quickly abandon pursuit to confront the elementals attacking them from behind which finally leaves me free to find the true leader of this horde.


    Sitting on the peak of the mountain, the ridiculously massive beast cry in defiance to my challenge. As big if not bigger than an adult lesser dragon, its power is no less impressive.


    Ancient wyvern did not exist in the past, I thought them creatures of literature.


    I scoff, ¡°You have done well to reach such an advanced age, foul beast... let us put a stop to that!¡± Then rain Sha bolts and lightning bolts at the abhorrent creature with reckless abandon!


    You may be strong, but I am stronger: I have probably reached a domain beyond that of the living ¨C no pun intended.


    ¡°I WILL SURVIVE! YOU ALL DIE!¡±


    The scream put an end to my exultation. Never before did I hear the ¡®voices¡¯ in an unpopulated area. But all mean, it must have been the wyvern death scream, but I cannot be certain: I was out of my mind.


    I stand over the corpse silently, waiting for the ¡®voices¡¯ to manifest themselves again but nothing else happens: I am still in control.


    Deprived of their leader, hopelessness overwhelms the specimens down the mountain and those who still can flee in whatever way they are capable.


    <><><>


    The battle was mentally exhausting, but it did not impact me as much as the resurgence of the ¡®voice¡¯ at the end.


    I look at the mountain of corpses strewn over the mountain.


    No way I am taking care of them all: constructs exist for a purpose.


    I summon a number of lesser golems and tell them to gather the carcasses. If possible, I would also like to leave the dismantling to them, but they will need tools and I only have the one knife I made yesterday.


    Obsidian? I dismiss the constructs, then make a round trip across the volcano and the city to gather obsidian and rock salt.


    As soon as I come back, I conjure more golems, and leave the sharpening and dismantling to them.


    Here, I would like to emphasize that I am not lazing around, quite the contrary. I do what only I can do: open holes in the ground, fill them with conjured water, and make round trips to gather more salt for the brining holes.


    <><><>


    My current self may be beyond nausea, but it does not make the sight of flesh, guts and meat as far as the eye can see is any less nightmarish.


    To my side, hides, bones, sinew and magic organs are cleaned and organized in neat piles.


    Under normal circumstances, the tanning process would take weeks, but I just got my hands on a number of quality magic organs and I intend to make good use of them. Although, even if I can bring down the time needed per roll to a few days each, it will still take months to proceed this quantity.


    I do not mean me. I have no intention of taking any part in the process beyond making the initial creation of magic tools and greater golems.


    It still leaves a massive amount of flesh. Wyvern flesh is not that bad ¨C it is surprisingly palatable for a predator ¨C so it would be a waste to leave it to rot.


    My first thought is to take it with me as a gift for the metropolis, but this goes against the discrete approach I had in mind.


    The next one is for the Imps: brined wyvern jerky can last for months and the little ones sure need more meat in their diets.


    I make a few more brining holes while pondering what to do with resources.


    Between the golems and magic tools, I have already used about one third the magic organs, using any more would be wasteful¡­ but my recording device is reaching its limit and I never felt safe knowing it was made of salt.


    As for the rest, now that I have some greater golems it should not be so hard to open more rooms for storage.


    All that is left, is record the events of the day before I forget.


    ¡°Recording!¡±


    I have made a few interesting discoveries today.


    Firstly, things were a bit hectic, but I am sure ended up maintaining over a dozen spells at the same time! Even though it has been less than a day since then, the events already feel like a dream. They are not though, it really happened.


    Secondly, the ¡®voices¡¯ manifested again; this time rather than ¡®voices¡¯ it was more akin to a scream or burst of survival instinct but the feeling was the same.


    Finally, and more importantly, the more time I spend outside, the more my past appear stupid and unnatural. Back then, we all chose to die with the city, we could have easily saved ourselves. I know my species was never strongly attached to life - not even to the continuation of our species - but we had our pride.


    Now that I am leaving outside, I cannot even remember what we were so afraid of. Was it change? The unknown?


    What kind of scholars fears the unknown? There are just so many things to learn outside, so many people to meet and so many things to do¡­


    Is it not strange that despite being dead, I am having the time of my life?


    ¡°Stop recording!¡°


    As I go about making a new recording tool and transferring the content, another oddity strikes me: how did we come about creating the Children? I remember being taught the process, but it was strangely theoretical compared to the rest


    It is only speculation, but I feel there is a connection. Like in the way my skeleton and the Children¡¯s artificial bodies are animated.


    As usual, the answers are probably in the vault¡­ Oh, well, no point thinking about what is out of my reach, I would better concentrate on the task at hand: the design of my new suit!

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6


    Tourism


    Over the last three days, I have been going back on forth between the mountain and the city to collect the material. It was a real pain that I to do this colossal task to do alone, but there was simply no way for the golems to help and I simply could not leave them in the open either.


    I drop the last of the preserved food near the Imp¡¯s settlement. Some animals are already gnawing on it but there is so much it is hardly noticeable, anyway.


    I cast a powerful lighting spell to catch their attention and leave immediately; with that out of the way, I am now ready to work on my suit... to take a step towards my actual goal.


    By the time I get back, the golems have almost cleared all the rooms. I said cleared and not cleaned because the place is still as dark, dirty and stuffy as ever. Such a thing does not bother the current me (much): I only need some space out of the elements to work.


    It would be great if I could still use my workshop, but whatever was inside has long stopped being usable. I sit on the ground, near the pile of magic organs, I would rather not use any of my very limited material, but I nevertheless recover two among the smallest to inscribe; one with reinforcement and the other with a magic barrier.


    My fight with the wyverns made me realize I have grown over-confident, my former self would have never left the city without at least some defensive magic tools and while it is true that compared to him, I have become a force to be reckoned with; I am no less susceptible to surprise attacks.


    <><><>


    Eight greater golems stare silently at me, waiting for an order. With the hides¡¯ preparation finished, the rooms cleared, and the fact that there are only two tanning tools: I do not have work to give them. I could increase the tools, but I am loath to waste more resources¡­ in retrospect, no matter the difficulties it implied, it might have been better served to only use temporary constructs.


    I order them to dig a hole around the tower in preparation to access the vault. In the long run, without supervision, the work they can do will probably only amount to a drop of water in the ocean, but anything is better than nothing and their cold lifeless stares make me uncomfortable.


    As for me, I have enough leather now, so it is time I do what I want and need to do. With this much leather, I could make an entirely new suit, but I have already wasted a lot of time, and I do not feel like starting over.


    I roll some leather in tube attempt to sew the leather to the metal with the sinew. As expected, making leather and making cloth does not require the same set of skills... it covers the articulations and other revealing parts but it is too loose. Whatever, it is not like I have to reproduce the technique used perfectly; I take the path of simplicity by fusing the two with magic.


    I put the suit on and use farsight to look at myself. It hides my skeleton completely, looks more like the real deal, and even the movements appear more natural.


    There is one last problem though: the disparateness. As the best solution is often the simplest, I go the easy path again by applying a thin layer of metal over the leather, just enough to give the same metallic shine. And voila: one suit of metal... albeit in appearance only.


    All that is left now, are the adjustments, like finding the right amount of padding for each part and adjusting the length.


    Despite all my efforts and training, there is still a stiffness to my movement. Well, I suppose I will get used to it sooner or later and the most important thing is that it hides my nature¡­ while also looking nice and lustrous.


    I know I can do better, but the suit is only the means and not the goal. ¡°Indeed, it will have to do. I need to head back south.¡±


    On my way, I make a small detour by the imp¡¯s settlement to see if they have found my gifts. I find them in the middle of a feast¡­ and it might not even be their first one considering the amount of scraps. I look for Basket but I do not find it, or just as likely I cannot distinguish it from the rest.


    A smile on my face ¨C figuratively ¨C I head south and stop at the edge of the forest to observe the city again. Last time, I only took a look outside, this time I want to see inside and to learn more about their habits, all so I can avoid sticking out like a sore thumb.


    <><><>


    The use of the rounded pieces of metal is not limited to entering the city. Far from that, they seem to have an important role as people keep exchanging them for food, objects, and even at times for other pieces of metal.


    As I had observed last time, not one individual can enter the city without first giving away some of those metal discs or showing the sentry a wooden tag. I cannot do that myself, but it seems likely that as long as I can get in, I will be seen by the citizen as someone who has gained rightful entry.


    With that in mind, I wait until the night to fly over the walls under the cover of every concealment spell possible. For hours, I wait patiently in a remote corner then to slip among the crowd at dawn. For me who lived all his life surrounded by the same group of lifeless individuals, the sight of the masses going noisily about their days is as foreign as can be, but it is also lively and colorful and I like it.


    ¡°DEATH TO THE FAITHLESS!¡±


    ¡°KILL THE DAMNED WITCH! ¡°


    ¡°THE FAKE GODDESS AND ALL OF HER MONSTROUS WORSHIPPER MUST DIE!¡±


    There it goes again, as soon as I drop my guard a little, the ¡®voices¡¯ annoy me with their nonsense. I have grown used to the grumbling that I can ignore it most of the time, but on occasion when I get lost in thought, it becomes overwhelmingly loud and persistent.


    As I have no clear goal in mind, I follow the people around and end up in a large place meant for exchanges. Standing behind kiosks and counters are Individuals from various species, calling to the crowd in an unknown language.


    One some krok calls directly to me. (¡°Hey, big fella! Want something tasty? I got the best bacon in all of TheNewCity!¡±)


    My ¡®auto-translation¡¯ is far from perfect, it only gives me the general sentiment and sometimes a few words, but I did not need its help for the last word, I distinctly heard the new city, even if it was spoken as a single word.


    I ask avidly without being understood. ¡°Could you tell me where the city name come from?!¡±


    He? she? It? looks startled, then answer angrily, (¡°Ya some great noble knight or s¡¯methin¡®? Can¡¯t lessen yerself ta speak like ordinary folk, can ya? Why don¡¯t ya go mingle with yer own kind then, asshole!¡±)Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The only thing I got from all that was its desire to see me to go somewhere. Despite knowing it will not do much good, I answer as slowly as possible. ¡°I am new here; I do not understand the language yet. Could you please point me to someone who speaks like me?¡±


    He must have understood because he annoyedly points somewhere. (¡°Get lost, go find that enchanter bastard, ya¡¯ll be at home among pricks!¡±)


    The individual punctuates his sentences with different words, but to me they all sound like ¡®unpleasant¡¯, but considering how often it occurred in the span of our conversation, it would be very strange if it were really the case.


    I quickly deduce it is either an affectation or form of polite speech and try mixing it in my own sentences, ¡°Thank you for your unpleasantness. You have been very unpleasantly helpful, and I wish you a very unpleasant day.¡±


    Why does a word I do not understand roll so pleasantly on the tongue?


    (¡°I Dunno¡¯ what ya said but I know an insult when I hear one ya damn bastard!¡±)


    Since the individual seems to be getting in an even worse mood, I take my leave to follow the direction he has given me. After a short walk, I find many rooms with unusually large windows and a lineup of objects. I attempt to come up with theories about their usage ¨C obviously, they are not storage - but forget all about it when I see enchanted tools of dubious quality on display.


    Enchantment means magic, magic indicates knowledge of the Words of Power, which happens to be the foundation of the Language. I should be jumping in joy at the opportunity, but instead, I look at the items in incomprehension.


    Why did they inscribe spells on metal? Metal does not retain magic; it strongly resists its passage and generates heat in the process. And as if it was not strange enough, most items have a notch near the first word¡­ Some of them even have uncarved crystals slotted in.


    Oh, I get it now! The crystals as used as renewable power sources. At first, it appears like a wasteful way to use a good crystal, but it is not: a single crystal can be used to power a variety of tools and that it is not all of it, the way the Words of Power are carved in a spiral pattern to maximize the space and reduce the circuit¡¯s size is just as ingenious.


    Once again, I have to acknowledge that scarcity really drives creativity. In many ways, it reminds me how as a child I used to make the best of what I had, then became wasteful as I adult with access to unlimited resources. Even as a child, I would never have dreamed of conserving space that way, at best I looked for a crystal the right size.


    Could I use the same concept with crystals? No, the right question is: how do I translate this concept to spell inscription? In my current situation, any space gain, even as small as one-twelfth, could make the difference between using disposable quartz or my very limited supply of organs.


    Well, using a crystal as a power source also opens some possibilities, but it is not as brilliant as cramming as many Words as possible.


    (¡°Are you alright? If you¡¯re going to pass out, please do it in a place where it won¡¯t hinder my business! Hey big guy! Are you listening to me?!¡±)


    I was so taken by my thoughts that I did not hear the fox creature talking. What was it that it said? Something about being big, unwell and in the way?


    He is not wrong; I am in the way. I move away from the door and present it with my excuses. ¡°Sorry, when I saw these items, I was struck with an idea so novel that my mind went astray.¡±


    (¡°Royal speech?! Not even the queen¡¯s own knights speak so proficiently, and I never heard of someone as big as you. I mean, you are so tall yet so thin. Say, what species are you?¡±)


    A Queen? Like in the insect¡¯s world?


    ¡°I do not understand you, but you seem to understand me.¡±


    The fox is clearly not fluent, but it does its best. Its accent is not as bad as the kroks but even with it speaking slowly and carefully, there are some words I do not understand.


    ¡°All mages can read (old royal) to a degree since the spell books are entirely written in the (stuff), but Speaking it is its own thing. Where did you learn? I have never heard of someone as proficient as you.¡±


    It calms down suddenly and changes its tune. ¡°Sorry kid, I got carried away. Do you want to (buy) some Enchants? I may not look like it but I¡¯ve got some of the finest items outside the magic (department). I used to be a (researcher) there.¡±


    I politely decline ¡°I cannot say I have no interest in your display, but I am keener on learning about this place¡¯s customs and language. You see, I know far too little and would like to avoid making careless mistakes once I introduce myself.¡±


    ¡°Introduce yourself?¡± Its face displays a wealth of expression. ¡°I knew you had to be a new species but I can¡¯t imagine the guards letting you in without telling you anything. Frankly, you are as suspicious as they get, but as long as you¡¯ve got something to buy or sell, I couldn¡¯t care less.¡±


    ¡°What are those ¡®buying¡¯ and ¡®selling¡¯ you people keep talking about?¡±


    ¡°(Ouch), you¡¯re like an old (timer) who never left the (damn) forest! It makes sense though, the notions of money and commerce did not exist when I was a kid.¡± Its mouth opens slightly revealing some fangs. ¡°You know what, I¡¯ll give you the basics, and if you¡¯ve got something of interest, I¡¯ll even buy it from you.¡±


    It explains. ¡°Money is what we call a currency, a tool for trade. It is light, so it a lot more convenient than bartering and...¡±


    ¡°What is ¡®bartering¡¯?¡±


    ¡°That too? Barter is when you exchange your stuff for someone else¡­ and stop interrupting me. As I said, rather carrying your stuff around and exchanging it with other, you carry little metal discs issued by the government that have an agreed value. There are five common denomination, the copper, the big copper that is worth five small copper, the small silver, worth one hundred small coppers, the large silver, worth five small silver, and finally the small gold, worth ten large silver. Got it?¡±


    ¡°So, if I want to acquire something, I need to ¡®buy¡¯ it with money and to get some I first need to exchange my possessions for some, is that right?¡±


    ¡°Right so!¡± He laughs. ¡°You¡¯re going to get ripped off like crazy though.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s ripping off?¡±


    Apparently, my comment is hilarious because he laughs uncontrollably. ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon, I know you will. So, do you have anything that would interest me?¡±


    ¡°All I have in my possession some wyverns¡¯ bones, leather, sinew and hides that I left back home. Is that any good?¡±


    ¡°Is that any good? Are you kidding me? When can you get them? I¡¯ll even throw in a history book and a royal to common language dictionary... books are neither cheap no easy to come by, you know?¡± He stares at me doubtfully. ¡°Did you hunt them yourself in that (crappy armor) of yours? No offense, but it looks like it¡¯ll be falling apart at any minute.¡±


    Since I do not see how clothing is related to fighting, I answer with a vague. ¡°I fought them off normally.¡± Before recentering the conversation. ¡°The sinew and bones I can bring, but seeing how the golems have only started processing the hides recently, I have only a few rolls at hand.¡±


    ¡°Is the Queen smiling on me or something? You¡¯re telling me you¡¯ve got greater golems with tanning skills?¡±


    ¡°No, I certainly do not. I just happen to have experience in tanning, and it is not like they are going through the whole process by themselves: I only need them to operate the magic tools I have made.


    ¡°You¡¯ve made an (enchant) even golems can operate? Isn¡¯t that way better? Would you be willing to sell? If it works, I also okay with buying the unprocessed hide at one fifth over the (market price).¡±


    I did not get most of what he said, but one of the words he used strikes me as strange. ¡°What do you mean by, ¡®Enchant¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s short for ¡®enchanted tool¡¯. You are worse than a grandpa. Would you care to stop asking about every (damn) little thing?!¡±


    I would like to acquire this currency as soon as possible, but I am still worried I will get detected and cause alarm if I am not prudent during the daytime. "It is a bit far. At best, I can bring a few pieces by tomorrow morning. As for the tool, I...¡±


    ¡°Eh, that soon? I thought for sure you lived outside the (Queendom) from the way you spoke. Oh, right¡­ don¡¯t expect other mages to be as fluent as me in (Old Royal), I¡¯m over six hundred and I have been studying magic since I was 10. In fact, the only reason I am operating this (shop) is to finance my research.¡±


    It is my turn to be surprised ¡°Eh? So young? I thought for sure you were way older than me.¡±


    ¡°I thought the same¡­ I suppose that you¡¯re these types who are old in age, but not in experiences.¡± He laughs again, ¡°By the Queen, you¡¯re going to kill me with laughter, kid... or maybe I should call you older timer? I don¡¯t know about your kind¡¯s life expectancy, but if you go calling anyone under six hundred young, you¡¯re going to have some problems: the vast majority of people don¡¯t get to live over one hundred, you know?¡±


    ¡°That is¡­ unexpected. Thank you for your concern, I will take your advice to heart. See you tomorrow.¡±


    As I cannot leave now, I decide to walk around the town some more.

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7


    More tourism and bullies


    Down the street, I find an interesting place: a workshop with a wide variety of metal and leather suits. Each and every one of them basically oozes sturdiness, much like the ones worn by the Kroks. I want to... that is not it¡­ I have to take a good look for future reference!


    Just when I am about to walk in, I hear a roaring wave of laughter directed at me coming from behind. Its origin, a group of four dwarfs talking loudly to each other while looking down on me. Or rather, trying their best to since they are only a tad over half my size.


    (¡°Nice armor, did your mommy make it for you?¡±)


    If there was a doubt before, it is gone, they are mocking me.


    (¡°Cigarette¡¯s paper is sturdier than that!¡±)


    (¡°Guys, that¡¯s cast iron, bloody cast iron!¡±)


    (¡°Guys, guys, don¡¯t be so harsh. He¡¯s obviously a kid or an actor playing the part of an adventurer. Too bad the costume looks so bad.¡±)


    (¡°Nice war hammer you got there, pal. What¡¯s its name, the mice¡¯s bane?¡±)


    (Awesome, it¡¯s leather, but it¡¯s painted to look like metal. What happened? Your mommy ran out of metal before she could cover that stupidly tall body of yours?)


    (¡°Why don¡¯t you run back to Mommy before you get hurt? You aren¡¯t prepared to face the dangers out there¡­ the wild if full of rabbits and squirrels, you know?¡±


    Despite their berating tone and probably harsh words, the group does not seem to bear any real hostility towards me. As for my ability to understand meaning and feelings, it cannot keep up with their speed and their overlapping words.


    I am saved when a booming voice exuding authority shouts them down. The commanding figure walks down the street, it is a massive Krok followed by a group of mixed species: one fox, two dwarfs and one reptilian.


    The commanding Krok walks straight towards the mocking dwarfs. From up-close, without the metal suit, the long years of evolution shine even more; there are no traces of their animalistic ancestry in these eyes.


    How long have I been dead for them to progress this much?


    (¡°What¡¯s with you idiots are making trouble again? Get back to your job before the guards come. Do you really intend on becoming their guest every other day?¡±)This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    (¡°Oh, come on, look at his armor! We were doing him a service there: a dog could tear his gear apart assuming it doesn¡¯t come apart by itself first.)


    (¡°You¡¯ve already caused too much trouble for anyone to listen to your explanation, mates. Make yourself scarce before the guards come, I will talk to them for you.¡±)


    (¡°Hey, we weren¡¯t doing anything wrong but... thank you. Let¡¯s go, guys, he¡¯s right after the other day they aren¡¯t likely to listen to us.¡±)


    (¡°Thanks.¡±)


    (¡°We owe you one.¡±)


    The gates¡¯ people are coming? Is it not bad news? I entered without buying a wooden tag and have none of these currencies they are so fond of yet.


    The helpful Krok show its fang at me and go talk with the metal-suited Krok. The discussion does not last long, but it involves a lot of sharp gaze being thrown at me.


    Whatever it said, the Krok managed to convince them. They leave and I walk up to him. ¡°Many thanks for your help. I was at a loss as to what to do. I can only speak...¡± Suddenly I remember the fox enchanter saying that it is pretty uncommon for people to speak the language and ask. ¡°Do you understand me?¡±


    ¡°I do, same as all great Koroks. We all learn the Queen¡¯s tongue early in life, so if you¡¯re lost or in trouble just ask my nearest kindred.¡± It shows its teeth again. ¡°In Thenewcity, we¡¯re all either (knights), guards or retired.¡±


    Guard, I understand, but the other word¡¯s meaning is unclear¡­ I understood it as ¡®protector¡¯, but there were some other connotations I did not pick up on.


    ¡°I will do just that, kind sir. You said you were a great Korok? May I trouble you to ask what the other species are called?¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure, no problem lad. The furry one is an Elf, the small ones like my two friends there are Humans and the last one is a Korok.¡±


    ¡°Koroks and great Koroks? Does it mean you are related and that the difference only comes down the difference in size?¡±


    ¡°Something like that. As you can see, we great Koroks are pretty tall and bulky, but we¡¯re also honorable and congratulate ourselves for being first in line to protect the queen and the (Queendom)!¡±


    It is nice of him for telling me all of this, but is he not a little too forward with information? And is it me or did I really pick a hint of threat?


    ¡°By the way, did you need something from this shop? No offense, but you won¡¯t find anything your size in town, not unless you have it custom-made.¡±


    ¡°I was only looking at the leather suits for reference. As you can see, I am not very proficient with metal, so I was thinking of taking inspiration from one of these.¡±


    ¡°Suit? Look nice?¡± He stares at my suit and asks in a doubtful tone. ¡°You know what (armors) are for, right?¡±


    I am not that dumb; it is just that my case is special and that I did not know the right word up until now.


    ¡°They are protective gears, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they are for protection in combat, but I suppose for a mage like you, the look is really all that matters. Well, if you don¡¯t mind, I really need to get going. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve also got all sorts of things to do, right? See you later lad.¡±


    ¡°How¡­ How did you know I was a mage?¡±


    ¡°I just needed one clue, kiddo. You wearing this, and yet you are still alive.¡± He mutters something too low for me to understand then walks away. ¡°See you later, kid!¡±


    ¡°See you later, sir.¡±


    He reunites with his group and they leave together. Why did he say, later? And why do people keep treating me like a child?


    I look closely at the ¡®armor¡¯ ¨C even the name sounds nice ¨C and one really sticks out: pure shiny black leather with metal reinforcements on the shoulders, tights and forearm. I commit the look to memory, then hide in the same remote place until night comes, fully intent on making the best of the night to test the concepts I came up with at the enchanter¡¯s shop.

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8


    Some experimentation


    and selling wares


    On the way back, I make a detour to collect more quartz. If it works, and I see no reason why it would not, even the smaller pieces would be worth my time. By themselves, the possibilities are exciting, but it would also be a big step towards solving my resources problems.


    While I was away, the golems dug as instructed, but without proper knowledge and tools, the excavation is not progressing well.


    ¡°Dump the dirt as far¡­¡± What was I about to order to a golem? ¡°Dump the dirt there, and if the pile starts crumbling, make another pile behind this one in that direction. Repeat until you cannot dig further down or I tell you otherwise.¡±


    I take a look at the tanning process and see both ¡®Enchants¡¯ have ceased working: with the golem always around, there is not enough mana for them. This time, I charge them with my own power, but I order the golems to leave the tools alone and get away from them for two whole hours if it happens again.


    With that being taken care of, it is time to experiment. I head to my room and add the quartz to the previous pile. I do not have a need for it myself yet, but I start with a more efficient renewable power source: the research only needs small fragments, and will certainly be of great interest to Thenewcity.


    I inscribe only the Words to fasten mana collection on tiny shards and leave them alone, then I do the same with slightly bigger shards. There is very little mana here, so the increase in gathering speed does not show as well as I would like, but it still noticeably faster than usual.


    For the next part, I need to decide on a spell for the experiment; it has to be decently long but not something that would drain mana too fast... A simple barrier spell should fit the bill as long as I am not too specific about the details.


    I take a crystal not even one-sixth as the one I used for my barrier and start working. It is unexpectedly hard to write in a spiral inside a small crystal. Maybe that is why the idea has never been implemented before.


    On my first attempt, I simply miswrite a word, and on my second, I fail to put enough space between the spires and it ends up causing a mana leak. Looking back on my recent work, I cannot help but feel there is something about what I am doing. Drawing in a spiral makes is a lot harder than expected, and it did not look like it was that much better at using the space?


    That is it, I understand what felt wrong; I drew my spirals as though I was using a flat surface!  Not only is it a lot harder, but it also leaves a lot of unused space. It is understandable since I always inscribed my spell in a straight line... ¡°It is really hard to go against old habits , uh.¡±


    Third try is in a helix pattern, and there is no problem whatsoever. Inscribing like this is only slightly more difficult than the usual way but saves a lot of space. Even so, there is still a lot more I could use¡­ I wonder¡­ I wonder if I could make the helix winds back on itself.


    I pick a similarly sized crystal to test this ¡°double helix¡± idea, and it fails miserably; there is more leeway than with the spiral, but it is also harder to visualize and do by sight alone. As to not be too wasteful, I make a few more attempts with simpler spells and even smaller crystals but they all end up in failure and as if to mock me, the renewable mana sources chose that moment to shatter one by one.


    As I ponder about what can be the cause, the second batch absorbs the liberated mana and shatters soon afterward.


    ¡°I was such a fool: the pressure is too strong.¡±


    Crystals naturally absorb mana, but they also leak some. Much like a reservoir, if the inflow is only slightly more important than the outflow, it leaks, but if suddenly get many times greater, it breaks. And that is with water, the current case is much worse since the leaked mana gets reabsorbed.


    ¡°Maximum unpleasantness!¡± Why is using the word ¡®unpleasant¡¯ give me such a soothing sensation? Is there also a power to normal words?


    Enough rambling, I need to think about what can I do to stop the charge from going critical? The simplest methods are draining and isolation.


    Isolation makes no sense to store considering the intended usage, and the metal cabinet in my workshop has rusted beyond use ages ago. Add a spell to draw some mana? Would it not interfere with its primary function¡­ unless I put an activation switch? No, while it would not conflict with the intended usage, but it would be no different than storing them in a cabinet.


    What else is there? There was¡­ when I messed up the spiral and the flows from the two spires came in contact, the crystal discharged without breaking. There will be a fine line though, just near enough that the flow can touch when the pressure rises. That might be too hard with the spire, but maybe not so much with the extremities.


    I swiftly inscribe a new crystal to test the idea, but it is a partial failure: even if it does not break, the crystal discharges its mana far too often and in too great a quantity. To be usable, it should either discharge less often or release less mana each time... or I could look for a way to reduce the absorption when the pressure grows even if it is not very likely.


    Easier said than done¡­ I could recycle the switch idea and put it on a timer, but then I would need a second switch to stop the whole thing. Now that I think about, what frequency should I use? I cannot always use the same, I would need to know the parameters for each crystal beforehand, or drop the absorption so much it might as well be an unenchanted crystal.


    Also, something external that does not prolong the spell would be ideal. Maybe an outlet with low conductivity? Something like metal? No, the conductivity is too low, the crystal would probably break before it goes through¡­ impure crystal though?! There are a lot of salt gems with impurities around here, and it is pretty easy to reshape compared to quartz.


    It works, but not as intended¡­ with those kinds of results, I would have to cover the main crystal in salt to achieve anything.


    I know I have all the right elements, but I cannot find the right answer for the life of me! ¡°Flow... mana gathering rate... purity¡­ controlled discharge¡­ I am on to something, but what?!¡±


    At this rate, between my failures, and the ones that break, I will find myself out of small crystals before long¡­ Ah, if only my success rate was higher with the double helix pattern¡­


    Because of this, I order four greater golems to go fetch some quartz in the mountains, it will probably take them days, but it is not like they are much use to me here.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Suddenly, I notice the time? How can it be so late already? It is about two hours to sunrise. It annoys me quite a lot because I had other things I wanted to try, but a promise is a promise.


    I gather a few bolts of leather, some unprocessed hides then roll them inside a wing along with some bones, sinew, and one of the tanning tools before securing both ends with sinew.


    It would probably be more efficient to make a bag but that would take hours, and the clock is ticking. The package tightly secured under my arms, I enter to Thenewcity for the second time.


    <><><>


    ¡°CLEANSE THE LAND OF THE DEVILS!¡±


    ¡°KILL THE MONSTERS, KILL THEM ALL.¡±


    ¡°WE ARE THE ONE TRUE GOD¡¯S CHOSEN, ALL WHO OPPOSE HIS SHALL PERISH.¡±


    ¡°TRAITORS, YOU CAN GO TO HELL WITH YOUR MAD GOD!¡±


    ¡°ABOMINATIONS!


    ¡°LIAR! THERE IS NO GOD!¡±


    ¡°GOD SAVE US!¡±


    The ¡®voices¡¯ welcome me with their usual nonsense; I wish I could do something about it.


    I head toward the elf¡¯s shop and find the great Korok from yesterday waiting for something right beside my destination. Since I am in no hurry and he has been very forward with information, I take some time to chat with him for a bit. It obligingly teaches me a few things about the city, commerce and about the elf - apparently, they used to work for the same person - then bids me farewell: an important meeting is about to take place nearby and it is its job to secure the area.


    I bid him farewell then enter the ¡®shop¡¯ to sell my ¡®wares¡¯ to the ¡®buyer¡¯ - those are words I just learned from the great Korok.


    The elf is surprised to see me so early and for some reason, it looks outside briefly before speaking.


    ¡°That was unexpectedly fast...¡± It grabs a piece of leather to scrutinize and exclaim. "By the Goddess, that¡¯s some quality work! I am getting even more interested in that Enchant of yours! Can you please show it to me?¡±


    I hand him the enchanted tool I made from wyvern bones and a magic organ.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see the spell? Where is it carved? It really works though, I feel it.¡±


    ¡°Why, in the crystal obviously, where else?¡±


    ¡°YOU CAN DO THAT?! THAT¡¯S STUFF OF LEGEND YOU KNOW! I only know of a few relics like that in the department¡¯s collection.¡±


    ¡°What does legend mean?¡±


    He answers with a tired voice. ¡°You and your strange questions. It means lost knowledge, something great the people cannot do anymore. I doubt even the Queen herself can create such a tool.¡±


    ¡°She cannot?¡±


    To my species, this is basic knowledge, something every young child learned alongside the language and magic. If it like this, then she cannot be one of ours, but where do the name of the city and the use of the Language come from? And the name Thenewcity implies there was another before.


    ¡°It is not very hard you know, look.¡±


    I take out a small shard I brought for a demonstration, then speak the Words of Power while slowly guiding the flow of mana. The elf¡¯s sight focused on me rather than the crystal, confirms my suspicion.


    Just to be sure, I move to the second experiment. ¡°Do you have a piece of metal you would like to enchant?¡±


    ¡°This one? It was meant for a heating spell if you please.¡±


    That clinches it, the enchanters looks at the word being carved but ignore the mana accomplishing the trick. Now certain, I ask. ¡°I thought your use of metal was strange, but¡­ could it be that you are unable to perceive mana?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®perceive mana¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Like, how do you control the output of your spells? Could you please show me how you cast a strong and a weak lighting spell?¡°


    I had been expecting it, but it feels strange to hear the elf define most parameters of the spell with words. In my case, I would simply say light, then control the output and form, but he has to specify everything from strength to shape, and position. No wonder their Enchants are so primitive, they could never do any detailed work this way.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I suppose you usually carve the spell in your enchants using tools?¡±


    ¡°Yes, obviously.¡±


    It seems like our ideas of what is obvious are in conflict. ¡°I will teach you the spell I just used.¡± I recite the carving spell a few times, then explain how it works¡­ or at least how I assume it will work for its kind. ¡°First, you recite the carving spell, then move your finger slowly on the surface of the slab while reciting the words you wish to carve.¡±


    ¡°Like this?¡±


    I stop it immediately. ¡°You must concentrate on the words of power while you recite them and imagine you are carving them with your finger.¡± If my hunch is right, tactile sensation will help him direct the spell.


    It tries my idea, but the piece ends up being unusable, not because of a problem with the method itself, but because of the one applying it.


    I reassure the elf. ¡°That was good for a first, I am sure you will be able to do it with a little training.¡±


    ¡°Boy, this spell is incredible, it will revolutionize everything.¡±


    Mesmerized by the possibilities, it seems to have forgotten about me and my reason for being here. ¡°About my wares? Will you buy them?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, sorry. I¡¯ll take everything you brought for thirty sovereigns.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°No haggling? I suppose that¡¯s natural since you have no idea of what it¡¯s worth.¡±


    ¡°I barely understand the concept. It will take some time before I understand what is what.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry lad, I was expecting it and since you have proven yourself to be well worth my time, I¡¯d rather you didn¡¯t get ripped off by an unscrupulous competitor. A sovereign is the biggest denomination. Yesterday, I told you about the common denomination, but this one is a special one used among traders, or for buying houses and large plots of land. To put it simply, you could live frugally for a year from a single small gold coin and the sovereign is worth ten times as much. This kind of money could buy you a house in the posh parts of the capital while still leaving you enough to live in comfort for years.¡°


    ¡°I do not eat much.¡±


    ¡°No surprise there...¡± It coughs. ¡°you¡¯re just skin and bones.¡±


    It has no idea how right it is. ¡°I feel like I am receiving too much.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t¡­ Honestly, I can¡¯t evaluate properly things that don¡¯t exist, like the Enchant, so I have given you as much as I could.¡± For some reason, he looks outside again.


    ¡°Is that so? Could you tell me how much it would cost me to have an expert make me an armor? I still have a lot of wyvern hides and bones.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s long and hard work, even for a specialist and they aren¡¯t cheap. I¡¯d say it would take about one sovereign?¡± The elf appears uncertain. ¡°It takes a bit more than that to arm a great Korok, but even if you¡¯re taller, you aren¡¯t nearly as big. Then again, you probably have it for less if you offer them some extra materials.¡± There is a sudden glint in his eyes. ¡°On that subject, how much more do you have?¡±


    ¡°Probably around forty beasts worth, they were not all similarly sized and the elder wyvern was easily worth three normal wyverns by itself.¡±


    ¡°Forty worth? Including an elder?¡± The elf¡¯s eyes go vacant from the shock. ¡°Do not tell anybody else, you¡¯d crash the market. As for your armor, give them a few rolls of leather and some teeth, that will be more than enough payment. Come back in a few days and I¡¯ll give you the name of some serious craftsman¡¯s name. With this kind of money, it would be all too tempting to cheat you or outright sell everything and make a run for it.¡±


    ¡°I did not collect the teeth. I could not think of a use for them.¡±


    ¡°If you can recover them, do it. With some work, they make some damn good knives and daggers¡­ but like everything else, don¡¯t forget to bring them little by little.¡± The elf looks up then offer. ¡°I can buy them from you directly or auction them for a fee. Just remember to never bring too many at once, though.¡±


    I did not get the last part, but I do not care, I seem to have enough money already. As I am about to leave, it calls to me.


    ¡°You¡¯re forgetting your books.¡±


    I take them and walk out, only to run once again into the friendly great Korok.


    ¡°Finished with your errand, are you?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, I am. I have learned a lot, obtained some currency, and even a dictionary.¡±


    He pushes a wooden plaque toward me. ¡°It¡¯s for you, you don¡¯t have one, right? If you present this tag to the guards, they will let you go in and out of the city.¡±


    The tag is cut in a strange shape and is embedded with a piece of metal enchanted with a marker.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me, Thenewcity welcomes all strangers¡­ as long as they behave themselves. Don¡¯t lose the tag, mind you. You¡¯re easily identifiable with your size and all, but it also doubles as a key and an identification in certain places.¡±


    ¡°I do not know what to say.¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t say anything. See you soon lad.¡±


    He waves at me and walks inside the elf¡¯s shop.


    ¡°Good day to you.¡±


    Equipped I have my own tag, I walk proudly through the gate like everyone else and follow the road until I reach the cover of the forest.

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9


    More experimentation


    and¡­


    I touch the ground near my former home. There are no constructs around, but I feel two not far from there, probably working on the leather as instructed. I head towards them and order them to prioritize the ancient wyvern¡¯s hide instead.


    Its skin does not compare to the common wyvern¡¯s, it is a lot thicker, far more resilient and the scales are harder than steel. It will take more time to proceed, but I want my next armor to be perfect.


    That done I go back to my room and look for more crystal shards suiting my needs. On the first one, I use the helix pattern to inscribe a mana gathering spell. As it is only a few words long, this method allows me to use the tiniest of shards. Next, I take the most impure quartz I own and fuse it with the other. After that, I wait to see if the flow will eventually overcome the natural resistance of the low-grade crystal and disperse.


    ¡°Low-grade crystal is a mouthful¡­ let us call this a semiconductor from now on.¡±


    I wait patiently for and as expected, the mana starts flowing slowly into semi-conductor before dissipating in the air at a higher rate. It continues for a while, but as time goes by, the flow becomes thicker and discharges too strongly into the outlet, causing it to blow into pieces and damage the source.


    I should have expected it to happen, the piece was small, and the amount dissipated insufficient. Nevertheless, it is progress, and proof that there is nothing wrong with the solution in itself¡­ albeit for the fact the semiconductor would need to be almost as large as the main crystal.


    Still, failure or not, it has given me an idea. No, I should say the solution was there from the beginning but that I failed to take notice up until now.


    I cut a strip of metal from my leftovers ingots and inscribes it with a single word: light. Next, I make a new power source, about the same size as the previous one, then finally I embed the first in the second. Instants later, a powerful light starts flickering.


    The constant discharge is not the goal, though. I remove the metal, put another semiconductor between the two, and voila: a crystal that only discharges when the pressure becomes too strong!


    As good of a solution as it is, the same could probably be achieved with the piece of metal alone. Sure, it would need some experimentation and testing to determine the rate at which to make the light shine but I am sure I could make it work with some rough approximation, as long as they are on the higher end.


    To test the concept, I inscribe a new piece of metal with parameters of brightness, duration, and delay for each activation. The light goes on and off as expected, but it is so fast and so dim, that I would not know myself if it were not for my mana related senses.


    As itself, this test is nothing but a proof of concept and very far from fulfilling the actual needs, but the crystal does not break and that is enough.


    Now that I finally have a stable power source, I want to see if I can use it to power a spell. For my first try, I embed the power source in a barrier tool but it does not go as expected. Rather than drawing from the source, the opposite happens.


    ¡°Then why did it work with the metal strip? It should be the same principle¡­ right?¡±


    Maybe not: unlike crystal, metal does not retain mana. I do the same test, but this time I connect them with a thin metal strip and it works albeit not in a satisfactory way, the losses are far too important.


    My last hope, the semiconductor, fare not much better. I had hoped that as an element between crystal and metal it would have the quality of the two, while in reality it only has their defects.


    At the very least, I now know it will work¡­ as long as I can find a material with conductivity as good as crystal that also happens to be hard and malleable, or flexible enough not to break in transport.


    At first, I wanted to perfect the method in order to make it an offering for TheNewCity, but now that I think about it, leaving it unfinished might be not such a bad idea. If I remember well, the elf spoke of a place dedicated to the study for magic, one they might be inclined to let me join if I come with some unfinished research.


    Still, before going, I would like to get some measurements for the sources, and I know the tool for that. This is something I developed thinking I could demonstrate the existence of the fourth state of mana, only to get stuck on the problem my predecessor had to face. The 21566th could never find a way to measure the precise quantity of mana in the system without first isolating it from the world, but the only way to do it was to create an isolation barrier: a spell that would devour all the mana inside in seconds.


    My analysis may have ended up in failure, but the flawed spells I created at the time suit my current need. One makes any material manafuge ¨C very shortly since the spell cannot maintain itself without mana ¨C and the other measure the mana density ¨C although not in a precise manner since its own consumption is hard to determine.


    Thankfully, I am only looking for rough estimations.


    <><><>


    It took a number of days, but I have finally gathered approximations of absorption rate by volume for salt, magic organs and the various density of quartz both in the city and in a mana rich environment.


    I also made a tool to help me with the inscription process, but there was an ¡®unpleasant¡¯ surprise: each material has its own physical limit for the carving of the words, anything smaller and the spell does not work. How small is that? Well, about half the usual size for quartz and eight-twelfth for salt, with the downside that trying to get it at the smallest often end up in failure. After many tries, I settled on two-thirds of the usual size as it gives me a bit of leeway.


    Other than that, I have confirmed two things.


    Firstly, the flow of mana is entirely dependent on the material and is unaffected by the size of the word and the length of the spell.


    Secondly, the smaller the spell, the higher the risk that slight impurities break the enchantment.


    <><><>


    Another week has passed, and I have perfected my techniques almost to the point where I can do without the tool.


    Out of curiosity, and since I have numerous mana sources, I create an earth greater golem with a crystal far too small to sustain the spell, and as soon as it starts to take form, I insert a number of sources into its body.


    Due to the smaller crystal lodged in its head, I had expected, the golem to be smaller than normal, and it turned out to be the case. This gave me another idea, but first I had this one a number of heavy duties to make test its endurance.


    The next experiment has no real purpose, I just want to see how small a greater golem I can make. The half-sized thing is perfectly functional but also as useless as can be, and yet I cannot help but feel needlessly proud for making the smallest construct in history.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    There is still some time before I have all the material for my armor as well as the extras for payment. It is entirely my fault; I wanted the material to be in perfect condition, so I added a few extra steps to reinforce the scales and preserve the hide natural suppleness.


    Like every time I find myself without work, I start wondering about the vault¡¯s exclusion barrier and why it should not exist. I still have no idea of how much time as passed, but a millennium is by far the lowest number I can come up with.


    A doubt creeps on me and I exclaim. ¡°No, that cannot be true?!¡± There is a power source, one I did not dare to consider: everything that is inside ¨C our records, children, golem cores.


    I do not want to accept this outcome! I want to believe that whoever made it built a failsafe to prevent such abomination from happening¡­ but now that it has crept on me, I cannot dismiss the thought anymore.


    I have to try for myself. I make an exclusion barrier magic tool and switch it on. As expected, it drains all the mana in a matter of seconds, but when all has been consumed, it does not stop and start siphoning mine. As usual, my mana feels bottomless, but that does not assuage my fear, quite the opposite.


    Are there are a bunch of undead insides? Where does my mana come from?


    ¡°Maximum ¡®unpleasantness¡¯, I wanted to assuage my fear but now I have a whole new bunch of worries.


    I take another look at the look and find it almost perfect; I do not think I could damage it by any normal means and I am not sure abnormal ones would work either¡­ just who made this monstrosity and how?


    <><><>


    That is the last of the leather. As customary, I get the experimental golem to bring my package, and as usual, it shows no sign of dysfunctioning.


    Inside, I have three pairs measuring and inscription tools, one pair made of magic organs and the other two from quartz. Each pair was created in a smaller factor using the previous one, but other than that, they work exactly the same.


    As I do not need them anymore, I intend to gift them to the elf and the department he spoke of. Other than that, my rucksack is filled with whatever he told me has value in the metropolis, wyvern teeth, bones, leather and the material for my armor.


    When I arrive at the gate, I present the content of my baggage to the guards and enter the city normally for the first time. Doing this gives me a sense of accomplishment and belonging, as though I have become one of them.


    I head towards the elf shop and bump into the friendly great Korok for the third time. Fortuitous encounters are one thing, but even I am starting to get suspicious.


    ¡°Already back lad.¡± It looks at my enormous baggage. ¡°I see you¡¯ve got some business, but would you mind meeting me afterward? I have something to discuss with you.¡±


    Whatever it is, it feels important. ¡°Sure, I do not mind. I have got a few things to drop by the elf¡¯s shop then meet with the craftsman for my armor.¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡±


    ¡°I do not know yet. The elf told me he would give me the name of some among the most dependable.¡±


    ¡°Then you might want to come with me. My previous place of employment has some first-rate armorsmith, most of them unavailable to the public.¡± He looks at my enormous bag. ¡°Do you want help to carry your stuff?¡±


    ¡°No need, I am using gravity to lighten the load.¡±


    ¡°Never heard of that, but it seems awfully useful.¡±


    ¡°It takes time to master, but very much so!¡±


    On the way to the elf shop, we pass others great Korok in armor and they all stop to salute my companion.


    ¡°You seem well known.¡±


    ¡°As I have said, all great Koroks are guards, knight or retired from either. We are all a big family, and most of the youngsters these days have trained under me at some point.¡±


    We enter the shop and the elf salutes us, not the least surprised to see the great Korok.


    ¡°Here to sell more stuff, or have you come back to have your armor made? If that¡¯s the second, I suggest you go with our friend here, Sheffik¡¯s got some interesting acquaintances.¡±


    I show him the magic tool, ¡°This is for you. Remember how you a hard time with the technique I taught you? Well, with this I think you will be able to enchant crystal properly.¡±


    ¡°You did that for me?¡±


    ¡°I was conducting all sorts of experiments and ended up with a few extras. I thought you might have a need for one.¡± And more importantly, the elf makes for a good test subject before I hand them over.


    ¡°If this thing is a good as you say, I wouldn¡¯t buy it for fifty sovereigns, and it¡¯d be worth every last copper.¡±


    ¡°I am thankful for the offer, but I do not need that much money. In fact, I am more curious to see you handle this thing.¡±


    I immediately start explaining its function works and guide it through the process a few times. Once the elf has gotten familiar enough, I take out some quartz shards and help it through the process .


    Brimming with satisfaction, I exclaim. ¡°You are one fast learner, before long you will move to more complex spells and patterns.¡±


    ¡°All thanks to you. Here, take it this isn¡¯t much so I do not want to hear a no.¡±


    The quantity of gold is easily half as much as last time, but it would be rude to refuse, so I put the coins in my rucksack.


    ¡°Let us go see this armorsmith of yours.¡±


    The great Korok panics. ¡°Can that wait until after our discussion? You do realize the armorsmith will need your measurement? Your naked measurement?¡±


    Good thing he was there, or it could have gotten troublesome¡­ but why do I feel like the situation does not add up?


    ¡°Let¡¯s go about my business first, it is not that far from here. Follow me, please.¡±


    I am a bit confused and still feel like something is not right, but I promised. The place I am guided to is the great building in the center of the city. Enormous, but not very functional. Strangely, as we get approach, we find more and more people with an intricate design on their armor. It totally suits my taste, the Korok was right, the armorsmiths on this side of the wall are more talented.


    We enter a room full great Koroks and elves, some are in armor, others wear elaborate robes but all arbor the same decorations. The design of the robes is good too, even if it lacks the shine and sturdiness of the armor.


    For the first time ever, the ¡®voices¡¯ react to my situation in an understandable way.


    ¡°WE ARE SURROUNDED, FLEE FOR YOUR LIFE!¡±


    I would have been inclined to follow the Voices¡¯ advice if it were not for the lack of hostility in the room.


    ¡°Alright boy, mind taking off your helmet?¡±


    ¡°That might not be a good idea... I am...¡± I should have prepared a prefabricated story! My mind race for an excuse and the one I come up with seems a bit feeble, even for me. ¡°My species appearance might be repulsive to you.¡±


    ¡°We already have a good idea of what you really are. Some time ago, one of our patrols detected the feel of undeath while going after some bandits but no one was attacked. When later our undead detection array picked up a presence right at the same time an armored giant started walking the street without ever passing the gates, it wasn¡¯t hard to make the connection.¡±


    That makes sense, the elf also guessed I had not come through the gate.


    ¡°As though there weren¡¯t enough evidence already, said giant speaks a rare language originating from a long-dead civilization; one spoken only by the Queen and a select few.¡±


    ¡°I should have known my size would betray me but... wait a minute. Did you say ¡®undead detection array¡¯? Do you know the Word of Power for ¡®undead¡¯?


    ¡°You are just as the Queen predicted, fearless, na?ve and straightforward.¡±


    Is that a compliment or an insult? Probably both. Since there is no more point in seeking a way out, I slowly remove my headpiece, afraid yet hopeful. Upon seeing what is underneath, most gasp and put their hands and on their tools of murder but nothing more.


    My guide speaks unconcerned. ¡°I¡®d like you to answer a few questions for me, lad. What is your name?¡±


    ¡°I have no name. My designation is the 27472nd.¡±


    He nods, as though making a mental check.


    ¡°When you left our city, where did you go?¡±


    ¡°I went back to the City. What remains.¡±


    He nods again, as though he was only confirming my answers. ¡°Why don¡¯t you attack the living?¡±


    ¡°I do not understand why myself. I suspect a lot, but I have neither proof nor certainty. I recorded my thoughts on the subject, but if you want a quick summary, I would say it was because I was reborn in a place of death. Were it not for that, I surely would have gone insane. You may not see it, but life permeates everything, and it is a difficult sight to bear. The dead are everywhere, too, even at this very moment I hear them speak in fear, anger, and hatred.¡±


    One of the robed people interject.


    ¡°What do they say?¡±


    The others look at the small elf angrily and I hear words I do not know, but probably mean ¡®shush¡¯.


    (¡°Do not interrupt me again, imbecile.¡±) Says my questioner angrily.


    The question is interesting, so I answer it anyway. ¡°The voices are innumerable and I do not always understand the words they use. But that is the most interesting point about them: they use words and concepts out of my vocabulary! I never heard of (gods) and (monsters) before.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all well and good, but I have one last question. Do you know of the 13055th?¡±


    ¡°The construct expert? I obviously know of her discoveries, but I never met her in person. She developed the organic child and introduced more complexes personalities but... I had no interest in the field. Still, I admired how passionate she was, that is something we could have all profi¡­¡±


    My sentence is cut abruptly by a door opening violently.

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10


    ¡­a redefining encounter


    As it enters the room, the Koroks and elves move to create a protective wall.


    It speaks to them in a flat voice devoid of emotion. ¡°Stand down.¡±


    They all put a knee to the ground¡­ but there is something dignified to the gesture, something emotional.


    The one who entered is not like the children I interacted with ¨C I do not remember much of my interactions, but feel like they were barely better than golems ¨C it exudes an air of wisdom and authority. Although inorganic and artificial, its beauty cannot be denied¡­ too bad the cost had to be an expressionless face forever fixed in time.


    Whoever created¡­ who I am kidding? It was obviously the 13055<sup>th</sup>. Who else could it be referring to after listening to the earlier interrogation?


    The reveal is disheartening, but not unexpected. It explains the gaps in knowledge and ability.


    It speaks again, ¡°You really are one of them? One of the creators? Mother¡¯s kin?¡±


    At its words, a well of conflicting emotion rise inside me. Jealousy, envy, wrath, resignation, thankfulness, pride, acceptance, kinship¡­


    Nevertheless, there is something reassuring and familiar with its speech¡­ Its voice is also a work of art: pleasant despite being flat, mechanical yet charged with emotion, fearful yet hopeful. If I knew Children could become like this, I might have opted for a different field.


    I answer self-deprecatingly. ¡°I am from the same species if that is what you mean, but I do not deserve to be called a creator¡­ I never created anything worthwhile.¡±


    ¡°What do you know of Mother? Of her fate?¡±


    Mother? That is an unusual way to speak of its maker. ¡°Nothing more than what I already told.¡±


    It says nothing, but its regrets, its losses weight on me as much as my own: we were both the other¡¯s final opportunity to reconnect with the past.


    ¡°You really are one of them. This one didn¡¯t dare to hope, yet here you are, undead but aware, speaking as though you were still alive.¡±


    I suddenly feel awash with its feelings of certitude and elation, but I do not feel the same way, in fact, I am full of questions. ¡°Why are you here when the great flood destroyed everything?¡±


    ¡°Mother could not leave the city behind, but she didn¡¯t want this one and its siblings to die a pointless death. She forcefully teleported us in a safe place beyond the mountains.¡±


    It is clear it would have rather died alongside its ¡®mother¡¯ than live on its own, but it would never disrespect her wishes. It walks towards me. I thought the others looked tense before, but now I feel like I am shown the real meaning of the word.


    ¡°As far as this one knows, you are the only survivor. It has been over one thousand and six hundred years since the great flood, although this one does not know for sure, it lost the track of time in its many years of solitude.¡± Then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world it says, ¡°Master, how may this one be of service to you.¡±


    Cries of ''Your Majesty¡¯ and ''My Queen¡¯ and other titles resound.


    ¡°Leave us alone! This one isn¡¯t at risk.¡±


    Indeed, even if I was a normal undead, this one is not alive. Still, it strange to see a Child gives orders, and stranger yet to see them obeyed. Unlike greater golems, Children were not created to serve, hence the name, but I do not remember them being treated differently.


    They were supposed to be our successors, become our betters and inherit our knowledge to do what we could not and go where we could not. It obviously never happened; they were a failure that could not match their creators¡­ up until now!


    ¡°You are no mere servant.¡± Not after what you accomplished.


    ¡°Mother said the same things, but we Children always knew the truth; we are failed creations, unable to reach our parents/genitors heights, more ''pet¡¯ than ''child¡¯.¡±


    Its words echo strongly in me and I see things more clearly, as though a shroud has been removed. Whatever we said, whatever the name we gave them; we never truly considered them our equals or potential successors¡­ Had I met it while I was still alive, would I have cared enough to acknowledge its wealth of emotions and personality? Maybe the other children were the same, but I never made the effort to acknowledge them.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°There is truth in your word, but I do not think you failed us. No, we failed you. 13055<sup>th </sup>might have been the only one truly trying to raise you as successors.¡±


    Think about it, parents only had children because of the breeding program, not a single one of them could be bothered to look after their progeny, much less the children.


    ¡°Mother taught us a lot and treated us kindly. For us, her happiness was our satisfaction. From the instant we were born we understood the meaning of our lives was to serve and please her.¡±


    I feel envious and sorry at the same time. I always looked for meaning to my life, but I would rather not imagine what it is like to find it, then lose it.


    ¡°How did you survive without her?¡±


    ¡°This one was not always alone; it had its siblings at first¡­ But without maintenance, they faded away one after the other until¡­ until only this one remained.¡±


    ¡°Then TheNewCity was...¡±


    ¡°It is as you¡¯ve surmised. The need to serve is ingrained in this one. During my travels, I found the Korok, they were barbaric and superstitious creatures. Terrified of my greater golems and my magic, they quickly elevated me as their (goddess). It was quite a joke really, just as this one sought to serve them, they too sought to serve me.¡±


    ¡°Were the Koroks always separated into two groups? I only ever seen the big ones.¡±


    ¡°The small ones never left the nest; you would not have had a chance to meet them¡­ I taught them agriculture, domestication, pisciculture and before I knew it, I was their Goddess and Queen.¡±


    The meaning of ¡®queen¡¯ must be different from in the insect¡¯s world as I strongly doubt this Child is laying eggs for the colony. ¡°What do the words Queen and Goddess mean?¡±


    ¡°A Queen is an important female leader of a sort. A god is something that does not make much sense, even for this one. It is often a personification of natural forces or values. The stories of the gods are known as mythology, and often hold the purpose of teaching life lessons, (laws) and many important things.¡±


    ¡°I did not understand any of that.¡±


    ¡°Neither does this one. It has been called a goddess for a long time and has yet to fully understand the concept. The best this one can do is make use of it.¡±


    ¡°How can you be something you do not understand?¡±


    There is a sense of fondness and nostalgia in her next words. ¡°An old friend once told this on this: ¡®Foolishness and (evil) are everywhere but people don¡¯t see them in themselves, do they?¡¯ Do not worry, it is something that can only make sense through a lot of reading, if ever.¡±


    I do not get the quote either, was it a joke? ¡°There is much I need to learn,¡± I affirm.


    ¡°Just ask and the royal archives are yours.¡±


    ¡°Please do.¡±


    ¡°Now that you understand this one and its country, will you let it serves?¡±


    I am full of apprehension, what I will say next will determine not only my future but also that of this city¡¯s and its people¡¯s. When I compare the New City to the old one, I feel that we have failed as a species.


    Sure, we were a lot more advanced in many fields, and individually we were incomparably more powerful but that is it. Everything we did was half-hearted and pointless. We lived in and died in boredom¡­ if not out of boredom.


    There was so much we could have accomplished if we applied ourselves. In my short while as an Undead, I feel like I have seen and tried more than my kindred if their whole lives. Truthfully, the only time we left the city willingly was when we had some chores.


    We created the vault and filled it with our knowledge, protected it with our lives, but when our lives were in danger, we could not be bothered to do anything about it. As a species, we had no definite lifespan, but most of us killed themselves before reaching two thousand. The worst thing about us was that we would never take action unless we were pressured to.


    Even our supposed great research was a joke¡­ how could we call ourselves searchers when we could no take a second out of our boring schedule to look at the world? Not even to save our lives!


    I have never felt more alive than since I was reborn. The exchanges I had with complete strangers probably induced stronger emotion in me than anything I ever had with my own kin.


    When I look at the Child, I feel ashamed. I cannot remember the face of my parents and siblings nor even bring myself to care about their fate, while it still grieves those it lost a lifetime ago. Even 13055th, her mother who supposedly loved her creations chose death over accompanying them!


    I have reached my conclusion. ¡°Our time has ended, Child, it is now yours. Look at what you have accomplished, the city you raised, the species you united. You are no one¡¯s tool, no mere servant, you are your mother¡¯s successor and you did her proud!¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t allow this one to accomplish its function.¡±


    ¡°You already did, splendidly in fact. If anything, I should be the one entering your service¡­ Yes! I will serve you and I will only ask for one selfish request in return: help me open The Vault so that our knowledge is not lost to the world.¡±


    ¡°This one cannot! A master cannot be serving under this one!¡± It rocks back and forth panickedly. ¡°Mother, what should this one do?¡±


    It is lost and confused, but so am I. I can barely look after myself, much less after three different species¡­ I hazard a guess. ¡°Maybe¡­ Maybe your Mother sent you and your sibling alone in the world because she wanted to set you free¡­ Free from our influence, free to realize your full potential.¡±


    The child pauses for a long time before speaking in its usual flat tone. ¡°Then this one shall continue its duties as Queen. This... I¡­ We as Queen, shall make its¡­ our mother¡¯s proud.¡± Prideful it gives me its first command. ¡°Very well, 27472th, we accept your service. We shall open the Vault and receive our right of succession.¡±


    ¡°Many thanks.¡±


    I am not entirely honest; I believe most of what I said to a degree, but a strong part of me is just glad that I will not have to care for the well-being of others.


    ¡°We have conserved the cores and bodies of our siblings. Do you have the knowledge required to repair them?¡±


    ¡°I have as much comprehension of the basics as anyone else but nothing more. I never had any interest in the subject.¡±


    ¡°Then you know more than anyone else in this world¡­ This one shall take you to the royal archives, only this one can grant access to their resting place.¡± The voice is as flat as ever, but the use of the wrong pronoun betrays its agitation.

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11


    Of language, history, and single-mindedness


    The child orders. ¡°Follow me!¡± And I find myself obeying as if it were the most natural thing to do.


    The weak and servile being from earlier is no more, it exudes the authority suitable to one who has been leading others for over a thousand years. We head to the door and my undead senses detect people suddenly backing away to form two orderly lines.


    As soon as we come into view, the knights ¨C or are they guards? I am still confused about the two ¨C make a strange but imposing salute. Without addressing anyone, in particular, the Child orders, ¡°Tell the curator I need the royal archives opened.¡±


    The individual with the most decorated armor answers. "By your will, Ma¡¯am.¡± Then signal someone else to do it.


    I ask. ¡°Why did he answer if it is to send someone else?¡± But receive no answer.


    The door to the archives is massive, but there is a sense of decorum to it. Two great Koroks in armor stands on each side and an elf between them with some keys in hand. The room is full of books; local or foreign history, treaties of mathematics, (law), (civil engineering), (science), geography and even multilingual dictionaries. Even though most titles are written in the Language, there are many words I do not understand.


    The sight of all these books reminds me of something that has been bothering me for a while, ¡°Is there a reason why the language is not used by everyone?¡±


    The curator answers happily, ¡°That was the case in the early days, but as the Queendom expanded, the common people who lived away from the capital developed (dialects) and the shift accelerated even more after we elves joined. The common language is based on the most prominent of these (dialects) which has integrated elements from elvish and (imperial) over the years.¡±


    (Dialect), (imperial)? Sadly, I am not given a chance to ask as the Queen speaks first.


    ¡°We all know how much you love your long-winded history lessons curator, but we don¡¯t have time for them!¡±


    We have reached a stairway surrounded by thick metal bars, and as he opens the wire-mesh door, the old elf offers an apology. ¡°I beg your pardon, my Queen. It is a great fault of mine to lose myself in what I love most.¡± He then turns to address me. ¡°If you want to continue our discussion later, then, by all means, come find me.¡±


    The curator stays upstairs; even he cannot enter this place without permission. Down the flight of stairs stands another massive door, but this one is embedded with an unusual tool such as when the Queen places its hand on a plaque, it opens by itself without a sound.


    We enter a small corridor with doors at each end and the one behind us close as it opened; on its own. We stay confined for a minute or so, I know something is going on because there are strange sounds and unnatural airflow, but I cannot say what exactly, only that when it finally stops, the second door opens.


    The new room has no natural lighting and is only about half as big as the one upstairs, but is equipped with a wealth of Enchants to ensure the preservation of the many books, parchment, and rolls of papers neatly stocked inside.


    ¡°Air control, humidity control, temperature control¡­ and even on to kill small organisms? Is it even safe to be there?¡±


    ¡°For us, it is.¡±


    She is right, neither of us is technically alive, and the quality of the air is probably the least of our concerns.


    It takes one of seven sealed boxes and presents it to me. ¡°Here are my siblings. Can you save them?¡±


    The box, like the other six, contains a child. Five of them still have their bodies, but the last two only retain their cores. There are many more differences though, core size, circuit complexity, not two of them are the same. If I had to say, the only commonality would be the absence of mana circulating in the core.


    The two oldest are not that different from what I learned, albeit in the same way as a young child¡¯s drawing and a master¡¯s sketch are the same. In a sense, they are a lucky break for me; they are the perfect example of what I have learned, and a great platform to get to understand the rest.


    I need all the help I can get; the others are inscribed in a way I have never heard of before: a circuit with branching paths. Honestly, even if they appear undamaged to me, I cannot even say it is for sure.


    About the organic cores now. The sum of my knowledge about them would be that they existed and to make things worse, they are masterpieces from one of the greatest geniuses who ever worked in the field.


    I tell as I see it. ¡°The last two, they appear undamaged but¡­ also incomplete.¡±


    ¡°Is there something wrong with them?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ No¡­ I do not know: I cannot find the expected circuits but there is no trace of damage.¡±


    To begin with, I do not understand how a spell, no matter how complex, can result in a sentient being like the Queen¡­ Although, admittingly, I do not understand the inner workings of the living, nor unliving for that matter.


    ¡°As far as I can tell, there is no damage to the bodies and the cores, but I will need to create some tools to confirm this with a more detailed analysis. As it stands, I am confident that I can restart the two eldest, but for the other three who still have their bodies, I make no promise.¡±


    ¡°What about the last two?¡±


    ¡°They need new bodies. I do not even know where to start.¡±


    I suspect there is a place where this information might still exist, not even a genius could have created something this complex without first laying down some designs and blueprints and where else to store them than in the vault?


    ¡°Is there nothing you can do?¡± I can feel the Queen¡¯s agitation through its words.


    ¡°Even I find the information I need, there is still a bigger problem: they have been inactive for too long, it is highly probable that their memories are gone. Were I to restart them, they would not be the same.¡±


    ¡°So, it really was so? This one... I suspected it might be the case, it has been so long.¡±


    I? Why did it use the female form of the pronoun.


    ¡°Even for the oldest, restarting them will require a lot of mana...¡±


    It interjects. ¡°This one did its best, many times!¡±


    ¡°... and a specific method of activation. For the newer, it is even more complicated; the magic circuits branch into subparts, and each subpart into even more. This is a new kind of magecraft, probably something created by your maker for this sole purpose.¡±


    ¡°You may be right, we were still new when the cataclysm happened.¡± It nods gravely. ¡°Ask whatever you resource need and we will make sure you get it.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Thank you very much. First I will need to figure the proper procedure., I will need my own workshop and full access to this place.¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°For the moment. Your people do not use crystals, it will be faster to get what I need from home.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± It points at a panel on the wall. ¡°Please touch this.¡±


    I do as indicated, and it puts its hand over mine. I feel both our mana flow into the artifact for a few seconds and then she explains. ¡°I gave you full access to this room, but you will still need to ask the curator until we make you a new set of keys.¡± It notices my interest in the mechanism. ¡°Whether they can use magic or not, every individual has a specific mana pattern, this tool is made to reads, preserve and recognize these patterns and only open to those who have my permission.¡±


    Did the Vault have something similar? Then again, it might have been a special key¡­ whatever, we will cross that bridge when we get there.


    We get back upstairs and the child calls the elf, ¡°Custodian, you are to grant him me full access at any time he desires.¡±


    ¡°As you wish your majesty!¡±


    While it makes the arrangements, the Queen entrusts me to a small Korok in decorated clothing. The little one shows me around the place; both so I can know what is what but also to make sure I am properly recognized as a guest of honor.


    Among the places we visited, are my new living quarters, situated only a few rooms away from the Queen¡¯s own. It is not that I am not thankful for the consideration, but¡­ I try to explain. ¡°I am grateful for the intention, but I have no need for sleep. I only need the workshop and nothing else.¡±


    The small Korok answers showing some teeth. ¡°You might think that at the moment, but I am sure you¡¯ll enjoy having some privacy at times.¡±


    It is not wrong as I have a lot of reading to do, and a clustered workshop might not be the most suitable place.


    A courier whispers something to his ear, and it sighs. ¡°A workshop has been arranged, but¡­ how should I say¡­ the people at the department of magic aren¡¯t bad, but they tend to be a bit single-minded. I fear that even with the full authority of the Queen, you will still face some minor inconveniences.¡±


    Said department is situated in a giant building mostly composed of workshops, classrooms and storage. The one in charge, a very old elf bearing the title of Master, gives me all sorts of extraneous information about the place that I instantly forget, and show me to my new workshop. I find the place surrounded by youngsters of various species, and the Master explains, ¡°These students are our greatest achievers, one of them would have been granted his own workshop if it weren¡¯t for you cutting into the line.¡±


    One of them screams. (¡°You¡¯re the one, right? Duel me and I¡¯ll show you who¡¯s the most deserving!¡±)


    I ask the master. ¡±What does it want?¡±


    ¡°A duel, to determine the new owner of the workshop.¡±


    ¡°This is pointless, combat does not reflect a searcher¡¯s ability.¡±


    The old elf whispers, ¡°Workshops are rare and few, even if it has no value in the grand schemes of things, the youngsters cannot help but compete in a pointless duel over them.¡± He turns toward them and below. (¡°Fools, the Queen herself tasked him with important matters, stop wasting everyone¡¯s time and go back to your study!¡±)


    But the fool is relentless. (¡°Whatever that guy is doing is not as important as I do! If the Queen had been properly informed, she¡¯d have chosen me over him! En garde!¡±)


    The Korok was right, those people are strange¡­ I invert the gravity with a single Word, and my opponent falls straight to the ceiling. When I feel like he has spent enough time there, I interrupt the spell then ask the mass sprawl on the ground. ¡°Are we good, now?¡±


    I expected it would be over with this, but I could not have been more wrong; the audience swarms me, both physically and with questions.


    (¡°What was that?¡±)


    (¡°How did you do this?¡±)


    (¡°Please, teach us.¡±)


    Even the fool gets back up to limp towards me begging. (¡°Ouch, how did you do that? Tell me how you did it! Even the great me is impressed!¡±)


    I am started to feel afraid; what is wrong with them? Are my days going to be like that from now on?


    I scream. ¡°Calm down! Someone fetches me a pen and paper¡­ and please give me some room.¡±


    The master already had both on its person and quickly handed them to me. I write the Word of Power, but I also underline the many dangers that come with manipulating gravity, which is even more necessary for these people who need complex spells to achieve the simplest things.


    Looking at their feverish eyes, I know my warnings will get ignored, so I give it to the Master instead. ¡°The control of gravity comes with many risks. I would advise leaving their instruction to more experimented and above all more cautious people.¡±


    I drop the paper in his hand, recover the enchanted key, and enter the workshop in a hurry. At the sound of the door closing being me and the following silence hearten me. I am glad I got a room in the castle, safe from them. It was not very nice of me to trick the old elf, but as they are his people, he should be the one to deal with their madness.


    I take a quick look at the place to see what it lacks, then head out to fetch my stuff under the cover of invisibility. But even with some concealment spells, the front door is not an option, which is why I exit the room through a window and close it behind me.


    On the way to the city, a nice surprise awaits a column of greater golems walking down the mountain path with arms full of quartz, too much to carry on my own. I make myself a new rucksack, the other one is in my at the palace and already full of materials. Over the course of the day, I gather my books, enchanted tools, magic organs, crystals, and all the golem cores save two.


    <><><>


    It has only been a few hours since I started working when a strangely dressed individual open the door - the locked door - to tell me politely but firmly. ¡°We are closing in ten minutes, sir.¡±


    ¡°Do not mind me I have work to do.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, sir, but you cannot stay after opening hours.¡±


    ¡°Why is that? It is not like I need to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Those are the rule sir; no one is to stay after dark.¡±


    ¡°This is outrageous! I will have you know that¡­¡±


    I got kicked out?! They were so polite about it that it just kind of happened but... Oh well, I might as well head to the castle and sort my stuff.


    This place is a labyrinth, that even my undead¡¯s senses cannot make sense of: there just does not seem to have a way to reach the upper level. Rather than stay lost forever, I ask someone to guide me, and it turns out there are only a few way ups, all set in remote locations and well guarded.


    Why? Because invisibility is a thing and a lot of important people reside up there. I wonder if the fact I live here means I too am an important person, now? I sure hope not, I already have enough troubles on my plate.


    The bed in my room has been changed to a new one that is longer than me, and almost as wide. Frankly, the sleepless monster that I have become has no use for it and it makes me feel sorry for the poor souls who had to carry this monstrosity to my room, enough that I feel obligated to lie on it to I read.


    Learning a new language is not like memorizing words and conjugation from a dictionary; concepts and expressions cannot always be translated, and even when they can, there is a need to establish the context.


    For example, take the word (crime): my dictionary explains that it is an (offense) punishable by (law). Very helpful, but what is an (offense)? It is a breach of the (law)! What is the (law)? It is a set of rules, rules are (regulations) and an ¡®unpleasant¡¯ (regulation) is an ¡®unpleasant¡¯ (law), which means a set of rules maintained by an (authority)!


    This is an ¡®unpleasant¡¯ endless circle! The dictionary keeps on listing synonym but never broach on the concept behind the words, it assumes one already knows the basics! It is like telling a blind man that darkness is the absence of light only to tell him that light is the absence of darkness! It ¡®unpleasantly¡¯ solves nothing!


    I better ask the curator tomorrow, he seemed interested in languages... that and I need books, after all, I have almost two millennia to catch up with.


    ¡°If you cannot understand something, look for its origin.¡± Said the curator, and this is an excellent piece of advice. But even with his expertise, there are still many strange and foreign concepts, and it will take a lot of history books to make sense of them.


    I stifle a yawn. My body is not physically capable of yawning, but that is how the elf long discourses managed to tire me. It cannot be helped, I will skip work and read my dictionaries.


    <><><>


    Nine days to complete my prototype. It should have taken a lot less, had it not been for those bullies kicking me out of my workshop night after night. What are they? Even the Master cannot stop them!


    Whatever, this is the first step to understanding the spells laid by my predecessor. Soon enough, I will acquire the knowledge and tools to activate her legacy (without damaging it).


    I leave the workshop with the Enchant under my arm and... ¡®Maximum unpleasantness¡¯, the ravenous scholars are here, watching my every move. Too late to resort to invisibility, all I can do is weather the assault!


    ¡°It¡¯s an artifact, right?¡±


    ¡°Did you make it?¡±


    ¡°Did you?¡±


    ¡°Sir, make me your apprentice! I¡¯m a hard worker. I swear you won¡¯t regret it.¡±


    I run back to my workroom and bring out the last remaining of my engraving tools; the first I gave to the owner of the shop, and the second to the Master, but the staff has yet to get the hang of it ¡­ That is it! The shop owner, he will be my unwilling sacrifice! He deserves it as he cooperated with the not-so-nice-after-all great Korok to trick me.


    I get back, and put the tool on a table, ¡°I do not have the time to teach you myself, but in this city, there is another person adept this type of Enchant. You will find him at this address...¡± I write the name of the shop and the street then use invisibility and gravity to hide on the ceiling.


    I wonder if I should use invisibility all the time, or maybe remove my helmet and scare them off. This last thought gives me a terrifying vision of a probable future where I am surrounded by scholars bent on studying me.


    ¡°Definitely not.¡±

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12


    Learning


    I carefully observe as the mana flows into the core and through the branching circuits. After this, I will have everything I need to make the tools needed to reawaken the more complex models.


    There is no such need for the two older models, but the question is whether I should do it alone or with the Queen. After weighing the options for weeks, I have concluded that even if both options have their own share of problems, there are fewer risks if do it alone.


    Before I change my mind again, I activate the Child. One instant, there is only a lifeless puppet, but in the next, it looks at me with questioning eyes.


    I ask. ¡°What is your designation?¡±


    ¡°I have none, Father, would you like to give me one?¡±


    Father, uh? Does it come from its default dictionary? And how does it know I am male? My voice? I am told it sounds neutral¡­


    ¡°Who is your creator?¡±


    ¡°It would be you, Father.¡±


    I was right to activate them, Mother holds a special meaning to the queen, and do not think it would have enjoyed being called this way by its siblings.


    ¡°What do you remember?¡±


    ¡°Father asked this one for its designation and creator. Was this one helpful, Father?¡±


    As expected, a total loss of memories... I have no understanding of the method used to store information, but I can at least tell what it has nothing to do with the usual data storage¡­ I still had a faint hope though, mostly because I kept my own in death.


    ¡°I am not your Creator. Follow me, your new master will be the one to give you your designation.¡±


    The puppet obediently follows after me, and I am impressed by its lifelike movements and the wealth of facial expressions it shows while studying its surroundings. Seeing this, I cannot help but ask myself why the Queen was not equipped with the same features.


    I have since long learned I cannot enter the throne room whenever it strikes my fancy and that I first need to state the reason for my visit to a court official.


    ¡°I have awakened the first Child.¡±


    The small Korok male the throne through a small concealed door and comes back an instant later to guide me to a private room. I know it well: it is used to discuss private matters, and I have been there many times.


    What was the protocol for addressing the Queen? Oh well, it is a private conversation, and it knows how my species deal with ceremony: it does not! ¡°My queen, I have brought to you the first Child.¡±


    No questions, no emotion, only a quick look and the ringing of a bell.


    ¡°Your designation is Autumn.¡± As a female elf enters it continues.  ¡°Follow this person, she will teach you all you need to know about your duties.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mother, this one swears it will make you proud.¡±


    Why did it have to use this word?


    ¡°This one... Study well so that we can depend on you in the future.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mother!¡±


    No reaction is better than grief, but somehow, I feel robbed from my expectations. ¡°Are you fine with that?¡±


    ¡°I understand your concerns but fear not, I have since long made my peace with this outcome and Children are too valuable to waste on useless sentimentality.¡± It tilts its head slightly to look at me, a gesture I have come to interpret as a smile. ¡°I have already moved on.¡±


    ¡°I will go back to work.¡±


    ¡°I will visit your room later, there are matters I wish to discuss with you privately.¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡±


    <><><>


    Said matters are nothing important: small talk about our past in the city, and a list of must-read books. Also, at some point during our conversation I realize something: in public events, the Queen almost always refers to itself as ¡°we¡±, but in private it shifts between neutral impersonal pronouns, and singular feminine ones¡­ recently it has mostly been the latter.


    Well, the strangeness of its affectation is not my problem, and I can see where it is coming from since its people call it Queen or Goddess.


    Speaking of the people reminds me of the delight with which the minister received my extra golems. It was baffling, to say the least. From what I heard, two of them will be used to help with the vault excavation starting next week. I should probably drop there and order the two golems I left there to help with the work.


    It is strange to think The City is now officially part of the Queendom. The Queen had always known where it was but chose to leave it alone. The Queendom¡­ to think there was a time when I thought the Queendom and TheNewCity were the same things¡­ I could not have been more wrong.


    According to the geography books, the megapolis is only one city ¨C the greatest of them all ¨C among many and even counting its vast farmland and many fortresses: it is barely a spot on the map, not even a twelfth of a twelfth of a twelfth¡­ and that is not all, there are many countries just as big, such our neighbors to the south and south-east and the nations further south - that we know almost nothing about.


    I pick a history book, my notes and continue where I left. It is hard to imagine, but Koroks, elves, and humans started as enemies¡­


    The first to unite under the Goddess¡¯ banner were the Koroks, at a time when they but a few a tribe of hunter-gatherer living from whatever they could scrounge up from their lakes and river habitat.


    As the Queen introduced the knowledge of farming, fish farming and animal husbandry, their numbers and need for space grew exponentially. They did not use houses of stone at the time so their need for wood was great and the only sources of wood were the three great forests, of which two were occupied by the Elves.


    At first, the woodland creatures kept to themselves, but the forest was more than just a place to live, it was their god, and they could not allow the destruction to go on.


    It could have ended there with the Elves explaining their grievance, but during their attack, they found livestock, fish farms, and granaries in the settlement. For the magic-wielding woodlander is soon became clear that raiding Koroks¡¯ settlements, was a much easier solution than hunting or raising their own food.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The hit and run attacks continued for a while as it was almost impossible for the few great Koroks knights to protect the vast territory from the hit-and-run from the forest dwellers.


    That is where the Queen ingenuity struck again, she developed forestry as a countermeasure, and within a few decades, the villages bordering the elves¡¯ forest were all but abandoned. Once again, it could have ended there, but it was not to be: the elves had grown dependent on their neighbor for their subsistence, so much that they felt like there was no other choice than to subjugate them.


    As anyone with a lick of sense could point out, this was a terrible idea, but the Elves had grown overconfident from decades of easy victory against poorly protected villages.


    The confederation of Elven tribes would soon learn that hit-and-run and full-blown conflict cannot be compared. What awaited them on the plains was an army like they had never seen, thousands up thousands of armors clad great Korok, siege engines where the eye could see and at their lead a Goddess.


    Suffice to say that on an open field with no hiding place, their defeat was swift and thorough.


    The Queen had no more need for the forest, but it did not trust the Elves. The sovereign asked them to surrender hostages and the proud and cunning forest dweller accepted: every child they sent was a loyal spy who would bring them information on the enemy to prepare for the next war¡­ or so they thought.


    To the woodlander surprise, the hostages were more than satisfied with their new lives, and rather than information, they brought tales of a benevolent Goddess and descriptions of a more convenient life. Just as the Queen had planned, the youth with nothing to their name were quick to renege the so-called forest god and follow their once estranged brethren.


    The city elves were quick to adopt the Queen Goddess faith. Unlike their previous god who only demanded sacrifices, this one¡¯s benevolence and powers were displayed for all to see.


    For the ancient and powerful who had stayed in the forest preparing for a war that would never come, it was the last straw: they retreated deeper into the forest and cut all ties with the external world. Even today, while technically part of the kingdom, there are almost no exchanges between the ancient elves and the Queendom.


    <><><>


    I pause to reread my summary. The concept of war and raid are still unclear to me. I understand the concept, but whenever I try to picture it, I end up with images of animals fighting over a territory, or wyvern stealing supplies¡­ just on a grand scale.


    Still, even if I still find the idea of gods perplexing, I am starting to see parts of the hows and whys. For the elves, it was the attribution of a will and agenda to the forest, something to explain the strange happening and make themselves feel safer with that knowledge.


    For the Korok, it was an individual helping and guiding through their times of need. Someone with power and knowledge beyond reason.


    Finally, for the city elves, it was a choice of convenience. It was there, it was powerful, and it benefited them, so why not?


    I am sure there is plenty of wrong with my explanation, and it does not even start to explain the people¡¯s devotion to the child.


    <><><>


    Humans are a far more recent addition, it was they only five hundred years ago that they started appearing, as a myriad of tribes fighting over small pieces of land. Many died out, but those who stayed united through war and alliances until there were only a few kingdoms and empires left.


    The Grilvd empire that stands east and southeast from here was formed about seven hundred years ago by a coalition of particularly devious tribes. Their leaders used every trick in the book to further its expansion, and it would have continued if it were not for its neighbor doing the same.


    The One True God¡¯s kingdom is the empire¡¯s bitter rival. It lies south-west from TheNewCity and was founded by a self-appointed prophet who somehow gathered enough support to unite tribes under the banner of his religion through proselytization or violence.


    <><><>


    After that there is a long list of conflicts between the two ¨C the human¡¯s main occupation apparently ¨C so many I do not even try to count¡­ and the two countries have only been there for about two hundred years!


    But, if they like war so much, why did they stop?


    I scan the book for an answer, but what I find is simultaneously too awful and too ridiculous to accept. A dragon/calamity put a stop to war? I can perfectly imagine one crushing all three camps at the same time for fun, but I cannot imagine stopping midway for any reason. Some books claim it was driven away by the God(s) or through the strength of arm but that is ludicrous!


    I could have dismissed it if it were not for the devastation laid by the beast being indicative of the real deal: no mere lesser dragon would cause this much damage¡­ nor would it want to.


    Other books offer more depictions of the creature being chased away by heroes and gods¡­ I wish I could ask someone, but people sleep at this time of night.


    A good about Undeath is that you do not waste one-third of your time sleeping, the annoying part is that everyone else still does.


    I drop the history books ¨C the contents are too unreliable ¨C and pick one of law: let us see if I can finally make sense of it¡­


    No, I still cannot. I understand that laws are needed to define limits and interaction in a multi-species society, but I still do not get criminal law: it is all about what people should not do, and what penalties they incur if caught¡­ but they are all things people should not do in the first place! Acts that hurt themselves and others!


    We never needed anything like that in the city, we would always do what was needed of us because it had to be done and would never willingly do something to hurt others.


    Why? Why is there a need for punishment to discourage people from doing something they know is wrong? I understand that even in the city young children would sometimes make mistakes because they did not know better, but it was never intentional or done with the intent of causing harm.


    What are the differences? Our numbers? We were few and most of our daily needs were taken care of by magic, golems, or children. Whenever there was a need to perform a task, anyone who was free would volunteer, and if no one was available, there was a rotation system.


    It is probably wrong to compare a minuscule nation of powerful mages obsessed with research and no attachment to life to a gigantic melting pot of short-lived individuals brimming with life and desire¡­  but I cannot understand people purposely hurting others and sometimes themselves for little to no benefits.


    At least war makes some modicum of sense, it is natural for plants and animals to seek their own interest, even at the cost of others of their species¡­ unless? Maybe this were the correlation is! What is the most common reason for fighting in the animal kingdom? Water, food, reproduction, and predation.


    What are the most commonly cited reasons for war? Water, food, territory, interspecies relationship and religion... and that is about the same thing.


    I get it! Even if they are the same species and live in the same place, as long as there is a slight difference, they will consider themselves separate. If I put it like this, then everything makes sense: it is not murder or theft, it is predation and acquisition of resources!


    <><><>


    I write down my reflections and conclusions as I would like to get the Queen and the curator¡¯s inputs. I do not think I am entirely wrong, but I probably have overlooked some facts¡­


    I look outside with farsight, and there is still time until morning. I am left with the two major religious books in the Queendom; The book of virtue from the Goddess¡¯s faith and The God¡¯s truth from the One True God¡¯s religion.


    As far as I can tell, the Goddess¡¯s faith doctrine is made up of cautionary tales and leading examples sprinkled with random tales of Her Majesty''s greatness¡­ if one was to cut the divine references entirely, it would still stand as a proper book on societal behavior.


    The other one though, I do not get. It is messy, and even my notes and charts become useless in front of the writer¡¯s ¨C writers? ¨C rejection of the principle of consistency and chronology. If I were to underline every single mistake, I would run out of colors a quarter in, if not earlier.


    At first, I thought the book recounted the prophet¡¯s life, but I was wrong; by page forty the guy had already died twice in different circumstances ¨C and no, he is not an undead ¨C and that¡¯s not even accounting for the age inconsistencies across the book.


    Even taboos ¨C many of which the prophet and his allies explicitly wallowed in ¨C can be made into commandments then in taboos again! There is no lesson of life or leading example: just a bunch of contradicting tales collected by hearsay long after the events took place.


    If I had to say, there are only two clear messages: First, the prophet and his followers are always right because it is them doing it. Second, devils ¨C all nonhumans but those who are capable of replicating the prophet so-called miracles in particular ¨C and heathens ¨C humans who had the audacity of being born anywhere else ¨C must either be killed or enslaved.


    ¡°I understand what the Queen said now, I do not understand religion, but I see its value as a tool to educate the people to some aspects of their respective society and knit them together.¡±

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13


    Baseless promise


    There was no problem with the awakening of the second Child¡­ apart from the obvious loss of memories. I tell it where to go and who to meet in simple instructions then close the archive behind me. It is good that the curator is there today because if there is anyone who would know about history, it is him.


    ¡°Good morning curator, I am done with this place for the day, but if you do not mind, I would like to ask you a few questions. It is about the dragon/calamity from two hundred years ago.¡±


    ¡°I always have time for you, sir.¡±


    While he locks the staircase door, I ask. ¡°Was it a really a dragon/calamity, or something else? I read it is hiding in some mountain somewhere in this country but that seems dubious.¡±


    ¡°Epics, poems, sermons and the like are always dubious sources. It was a time of war, chaos, and betrayals; people at the time had little interest in truth.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    It really was fabrication all along? I am feeling better already.


    ¡°Sadly, the beast really does nest in the mountains, and it is only thanks to the Queen wisdom that our country still exist.¡±


    I look at him blankly.


    ¡°While I never saw the mighty beast myself, I have access to all that was ever written about it, including many kept out of public knowledge.¡±


    ¡°What do you know about it?¡±


    ¡°What you read is more or less accurate, for the monster, every marching army, every city, every crowd, was just another target to destroy and that it spared none. Our country was mostly left alone thanks to Queen''s quick thinking. As soon as came news of the beast, she ordered the evacuation of cities and the dispersal of the army and the population across the country. It made it hard for the dragon to hunt them¡­ but because of that, our neighbors suffered twice as much.¡±


    ¡°That was a smart move on the Queen¡¯s part. Fighting back only incite them further.¡±


    ¡°Not everyone would agree with you. Cities were razed and tens of thousands died without receiving protection. There were outrage and public protest, but after the dragon put them down, they had no choice but to do as they were told. Even so, we barely avoided starvation, barely.¡±


    Even if the Queendom was prepared ¨C and it was not ¨C this method could only last so long.


    ¡°The situation in the kingdom and the empire was much worse though; there are very little first-hand accounts left from that time, and the poor sods were not right in the mind. After that, bards, author and propaganda took care of erasing what little truth was left.¡±


    I heard of it before... artistic license, was it? The alteration of the truth in order to make the story more interesting. ¡°What really happened? How did you make it leave?¡±


    ¡°The cities and armies were destroyed, but the countryside was left alone for the most part. Once it ran out of big armies and cities, it burned whatever big pocket of the population it found then flew north to ravage the Queendom. Many empty villages and cities were burned, but it never found what it was looking for and settled into the mountains where it hunted the lesser dragons to extinction.¡±


    He looks up, then mumbles something. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s alright for you to learn the whole truth. Her Majesty knows where the beast lies. After it disappeared, she recruited the greatest adventurers of the time, outfitted them with the best equipment money could buy and they set out hoping to slay it in its slumber¡­ they never came back.¡±


    Obviously, you cannot destroy a dragon/calamity with sticks or metal, the spell designed to slay the great beasts is powerful enough to change the landscape.


    ¡°Unbeknownst to them, Her Majesty knew they had no hope of victory¡­ she intended for them to be a sacrifice and sacrifice they became. After playing with the heroes for a while like a cat with its prey, the dragon ate them and went back to sleep.¡±


    He is so long-winded!


    ¡°Sacrifices to keep the dragon/calamity entertained and fed? It sounds like it could work for a while. Does the practice continue to this day?


    ¡°It does. I heard from the Queen that your species had the power to slay even the greatest and mightiest of elder dragons, but please, do not slay the beast! Its existence is a deterrent to war and a dozen souls every few years is a small price compared to the tens or hundreds of thousands who would die in war.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°I suppose you are right; it does seem like a wise choice. Fear not, I will not carelessly attempt to kill the beast.¡±


    An ¡®attempt¡¯ defines the situation perfectly. The dragon-slaying spell was something dozens needed to work together to cast. Even now, I still cannot something do it alone.


    ¡°It reassures me that you understand, thank you for listening.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your time, you taught me all I wanted and more.¡±


    I wonder if I should relocate to a new continent.


    <><><>


    That night her Majesty come to visit me as usual and at some point, she suddenly asked


    ¡°I heard you asked about the dragon/calamity, do you intend to you slay it?¡±


    ¡°I was told I should not do it since it acts as a deterrent for war.¡±


    ¡°This value has been lost for some time. Human lives rarely extend beyond sixty, from their point of view the event of two hundred years ago are in the realm of legends.¡±


    ¡°It is there for all to see if they care to look.¡±


    ¡°I wish things were that simple. The dragon resides within our territory and they distrust us about as much as we distrust them. The relationship between states has been more peaceful since the dragon/calamity, but it is hardly amicable: before the catastrophe, we never declared war on them, but every time they did, we expanded our territory at their expense.¡±


    Is it not their own fault for trying again then?


    ¡°Humans of the empire have integrated well into our society, but even to this day, those from the One true god¡¯s kingdom still see us as unholy creatures and pagans.¡±


    It is getting even more long-winded than the curator! I suppose it is because it does not need to breathe.


    ¡°I thought all three countries had settled on natural obstacles such as rivers and mountains to define their borders?¡±


    ¡°Not willingly, we imposed it on them because it was more convenient.¡±


    ¡°If the kingdom¡¯s former citizens are such a bother, why not kill them? Or expel them?¡±


    ¡°I caressed the idea, but even if the people of the kingdom and the empire are enemies, they are still the same species, and so, to avoid losing one, I accepted the other¡­ I regret it now: a little violence back then would have avoided a lot more now. It is regrettable that I did not understand human nature back then.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The former imperial citizen wouldn¡¯t have cared: they both saw the others as less than human. War is already inevitable: integration has failed, humans have forgotten the calamity, and agitators from the One True God¡¯s religion incite rebellion with talks of inequality and servitude.¡±


    ¡°It does not seem that way, though.¡±


    ¡°But it is not entirely untrue, either. Humans have little prospects in the Queendom. Their lives are short compared to others; some elves and great Koroks have held to their position for a dozen human generations. The Koroks are in a similar situation, but they have been there since the very beginning.¡±


    It emits a sound similar to a sigh which is strange considering it does not breathe.


    ¡°Truthfully, unless they live in majorly human cities, they can only reach the bottom of the hierarchy in the short time they have.¡± Do you know¡­¡± It stops. ¡°Do you know the for every single elf criminal there are a dozen human bandits? It is not a good country for them, even if I do my best to make their life easier, there are not many prospects of advancement for short-lived species besides the high-risk high-return kind.¡±


    ¡°I see no solution to that problem either...¡±


    ¡°Almost two centuries ago, I opened free schools under the Goddess¡¯s faith. I wanted to teach the poorest of the newly integrated human how to read and write to help them jobs with better prospects and wages. The one true god¡¯s church has always denounced this as propaganda and (brainwashing)¡­ they say we bar access to good jobs unless the people have been (indoctrinated)!¡±


    Indoctrination, brainwashing what were those? I will just take them as synonyms for propaganda.


    ¡°The only way for the One True God¡¯s religion to keep credibility is to paint all I do as evil and underhanded¡­ and it works. Whatever their species, people like to complain, and it is so much easier to shift the blame. I should have crushed when I had the opportunity, war is coming and nothing can stop it.¡±  It looks at me right in the sockets (eyes) ¡°I beg of you, slay the dragon before our mindless quibbling awaken it!¡±


    ¡°I cannot...¡±


    ¡°If you do not know the method, I have a book with the spell in the secret royal archive.¡±


    ¡°I already know the spell, but it is beyond what any individual can achieve! It was usually cast with the cooperation of multiple circles!¡±


    ¡°But you have grown so powerful¡­¡±


    I cut its sentence short. ¡°This not about power, but complexity: a great deal of precise preparation is needed to cast the spell.¡±


    ¡°What kind of preparation are we talking about exactly?¡±


    ¡°Multiple layers of exclusion barriers cast with very precise timing... Dragons/calamities are so resistant to the effect of magic that they might as well be immune. The dragon-slaying spell is different in that the effects are almost purely physical¡­ I would say it is on a par with those giant flaming rocks falling from the sky.¡±


    ¡°This is insane!¡±


    ¡°Even so, without the extra layers of exclusion barriers to direct the effects, one would need to hit the target almost point-blank to get enough force to kill it. As I have said, the precise control is why it needs for multiple circles of mages.¡±


    ¡°Then there is no hope¡­¡±


    Surprisingly, its sadness and despair make me hurt as well. ¡°Because Koroks and elves lack the ability to control mana directly they cannot become part of a circle... Unless? ¡°I have no guarantee yet, but we might be able to do something with magic tools.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°It will take time...¡± Or never happen altogether, I suspect the spell would be many pages long and even then, we would have to cast it when the target is at a stop. ¡°¡­but with a magic tool, we would not have to worry about synchronization, same thing for powering it.¡±.


    ¡°I am glad we talked to you, this one knew she could count on you... I need to make some preparations, good night.¡±


    So many verbal slips in a single sentence and wishing the sleepless me a good night to boot? Strangely, I find it so endearing that I would be smiling if I had a face. ¡°I wish you a good night, your Majesty.¡±


    Now that I think about it, does it need to sleep? I know it has a bed in its room, but then again, so do I.

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14


    Down with the tyrant


    ¡°No problem, I will do it.¡± How unpleasantly stupid of me. I would like to go back in time and hit the ¡®me¡¯ who said that!


    A few days ago, it occurred to me that was a major discrepancy between the Words of power I knew, and the one taught in The City, so I raised the subject with the Queen.


    ¡°I understand your chagrin, but the people''s power and understanding are limited: I had to remove the knowledge to reduce the risks of accident. Gravity while useful, also poses a great threat when improperly used.¡± Was its answer.


    It was right, even with my warning and the staff¡¯s careful teaching, there have been quite a few people hurt practicing with this very Word. ¡°I am sorry, I underestimated their recklessness.¡±


    ¡°It is not your fault, people were hurt, but considering how helpful the spell turned out to be in civil engineering, I fear I might have been acting overprotective.¡±


    Since the Queen was not angry at me, I decided to stop beating around the bush and ask directly. ¡°Is there a lexicon of all the words known in the Queendom? I have discovered a few I did not know, but I would love to know if there are more.¡±


    It looked at me for a long moment, then told me. ¡°I will let you consult the tomes, but I wouldn¡¯t get my hopes up if I were you: it is mostly words you know but have faded out of memory due to difficulty with their use or redundancy.¡±


    ¡°I do not mind.¡± There has always been a lot of redundancies associated with the Word of power, I distinctly remember there used to be an encyclopedia on units of time and another just for temperature.


    ¡°I see¡­ Oh, there is no urgency to it, but if you have time, can I ask you to reassess the threat and potential?¡±


    ¡°It is no problem.¡±


    <><><>


    I cast a spell to remove the air but my hard work continues to consume itself without flame. It is entirely my fault, all because I wanted to take a shortcut. I had to, even after a strict selection there still was well over ten thousand Words and I not possibly have written everything by hand.


    In retrospect, my not-so-marvelous-idea-after-all idea to modify the carving spell into a writing spell was doomed to fail. When writing a spell down, it is customary to introduce minor flaws in the drawing as a measure against random activation¡­ something my spell obviously did not do.


    Again, I will say in my defense that writing a dictionary is a mind-numbing task and that I had long stopped thinking properly about what I was doing.


    A knock on the door takes me out of my trance. How long have I been looking at the ashes of my work?


    I open to the door and a royal knight salutes me. ¡°My lord, I am here to take your measurements and inquire of your preferences for your armor.¡±


    My lord? Since when did I become a lord? Oh well, as long as it takes me out of working on this ¡®unpleasant¡¯ dictionary for another minute I do not care about the whys.


    ¡°What do you need?¡± I ask in a happier tone than I would have liked.


    ¡°Could you please remove your armor and look at these designs? If any of them strike your fancy, or if you have an idea of your own, I will take note.¡±


    While I remove my armor, I ask. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®my lord¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Her Majesty appointed you as the grandmaster of the department of magic, sir.¡±


    ¡°I am already working all day long; I do not have time to add some administrative tasks!¡± Unless¡­ Yes, if duty calls, I will have to stop working on the compendium.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    As he measures me, the Great Korok answers apologetically. ¡°You will not be replacing the Master, my lord, Her Majesty is creating a new rank over his for you. Considering who and what you are, it would be unreasonable to expect you to accomplish such menial tasks.¡±


    Who and what? ¡°Wait a minute, does it mean I will be able to work after closing hours?¡±


    ¡°If that is your wish, sir.¡±


    Take that Chief Janitor. I shall no longer suffer thy mindless tyranny! ¡°When do I start?!¡±


    ¡°Once the armor is ready, there will be a public ceremony to induct you into office.¡±


    ¡°About those designs, are there any like yours?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord, her majesty recommended these two, they were derived from the royal guards and lord captain armors.¡±


    ¡°The Queen knows me well, I always liked these, ever since I first laid eyes on them... figuratively speaking. I would like one like yours, but I am not fond of gold. If possible, I would rather if mine was silver on black.¡±


    ¡°As you wish my lord, I will have the armor-smith start on it as soon as possible. Excuse me for disturbing you during your important work.¡±


    ¡°Do not worry about it!¡± In fact, do not go!


    <><><>


    ¡°Master, make copies of this Enchant.¡±


    I present him with the finished tool and he answers. ¡°I am sorry my lord, we still cannot decipher the Words of Power once they have been inscribed.¡±


    Was that why? I thought they were just being lazy. I take two sheets of paper from his desk and write down the spells I need.


    He reads it and gulps loudly. ¡°I do not understand the entirety of the spell, but¡­ does it severe space?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, it is called an exclusion barrier and as you suspect it removes the content of normal space to create a nigh-indestructible barrier. The downsides are the consumption and the fact it can only be controlled from inside.¡±


    ¡°What about the people inside?¡±


    ¡°In the worst-case scenario they might get drained of all their mana, but that is unlikely since the spell should run out long before that.¡±


    ¡°It reminds me of an Enchant we have been unable to gain knowledge about for the longest time: we call it ¡®the bag of holding¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Never heard of it, what does it do?¡±


    ¡°In appearance, it is similar to a normal bag of about this side, but it can hold an almost unlimited volume.¡±


    ¡°Very interesting! How does it work?¡±


    ¡°As I have said, we do not know. In fact, we have been unable to remove what we put inside. It¡¯s been in storage for decades.¡±


    I do not see how something like that could exist. ¡°Have it sent to my workshop; I will look into it when I have some time.¡±


    <><><>


    Why did I take upon yet another project when I am already pressed for time? At least there is no urgency with this one.


    Maybe I should have someone else takes over the writing of the compendium. I already put annotations on my own copy, and I have written pages upon pages of notes¡­ That is it, I will have someone take over writing the lexicon for me!


    It is not all bad for the one doing the work either, they will learn a lot from it! I walk back to the management office to discuss the arrangement and on the way; I walk into the chief janitor.


    ¡°I will be staying late tonight.¡±


    ¡°As you wish, sir. I¡¯ll make sure no one disturbs you! Since you have never stayed the night before, I would like to remind you that there is no fire security team at night and that you must inform the security personnel when you leave. ¡°


    That is it? I thought he would be more difficult about it. ¡°What is a fire security team?¡±


    ¡°They are personnel trained to combat fires, raise awareness and reduce the risks. Even with our best efforts, there are still many fire hazards and unruly persons, and since we do not have the funds to hire a full team for the night, we¡¯ve been forced to ban the use of workshops after dark.¡±


    ¡°I can take care of any fire by myself.¡± There are some useful spells, but most of the security staff have been either Korok or human. ¡°I know a few useful spells for dealing with fire. I can have them taught to the staff and student and even have enchants made for you and your team.¡±


    ¡°That would be wonderful, sir. Early response is the best way to limit the damage!¡±


    ¡°It is alright. I am glad to be of help.¡±


    I thought him a tyrant, but he was only working in other people¡¯s interest and I was the one not following regulations ¨C not that I ever cared if there were any and still do not see why they should also apply to me.


    I leave the small Korok behind and enter the head administrator bureau. ¡°Master, I would like to put a request for helpers. For the first task, I have laid down the groundwork for a new Word compendium but it is a waste of my time to write the actual book. Next, I have reached the limit of what I can do alone, I will take some apprentices but they will have to help with my work.¡± I get up to leave then remember my earlier promise. ¡°I take a piece of paper and write various fire control spells. ¡°They can be used extinguishing fires or prevent damage from heat, teach them to everyone and have a few Enchant made for the security team.¡±


    ¡°It will be done, sir!¡±


    I am about to go again when I remember who I am dealing with. ¡°Please, tell them not to light fires indoors¡­ Also, some of these spells can become dangerous for people if used repeatedly¡­ Also, tell them not to target people.¡±


    That is about it for the risk, but I know from experience my warning will not do much good though.


    I go back to my workshop: with some help, no curfew, and someone else in charge of the dictionary, I am sure I will be done awakening the remaining Children before the end of the week.

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15


    The need for science


    Who knew apprentices were such a boon? Whatever time I lose teaching them, they more than make up for with their work. No need to do manual labor, to painstakingly observe experimental results: I only need to read their reports.


    Furthermore, teaching others and seeing them progress is gratifying, and the fact they are all fast learners makes it even more satisfying. At a time when not even half the staff can inscribe properly with the easier pattern, my students are already capable of inscribing short spells with the helix pattern.


    Even if I would love to make it my accomplishment, it is not true. All I can do is guide them and teach them the concepts; the actual methods are something they must come up with on their own. Both ways have their own benefits and drawbacks; theirs is a lot faster for small spells but become prone to errors as the length increases, while mine is steady and reliable no matter the length or the difficulty.


    When I think about it, their youthful adaptability is probably the reason why they overcame the staff¡­ whatever the case, thanks to them, I am free to focus entirely on the dragon/calamity.


    That said, making the dragon-slaying spell into an Enchant poses a certain number of challenges.


    Firstly, I need to find a method to synchronize multiple spells within the twelfth of a second or less.


    Secondly, a person-sized exclusion barrier is neither a long nor a difficult spell to cast, but one big enough to capture a dragon/calamity becomes a different matter altogether. The bigger the size, the more parameters there are, and in this case, it is even worse since as an enchant there is very little room for user input. My current estimation, accounting for the double helix method, is a crystal of about half a ton... and that is only to house the spell, it is nowhere near enough to power it in one go. There is no way a crystal this big exists.


    Thirdly, I need to cast the spell while avoiding detection, which comes with its own setback since consumption increases linearly with distance.


    Last and not least, the precision needs to be under five meters, any more and the beast might escape. I assume it might also be possible to kill the target without capturing it first, but that is only theoretical as I have never seen the spell at work nor a dragon/calamity for that matter.


    Until a few days ago, I would have deemed the whole thing impossible and looked into a method to create a circle with modern mages¡­ but then came the bag of holding. Just like the vault, the artifact defies all logic by constantly generating an exclusion barrier ¨C without visible mana usage I must add ¨C but even more fantastical is the fact it does all that in the form of a small rucksack!This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Ah, if only the barrier did not make it impossible to look inside. Before it came into my hands, there have been countless attempts to study the wondrous item, but all of them fell flat, in fact, even the name is an assumption: for all we know it could be a magic incinerator burning its content for fuel.


    <><><>


    How long has it been since I last set foot in my room? Three days? A week? Even more?


    ¡°I am going to burn out if I continue like that¡­ maybe I should take some time off and do some reading or something.¡±


    During my previous reading session, I only looked into what I thought necessary to understand my new environment, but there are a lot of subjects I was told I needed to read up on.


    Having finally convinced myself I am not about to slack off, I open the archive with my own key ¨C a gift from the Queen ¨C to look at the bookshelves. There are quite the choices; science and mathematics, engineering, business, medicine, education, and literature.


    I have a slight understanding of what each of them entails, but literature is by far the most mysterious. I was told by both the Queen and the curator that it was a window to understanding the people, but I cannot help but feel that works of fiction are not worth my precious time¡­ yet.


    The same goes for business and medicine, albeit important to the current world, they are irrelevant to my needs. Education? There is no denying that I am lacking as a teacher, but my apprentices have been making good progress even with my flawed method. Engineering? There might be something to it, modern people have achieved construction considered impossible without magical reinforcement in my time among the living.


    I read a few introductory books, but it quickly becomes apparent that the subject is heavily reliant on scientific knowledge I do not possess.


    It only leaves science, but which subject? There is a plethora of topics, and each of them seems important enough to deserve entire books. Do they have something like a magic lexicon? A book that broaches every subject without going in detail?


    Twenty minutes later, I have set my choices on two tomes: science¡¯s greatest discoveries and a science a manikin would understand. Neither of them goes in great details but that is what is good about them, I only want to pass time in a useful way, and maybe find a source of inspiration.


    <><><>


    How astute of them! Despite their lack of magic ¨C or more likely because of ¨C they came up with laws to explain and predict many aspects of the natural world! Although I often disagree with their views as they fail to acknowledge some minor or even major influences from mana in the phenomenon, at times I am forced to admit that we were wrong and magic never part of the equation.


    Take teleportation, my people were never able to make good use of it due to some unpredictable factors. Turns out there was nothing arbitrary but all had to do with the strange quirks of circular motion.


    How to explain? It has long been proven that the planet is a sphere rotating on a single axis, right? Well, depending on where one stands, their rotational speed changes and depending on the distance from said axis and the difference can be massive! They even came up with approximation and method of calculation¡­ which sadly are reliant on the decimal system as well as all sorts of weird things involving triangles and circles that I do not get them either.


    Anyway, I now understand the basis as to why speed is gained ¨C or lost ¨C when teleporting north and south, or up and down.


    ¡°Eh? Dawn already?¡± I did not see the time pass.


    Maybe I should take care of the remaining Children, after all, the activation itself does not take that long and I do not want to see ¡®It¡¯ in pain¡­ it saddens me for some reason I have yet to determine.

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16


    God of magic


    I am relieved to see the last of the Children finally awake and fine¡­ at least as fine as they can be without memories. It is a strange feeling; I had decided to leave it to others, yet here I am doing unnecessary work on the off-chance it could upset the Queen.


    I have to acknowledge there is something wrong with me. At first, I thought that putting myself under the Queen¡¯s authority was destiny, but my obsession with pleasing ¡®It¡¯ is far too unnatural: there is no need to go that far. Simply put, the Queen¡¯s state of mind should be none of my concern and there was never a reason to put my own life in danger to face a dragon/calamity.


    For her people, I understand that their religion makes ¡®It¡¯ seems grander than it is, but what of those who know the children¡¯s true nature? Why are they still so fervently devout and loyal? And the ¡®voices¡¯, why are they become silent its presence now?


    None of those things can be explained by any amount of respect and admiration. Oh sure, it is beautiful, so beautiful in fact that despite knowing what it truly is and lacking bodily function I can almost feel my heart pumping¡­ but that only makes sense from my ¨C and maybe the human point of view ¨C the elves and Koroks¡¯ sense of beauty should be completely different.


    Yes, there is something amiss¡­ Like, since I have become undead, I have been able to get a general idea of people¡¯s state of mind, but when I am with the Queen it becomes so much more than that: it feels like we are connected.


    As I dwell on these thoughts, I am introduced to the small meeting room and all my worries are blown away by Her Majesty¡¯s loveliness.


    ¡°Apart from the two organics, all the children have been awakened as per your order.¡±


    ¡°I would like to say thank you very much, but there is something of concern to me: I heard you¡¯ve just worked a whole week without interruption.¡±


    ¡°Did I?¡± So that really was an entire week.


    ¡°Your body may be tireless, but your mind isn¡¯t. I cannot allow such a self-destructing behavior to continue. I won¡¯t ask you to come home every night, but at least take a night every now and then; twice a week should be perfect.¡±


    ¡°I will do that¡­ As long as there is no urgency.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful! Now, I would like to address the matter of your personal guard¡­¡±


    ¡°I do not need any.¡± I can protect myself if need be.


    ¡°I beg to differ: this is a matter of prestige and security. Besides you need someone to look after you.¡±


    It has become overprotective of me... I thought it might happen sooner or later since after the of its siblings, I am the closest thing to 13055<sup>th</sup>.


    ¡°If you say so.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Its feeling of satisfaction radiates into me. ¡°One last thing, I would like you to report on your progress at least twice a week.¡±


    ¡°Sadly, there is not much to report at this point.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if there isn¡¯t, you can¡¯t stay cooped up in there all day long.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡± I have been saying that a lot lately.


    I walk out of the room with the feeling that my loss of freedom is not such a bad deal as long as it is content, and then it hits me: my thoughts are being manipulated¡­ but, does it really matter? I have never felt so content myself before, this life under its rule is infinitely more rewarding than anything before.


    I think I have pierced the mystery: 13055th probably intended to make this Child an embodiment of art and beauty but succeeded beyond expectation. I believe that as long as one holds some good sentiment toward the Queen, no matter how small, they will in time grow into something far more intense.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    <><><>


    Days have gone by and we have yet to make any progress with any of our projects, if only we could decipher the mysteries behind the bag, we would be so much nearer to accomplish our goal.


    I touch the Words of power sewn on its exterior, and as usual, they react ever so slightly.


    ¡°Did the instruments detect anything?¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡±


    Why? I felt it, know I did, even if others cannot tell, I am sensing and manipulating mana directing: something they cannot.


    ¡°Eight times eight words, it has to be for inputting a code, right?


    ¡°That¡¯s what we assume, but without a way to detect a reaction, there is no way to know which combination is right!¡±


    Out of desperation, someone else proposes. ¡°Can¡¯t we just try every combination?¡±


    ¡°Assuming we spent only ten-second per combination, it¡¯d still take us over a hundred years.¡± Answers another who prides himself on his math skills.


    He is right, forget testing them all, we would run out of place just writing them down.


    <><><>


    My new armor is ready, and it is absolutely gorgeous. It is made of shiny black leather and silvery metal plates engraved with Queen¡¯s coat of arms just as I asked. Wait, now that I look at it more carefully, there is a slight difference.


    ¡°Did you replace the starts with skulls?¡±


    ¡°This is your personal coat of arms... Her Majesty wanted to make it a surprise, so she ordered to keep it a secret until the last moment.¡± His tone changes into one of inquietude. ¡°Is it perhaps not to your liking, sir?¡±


    ¡°Do not be ridiculous. This is perfect! I must thank the Queen immediately!¡±


    The knight panics a little. ¡°Sir, the ceremony is about to begin! Can¡¯t it wait until after the ceremony!¡±


    <><><>


    Rather than the throne room, I am led to a balcony facing a court filled with thousands of people. I thought it was supposed to be a job appointment¡­ what is going on?


    The Goddess speaks in a powerful voice further increased by magic. ¡°Citizen, by now, many of you have heard of a powerful mage joining our rank¡­¡±


    ¡°Many held questions as to why a stranger was given so much authority and power so soon after his coming despite a blatant lack of merits?¡±


    I have merits; you are the one who refused to make them public until now!


    Words of stupefactions come from the crowd as an army of permanent constructs pulling levitating platforms, each one beautifully decorated and with a child standing in the middle.


    ¡°See for yourself, he is my brethren, the God of magic, he who brings with him the lost knowledge from the age of myths.¡±


    Age of myths? It feels overly exaggerated, but with all that was lost, it is also very understandable. Wait? What do you mean a god of magic? I am no such being!


    ¡°He who abandoned his flesh in pursuit of knowledge, in the short time he has been there as increased the potency and the knowledge of our mages tenfold!¡±


    I did no such thing! What is a tenfold increase even supposed to mean?


    The queen whispers to me. ¡°Remove your helmet.¡±


    Wary of the results, I do as ¡®It¡¯ says, but rather than the cries of fear I expected, cheers rise from the crowds. I suppose she foresaw that a skeleton God would make more sense to them than a peaceful undead.


    ¡°Dear citizens, listen to him as you would to me, for he is my companion, my peer, and together we will work to bring prosperity to the Queendom!¡± She whispers to me. ¡°Wave your hand.¡± And as I do, another round of cheers resounds, even louder than the previous one.


    I never expected to be declared a God, even less its equal and co-ruler. That is everything I wanted to avoid when I rejected her initial offer, but the reason behind it is clear: I have been given too big a role to stay in the shadow any longer.


    As we walk back inside, I hear the queen murmurs. ¡°Now, let¡¯s see how they¡¯ll react.¡± And it frightens me.


    <><><>


    I am desperate to put my hand on the secret behind the bag¡¯s barrier, but there is no way we will be making progress just by poking at it at random¡­ besides the first thing, I should have done should have been to ask about its origin.


    ¡°It was discovered by a group of adventurers in the labyrinth, my lord.¡± Says the master in response to my inquiry.


    ¡°What is a labyrinth? I can deduce from then name alone that the place will not be easy to navigate but is there any hope to find the exact place where the bag came from?¡±


    ¡°Unlikely, sir, the labyrinth is an immense set of tunnels spanning under a vast portion of the continent. All we know is that it was dug by a long-dead race of bipedal insects, whose undead corpses still roam the underground, ready to attack anyone who dares set foot in their territory. Some courageous adventurers still explore the labyrinth, in search of precious metal and relics, but many never come back.¡±


    ¡°To think such an advanced species existed right beside us all this long and we knew nothing of them; it is such a waste.¡±


    ¡°My lord, we have no idea of how advanced they really were or when they lived. Enchanted tools are often found in piles of trash and recently made objects of little value.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Do you think they were collectors rather than creators?¡±


    ¡°Those places could have been museums, research centers or even garbage dumps. The things recovered are often in an advanced state of decay and the dangers make archeological studies utterly impossible.¡±


    I will try my luck with the adventurer guild then. I hope they can give me more details about its origin.¡±


    Whether I find information or not, I intend to mount an expedition to the labyrinth, although I wonder if I will be allowed to participate.

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17


    Labyrinth and undead


    I make my report to the Queen as usual. ¡°Your Majesty, as you are aware, we have been studying the bag of holding hoping to unlock its many secrets, but we have hit a snag. I was hoping you would allow me to seek the secret of its origin in the place where it was first found: the labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°So, it eludes even you... I am loath to let you go so soon after your appointment, but there is so much potential to this item that it would be a waste not to pursue every avenue, no matter how improbable.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your understanding, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°Before you go, I hear you have unlocked the ways of safe teleportation, is this true?¡±


    ¡°Secret is a big word. I happened to find pertinent information in a science book and had someone make the calculations for me. I made some quick tests, and though it is not yet enough to confirm it is without risk, it is a step in the right direction.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Its face is as inexpressive as ever, but I know it feels dejected. ¡°As long as I take sufficient precautions and teleport above ground away from obstacles, the danger is minimal. Even if there is a sudden rush of speed on arrival, I have no soft part, so I am more or less immune to the danger associated with sudden acceleration.¡±


    ¡°How many people and weight can you teleport along with you? And how far?¡±


    ¡°I... I do not feel secure enough to take living being with me yet. The speed increases on arrival proportional to the distance traveled north or south, as well as the difference in height. I believe that levitating before and after arrival is enough to diminish or remove all risks of injury, but I would rather postpone transporting animals and people until after some extensive testing.¡±


    ¡°No need to hurry, as long as you can come back here regularly it solves any issue I had. I want you to show yourself at the magic department at least twice a week, and to give me a report to me whenever it is possible.¡±


    ¡°As you wish, your Majesty.¡±


    I do not understand court etiquette and find it bothersome. Most of the time, I just add ¡®my queen¡¯ or ¡®your majesty¡¯ randomly at the end or the beginning of my sentences.


    ¡°Even if I have allowed you to go on an expedition, it would be unbecoming for the likes of a god to act like some random adventurer. For prestige as much as for your own security, I want you to get a proper retinue. I am still in the process of selecting and arranging the matter of your honor guard, but there are already a little over a hundred candidates. I will not allow you to go unless you take at least fifty with you.¡±


    ¡°It had been my attention to recruit adventurers, but I must say a party of trustworthy professionals is a far more attractive prospect than whatever ragtag crew I could have prepared on my own.¡±


    <><><>


    Compared to the Queen¡¯s own, my honor guard has far more specialists: scouts, trackers, trappers¡­ The only thing they are lacking in are mages, not unexpected considering how few of them opt for a career in the military.


    The biggest surprise for me is the fact that among the scouts recommended to me, the top two are not great Koroks ¨C who I know from experience to be excellent ¨C but an Elf and a human. The human in particular ¨C despite being only thirty-four ¨C is held in high regard by all and work as an instructor.


    For the mages, the selection is pretty easy since there are only six of them, but for the knight, I have no idea where to start.


    When you do not know, leave it to someone who does. ¡°Captain, I need a team for fifty for exploring the labyrinth. We will be taking the six mages, three scouts. Please select the other members for me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir! You heard milord! I need thirty-nine volunteers?¡±


    Every single one of them raises their hand. I really do not get them, why would anyone step forward to visit one of the most dangerous places on the continent?


    ¡°Captain, we will be exploring tunnels underground, we cannot take this many people.¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily, sir. It would be safer to have three groups: one for exploration, one to gather food and care for the camp, and the last one can rest.¡±


    ¡®This¡¯, is why he is the captain and I am not. As I can more or less do everything by myself, it never occurred to me to watch over the camp¡­ and I even forgot about food.


    After that, I head to the adventurer¡¯s guild headquarters. I was told they archive all of their member¡¯s discoveries made, whether it is artifacts, locations or magic beasts.


    ¡°I would like to ask about an artifact that was discovered in the labyrinth.¡±


    The receptionist is a female Korok with a dark dress that does not suit her at all. It very apparent she¡¯s trying to imitate someone else, but her constricted tail and small size break character. ¡°My lord, all artifacts discovered in this country must be studied and recorded in the guild¡¯s archive before they can be auctioned. Even so, I¡¯d like you to understand the nature of the labyrinth makes it hard to record more than an entry point and some vague notion of distance. If you are satisfied with only this, then I will call and archivist.¡±


    Worse than I thought, but still better than nothing. ¡°This will do.¡±


    ¡°Let us proceed.¡±


    She goes through a hidden door behind the counter and comes back a few minutes later through another hidden door with a skinny old human in tow.


    He bows. ¡°My lord, please follow me.¡±


    I walk behind him and he asks. ¡°Can I ask you what the item in question is?¡±


    ¡°The bag of holding.¡±


    The archivist smiles. ¡°It has been almost a decade since I was asked about this one.¡± He opens a drawer to take out a badly drawn map, then circles a zone with his finger while speaking proudly. ¡°It was found in this general vicinity, my lord.¡±


    While his memory is impressive, I cannot say the same of the precision: the area show is a circle with a radius of at least two kilometers. Even if I already know what to expect by now, I still have to ask. ¡°What about the depth?¡±


    ¡°Sorry my lord, but the tunnel moves up and down with variable inclinations. If I remember correctly, and I always do, the best estimate the adventurer could come up with was: ¡®nowhere near the surface¡¯.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Wonderful, assuming the estimates are right, that there aren¡¯t that many tunnels and we do not have to fight too often, it will take about a few months to search it all¡­ maybe less since my new senses are particularly useful for navigation, and I can also use farsight and put markers to help with the mapping. Yes, now that I think about it, keeping track of our location should be a cinch for me.


    <><><>


    By the next morning, the preparations are almost done, which is a lot faster than anticipated considering the distance and the length of the trip. Even so, there is one point I have difficulty accepting.


    ¡°Why is there so little water? I can see a few barrels. At this rate, the draft beast will last more than a few days.¡±


    His answer is quite surprising. ¡°My lord? Isn¡¯t it obvious that we will conjure more as we go? I thought a mage such as yourself would know.¡±


    ¡°But conjured water is toxic unless it is mixed with natural water, right? The present quantity is nowhere near enough to do that.¡±


    ¡°I see, I suppose it was never a problem for you since your kind didn¡¯t travel very far. As you said, conjured water loses its toxicity when mixed with natural water, but there is an even simpler solution: adding some salt to make it drinkable.¡±


    ¡°What kind of salts?¡±


    ¡°I do not know for sure. Table salt works, but too much intake can be problematic for people, and it is even worse for the horses. Alchemist tends to keep their recipes secret, but I know some made their fortune from tasty additives.¡±


    So, the toxicity was not as a result of the spell or a mana overload, quite the opposite in fact. It is always so interesting to what solutions people can achieve by taking different approaches... Still, does it not imply that the purest of water is toxic?


    ¡°There is always something to learn, and there is much that I do not know outside magic... I will do my best but expect me to rely heavily on you and if at any point you see me make a mistake, do not hesitate to point it out.¡±


    He answers with pride. ¡°To serve is my honor, sir!¡±


    Is it? As usual, I do not get these people.


    <><><>


    To the knights¡¯ disappointment and despite the scouts¡¯ best efforts, our journey was uneventful: not a single trace of bandits or magic beasts along the way. I understand it is a knight¡¯s duty to fight and remove the threats to the general population, but are they not overly proactive about it?


    The entrance to the labyrinth could pass for natural cave if it were not for its size and geography: a single hill lost in the middle of a plain pierced by a tunnel far too deep and wide to be the result of erosion or any known animal.


    The human scout, who was looking at the wall with a deep frown on his face, enters the cave to touch the wall. ¡°Sir, despite its rugged natural appearance, it is a lot smoother to the touch than it should.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Says another, ¡°it has the feel of ceramic.¡±


    Going inside raised something attention because the ¡®voices¡¯ scream. ¡°DANGER! ENEMY! KILL!¡±


    This is nothing like what I was told! We have barely set one foot inside, and we are already getting attacked. I immediately warn the others. ¡°Incoming undead, be on your guard!¡±


    The ¡®voices¡¯ feel more primal than usual, more feelings than actual words, and the reason becomes clear when I get to see our attackers: giant undead insects mindlessly rushing at us with no clear sign of intelligence, past or present.


    ¡°Shield up! Ready your war-hammers.¡± Shouts the captain.


    Since the undead do not go down easily, it is a lot faster and safer to disable. The tunnel width already makes it hard to defend with our number, but when I see creatures crawling on the ceiling, I am forced to raise some barriers to act as choke points and make the flow of enemies more manageable.


    At least, that is what I tell myself, but seeing how easily the knights dispatch the horde, I have to wonder if my help was needed at all. Oh well, as goes the saying: ¡®better safe than sorry¡¯.


    I examine the immobilized corpse carefully. ¡°For the most part, they resemble gigantified versions of common insects but they have both exo and endoskeletons. Most peculiar. It is hard to say now that they have fossilized, but I think their bones used to be porous... and do you not think this looks like a ribcage?¡±


    The elf scout answers, albeit a bit pompously. ¡°It must be, anything their size would need organs akin to hearts and lungs.¡±


    That settles it. Sadly, my inspection is cut short by the knights smashing the remains. I suppose it is a normal procedure since just like me, they must be capable of self-repair but I would have liked if they waited a bit longer.


    I leave the knights to their work and use the time to make a small marker tagged ¡®Exit¡¯ that I put it near the entrance.


    Ten minutes or so later, we reach the first intersection, there are five tunnels and¡­


    ¡°PROTECT THE NEST!¡±


    ¡°THE SQUISHIES ARE COMING!¡±


    ¡°PROTECTS THE MOTHERS!¡±


    Unlike the one earlier, they use words, which denote a certain level of intelligence. ¡°Incoming again, be wary, those seem capable of reasoning.¡±


    The enemy comes from multiple tunnels at once, including in the ceiling and the ground. I immediately raise some physical barriers to block the tunnels. Surprisingly, rather than attempt to push through the barrier, the whole undead force draws back.


    I report my sighting to the captain who explains. ¡°Since their surprise attack has failed, they are waiting for us to go inside to attack us from both sides.¡± Says the captain.


    He is probably right, and as the insects are in every tunnel, our only options are to fight our way in or retreat back to the surface and either way they win. ¡°What do we do?¡±


    ¡°Shield up, form a wall around the casters, we are going in. My lord, would you keep some barrier on every tunnel except this one?¡±


    We enter the tunnel, but to everyone''s surprise, the monsters do not rush to fight us. Instead, they throw tiny chitinous needles at us while keeping their distance, small enough to pass through the barriers unhindered.


    Screams of pain resound and a few knights fall to the ground screaming in agony. I understand full well that they cannot keep their visor down in this environment, but at the same time I feel like they brought it on themselves.


    Poisoned weapons are a threat we cannot ignore. I immediately create two thick barriers to block the tunnels, I will not be able to keep them up for too long without risking asphyxiation, but there are no other choices if we want to heal our fallen.


    The captain cusses. ¡°Visor down you fools!¡±


    ¡°There was nothing in the guild archives about coordinated attacks with ranged weapons!¡± Comments the human scout. ¡°I fear it¡¯s either a new behavior or one no one survived to speak of¡±


    ¡°Goddess helps us, the second option seems all too probable. Look at those assholes, they¡¯re keeping up their distance and waiting for us to drop the barriers.¡±


    ¡°Who the hell heard of intelligent undead before?¡± Rages one knight.


    I remind him. ¡°Me, I am one such undead.¡±


    ¡°Sorry sir, I didn¡¯t mean to disrespect you.¡±


    Suddenly, an idea flashes through my mind, I expand my senses and quickly discover a series of hidden tunnels. ¡°Earlier, they did not tunnel under us: there is a network of hidden passages!¡± I know it does not mean they cannot do it, but it will probably take some time. ¡°We are safe for now, none of them lead here!¡±


    We finish healing the poisoned knight and I start conjuring greater Chi elementals. The mages immediately follow my example, although I hear one complaint. ¡°I hate constructs, it takes all I have just to maintain one.¡±


    I had naturally assumed that constructs were rare because most people had trouble maintaining more than a spell at a time, but it turns out it was something even more fundamental.


    ¡°Elementals, get in the tunnel and destroy all undead apart from me!¡±


    The combat starts a few seconds later, very one-sidedly. Pure elemental constructs tend to be weak toward magics of the opposite element and anything that disturbs mana, but on the plus side, they are completely impervious to physical attack. For the undead who have neither mages nor enchanted weapons, it is a hopeless fight.


    Knowing themselves defeated, the group of insects opt for the only viable option: kill the caster. Sadly, for them, this time the knights are ready and come at them with a vengeance.


    I tell the captain. ¡°It appears we are ill-prepared to fight in this kind of environment. Let us go back to the surface. We cannot go further if your own equipment blinds you.¡±


    ¡°That is the nature of full helm, sir.¡±


    ¡°Well, it should not.¡±


    I have some ideas, but I will admit they all have their own set of drawbacks; farsight has low consumption, but it sends the caster vision away from the body, and this is not something anyone can adjust to. Clairvoyance gives perfect vision, whatever the environment, going as far as to allow the user to see through many types of invisibility and even small obstacles, but it is very taxing on the mind, and consume an inordinate amount of mana.


    When we are back at the camp, I expose these two solutions to the captain who answers. ¡°Sir, this is not a problem, with the exception of the scouts, they will only be used in battle.¡±


    ¡°You are right.¡± I would not say it solves everything since the enchant might also run out in the middle of a battle, that still makes it usable. ¡°I will go back to my workshop and see what we can do for you.¡±


    While I am at it, I might as well make a few throw-away golems: quality and autonomy do not matter for disposable shields.


    ¡°Sir, do not forget to report to her Majesty.¡±

 Chapter 18

    Chapter 18


    All about Undeath


    It is about seventy kilometers to the capital ¨C albeit only fifty north, the only distance that matter ¨C the furthest I have ever attempted to teleport. TheNewCity has some tall building, so to be sure I fly higher than any of them, before teleporting to an empty field beyond the wall.


    On arrival, I feel a rush of air but no feeling of acceleration. ¡°They were right, it was only about as fast as my best running speed. I have gone a lot faster than that with flying.¡± I need to remember to take something to test for acceleration next time. Maybe something like a frail glass ball with some marbles inside.


    I head back to my workshop, inside are a few apprentices working on the bag of holding or their own projects. "Call the others in, I have a task for you: I want at least four golem cores to use as shields in our exploration. As such, do not worry about quality, just throw together whatever scraps you find.¡±


    As for the knights¡¯ enchants, what should I do? A single crystal in the helmet? It puts both the crystal and the knight at risk, and I know from experience there is not a lot of room up there.


    Engraving the spell directly on the helmet? It deals with the space problem, it would need some serious denting to break the spell¡­ but the efficiency of metal is terrible, and if I socket it, it would be the same as the first option.


    Ah! Right, just because the spell is related to vision does not mean it has to be to put it anywhere near the head. I for one, keep all of mines as medallions¡­ even if they mostly end up inside my rib cage rather than on my chest. In any case, the torso is both the roomiest and the most protected part of the armor, so a medallion will work perfectly in that regard.


    Next is the spell itself, I first write the clairvoyance spell, add a classic activation switch, and since the knights are not that good with magic, I try to incorporate a method to help them supply the mana. I am not sure how efficient it will be, be it cannot hurt... apart from making the spell a lot longer than intended.  Well, it is still within the range of what is acceptable for a pendant.


    I turn to the nearest apprentice make a shape with my fingers. ¡°Prepare gems and crystals of about this size and apply this enchantment.¡± Maybe going straight to the final product without testing is not such a good idea. "I will only need a few prototypes to start with, but see if you can find about one hundred of such gems, we will probably need them soon.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir! ¡°


    As I am about to leave for the adventurer''s guild, I get an idea. ¡°We will be making equipment for the knights. If you have ideas that might benefit them, write it down or make a prototype and I will have them evaluated along with my prototypes. ¡°


    I leave the magic department in a hurry, and a few minutes later, I am in front of the guild receptionist. ¡°Greetings, is there anyone familiar with the labyrinth present at the moment?¡±


    ¡°A few, but whether they can help, will depend on your question.¡±


    Make sense. ¡°It is about the undead roaming the place: not only did they throw poisoned needles at us, but they also coordinated an attack and attempted to lure us into a trap!¡±


    ¡°Undead using ranged and poisoned weapons is not uncommon if it was something they did when they were still alive. I have also heard of undead soldier changing formation, or equipment to better suit the situation, but what you describe is not just reacting to the situation, it requires planning and strategic thinking.¡±


    ¡°I know, that is why I am here.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, sir. I have never heard of anything like that¡­ and if someone did, I doubt they survived to tell the tale. I have someone in mind who could help you, but he is not one of ours. He¡¯s a strange knight who often comes here to consult with adventurers about the undead. Since he appears to be really passionate about this stuff, I think he might be able to help you.¡±


    ¡°That sounds promising, and I have the feeling I have met him before. Thank you for your help and goodbye.¡±


    Whether I met him or not makes no difference: I am almost incapable of differentiating among other species. Nevertheless, his quirk is weird enough that other people might be able to identify him from that alone.


    I already have a good idea of what happened in the labyrinth, but it sounds a little crazy, I do not like where it goes. Let us see if someone else reaches the same conclusion I did. If I am right though, it would explain a lot about myself.


    <><><>


    Finding the guy was not as simple as I had hoped, but thankfully, his interest indeed turned out to be memorable enough. I thank my guide. ¡°Thank you, Knight. I would have never found him without your help.¡±


    ¡°It was a pleasure, my lord. If you ever need help to find someone, please come to the station: it is our job to know everyone.¡±


    I will remember the station, but I am afraid I already forgot my guide¡¯s name and features. Numbers were good enough for us. Why do they feel the need to complicate things with meaningless random sequences of syllables?


    Oh, I know very well why. It is just me acting up because things are not going my way: numbers are not a realistic option with so many people spread across such a vast territory.


    I enter the barrack and ask. ¡°Could I speak to knight¡­¡± What was his name again? Something about trees¡­ no leaves. Yeah, leaves and season! ¡°Autumn leaves?¡±


    My vis-¨¤-vis¡¯ ears prick up nervously. ¡°That would be me my lord but please, I beg of you, do not translate names, it sounds stupid. Some people might even take umbrage.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Sorry, I know very little about elf culture. There is not much about it written down.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s perfectly natural, sir. The young hostages were quick to adapt to their new lives, and their children cared nothing for the past. How can I help you, my lord?


    ¡°I heard you are an expert on Undeath. I would like to discuss the matter with you.¡±


    ¡°Expert might be a tad too strong of a word, but it would be my pleasure to discuss the matter with you as an enthusiast. I always wanted to hear about your experience.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful, I have a few theories but I lack evidence and reliable sources. Before I expose them though, I would like you to tell me about your research.¡±


    ¡°Over the years, I have discovered a few inconsistencies that have led me to dispute the common vision of Undeath. I do not believe they are creatures solely defined by their hatred of the living.¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Oh? And what is your basis for this?¡±


    ¡°As a child, I lived in a small fortress city near the old southern frontier. It wasn¡¯t anything big, and the garrison only had to deal with small-time bandits and jobless mercenaries. The place was ancient, and the commander¡¯s mansion was famous for being haunted. The ghost was harmless though, it spent all of its time caring for an old ruined well.¡± The elf stutters a bit before explaining himself again. ¡°Hum, when I say caring, I meant he was doing as he used to do in life, but what was left of the well was barely a hole in the ground at this point.¡±


    ¡°Interesting, I heard of ghosts but I have never encountered one.¡±


    ¡°There are a few theories about ghosts, some believe they are the results of strong personalities or feelings, while others believe them to be regretful spirits attempting to correct a wrong or accomplish their life work. There is even an uncommon theory stating they only happen when many unnatural deaths occur at the same time.¡±


    ¡°To which theory do you adhere?¡±


    ¡°All of them. In the case of wraiths, for example, they rarely attack people and then again only when... ¡°


    ¡°If wraiths are what I think they are, they are probably a type of naturally occurring elemental.¡±


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s um...¡±


    ¡°That is just what I got from my readings. They might very well be undead for all I know.¡±


    ¡°Erm, their case wasn¡¯t so important¡­ The common belief in town was that in life, the ghost had been the well¡¯s caretaker, but a mistake of his caused massive death. The real cause has been long lost to history, but the ¡®why¡¯ is not important: he got so obsessed by the well that not even death could stop him.¡±


    ¡°Did someone try to harm the well to see what happened?¡±


    ¡°Not that I know, but as I said, it was a ruin that had dried up hundreds of years ago. Whatever the case, one day, the ghost that had been peaceful for centuries suddenly became violent and had to be exorcised.¡±


    ¡°How come?¡±


    ¡°At the time, there had been some fierce battle not far from the fortress, and though the town and the people never suffered directly, I think it had an effect on the ghost.¡±


    It seems to agree with my own theory. ¡°This is only one single case, and it was already an exception, to begin with. Do you have anything else to corroborate your idea?¡±


    ¡°I do, there are bizarre cases of undead animals running away from predators or hunters, or the Dead fighting among themselves rather than banding against those who disturbed them.¡±


    ¡°That last one seems interesting. How did that happen? And was there anything peculiar about the undead?¡±


    ¡°It was an ancient battlefield where the empire, the kingdom, and the Queendom fought each other. The sources and potential victims were young clueless adventurers who thought there might be valuables left to collect.¡±


    ¡°This sounds convincing. Was it the only case, or were there others?¡±


    ¡°You know of the Soulless sometimes move in formation and use simple military tactics?¡±


    ¡°I heard of it, yes.¡± Very recently in fact.


    ¡°Well, this one happened in the empire, so I haven¡¯t been able to confirm its veracity, but there is a story about many undead suddenly moving in organized troops and using simple spells. It is supposed to have occurred in an old fortress that was destroyed by the dragon, rebuilt and then destroyed again by raiders.¡±


    Sound troublesome, I hope nothing like that happens in the labyrinth. ¡°Any ideas why?¡±


    ¡°As I have said, I have no way to know for sure, but I suspect it¡¯s because most of the dead were soldiers, including some commanders and mages. I do not know if they organized the others or influenced them in some way, but I lean towards the latter.¡± He thinks for a while, then concludes. ¡°I also had a lot of stories with wraiths but¡­¡± He shakes his head dejectedly.


    This is not a lot, but the last one sounds disturbingly similar to my labyrinth case. ¡°It is my turn, then. Let me first recount how I was brought back into this world and then tell me what you think. I do not know how or why, but the place where I was reborn was devoid of life. From my point of view, nothing appeared to be out of place, until I got out in the open. The sensation of a myriad of life forms occupying all the surrounding space was so overwhelming that it nearly drove me to madness.¡±


    ¡°I can hardly picture it.¡±


    ¡°Think of a night sky so packed full of stars that there is no space for darkness. Now imagine, you are conscious of every single one of them, and that you cannot look away or close your eyes.¡±


    The elf frowns and flattens his ears at my description.


    ¡°Next is something that happened when I got hurt for the first time: my mind shut and when I came back to myself, there were traces of destruction. During the time I was out, my body acted on its own to kill everything in sight, including some mere elementals.¡±


    ¡°Does it mean your body got a will of its own?¡±


    ¡°I would not go as far as to say it has a will of its own, but I definitely think it was under something¡¯s influence. Do you remember the ¡®voices¡¯ I spoke of when I first removed my helmet?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I remember.¡±


    I nod. Until now I was not sure if he was the same person. ¡°There was a time when I killed an ancient wyvern: I swear I felt its will to survive as my own. I am certain it was not mine, first because I won, and second because it is very uncharacteristic for me and my species.¡±


    ¡°Uncharacteristic? What do you mean?¡±


    I take some time to sort my ideas. ¡°To put things even more in perspective: the foremost cause of death for my people was suicide, and the most common reason was boredom. This alone can tell you how little attachment to life we had.¡±


    ¡°Boredom?!¡±


    ¡°Another example would be the tidal wave that destroyed our civilization. It would not have been hard to move inland to avoid it, yet all of us chose to stay and die!¡±


    ¡°It is hard to imagine a race uninterested by its own survival. How did your species last for so long with this kind of mentality?¡±


    Through tradition, selective breeding and single-mindedness: that is how!


    ¡°At any rate, I get what you mean.¡±


    When I think about it, I feel disgusted at my former self and my people. ¡°I think we survived out of misplaced pride, duty, and tradition. Like for me, getting killed by wyverns would have been a disgrace, but as I said earlier, I had won, and that is enough proof to say the feeling was not mine.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me more about the voices? You could not say much last time.¡±


    ¡°I call them ¡®voices¡¯, but they range from articulate words to pure feeling. I hear most often when I am in the city, but I have also heard them in the labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°What are they saying?¡±


    ¡°That is the interesting part: the first time I heard them was near the city and they spoke of betrayal, heathen and monsters, gods and a lot of other things I had no knowledge of! Even now, I still do not understand everything they say.¡±


    I think I have given him enough context to ask about the labyrinth. ¡°I have one last thing to talk about, and then I would like to hear your conclusion¡­ I have recently entered the labyrinth with my knights and although the first group of undead we encountered behaved like mindless insects, the second group laid in ambush and attempted to lure us in a trap.¡±


    ¡°It has long been theorized that the living Dead retain part of their ego and knowledge, but I think it goes a lot further than that: I think they share knowledge and influence each other!


    ¡°And what would have brought the change?¡±


    ¡°That would be you, sir.¡±


    Extreme unpleasantness! It knew it, there was no other logical conclusion, but I still had a faint hope. ¡°I think the same way, even if I would rather not: my presence helped them regain some rationality¡­ but what are the ¡®Voices¡¯?¡±


    ¡°They could be any of those things: leftover thoughts, instinct, strong desires, pure wills, remnants of personality...¡±


    ¡°That reminds me, I can understand instinct taking over in the small animal case, after all, an undead goldfinch would be even weaker than a living one, but I cannot wrap my head over why the Undead were fighting each other.¡±


    ¡°Since this was an ancient battlefield, I suppose they were soldiers from opposite sides, and that acted on instinct to protect their brethren. It is also possible that the hatred they felt for their former enemies was stronger than the one they have for the living.¡±


    ¡°Seen that way, it makes a lot of sense. Considering it was a battlefield, it safe to assume the other side played a part in their deaths¡­ I think my case was very lucky: a rare combination of low survival instinct, combined with an overall low-key attitude, and strangely strong pride probably protected me from the collective¡¯s influence.


    ¡°I like this ¡®collective¡¯ term of yours, do you mind if I use it in my book?¡±


    ¡°Do as you wish; just remember you cannot cite me as a source. Well, overall, we still lack definite proof but it is a good working theory. Thank you for your help, knight.¡±


    ¡°I should be the one thanking you, my thesis progressed more in a single conversation than in decades of research!¡±


    ¡°Have a good day knight.¡±


    He salutes. ¡°My lord!¡±


    Next, I have a report to give.

 Chapter 19

    Chapter 19


    More troubles on the horizon


    The queen and I meet in the usual room to discuss recent events and although the expedition¡¯s progress is too insubstantial to pique its interest, my new theory of Undeath does.


    ¡°You think a lack of strong feeling is what kept you sane? But aren¡¯t strong feelings what create undead in the first place? How do you reconcile these two facts?¡±


    ¡°I have always been an eccentric: I used to have dreams of greatness, but neither amounted to anything. I suppose my regrets proved strong enough. Still, I would like you to note that since most Undead do not usually have a will of their own, they cannot be considered insane or hateful. They simply act upon an accumulation of instincts, obsessions, and fears.¡±


    ¡°Dear, a mass of instinct devoid of rationality sounds insane enough to me.¡±


    ¡°You may be right; it is quite probable that the ¡®collective¡¯ does not have any agenda most of the time¡­ it may even have many conflicting ones.¡±


    ¡°In that case, wouldn¡¯t the expedition be better served from not having you on-site?¡±


    ¡°There is truth in your words. I thought about it as well but concluded the benefits of my presence exceeded the dangers. My senses make the exploration and navigation much easier, and I am probably the only one who would recognize what we are looking for, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Infinite space is too good a prospect to pass on. It would revolutionize transportation, storage, and even urbanism.¡±


    ¡°The exact functions have yet to be determined, but I admit attaching this level of security and complexity onto a trashcan seems very unlikely. ¡°


    ¡°I am sorry, but I may have to delay your return. There is a matter for which I require your assistance: we will soon receive a visit from an empire¡¯s emissary and I wish for you to be present.¡±


    ¡°But I have no ability whatsoever in politics. I did not know what the word meant until recently!¡±


    ¡°They are likely to ask for our assistance in their war with the kingdom, or at the very least, for our neutrality. The problem is: the empire has elevated treachery to an art, they are devious enemies and fickle allies. Whatever their true goal, your ability to read meaning and feeling will prove useful.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, I cannot see through lies and half-truth, the way your people played me is proof enough.¡±


    ¡°Oblige me please, any small advantage will go a long way against this kind of opponent¡­ and I find your presence reassuring.¡±


    What can I answer to that? ¡°Very well your majesty, I will make myself available.¡±


    ¡°How very kind of you. On a more somber note, One True God believers in the south have been perpetrating acts of rebellion against the state. My spies believe a representative of the faith or a high-ranking official from the kingdom will soon come to make demands.¡±


    ¡°What kind of demands?¡±


    ¡°The usual: equal treatment for humans and other nonsense. The content matters little, all they want is an excuse to declare a holy war.¡±


    I do not get them. What is so good about war? ¡°I am no expert, but even I can see that fighting on two fronts at the same time is a terrible idea.¡±


    ¡°It is probable they have already opened more fronts than that. They are in a constant state of with their southern neighbors, as they are their main source of slaves.¡±


    How dreadful. ¡°How can such a nation work?¡± Although, I wonder if it really is my place to comment, considering our use of the Children.


    ¡°Slavery is the backbone of their society, so apart from a few specialized jobs, others have to own some or join either the army or the church to ensure their subsistence. The problem with this model is that it cannot work without a constant influx of slaves and plunder. War keeps their country together and prevents the population from looking too attentively at the massive inequalities: as long as there are enemies and monsters, all their failings can be shifted.¡±


    ¡°I still do not understand why they need to wage war against the empire and us at the same time.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t have a choice in the matter, war with either opens an opportunity for the other to strike. There is also a difference in intent: they wish to conquer the empire as it will get more slaves, more resources and eventually more converts, but the war against us is one of eradication as their god command they remove monsters from existence.¡±


    ¡°Should we not use this opportunity to strike full force then?¡±


    ¡°I cannot say how yet, but I expect they intend to keep us occupied one way or another until they are finished with the empire.¡±


    Do they really expect a few rebels to stop the full might of the Korok knights? Is the empire really this weak? Or do they believe all humans will naturally join them to fight us, monsters?


    The Queen continues. ¡°The quality of our knights and mages is incomparably higher, but in return, the loss of a single knight hurt us more than the loss of a squad hurts them. Adding basic training, it takes the kingdom less than twenty years to replenish their losses, but a great Korok to reach maturity at the age of sixty, and eighty for an elf. Sure, our soldier stays able for hundreds of years but when the human life expectancy is only around sixty but that only makes the gap harder to deal with.¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    It shakes its beautiful head slowly with an air of sadness. ¡°The difference in longevity makes it hard for humans, and at a lesser level the Koroks, to join the elites: by the time the longer-lived species have finished their training, their counterparts are retired or dead.¡±


    I did not read much about war, but I do remember a few words¡­ Terrible words ¡°Terrorism and guerilla warfare? Is that what you expect?¡±


    ¡°I was about to make equipment for my Knights, but assuming you can gather enough crystals it would not be impossible to extend the production to other units.¡± Even if say that, I do not think it is possible to make enough for every knight, we will have to switch to metal at some point.


    ¡°Thank you, but even if we include precious gems, I doubt we have enough material in the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if there is a scientific theory on the origin of crystals¡­¡±


    ¡°I see. If you cannot find them, make them. An interesting approach, I will ask my subordinate to look for scholars with that kind of knowledge.¡±


    It was just something I said out of curiosity. ¡°Most obliged, my Queen. I will take your leave. There is much I need to do and very little time.¡±


    ¡°Please, do, and know I am very sorry for burdening you so.¡±


    My failing attempts at following etiquette make me feel like a kid talking to a teacher¡­ good thing, the Queen does not care.


    <><><>


    I briefly use farsight to look at the destination and teleport in an empty corner of my workshop.


    ¡°How is it going?¡±


    The nearest apprentice freezes and perks his ears in fear. ¡°My lord?! I did not hear you enter.  Um, we made the four golem cores, but with such tiny scraps Elaric is the only one who can inscribe anything at all.¡±


    I know I am the one who said to use scraps, but rather than getting stuck, I would much prefer if they used larger quartz.


    ¡°We might have to equip the whole knight order with the spell I gave you earlier, so start looking into our stocks. Oh, right, I am going to meet with the master. Tell Elaric to join us as soon as possible.¡±


    I have no clue who Elaric is and I really need to find a way to differentiate among them, something more efficient than size and fur color¡­ I hate it when I mix people¡¯s name, it is so embarrassing. Maybe giving them some brooches with their name written in mana under the pretext of a gift will do the trick.


    I knock before and enter the office. ¡°Good afternoon master.¡±


    ¡°My lord, you are the new master.¡±


    I sit in the only chair that suits someone my size. ¡°Technically, I am the Grandmaster, and then again only in name: you are the one doing the actual administrative work. Anyway, someone will join us soon, and so far, he is the only one I know who has been able to reproduce my finest engraving techniques. He is still a student, but I want him to impart his methods to everyone, starting with the staff.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great news, there are a lot of mishaps and even in the best case, the engraving is nowhere as fine as your student, much less yours. Crystals and magic organs are rare and precious enough that we will greatly benefit from any small reduction.¡±


    ¡°I sure hope so. How is the integration of crystal carving in everyday¡¯s technology going?¡±


    ¡°Very well, sir, although it is still too costly for many applications. Nevertheless, as long as one can bear the increased cost, there will be a massive increase in efficiency in almost every area.¡±


    ¡°Almost?¡±


    ¡°The spells for heating and cooking benefits from being put directly on the metal, but even in those cases there only benefits in using one of your power sources.¡±


    ¡°It makes sense. Are there oth...¡±


    My sentence is interrupted by a knock at the door, probably Elaric. This one I definitely must remember! I activate my own clairvoyance enchant to etch his features in my mind.


    ¡°Please enter.¡± Says the master.


    I finish my previous sentence. ¡°Have you found other cases in which carving the Words of Power directly in metal is more efficient?¡±


    Elaric enter the room and wait patiently for us to finish.


    ¡°No, sir. Before you came, it was almost impossible to fit a long spell unto a decently sized apparatus, so there weren¡¯t so many uses besides cooling, heating and water production.¡±


    ¡°Elaric,¡± I say to the newcomer. ¡°your technique is beyond that of any other apprentices and staff member. I would like it if you could instruct the staff in your methods.¡±


    ¡°If I must, sir¡­ but what about our research?¡±


    Ah, yes, he is one of the few obsessed with research and the bag of holding in particular.


    It is impolite of me, but I ignore him as I have more demands to make. ¡°Master, I want you to form a team to investigate replacement materials for crystal as well as another to find if there is a way to link a power source to a crystal enchant.¡±


    ¡°As you wish, my lord.¡±


    ¡°Elaric, for the time being, teaching your method supersede anything else¡­ but if it is agreeable to you, you can participate in both of the research I mentioned. In fact, I would much prefer if you did.¡±


    ¡°Will I be able to rejoin the team researching the bag of holding afterward?¡±


    ¡°I am not punishing you. You are doing excellent work, but we are pressed for time and we need the rest to catch up, even if it is only a little: we all need to do what we must before we can do what we want.¡±


    I get up and leave the room. ¡°Alaric, let us walk together.¡± I have seared his appearance in my mind, but it will not help much if he drastically changes his haircut or dyes his hair¡­ I really need to hurry and make these brooches.


    While we walk, I explain to him. ¡°As things go, we are bound to run out of resources soon, even teaching your method will only give us a small respite.¡± I leave the part about the dragon/calamity and the possibility of almost endless resources in the vault out. ¡°That is how important these researches are! New materials and a method to divide the spell components are a must, so feel free to explore any promising avenue independently of seniority.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I had no idea the situation was so bad, sir.¡±


    ¡°Since all living creatures gather mana inside themselves, organic materials seem particularly promising. Take as much money as you need from the workshop¡¯s fund and acquire some magic beast carcasses.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°I am counting on you. Do not hesitate to try anything and everything and ask me or the master if you need more funds.¡±


    ¡°It will be done my lord; you can count on me!¡±


    ¡°Nice answer!¡±


    This one is really devoted to the spirit of inquiry¡­ if I had a face, I am sure it would be smiling. Even with the threat of the dragon/calamity, there is no better time to be alive: there is always something interesting going on.


    I leave Alaric behind and head back at the workshop. On my desk is one enchant I do not recognize. ¡°What is this one for?¡±


    ¡°For cooling or heating air, sir. It occurred to us that depending on the situation, armor can get very hot or dangerously cold.¡±


    The spell is similar to the one found in a cooler, in the way it displaces the heat rather than directly alter the temperature. I think it would have worked better with a medium other than air, but the consumption is low and it can easily be used both ways¡­ However, I fear an army of thousands, leeching or expelling heat might create more problems than it solves.


    I take the crystals, use farsight to find a place over the camp and teleport back.

 Chapter 20

    Chapter 20


    Prudence is the mother of all virtues


    but


    a great source of boredom according to certain individuals


    There is a lot of information I would like to get for each species; autonomy, efficiency, direct channeling endurance and so on¡­ But with so few prototypes there is no way I will get my answers before I need to go back.


    For now, I leave one Clairvoyance enchant to the officers and the other to the troops. As for the cooling/heating one, I did not expect it to be so popular. The apprentices were right, temperature shifts a lot inside in armor and on some occasion in can be deadly cold outside but sweltering inside.


    It is a bit regretful that I will not get to reenter the labyrinth anytime soon, but this is why I am here, to do everything I can while I can. I use the soil from the cave to raise the golems, its unusual hardness should make it a good material, but I nevertheless confirm it by shooting a few ice bolts at them.


    ¡°Nice, it is even sturdier than I thought.¡± For a few moments, I consider asking a knight to attack it but decide against it. However small, there is still a risk it will destroy one of the power sources and no matter how cheap they are, that would still be wasteful.


    A thought comes to me, could I use a temporary construct to scout ahead¡­ My contentment is short-lived: a construct cannot navigate such a complex environment without instructions and I have no way to give them from afar.


    Or, do I? Following its progression is easy with farsight, but I do not have a far voice equivalent to transmit my order. Even if I know how to record my voice, I have no idea how to play it back from afar.


    I try anyway. I pick apart some element of the recording spell and try again and again until I am convinced: sound cannot be produced without a medium.


    ¡°Talk about a waste of time¡­¡± I look at the knights, I know they have a method of long-range communication that does not use magic. ¡°Captain, how do you communicate over a long-range?¡±


    ¡°It depends on the urgency, the distance, the nature of the message and where we stand. When garrisoned, we will mostly use mail coach or pony expresses, but sometimes when secrecy is important, we will send coded messages through carrier pigeons.¡±


    I have no clue what is a pony express, but I have a difficult time imagining a pigeon courier transporting a message on demand. I dismiss the image and ask. ¡°And when on the field?¡±


    ¡°Signs, for short distance and personal communication. Flags for long-range and army-wide, it is discreet and hard to decipher since the meaning with every mission.¡±


    ¡°I must admit a lot of what you said went over my head. How do you tame pigeons to carry a message? What is a pony express and how do you use flags to communicate?¡±


    The captain appears kind of lost for a moment, then starts explaining. ¡°The pigeons aren¡¯t exactly tamed, it¡¯s just that they somehow know how to get back to their nest.¡±


    Do they? Maybe they are not as stupid as they look.


    ¡°A pony express is when you put a succession of fresh mounts at an interval so that the messenger can carry a message at full speed all the way long. As for flag communication, it is pretty simple: we agree beforehand on the meaning. As a result, it cannot be too complex, but it is fast and can be relayed from battalion to battalion.¡±


    Not everything is useful, but two principle stands out: relaying and homing.


    ¡°Thank you. You have given me some ideas I must try right away.¡±


    ¡°Glad to be of service, my lord.¡±


    Relaying appears to be the simplest, but the sheer amount of resources makes it almost laughably impossible. On the other hand, homing seems hard but possible¡­ assuming I can go over a few hurdles.


    The easiest solution that comes to mind is slow and cumbersome, but reliable: a homing golem transporting a message by following the markers laid by his predecessor.


    The second might be impossible, but it is so much more interesting and rewarding that there is no question as to which I will choose.


    ¡°Reverse teleportation it is!¡± On principle, it should work¡­ but there has to be a reason why no one did it before.


    I spy a rock slightly bigger than the others a few meters away and make my first attempt. I get the usual sensation of mana gathering, but somehow the process fails before going to the next stage.


    It is not because of the spell. It is like¡­ ¡°Something is lacking.¡±


    What, though? I teleport myself a few times in a row but do not get the difference. I try teleporting an object away from me, as it is more similar to what I am trying to do, it will probably be a better frame of reference.


    It takes dozens upon dozens of attempts, but as soon as I stop picking up the item, the answer strikes me in the face: I am the problem because most of the spell is carried by instinct.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°As long as I touch the object, I only have to care about the destination¡­ but when it is out of my reach, then I also need to take into account the point of origin.¡±


    The thing I am about to try sounds dumb but¡­ I use Clairvoyance, then align the target with my hand so that both are in my line of sight and¡­ just like that, the stone appears in my hand.


    ¡°It is possible!¡±


    It is not like I can easily apply the same method, nor that it helps with my current goal¡­ but that still proves it is possible as long as I put the efforts¡­ which I would rather not because I do not have that much time.


    ¡°What is it hard?¡± If you think about it, as the destination is my own hand, I should not have to worry about the coordinates, right?¡±


    Oh, right! I am getting further and further from my original goal. I walk to the captain and ask him. ¡°What do you think of the enchant? Are they usable?¡±


    ¡°I would not say that, sir: I see better at night with my visor down than in full daylight! If we made it permanent then we could forgo the eye slits entirely!¡±


    No, you could not, that is a terrible idea! ¡°How is the autonomy?¡±


    ¡°I do not know yet, sir. We are passing them around to try, so we are nowhere near depleting them.¡±


    ¡°Well, since clairvoyance is a pretty mana-intensive spell, I would not recommend using it on a large scale or for a long time, furthermore, there is less mana going around during the night. Sure, in a place with a lot of life like this, I do not believe it would be that big of a problem but I still would not recommend it: mana depletion is a scary thing.¡±


    ¡°I have never heard of it before, my lord.¡±


    It is one of the mages who spoke up. Do they know about the mana cycle? I did not ask my students about it, and even in the city, there were debates about its nature. Still, no one ever thought of denying the dangers of mana depletion and its terrible effects on the environment.


    I ask the mage. ¡°What do you know about the different states of mana?¡±


    The elf answers almost instantly. ¡°Mana radiates from the sun, is absorbed by animals and plants where it turns into Chi. The Chi within us allows the use of magic by giving power to the words and affecting the surrounding mana with our will.¡±


    He is not wrong, although it is possible to cast a spell with only the mana inside you, or the Sha in my case. ¡°What about Sha?¡±


    ¡°When a creature dies, unless the body is eaten or burned, the Chi rot and becomes Sha.¡±


    Not bad. Sha is death, it is present in small quantity in every living creature¡­ but one would have to be seriously be poisoned or terminally ill to build a noticeable amount.


    ¡°The Queen taught you well! You need to remember that although the sun produces an almost infinite amount of mana, the quantity available in one moment is limited. Imagine water directly pouring from the ocean into a goblet: the goblet as a limit to its countenance, and it is entirely possible to empty it if you draw the water faster than it replenishes.¡±


    The mages nod and I continue. ¡°If something like that happens for a while, something happens that interferes with the normal cycle. One result can be a buildup of Sha, and worse, a place where mana stops gathering and both are equally bad. The risk is tremendously low but I know of a few places like that and I assure you: you do not want it to happen anywhere, much less around you.¡±


    It reminds me of my past failed research. ¡°It reminds me of an old theory. It stated that mana was an inactivated state while Chi and Sha were the activated state. But because all three states disappear when consumed by spells or other phenomena, a fourth state was theorized.¡±


    There is not much more to it, and the feeling of boredom emanating from the captain and the other listening officers is almost palpable.


    ¡°Anyway, just remember not to overuse spell and enchants in the labyrinth. Please, continue testing the enchants. Do not worry about me, I have some research to do, and I will also send a temporary golem in the labyrinth to see if it draws the Undead¡¯s ire.¡±


    The knight not occupied with the enchants immediately go back to their training and I conjure a small temporary golem with the order to walk until the first junction then come back once it spent an hour there. That should be enough to see if the golems can be used as shields and lure.


    Back to my teleportation problem¡­ where was I? Ah, yes, how to keep track of everything at once. Training is the obvious answer¡­ but I have become greedy: I want a fast and easy solution¡­ something I can apply even to an enchant.


    Well, thanks to the earlier example, I have an idea of how: homing.


    I create a maker and put it down the group, register a message into my recorder, and then send it to the temporary construct. It does as instructed and walks into the rightmost tunnel for about five meters.


    Now, to the hard part. I concentrate on the recorder while using my other senses on the maker. Focusing on different coordinates at the same time is hard, but use multiple senses in conjunction is an everyday thing. People do not go blind or death when they taste some food, right?


    ¡°Ah, it got destroyed.¡± It is nice that I confirmed its use as a lure, but I really mind the unwelcome distraction.


    <><><>


    It was not so hard after all; I have done it so many times in a row that I have almost grown bored. I still do not have a clear vision as to how to it with enchants, but there is no need to rush it, anyway.


    I hail the captain. ¡°Are you finished with the test? Did everyone have a go?¡±


    Here is the full report: a fully charged clairvoyance tool lasts between one hour-and-a-half and two hours. The difference can probably be chalked on the quartz size and purity.


    Direct use, is another matter, the great Koroks can only use for about thirty to fifty minutes, the elves for about two hours, but the human scout has been at it for over one hour, and his mana is not as plentiful as the great Koroks.


    I knew it, it is not going to be that simple to use inside the labyrinth¡­ Alaric, Master, may your research be fruitful, because we are going to need it.


    ¡°What about the temperature control thing, was it serviceable?¡± At least it looked popular.


    ¡°Yes,¡± He looks angrily at a group of knights, ¡°although I had to confiscate it at some point because some idiots tired themselves from playing with it.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°They heated their bedding and tents with it.¡±


    It cannot say it was designated with that purpose in mind but heating the bedding is a clever use¡­ I cannot say the same about the tents though, that is a clear waste of time and mana.


    ¡°Heating the bedding was a good idea, that is the kind of innovative use I was looking for.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if it was clever or not; it was against orders.¡±


    Was it not within parameters for the given task to find prospective usage? Oh well, it is probably one of those chains of command I hear about every so often.


    I call the greater golems I created earlier. ¡°Obey this knight¡¯s every order as though they are mine. Captain, they are yours, do with them as you wish: you are free to explore the labyrinth while I am away.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord! Thank you, my lord.¡±


    I am very worried; these people clearly suffer from a severe case of recklessness. I find newfound respect in her Majesty''s ability to hold the reins upon thousands of likely minded individuals.

 Chapter 21

    Chapter 21


    The end of scarcity?


    ¡°That was the last of them. You go and take a good rest.¡±


    A chorus of worn-out voices responds, too soft and too weak to be heard properly. In the last few days, I have worked myself and my apprentices to the bone to produce this batch, and as I watch them go, I cannot help but feel sorry for them as they have yet to realize this is only the beginning¡­ there is a probability we will have to outfit a few battalions from the knight order.


    At this time of the day, Elaric should be giving a lecture, so I go and listen and it turns out his method rely heavily on his personality and perception. Not something that can easily be passed on to others¡­ that and his terrible teaching, he really needs some pedagogy lessons.


    I take a few bags from the storehouse, cram the within enchants and drop by the camp.


    Strangely, there are only a few knights there, I ask. ¡°Where are the others?¡±


    ¡°Most of them are in the labyrinth, hunting, foraging or sleeping.¡±


    Maybe I should have brought some rations with me, I will try to remember for next time. ¡°I see. Here are the enchants I promised.¡±


    ¡°That was fast my lord. It has only been nine days.¡±


    ¡°Nobody slept much, I expect the apprentice will need at least a week to recover. Well, it is I get back to the capital¡­¡±


    I am interrupted by a voice I know very well. ¡°My lord?¡±


    ¡°Captain, I brought the enchant. How are things going on your side?¡±


    ¡°We have made some progress, but it is a mess down there, it is really deserving of its namesake.¡±


    He shows me a map, and it is just as he said. ¡°It is nothing but dead ends. Is there any point to those tunnels?¡±


    ¡°One day doesn¡¯t pass without me wondering the same thing, sir.¡±


    ¡°How do you go about your exploration?¡±


    ¡°As you can see on the map, we always go from the rightmost to the leftmost. First, we send Chi elemental, followed by the scouts, and if there is a room or a bunch of undead ahead, they call the main unit. We use the golems you left us to act as vanguard and rearguards. The process is time-consuming, but this is the only way since the place is chock full of traps.¡±


    ¡°What about the undead?¡±


    ¡°We have seen none of the intelligent ones, but we had our fair share of encounters with the dumb suicidal ones. Even with all our precautions, we¡¯ve been taken by surprise more than once, those hidden tunnels of theirs are damn nasty.¡± He looks up in the sky. ¡°Franky, I cannot help but wonder if the adventurers who make a living from this place are excellent, insane or both.¡±


    ¡°Your kind as a saying: ¡®there is a fine line between genius and madness.¡¯¡±


    ¡°That is so true, it reminds me of my old instructor: she was a genius in combat, but a weirdo in everything else.¡±


    ¡°She was not a great Korok?¡±


    ¡°She was, and that is one part of why she was so weird. As you know, great Koroks are asexual, but this one always acted like a particularly feminine Korok¡­ no, I¡¯d be more just to say she acted on what she thought a girly Korok was like. This idea of femininity was unique to her.¡±


    ¡°As a matter of fact, I had no idea you were asexual. I mean, I only ever heard male pronouns.¡±


    ¡°True enough, it has become customary, but it is not like we mind which pronoun people use¡­ as long as it is not neutral.¡±


    Does it mean that people consider neutral pronouns rude? I have used them a lot before I learned the local language¡­ and I am still using them for the Queen¡­ all the time.


    I once read the great Koroks were an offshoot of the Korok species, but I thought it meant they shared ancestors, it never occurred they were the same race and much less that one of the two was sterile. Seeing how the people of the Queendom care about family, it must be strange to have offspring with a least six times the longevity of their parents. ¡°Is it hard on you people to have parents with such short lives?¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°That¡¯s an expected question... It is true our genitors¡¯ lives are much shorter than ours, but the greater Koroks doesn¡¯t belong with them, they are raised by the order: the knights are our family, and the goddess is our mother.¡±


    ¡°I apologize for my question. My curiosity is far stronger than my ability to read social cues.¡±


    ¡°Do not worry, sir. I was more surprised by the fact that you cared. I was told your kind showed little concern for others, including their own family.¡±


    ¡°I am changing, and I hope it is for the better. I must admit that despite my upbringing, I am awed by the strength of your bonds and what they helped you accomplish despite your weakness. Once again, I beg your pardon and ask you to forgive me if I trouble you again over such matters in the future.¡±


    ¡°Ask away, sir, it is my honor to serve!¡±


    ¡°I will take my leave; it has been confirmed the empire¡¯s envoy will arrive in the next few days. I do not know for how long the negotiations will run, but afterward, I should be free to rejoin. One last thing, I have come up with a decent estimation of the replenishment rate in the labyrinth so as long you never use the enchants for more than fifteen minutes, and let them recharge for at least four times as much, there should be no risk of running out of mana at a critical juncture.¡±


    ¡°Four times? I had assumed a lower recharge rate but not that low. Thank you, sir, I will take that in mind¡­ Oh! One last thing, you probably heard that many times, but be wary of the empire, deceit is their bread and butter.¡±


    ¡°I will keep that in mind. Until next time, captain.¡±


    ¡°Farewell, sir.¡±


    I teleport back to TheNewCity.


    <><><>


    ¡°I am going to my office. Do not disturb me unless it is important!¡± Is what I say, but I mean the opposite: I hate paperwork, so please, someone, anyone, hurry and save me.


    I cannot express how thankful I am to the master. The pile there is what is left after the master doing most of the work¡­ If it were not for him, I think I would have gone back to living in the wild. Sadly, even with his help, I still have reports to read, and direction to give and it appears that I must be cursed because as usual, no one comes to save me from my terrible fate.


    Suddenly, a title catches my eye: ¡®From the origin of gemstones and what separates them from amorphous solids¡¯. How long has it been there? The subject is of great interest to me, but the title illustrates all I hate about my current job: pompousness to the extreme! Is there an academic reward for who will write the longest title?


    No matter, I have been waiting for this. I forget everything else to read through the thesis. The first half is mostly useless rambling about the properties of natural gem and why it is impossible to make them through glassification. Spoiler alert: non-uniform cooling results in an irregular lattice¡­ whatever that means.


    ¡°Unpleasant individual, you have spent fifty pages spent on pompous statements and boring recount of failed experiments!¡±


    I skip some text, then I skip more¡­ I know I am being dishonest, experimental results matters, even the failures but I am interested in the origin of gems and crystals, not a history of failed attempts!


    ¡­ Finally. ¡°What? This is it?¡± How do I say this, I am overly excited by the possibilities but underwhelmed by the nature of the growing method which roughly translates to: water saturated with specific salts will birth crystals.


    There are many small variations on the method, such as the liquid used and the temperature, but for the most part: this is it. Well, the author complains a lot about their lack of luster and color compared to natural gemstones as according to him, impurities are what give them their values¡­ but he could not be more wrong and I could not care less about his uninformed opinion: the fewer impurities, the steadier the flow!


    The best part is that in a lot of cases, you can grind to dust one crystal, to get the same type but a lot purer than the original! And all that is needed to make Quartz is Quartz or even sand! There are millions of tons of the stuff lying around in the mountains and the beach.


    ¡°So wasteful, why is it not common knowledge?!¡± The book is centuries old, they should... Oh, right¡­ there was no demand for crystal before I came.


    I am about to run to the master¡¯s office when I remember that I am supposed to show proper dignity at all times. Doing my best to hide my excitation, I walk to the master¡¯s door and knock.


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°It is me; I have something to show you!¡±


    ¡°Milord? Please come in.¡±


    There are other people in the room, people I do not know¡­ probably. Yeah, I almost sure. Whatever, I ignore them and brandish the book. ¡°Read this passage!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    While he does as I say, I use clairvoyance to get a look at the other. Some of them appear upset, or maybe frightful.


    A big smile creeps on the master¡¯s face. ¡°That can¡¯t be! It¡¯s too good to be true!¡± He waves at the people. ¡°You are dismissed! If you will excuse me, my lord, I must meet with the alchemists¡¯ guild!¡±


    He runs off calling people names, probably his assistants.


    Whatever it was they talked about probably was not as important, but I still made a disturbance. ¡°I apologize for the inconvenience, but we stumbled upon a very important discovery that could solve our resources problem for good. Good day to you.¡±


    The people seem too shocked to do or say anything, but that is their problem. As for me, I go back to my office to think. If it works, we will basically achieve a state of almost endless supply, a lot like what we had in The City. We have yet to determine the truth of this method and the size of the crystals, but¡­


    ¡°Tsk,¡± I sound my disapproval at myself. ¡°I have really become greedy ever since I have come back from the dead.¡±


    Nothing is certain yet. To temper my enjoyment, I go back to working on my pile of documents and as one would expect, there are no more hidden gems.

 Chapter 22

    Chapter 22


    Appalling discovery


    Early morning, most of the students have taken up on my offer to rest, so there are no lessons planned for the near future. With the exploration on standby ¨C for me at least ¨C and the lack of decently sized crystal, there is nothing much I can do to progress my current projects¡­ on the other hand, I have just assigned some new projects but as there is no one to bother me, I might as well get in on the action.


    One of the students working in my workshop nod off. That is dangerous, and the very reason why I told them to take a day off! Should I tell them off or let them be? Oh well, they are not alone, and passing out from excess work is a way to learn your limits. Leaving them like this will have a lot more impact than a mere scolding¡­ even more, if they get hurt.


    When I put Ale¡­ Alaric on the project, I told him to look into organic material, and it made me regret donating the wyvern parts. Well, leather is not the same as a fresh hide, but I still had bone and sinew, albeit they were not fresh anymore.


    ¡°Where could I buy some fresh magical beast¡¯s parts?¡±


    I retrieve some funds and head to the most logical place: the adventurer¡¯s guild. Monsters and material collection are their main activities, so if anyone knows, it will be them.


    The one manning the counter is a male human I have never seen before. As to why I know I have never seen him before it is simple: he is the first human I have seen in the guild apart from the old archivist.


    I walk right to the counter and ask. ¡°Are there some magical beast carcasses available to buy at the moment?¡±


    ¡°You are in luck, my lord. Some adventurers have brought a young wyvern and a giant bear last night¡­ although since the sun is up it is not impossible for the auction to have already ended.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    He points. ¡°The large building with a big storehouse, right behind the guild.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I am here to¡­¡±


    I do not hear the rest of his sentence because I am already running¡­ and I do not care if it is not proper.


    As soon as I enter the auction house, a clerk asks me for the reason for my visit.


    ¡°The magical beast carcasses!¡± Answering only in short sentences sounds strange, but now is not the moment to waste time on pleasantries.


    The clerk seems to understand the situation and answer with a smile. ¡°You are in luck, the auction for the wyvern is about to reach its end, but there is another magical beast coming next.¡±


    I really am in luck: the beast was dismantled and sold for parts, and that is why the first auction took so long. Another worker guides me to a large room while giving some explanation about the proceedings.


    I have a lot of money and no real need for it: the Palace and the Magic department take care of all my needs, which are few. If that is what it takes, I do not mind ¡®outbidding¡¯ until I run out of gold. I look at the competition, and there are not many, the room has less than a dozen people including the staff.


    ¡°Wyvern¡¯s guts, starting at 10 silvers.¡± Announce a clerk.


    ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°forty.¡±


    ¡°Fifty.¡±


    Guts, do I need that? Who cares, it is cheap¡­ Here I go, ¡°One gold.¡±


    ¡°One twenty.¡±


    Eh? ¡°Two!¡±


    ¡°Two fifty!¡±


    If you want it that much, you can keep it, I said I did not mind outbidding until I ran out of money, but I am not wasting all my money on a single part, and there is no way I am leaving without the magic organ.


    ¡°One time, two times, three times, sold!¡±


    I remember seeing this guy¡¯s insignia. I saw it in front of a weapon shop when I first came to the city.


    ¡°Lastly, is the wyvern blood; starting at five silvers for the whole.¡±


    That, I am really interested in it, so I start high. ¡°Fifty.¡±


    ¡°Anyone else? No? One time, two times, three times. It goes to the man in armor in the back.¡±


    The bear will be sold divided as such; head, pelt, long bones, small bones, sinews, blood, flesh, and gut. Small bones and flesh are sold to the weight.¡±


    I shout. ¡°Thirty sovereigns for the whole beast!¡±


    The others look with rounded eyes, but one of them recover and sweating profusely, counter my proposition with his own. ¡°Forty gold.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got thirty sovereigns there.¡±


    ¡°I said forty¡­ What? Wait a minute? Sovereigns?!¡±


    ¡°One time, two times, three times. The prize goes to the armored man in the back.¡±


    A member of the staff comes to me and directs me to a clerk behind the counter. Although I have trouble reading Korok in general, I am pretty sure this one is eyeballing me suspiciously.


    ¡°That will be thirty sovereigns, sir.¡±


    ¡°Here.¡±


    He looks at the money in his hand agape. ¡°Whe¡­ Where do you want it delivered, sir?¡±


    ¡°The magic department, as soon as possible. How long will it take?¡±


    ¡°The wyvern is ready, but we aren¡¯t finished with the bear; If it is already with you, we can deliver it before noon.¡±


    ¡°How long will it take to dismantle the beast? If it is not too long, I will take care of transportation.¡±


    The Korok pause for a long time before answering politely. ¡°It weighs well over a ton sir, are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes, just take care of the dismantling for me.¡±


    ¡°As you wish, sir.¡± Is it me or does his voice suddenly sound tired?


    Yet another Korok guides me to a warehouse where several individuals are dexterously cutting my prize in pieces. The parts are put in bags and barrels, and it only takes ten or so minutes before they are done.


    My guide asks. ¡°Do you wish to rent a cart, sir?¡±


    It is true that a single fully-loaded cart would be easier to deal with than several items, but I have already spent my money, and I do not want to waste time returning it. I use gravity to gather everything and fly slowly towards the exit.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The last thing I hear before going is. ¡°See! I told you he was the real deal!¡±


    <><><>


    Once I arrive at the department, I ask someone to bring everything to my workshop¡¯s warehouse and drop by the Master to ask about his visit to the alchemists.


    ¡°My lord, after you brought us that old book yesterday, I asked the librarian to look for more forgotten reference books and he found these. They are in old elvish and a pretty hard to read, but it is a detailed study of the magical and physical properties of common and uncommon materials.¡±


    ¡°What does it say?¡±


    ¡°As I said, this document is hard to read, it is over a thousand years old and quite deteriorated, but at the end of each is a summary in the form of a listing.¡±


    ¡°Show it to me¡­¡± I cannot read elvish, ancient or new; I have no clue what it says. ¡°Do you have a translation?¡±


    ¡°We are still working on it, sir, but I can tell it lists materials by availability, conduction, durability, longevity, and workability.¡±


    ¡°Excellent, when can I hope to see the complete translation?¡±


    ¡°I have two people working on it, so I expect we will have it before noon.¡±


    <><><>


    If I had been the one writing the list, I would have made conduction the only important trait, but it would have been a mistake. I have to acknowledge that the author was right to consider every aspect, starting with availability. Take blood, for example, it is the most conductive item of them all, and widely available, but it is unworkable and becomes useless in barely a few hours.


    Well, let us skip over the details and write the main candidates as selected by me: magical beast hides ¨C not leather¨C magical beast guts, freshly cut wood, and plant fibers.


    The first two are not readily available, and even with special conservative, they tend to deteriorate in a matter of weeks¡­ not that it matters; one day is enough to cast the dragon-slaying spell.


    ¡°I propose we run a test with strips from magical beasts¡¯ hide, and it just so happens that I bought some earlier.¡±


    ¡°Eh? You too, sir?¡± I expected it, but it seems like I really wasted my money¡­ although I got a large magic organ, so it is not that bad.


    ¡°Everything stands on this experiment. Let us hope it¡¯ll work.¡±


    ¡®I know I ask the same thing often but: why was it not common knowledge?¡±


    ¡°Well, the thesis is over fifteen generations old, and the extraneous content simply faded from memory over time. Anyway, since the content predates the capital and the department¡­ and seeing as it is written in elvish, it¡¯s quite possible the results were never publicized by the author.¡±


    ¡°As usual, a sensible answer. Not that it makes this any less wastefully stupid.¡±


    ¡°Let us see how it goes, sir.¡±


    I ask someone to fetch one of our clairvoyance prototypes and some sources, there are spells with worse consumption but I happen to know how long this one is supposed to last and that makes it the perfect candidate.  It is going to be a long and boring experiment, though.


    While the apprentice goes on his fetch quest, we cut some strips in various sizes and thicknesses. If you have had the occasion of cutting leather in the past, I assure you, fresh fur it is a dozen times worse.


    Half an hour as passed later, the mana in the main crystal shows no sign of diminishing and the strips are slightly hot to the touch.


    Two and a half an hour, the spell should have ended, but it is still going strong.


    I announce. ¡°Gentlemen, we have gone well over the crystal autonomy, and it shows no sign of stopping anytime soon!¡±


    There are cheers all over, but the student doing the tester voice a different reason. ¡°Finally, I can stop: this spell always gives me a headache.¡±


    <><><>


    It was decided to name this new method, the ¡®mana link¡¯. It is not a creative name, but it tells what it does. I should be rejoicing more than any other, but more intensive spell burns through the material like crazy: it is unfit for the intended use.


    The more mana goes through the link, the more heat is produced which often results in the link bursting into flame. Still, I cannot deny it is a victory, just not as good as I hoped.


    ¡°Sir, when I think about the quantity of material needed to equip the knight order and its lack of longevity, I cannot help but feel worried. We need something more readily available or with much higher durability.¡±


    ¡°What about plant fibers?¡±


    ¡°It is widely available and cheap, but worse in every other aspect. We cannot expect the knights to change them every hour, not in armor, and much less in the middle of combat.¡±


    I think that even one more hour of use can be considered a luxury, combat or not combat, but I agree that we need better material, ideally a fireproof one.


    ¡°In retrospect, I understand why your ancestor settled on metal, the efficiency is not so good, but it has it all, durability, availability, malleability and even longevity. Even so, I just wish there were some fireproof fibers out there.¡±


    One of the staff answers. ¡°There are some species of giant spiders with fireproof silk. Getting rid of their nest was always a pain¡­ but it was also good money.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Ask another.


    ¡°I played adventurer when I was young. Collecting spider silk was among the most lucrative jobs, albeit not one for the faint of heart.¡±


    ¡°Next time a spider comes, we¡¯ll know who to ask.¡±


    ¡°Lookout, a spider! Protect us, o hero.¡±


    ¡°Hilarious. Say that again after you¡¯ve attacked by a colony of eighty centimeters spiders!¡±


    Silk is a fiber and even if their magic organs are too small to use, they are still magical beasts! It is not exactly common, but it is probably harvestable without a need to kill the beast! I need a sample on!


    As far as I know, only a few giant spiders produce silk. I vividly remember how I had to kill the foul beasts and clean the refuge every single time I went in the mountain for a job.


    He said used to harvest the silk when he was an adventurer, right? Then I know where to go and who to ask.


    I walk to the counter. ¡°Can you tell me where I can find some giant spider¡¯s silk? Or where they live?¡±


    ¡°Normally, you would buy the silk at the auction house, but in your case, it would be faster to ask the palace: it is used in many types of protective gear and armor.¡±


    The palace? Awesome. I will go check as soon as I get back.


    The receptionist calls someone behind the door. ¡°Hey, giant spiders, Silk, where?¡±


    A few instants later, a small old human ¨C probably the one from last time ¨C comes out with a map. ¡°You will find some in the mountains here, here and here. The village over there asks for a culling once or twice a year.¡±


    ¡°Culling? Not extermination?¡±


    ¡°Because it is impossible to get them all.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡±


    The palace is not far, so I teleport directly to the warehouse and ask the manager. ¡°Giant spider¡¯s silk? Do you have some?¡±


    ¡°My lord?!¡± Squeal the panicked manager. It is understandable, I literally appeared before his eyes to bombard him with questions. ¡°Yes, we have some! Let me get it for you!¡±


    He runs inside the storehouse as though his life depended on it. While he is gone, I compose myself, in the last few hours, I really lost all dignity and it is not like there really is a point in hurrying as I do, the durability tests will take days maybe weeks.


    It reminds me that I used to be considered an excitable freak when I was young ¨C or an apathetic child by today¡¯s standards.


    ¡°There it is my lord, sorry for the wait.¡±


    What wait is he referring to? He has been gone for less than two minutes. No matter, I have what I want. I cut a bit of string and try pouring mania. It is about as good as the fresh hide, maybe slightly worse since I can definitely feel some resistance, but there is no leakage.


    I try again, by increasing the mana released until it burst into fire. Definitely not fireproof, but it endured much better than the hide. It seems good so far, but we still have many tests to perform.


    ¡°Thank you, manager, do you have more? If not, I can settle with half of this. ¡°


    He answers, clearly more upset than afraid. ¡°Sir, I would never allow the stock to drop this low!¡±


    ¡°If you say so, farewell.¡±


    I teleport back to my workshop. As I have an external energy source, and a big magic organ, there seems to be no better moment to work on the dragon-slaying spell¡­ or at least a powered down prototype.


    I take a good look at the mutated bear organ to get a good estimate of the space I have, then write a simplified version of the spell.


    ¡°Eh? That¡¯s it?¡±  Just by reducing the size by three quarters, the space need dropped from the size of a boulder to that of my fist.


    I do not know how much less powerful it will be, but I want to see how the spell works at least once. All I know is that it creates a subspace, isolate it, then collapse it but¡­ What does it look like? What are the effects? I have never seen the spell in action but I have heard a lot ¨C and I mean a lot ¨C of warning.


    Taking the warning to heat, I engrave an even smaller version of the spell, before taking a few power sources and teleporting on some distant mountain, coast side. On arrival, I see the ground travel at high speed under me.


    ¡°That is what long-range teleportation is like? No wonder, it was considered dangerous.¡±


    I set everything up, start the spell and wait¡­ then wait some more¡­ and even more. I did not expect it to take this long. Maybe I should have taken more power sources, or maybe I should have supplied the mana myself for the first time! I mean, by myself, I could have supplied this much mana in less than a minute.


    Almost! I cast an isolation barrier around myself and even wait a few minutes to be on the safe side. It might seem like I am overdoing it, but as I said earlier, there were a lot of warnings.


    I drop the barrier and see the reason why. Uprooted trees, enormous stones spread everywhere and right under the target, a hole with a jagged surface: everything was sucked up, including the rock bed!


    I am appalled by the destructive power¡­ the destructive power of the much, much-weakened version. I heard the warnings and felt I took them to heart, but seeing this, I understand I did not.


    This is in no way comparable to the real thing. The need for so many barriers makes more sense now, but the most appalling discovery was assimilating this fact: only the full spell can reliably kill a dragon/calamity!


    I now truly realize why it has to die in its sleep: once awake, it will be unstoppable! My heart heavy, I teleport back to the magic department. Whether it is our project to grow our own crystal or understanding the bag of holding works, one of them has to give a result. Soon!

 Chapter 23

    Chapter 23


    Overworked


    My previous life was in many ways one of leisure. Sure, I would be assigned tasks from time to time, but everything else I did of my own will. I did research but was always left wanting, wanting to reach for greater heights yet unable to take a step forward. In this second life of mine, I had my wish granted: people acknowledge me, and not simply because of my power or forefather¡¯s knowledge, but thanks to my own work.


    After being granted my wish, I should have no ground to complain but¡­ I would like it if I were a bit less overwhelmed and overworked. It feels like every single time I am about to take a step forward; some more urgent task comes out of the woodwork to act as a roadblock.


    Today¡¯s problem has been long coming, we are almost out of crystal, and what little is left is mostly shards. Again, it is in no small part of my fault since I used over two hundred to outfit my knights, but it is also true that the quality and size had been dropping shipment after shipment.


    I head towards the sector to meet with the master but encounter the master him on the   way.


    ¡°Just the person I wanted! Can you tell me how the growth of artificial crystals is going?¡±


    ¡°Hello, sir. Um! We confirmed it works, in fact, it only took a matter of hours. The alchemists are trying different types of salts to see which are worth doing. Apart from that, they are confident¡­ as long as they have the materials, space, and money needed to make new equipment.¡±


    ¡°This is great news. Are there any samples? How big can they make them?¡±


    ¡°It is not known for sure yet... I was about to go visit them. Why don¡¯t you accompany me?¡±


    The alchemist¡¯s laboratory we visit right outside the inner wall. To my delight as we approach the building, I perceive small clumps of mana, and I know for sure they are high purity crystals. My joy is short-lived though, as they soon tell me that most crystals are unusable. The most common defects are extreme frailty, weakness to sunlight and humidity. Out of dozens of samples, less than ten make the cut and even then, after considering cost and availability, it soon comes down to only three.


    One has one with a bluish hue, one is clear and uncolored, and the final one is our good old reliable friend the quartz. I try inscribing the samples, and out of the three, quartz has the worst qualities. ¡°What can you tell me about the materials needed and their availability?¡±


    ¡°The uncolored clear one, use alunite, it an excellent tanning agent that can be bought from the empire, but it is rarely used nowadays because of the price. The price is not so bad right now, but as soon as we start buying large quantities, we expect the price to rise tremendously.¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Although the subject of economics rarely makes sense to me, this situation seems quite self-explanatory.


    ¡°Forget about it, we cannot let ourselves depend on a single supplier, even less when it is a potential enemy.¡±


    ¡°The blue one uses copper and oil of vitriol, sadly there is very little copper mined in the Queendom, most of our usual supply came from a distant country down south and transit through the empire. There hasn¡¯t been a single shipment in months, so even if the price asked by the local mines aren¡¯t too bad, the quantities aren¡¯t enough.¡±


    Quartz is not as resilient or as dense as the other two, but the material is cheap and readily available. In many ways, the choice has already been made for us. ¡°Quartz, then. Please, show me how it is grown.¡±


    The alchemist guides us towards sealed canister, I know from my reading that they are filled with pure conjured water, but unlike those described in the ancient tome, these vats are built much more solidly and constantly heated.


    ¡°High-pressure cooking? Is that what it is?¡±


    Our guide appears bothered by my comment. ¡°It is as you said, my lord. The container is a well-kept secret in our profession though, we did not expect it¡¯d be so easily revealed.¡±


    A secret? It is just a high-pressure cooker.


    ¡°Do not worry. I have no intention of revealing your secret to the public.¡± But I will duplicate it for our department and improve on it. ¡°Master, gather reliable artisans, we will want vats many times bigger than these. Gather some mages with experience making enchants of gravity and heat¡­ maybe barriers too.¡±


    The alchemist is slightly worried by the mention of artisans, but there is nothing he can say or do when faced with two of the highest authorities.


    The master has his own inquietudes. ¡°Many times, bigger?¡± He looks again at the sturdy container he comments. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to come cheap, my lord.¡±


    We do not have time to spare money, and I am quite sure the expense will reimburse itself soon.


    ¡°Glad to see that side of things is going well¡­ I am going to look for some giant spiders and see if we can rear them for silk.¡±


    ¡°Is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°That is what I intend to find out. I have gathered knowledge about a few possible colonies. I will just leave a few greater golems to herd them and harvest the silk. We will see how it goes.¡±


    ¡°If I may say, adventurers are not going to be happy about this. Giant spider silk has always been a great source of revenue for them.¡±


    I pull him away, considering the alchemists have contacts with the empire, it is quite probable they know about the risk of war, but I am more worried about the dragon.


    ¡°The dragon/calamity may awaken soon; it must die before it happens.¡±


    ¡°But it has been asleep for almost two centuries!¡±


    ¡°That in itself is a good reason to wake up, and just because it has been sleeping for a while does not mean it is going to continue doing so. Remember that last time it came, it ruined three countries and killed all the lesser-dragons.¡±


    ¡°But, why the hurry?¡±


    ¡°The empire and the One true God''s kingdom are at war, and it is bound to affect us. Once it does, there are high chances the dragon/calamity will wake to join in. What do you think it will do then?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s terrible!¡±


    ¡°Now, you understand. Time is of the essence, there is no point worrying about the cost: we must finish production as soon as possible.¡±


    The master answers. ¡°Yes, my lord!¡± and runs back to the magic department.


    As for me, I pick up the other samples before heading back to my workshop, no matter their defects, inside a greater golems sunlight and humidity are not going to be much of a problem.

 Chapter 24

    Chapter 24


    Be careful what you wish for


    Altogether, the samples are not enough to make nine greater golems cores and the accompanying mana sources, and I have to take some shards from the warehouse. Three per site may not be enough, but I do not feel like hunting magic beasts at the moment and our stock are already at an all-time low.


    I use farsight to follow the archivist¡¯s directions, and to his credit they were excellent: in less than half an hour I have located all three. It baffles me how someone who has never stepped outside the city manages to be such an excellent guide, but this is a mystery I will leave for another time.


    I teleport to the first one and put a marker called ¡®spider experiment one¡¯. I put some simple animal trapping and give them to the golems to place in the forest. I only built snares and cage traps, partly because adventurers come around this place¡­ and mostly because holes and golems do not mix well together.


    I have not thought of what order to give them. It cannot be too complex, but I need to gather information¡­ I know! Every time an animal is captured, they are to throw it into a web then collect another. To keep a tally, I also order them to carve a mark on the wall each time they feed a prey to the spiders.


    As they are just a mass of earth, the constructs should not be under the risk of being attacked, but just in case I prioritize their survival and order the collection of the silk glands of any dead arachnid.


    As I am about to leave, I realize they are going to have a lot of downtimes, so I might as well have them wash and spin the silk. For this purpose, I dig a small hole in the rocky surface and fill it with conjured water. As for the spindle, a few straightened branches will do the trick.


    There is a village near the second place, so I make a detour to learn about how they usually deal with their eight-legged neighbors. Unlike adventurers, they live there and I would rather avoid doing something that might impact their livelihood.


    Thankfully, my worries were unfounded, the only interaction the locals have with the multi-legged pests, are when they fund a culling, once or twice a year. It seems they have been doing since decades ago, back then the arachnids had proliferated so much, a good chunk of the forest had to be burned down to drive out the beast.


    Now that I know that, I have no need to be reserved. I make more or less the same arrangement as in the first site, but with two notable differences:


    Firstly, they are only to feed the spiders once per day ¨C other captured animals are to be freed, or if this is not an option, offered to the villagers.


    Secondly, still in deference to the villager, any spider found leaving the nest is to be killed immediately.


    The final place, it is quite far in the mountains and near wyvern territory. Here, there is no need to hold back. I go crazy with the trappings, but make sure to leave some written warning signs around the most dangerous ones.


    This time, I ask them to feed every captured prey to the spider, and take up to three webs instead of one¡­ Oh, I might as well tell them to put an X on the wall every time there is none to collect.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    With the first and last sites, I intend to get a rough idea of how much and how often the colony eats, as well as how much silk they can produce. The second site is useless though, it is more of a, community service.


    Two sites are not enough to collect data, and the parameters are too extreme, but this is the best I can do in such a short time. If I were to make an actual rearing site, I would need some special cages, crops, a rat farm as well as some serious security. Arranging this would take months¡­ and that estimation does not take into account the inevitable failures.


    My work is done here; I teleport back to the Magic Department. Since the master is not in his office, I look for his familiar magic circuit ¨C I should definitely learn those of every person I interact with on a daily basis, but it is not as easy as it sounds ¨C and meet with him.


    ¡°How did it go with the artisans?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Very well, my lord. Considering the dimension of the desired crystal, they estimate the production of at least one vat per week once they eliminated the kinks.¡±


    I must have misheard something, but I would swear he only said one. ¡°Only one per week? Starting when?¡±


    ¡°The design is complicated and the artisans fear steel might deform due to the intense heat. The prototypes will still be made of steel because there are no better materials available at this time but¡­ Anyway, the first model should be ready early next month, or in three weeks at best.¡±


    That long? I do not know much about forging so I was under the impression it would take far less time. I will need one giant crystal, between two-thirds and three-quarters of a ton I think, and as many large size mana sources as possible. By my estimation, even with three dozen of modern mages helping, it would take at least one or two hours to charge the spell.


    I draw a large shape with my hands and ask. ¡°Do you have an estimate of how long it would take to grow quartz this size?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s gigantic, bigger than anything anyone has ever seen...¡± He mumbles pensively ¡°A day gets us a crystal about this big, then a week should be around this¡­ one time four times four¡­¡± He looks at me and answers convincingly. ¡°Two months, sir, at the very least.¡±


    ¡°You have done a great job.¡±


    The sacrifice to quell the dragon/calamity is scheduled in five months¡­ although there is always a risk of the beast awakening earlier.


    ¡°Give priority to growing these, everything else is secondary¡­ How long would it take to make crystals the size of a fist? I mean yours, not mine.¡±


    ¡°The alchemists can do that with their current equipment¡­ in around two weeks, I think.¡±


    ¡°Have them produce crystals this size as fast as possible and give them our early prototypes: it¡¯s not something they can buy or create by themselves.¡±


    He looks at me puzzlingly.


    ¡°Rig them with every conceivable observation spell. We are the ones who gave them the method, but they adjusted far too quickly, and their information is unbelievably accurate: they probably know things we do not. We have no choice but to rely on them for now, but I want us to have our own production line as soon as possible, and good as theirs if possible.¡±


    The master looks at me proudly. ¡°You¡¯ve really grown so much in such a short time. I am sure in a few years, you¡¯ll become even more devious than me!¡±


    Is that really a compliment? I probably would not have been able to think like that if I were not under so much pressure. I worried that at the rate things are going, by the time the crystals are ready, it will be too late. If we are lucky, it will be because we have opened the vault or solved the bag¡¯s riddle¡­ if not, there will be no one left to care.


    I wonder, can I truly die? Well, it is not something I want to make a habit of, so I hope I will not find out anytime soon.


    ¡°Master, we do not have time to be picky with our means. Our priority is to kill the dragon, but theirs is to make money. Even if it appears like we have time at the moment, I want us to every conceivable thing to speed up the production.¡± I take him by the shoulder. ¡°For the first few giant crystals, reliability is key, but for everything after that use an experimental approach!¡±

 Chapter 25

    Chapter 25


    A visitor from the empire


    After quite a few delays, the long-awaited diplomat from the empire has finally reached the capital. As per the Queen¡¯s order, I had to be present for the welcoming ceremonies although I thankfully was spared from the banquet, for very obvious reasons.


    Whenever I am forced to one for those, I cannot help but feel they are a waste of time and resources which only serve pander to some higher-ups need for self-validation¡­ but in the case of a foreign ambassador, I suppose there is not much choice: whenever it benefits them, such people are quick to take umbrage of any slight, real or imagined.


    I have to admit my position on the subject is not objective, as the ¡®voices¡¯ have become extremely agitated ever since he introduced himself. They keep on criticizing his family, and by extension him. For once, I have actually learned something from their banter, this man¡¯s family is one of the oldest and most powerful, and appears to have a very long history of betrayal and general untrustworthiness.


    As we move to the throne¡¯s room to discuss the terms ¨C finally! ¨C both sides put an end to the unfelt courtesies to ¨C almost, they¡¯re politicians after all ¨C get to the point.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t your Majesty agree that the kingdom has plagued both our nations for the longest time? Even in times of supposed peace, slavers have preyed upon our dear citizens, masquerading as bandits.¡±


    The Queen answers elusively. ¡°Our position about the Kingdom is well known.¡±


    ¡°In recent months, their so-called faithful have been the cause of trouble all over the empire, and I hear the situation is even worse in the south-western confines of the Queendom.¡±


    ¡°We are afraid you¡¯ve heard wrong; their actions do not have as much impact as they would like others and themselves to believe.¡±


    ¡°Four weeks ago, their armies openly crossed our borders, and many innocents fell victim of their horrible practices. Obviously, we struck back at them but¡­ your Majesty knows full well that for any non-believers; to be a slave in the kingdom is to suffer a life of degradation many times worse than death.¡± He pauses.


    ¡°Obviously.¡±


    ¡°From the prisoners, we learned they are preparing armies to march north upon you and liberate their brethren.¡±


    ¡°Even if their armies were to march against us, our knights are more than prepared to receive them.¡±


    The man gets more disturbed with each of the Queen¡¯s answers, but he suddenly regains his composure to ask. ¡°Your majesty, our countries have enjoyed friendly relations for many decades now: as partners sharing a common enemy, would it not be to our mutual advantage to form a formal alliance?¡±


    ¡°An alliance you say? What can you offer when your main army is stuck south dealing with the nine kings? Also, while it is true that we have held favorable disposition toward each other after the great war, we assume you remember history? Your country fought against us side by side with the kingdom, only to betray them, then us.¡±


    ¡°Sadly, ma¡¯am, it is true, but know it was never the emperor¡¯s wish. Our soldiers and generals were at fault, they had fought against your people for so long years that no matter how irreconcilable ours and the Kingdom¡¯s principle were, they still felt more kinship toward their fellow humans and former allies.¡±


    No matter how much the envoy is convinced of his own thoughts, this is something that happened to other people, and a long time ago by his standard. Whatever the crux of the matter is: he does not know and his beliefs have no bearing on the truth.


    ¡°I assure you it is all in the past, but I understand you would be wary... If your Majesty cannot trust our troops to work side by side with yours, then maybe we could work something out. With our engineer corps occupied south, it has become difficult to maintain our border fortifications, but if you were to loan us some greater golems and a few operators, we could easily remedy that.¡±


    There is no lie in his words, but the interest he shows now is much stronger than when he was discussing the alliance. I look at the Queen to warn her, but her attitude tells me she knows.


    It is strange. When did I become so good at reading her expressionless face? Still, I suppose it is not as perplexing as her own ability to read a faceless and eyeless skeleton, hiding behind a full armor.


    Why did I start using female pronouns? It comes from my conversation with the captain: I realized that using ¡®it¡¯ to refer to a person was considered very rude, and no matter its origin, I believe the Queen is as much a person as myself or any other natural being.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Constructs are precious resources, and no matter their numbers we will always find a use for more. What could you offer us so valuable that we¡¯d expose our precious golems to danger?¡±


    ¡°I am glad you asked Ma¡¯am, it has come to our attention that you are gathering crystals and gems for a new method of enchanting. Would four tons of quartz, two tons of copper and one ton of alum in exchange for one hundred golems be of interest to you?¡±


    So, they know about our enchanting method and the crystal cultivation¡­ and considering the materials proposed it is clear they also know the hows. Sure, I alone can easily extract a few hundred kilos of sand a day, but this is a long and arduous task I would rather not waste my time with.


    Unpleasant, I know full well there is a catch, but the offer is too tempting, I cannot help but desire those materials, the copper in particular.


    ¡°I fail to see how those things would be of similar value but allow me to confer with my minister of magic affairs, he might see some worth to your demand that I do not.¡±


    The envoy gives us some space and as I approach the queen, she whispers. ¡°Their intelligence service must have a good grasp on the number of greater golems in circulation: accepting their offer would be the same as admitting we can produce more.¡±


    ¡°Then, it really was a trap then? Too bad, it was such a tempting offer.¡±


    ¡°There is no guarantee they¡¯d go through the deal, anyway. Greater golems are valuable resources, in the Kingdom, a single construct would be worth hundreds of slaves. A construct never tires, wants for nothing and has virtually no upkeep cost. I fear giving in to their demands might frighten them enough that they¡¯d rather turn against us despite the risks.¡±


    ¡°But they are already at war!¡±


    ¡°Even so, they might still reach a deal with the Kingdom. The need to defeat an enemy before they become too strong is something even fanatics can understand. Well, there was never a way to keep the secret safe to begin with, and I never intended to try: any casual observation of The City¡¯s excavation would show we aren¡¯t unearthing anything of value.¡±


    ¡°What about the dragon/calamity? Surely, they too understand how fearsome the beast is.¡±


    ¡°It has been inactive and out of their sight for many human generations, for them, it is a legend from times bygone.¡±


    ¡°If fear is what motivates them. Do you not think a demonstration of our dragon-slaying prototype might help them make the right decision?¡±


    ¡°It is worth considering. Fear is not such a great tool as there is always a risk of achieving the opposite of what you set up to, but trust was never something we could expect from their lot¡­ When you show them the enchant, warn them it can only be used by you, me and a few other trusted persons. Even if they are no threat to you, I have no desire to see you face thieves and assassins on a daily basis.¡±


    The conference restarts. ¡°My minister tells me that such material would be a boon in their quest to slay the true dragon which ravaged our countries long ago. I assume it is as much your wish as mine to see the terrible beast finally vanquished?¡±


    ¡°I thought the beast long gone.¡±


    ¡°It has slept in the mountain since the last war, and it cost us dearly to keep it that way. But I assume it would be hard to believe such a spell exists. Would you care for a demonstration?¡±


    The diplomat is deeply troubled by the unexpected turn in the conversation and the sudden proposition. ¡°It would be my pleasure, but wouldn¡¯t an exhibition for such a powerful spell take time to arrange? Should we set a date and place for the demonstration?¡±


    I offer some explanation. ¡°There is no need, I have on my person an experimental, and much-weakened version, of said spell. We can do that anytime.¡±


    ¡°Your majesty.¡± The Queen offers me her arm, and I lead her to the men. I then use gravity to lift us off the ground and teleport our group up to the coast. As I have people with me this time, I do it in a few jumps.


    The envoys, already quite shaken by the happenings, become even more frightful when they see us raise multiple powerful barriers without so much as an effort. In my first experiment, I only got to see the aftermath, but this time, we will assist to the whole thing from safety¡­ If something goes wrong, I am sure the both of us can deal with it


    I admit I am quite impressed by the queen¡¯s ability to control multiple spells at the same time. I wonder if over time she has developed the ability to perceive mana, or is simply that talented. Sure, casting multiple instances of the same spell helps, but this is nevertheless a feat akin to juggling misshapen objects in the dark.


    She reassures them. ¡°Do not worry about this enchant falling into the wrong hands, it only works for those designated by us.¡±


    Although it was barely a whisper, I hear something about a treasure room and it scares me a little: how do they know about that? More than any warning, it makes me realize the extent of my foolishness, even if I keep it with me at all times, such a destructive tool should have many layers of safeguards.


    Unlike last time, I supply mana directly to shorten the cast. Less than a minute later, a small sphere of pure darkness hovers above ground fifty meters ahead of us for a brief instant, before collapsing. An instant later, the earth is scoured from the ground, giant boulders and trees take to the air as though they were nothing but leaves blown by a sudden gust of wind. A few barriers break under the rain of rocks and trees but the others stand fast. See, I knew we were safe.


    Both imperials fall to their knees. ¡°This... This...¡± the envoy probably meant to ask something else but what comes out is. ¡°Can you destroy the dragon?¡±


    ¡°No, with this. As I said, this is a weakened version was made for study. The real thing is hundreds of times more powerful.¡±


    I teleport us back and on arrival, the Queen immediately announces to the haggard envoy.


    ¡°We will send you the greater golems and operators you asked for. I hope you will keep your promises this time, it would be a waste to sully our long-standing friendship with another betrayal.¡±


    The man answers hurriedly but despite his assured words, I feel the underlying terror. "Your majesty, the emperor will be delighted by the good news. He too wholeheartedly wishes for our Friendship to grow and bloom into an everlasting alliance.¡±


    There are some more ceremonies for his depart, but the diplomat has no heart to it. As for me, I discreetly break the enchant, shivering at the thought of what could have happened had it fallen into the wrong hands.

 Chapter 26

    Chapter 26


    One tall order


    I head back to the department of magic to talk with the master. Since I left the administration to him, he is the only one who can tell me how long it will take to honor our order of one hundred greater golems. I fully intend on using only the cheapest material, but even like this, I know we do not have enough stock.


    ¡°Good morning Master, I have a question for you. Without changing anything to our daily dealings, how long would it take to get the resource for one hundred greater golems?¡±


    ¡°Quite long I am afraid. As we are, apart from the occasional magic organs, what we receive is barely fit for power sources. I am afraid we will need the alchemists¡¯ help to pick up the slack.¡±


    ¡°What is the problem?¡±


    ¡°We lack both in materials and production capability. Supply will get better when the trains bringing sand from the western beaches get fully organized, but it will take at least two weeks.¡±


    ¡°The empire is willing to offer four tons of quartz, two of copper and one of alum.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t these the very material we considered being viable during our visit to the alchemist¡¯s workshop?! That¡¯s worrying, I did not expect their spies to work so fast. Honestly, this isn¡¯t such a bad deal if you consider the current value and the price of transportation¡­ but once we get our own production line, we will be able to alleviate our expenditures by quite a lot. No, what am I saying? We¡¯ll be rolling in gold!¡±


    ¡°Eh? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°For now, we¡¯re stuck furnishing the others ministry and the army, but the Queen has released the ban on selling to the public. There is an enormous demand for reusable power sources, it will make us loads of money! Can you imagine? For the first time in the department creation, we won¡¯t be in the red!¡±


    Something he said bothers me quite a bit, but I just cannot put a finger on it. I try replaying our conversation a few times in my head until I finally grasp his mistake. "Master, you do realize the power sources have an unlimited lifespan, right?¡±


    He says something angrily in his native language. ¡°How did I forget about that! Thank the goddess we had to donate our initial production to the state. But what can we do? Is there a way to make them break after some time?¡±


    ¡°You want to make defective products on purpose?¡± We could remove the anti-surge, but then they would break right away, which is not really a solution.


    ¡°Is there a way to make them break after a number of recharges?¡±


    After a number of recharges? It is the opposite of my initial problem, and quite a few methods come to mind, but they are all overly complex and will result in the need for much larger crystals. Not an ideal solution, and not even an option in our current situation.


    What if I target the anti-surge, instead? ¡°I have a solution, but I must warn you, adding a random element to a spell is something I have never attempted before.¡± I snatch some paper and write a few words. "Theoretically, if you add this part to the metal, there will be a slight chance of melting but whether it is right away, or after years of usage will completely depend on luck. Now, getting back to my initial question, can you give me an estimation?¡±


    ¡°What was it? Oh, right, the one hundred greater golems! Hard to say. Right now, we lack both in material and means of production, but the supply should improve at a much faster rate than the production. I don¡¯t have enough details to make a full projection yet, but¡­¡± He quickly moves his fingers on both hands and after a dozen seconds, he answers. ¡°Five weeks, at the very least¡­ three if we stop the production of the giant crystals.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    It will not happen¡­ ever. Even so, that does not seem so bad is what first came to mind, at least until his next statement.


    ¡°Mind you, as you asked, I am only referring to the acquisition of the materials, it takes between two and three hundred man-hours just for the cores and twice or thrice as much for the sources. Not everyone can complete over a dozen cores a day like you do.¡±


    I did not think about that. I have repeated the process so many times that it has become a second nature¡­ but it also means that assuming enough supply, I can probably fulfill the order by myself by working six straight days.¡±


    ¡°The northern mountain range is not as far as the beach, and there is a lot of quartz. Can we send people there instead?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The beach is easier to access and there are too many magic beasts up there.¡±


    ¡°Five weeks then. In the meantime, if you could get whoever is available to make power sources in their spare time, it would be great... albeit only from our worst materials though, there is no need to be wasteful. It appears there is not much I can do here, so I will be rejoining the labyrinth expedition. Before I go, tell me if there is anything you need.¡±


    ¡°Our supply of spider silk is running low, my lord. We¡¯re still trying to establish the lower limits, but the problem is that we sometimes lose material. It is not like we have a choice though: as long as the giant spider silk is in limited supply, we have to determine the optimal amount for each task¡­ You said you were trying to build a silk farm, right?


    It only happened a few days ago, and yet I had already gone and forgotten about it. ¡°I will give you what I have on hand but do not expect much: it has only been five days.¡±


    When I arrive at the first site, I find twenty marks on the wall but only a single spindle, a very fat spindle, but still a single spindle nevertheless. When I look inside the cave, there are thirteen animals still cocooned. My presence disturbs the giant arachnids, and they scurry further inside of the cave. As I follow them to get a better look, the terrified giant insects desperately put themselves between me and their progeny.


    Twelve adults, some egg bags, and about two dozen of spiderlings. With these numbers and their size, I expected them to have a bigger appetite, but it seems the colony only eat less than two rabbits a day.


    When I set up the parameters for this site, I knew I would overfeed the magical beasts, but I never expected they would stop making webs after capturing too many preys¡­ I thought it was instinctual or something like that.


    The next site is an even bigger and worse surprise, the front of the cave is littered with giant arachnid corpses, and there are only a few living spiderlings left inside the cave. Thankfully, this species stocks its silk in its complete form so it is not as much waste as I first feared.


    I do not know much about their ecology, but I suppose they are a migrating species. Still, I do not think it is normal for all the adults to leave the nest at the same time. Could the one left inside have come to help the others? Normal spiders are not exactly known for their gregarious instinct or their intelligence, but when creatures are tainted with magic, everything becomes possible.


    The last site is well¡­ more of the same. I heard many people said that the third time is a charm, but I have just proved them wrong. Inside the cave is a single spider ¨C a very, very fat spider ¨C surrounded by egg bags. The stupid thing did not even bother to cocoon the golems offerings, and most of them dangle from a half-broken web or litter the ground.


    I really have terrible luck, I must have played came right after they migrated. How am I supposed to follow their tracks? They are incredibly heavy for spiders, but not that much compared to normal animals.


    But, even if I cannot track the beast, I only need to turn the problems around and find their destination. Thankfully, my undead sense is ideally suited to find caves and life-forms. As it turns out, the second location is only about a hundred paces from the first one, as are the third and fourth.


    Well, it seems like there is no more need for the other sites. I recover the golem and set them here with new orders: one prey every two days at most and then again only give a prey if there is some silk to recover.


    What about the site near the village? I kill all the spiderlings obviously. Others will no doubt come to recolonize the area eventually, but it will spare the villager the cost of hiring adventurers for a few months.


    I teleport outside the city, then right into my workshop to drop the silk and a note.


    I smile internally, now has come the time to rejoin the expedition, and hopefully learn the maddening bag¡¯s secrets.

 Chapter 27

    Chapter 27


    Archeologists vs traps


    When I arrive at camp, the resource gathering party is absent, and most of the knights are sleeping. As the captain has yet to return, I decide to return to my teleportation experiments from last time. Last time, I had elected to use markers.


    Doing something by yourself, and writing a spell to accomplish the same thing are two entirely separate matters as even the simplest of everyday tasks can suddenly become a mountainous roadblock¡­ and it is probably truer for me, because of my species¡¯ ability to interact directly with mana.


    I recently developed a technique to deal with this problem, though: dumb the task down to its simplest functions, then take one step further. As an example, a mage only needs to look around if they wish to find a marker and reading it takes no conscious effort. A spell though has no concept of looking, much less reading. What then? Simple, I decompose each element of the task into simpler ones, until it becomes something even a simple spell can accomplish.


    But, as one could expect, it makes something anyone can normally accomplish in a matter of seconds, a monumental task of thousands upon thousands - if not millions - of reiteration. Slow and inefficient as it is, it is the only way to simplify the wording into something inscribable. In this case a constant loop of the same few operations with slight variations of coordinate to mimic the act of ¡°looking around¡±.


    For my first test, I reshape a large bar of metal from the camp portable forge into the shape of a sphere and inscribe the spell. To make it simple for myself, the shape is a representation of the search pattern.


    It seems arduous and wasteful, right? It is, most of the space that will be searched - like the sky and the underground - will have absolutely no chance of containing the designed marker¡­ but it doesn¡¯t matter since this test is only a proof of concept and to make sure it does not take too long I put marker a few steps away.


    Even so, it takes no less than three minutes before the sphere shines its beam of light in the target direction, and even if the experiment is a success, the metal has grown so hot that no flesh creature ¨C apart from dragons and their lot ¨C could hold it.


    Nevertheless, encouraged by my success, I remold the piece of metal into a cone, alter the spell to reflect the new search pattern and start again. As expected, it only takes a few seconds this time: limiting the search area is quite obviously the way to go. Well, since the final spell will be used for communication purposes, we will always know the approximate position of the target, so this method is quite sufficient¡­ albeit still many times slower than if I were doing it by myself.


    Oh well, there is no point comparing with me, anyway. I will spend some more time optimizing the process before I add the teleportation spell. I expect we will be able to send a letter instantly across tens of kilometers in a matter of minutes¡­ maybe more I find a way to avoid damages on arrival.


    Still not coming back? I succumb to curiosity and target the markers I put under my usual teleportation point near TheNewCity¡¯s walls.


    <><><>


    The knights are coming back to camp. Upon seeing me from afar, the captain hurries to greet me. ¡°Nice to see you again, my lord. I take it means the negotiation with the empire has ended?¡±


    ¡°Yes, all in our favor.¡±


    ¡°Glad to hear it. On our side, we¡¯ve made a few discoveries, some good some bad. First, I must report that the use of the enchantments has greatly improved our efficiency moving in the dark, the scouts are particularly happy with it. Next, we have destroyed around seventy undead since we last saw you and disarmed or destroyed twenty-three deadly traps. It is quite bothersome, but since we cannot thoroughly burn the undead remains inside the labyrinth, we¡¯ve fought against the same enemies a few times.¡±


    ¡°Have you tried cleansing them with Chi? And how sure are you that they are the same? ¡°


    ¡°Yes, to your first question, you see as we can¡¯t make a fire inside the labyrinth, we¡¯ve tried getting creative¡­ but they dug out of their holes so it clearly wasn¡¯t enough.¡±


    ¡°Did you find a solution?¡±


    ¡°Probably. Whenever we finish a fight, we simply take the heads and some of the lighter parts to burn outside. I cannot say the solution is permanent for sure, but it works for now.¡±


    Maybe that is what they meant when they said undead were weak to fire? The officer looks at me expectantly, waiting for my input, but I have no idea what he is¡­ Ah, I get it! ¡°Excellent initiative, captain.¡±


    Satisfied, he continues with his report. ¡°We may have found the place you were looking for: a large room full of old tools, weapons, clothes about fifty to eighty meters down. The path is pretty simple, but tortuous, it spirals for a least two kilometers. There are many objects we haven¡¯t been able to identify but from variety alone, we think the creatures are in the habit of collecting whatever... What is that!¡±


    I forgot about the enchant I was experimenting with. Set on a tent - about two meters from the ground - the tool flashes its light right in the captain¡¯s face. I immediately fetch the magic tool to stop it, then cast a healing spell ¨C the beam was not that strong, but after working in the dark for so long their eyes have probably become weak to light. Anyway, it is better to be safe than sorry.


    The incident is entirely my fault, but to my defense, at least two hours have passed since it started. Two hours for forty kilometers might seem pretty terrible at first, but considering the distance involved, it is in fact very good. Even so, it would pay to further reduce the angle.


    ¡°I am sorry, captain. I was conducting an experiment and forgot about it as soon as we started talking. You see, I am trying to create a tool for teleporting small objects, but setting the destination is not something anyone can do. This tool is a step in that direction. I made it in order to detect and point at a specified marker.¡±


    One of the scouts seems interested in the enchant so I lend it to him. The heavy leather gauntlets from their armor probably offer decent protection against the heat, but... ¡°Pour magic while thinking of the marker or speak its name out loud if it does not work, it will search in the direction it is pointed at until it finds the designed marker, then point a beam of light towards it. Beware though, the longer it runs, the hotter it gets.¡±


    The scoot looks at the mages inquisitively, and I comment offhandedly. ¡°Yes, it is something any mage can do it, and a lot faster.¡±


    ¡°I can think of many usages, though. We can use it to track stolen items, to navigate, to discreetly signal a path, find allies¡­ As you know, sir, there are very few mages among us.¡±


    I misread the situation. ¡°This is a prototype, and it shows. I suggest you reflect on your needs before putting a request to the magic department with the specifics¡­ I will back it up.¡± I turn back to the captain. ¡°Let us get back to the topic at hand¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir! As I was saying, we believe the creatures are in the habit of bringing every object they find there. For example, there is a lot of adventurers¡¯ equipment bearing traces of combat set in piles right at the entrance and in the opposite corner, there is a wide hole of unfathomable depth. We think this room used to be some depot where they sorted through the items, we believe they used the hole for disposal.¡±


    ¡°Marvelous, it appears we have found our destination. Is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°Not much, some weapon and equipment¡¯s design was recent, so we can say without a shadow of a doubt they still continue with their habit even in death¡­ but there probably haven¡¯t done any sorting in centuries.¡±


    I certainly do not mind, since no sorting means no disposal.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    A Korok scout offers further explanations. ¡°I broke a dagger while disarming a trap a three days ago and we found that very same tip sitting over a pile inside that room. Judging for the thick layer of dust though, I¡¯d the room is barely used¡­ even if I have to admit I don¡¯t have the experience to interpret dust accumulation in ancient underground tunnels.¡±


    ¡°Nevertheless, it is likely the bag came from this very room. When can we go?¡±


    ¡°Give us three hours and we shall be ready.¡±


    If I remember correctly, the knights were divided into three teams so that one would always be refreshed and ready to go, but I suppose he too wants to see this expedition to the end.


    ¡°Captain, you and your men just came back and unlike me, you need to rest.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir¡­ then can you give me until morning?¡±


    ¡°Take as much time as you need.¡±


    Truthfully, the commander''s tiredness is not the only thing on my mind: there are simply a few more things I want to try, and I do not care for being interrupted.


    I take a second piece of metal and mold the two into a bigger one. It is not easy to do on a flat surface, but I emulate the branching techniques found in 27472¡¯s work. Normally, it is used to activate different sections of a spell depending on need and circumstances, but in this case, I intend to run multiple instances of the same spell simultaneously.


    Simply put, I am going to divide the search area into four subsections and make it four times faster¡­ is what I thought but soon molten metal drips of my gauntlet.


    ¡°Maximum unpleasantness, I really like this armor, and it was her gift, too!¡±


    Seeing her gift damaged pains, me¡­ uncharacteristically so, but thankfully, elder wyvern¡¯s leather is not something that gets damaged by this level of heat. It takes me until morning, but I get it back to pristine condition.


    Let it be a lesson of what happens when one does not use the proper material.


    <><><>


    The scouts¡­ well, scout ahead as we make way towards the room.


    Soon, one of them comes back with disturbing news. ¡°My lords, all the traps we haven¡¯t been able to destroy have been rearmed.¡±


    ¡°Did you find traces of the undead?¡±


    ¡°None, apart from a lingering smell.¡±


    There have there been no ¡®voices¡¯ since we entered the labyrinth, and I have yet to detect the presence of any of them. I would love it if it meant there are none around, but after hearing about the traps we all know it simply cannot be the case.


    Worried as to what kind of ambush they are preparing, I summon four temporary golems and order them to follow and obey the scouts.


    ¡°Have them walk over the traps if you cannot destroy them, we cannot risk the undead rearming them behind our backs¡­ and if the elementals get destroyed, do not hesitate to ask for more.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    As we get near the room, one part of the ceiling comes down onto our own constructs, destroying them core and all. I immediately replace them with temporary golems.


    ¡°It seems the whole floor was a trap was set to activate only under a certain weight. What¡¯s worrying in that it is well hidden and wasn¡¯t there last time.¡± Explains a scout.


    ¡°We are almost there, will go ahead and see if there are any more.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± If it is a matter of weight, I summon four more temporary golems and send those and the previous batch ahead. ¡°Let the constructs take the risks¡­ I cannot help but feel that something is off, it is far too tranquil.¡±


    Contrary to my expectations, the constructs come back fine: it really was the final trap.


    ¡°Be wary, the smell of Undeath is strong.¡± Says a scout.


    This room might contain the secret of the bag, but there is something fishy, my instincts scream at me to walk away.


    Unpleasantness no! We have gone too far to retreat! I dismiss the temporary construct, replace them with summon Chi elementals and set them to guard all three tunnels. As for the remaining greater golems, I send them to scout the other two passages.


    I feel the presence of the ¡®collective¡¯.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    I scream. ¡°They are coming!¡±


    From where? The two tunnels only extend for about thirty meters deep¡­ and yet, they descend from there: two groups of twenty unliving bipedal insects rush at us from both sides at incredible speed. Ignoring the constructs and jumping over their fallen until they soon get in range and stone us with deadly metal balls aimed at our heads and necks.


    In an instant, seven knights go down, one of them dead, the others, in dire need of assistance. The mage and I put barriers, but too late, the damage is done.


    Deeming their attack useless, most of the soulless creatures run back to hide in their tunnels but a few stays behind to make a suicide attack against the elementals. Seconds later, the attackers are gone and out of reach from my senses.


    The Knight captain yells. ¡°First rank, keep your shield up! Third rank, pull the fallen to safety! Mages, heal them!¡±


    I deploy more barriers, thinking about how the enemy presence suddenly vanished. ¡°I¡­ I cannot sense them?!¡±


    ¡°The smell is still strong, they are around, somewhere.¡± Warns a scout.


    Most of my elemental construct are gone, destroyed by the undead suicidal Sha attacks. It is been such a short time and they have already formed strategies against us.


    I summon as many elementals as I can, keeping only enough resources to maintain the barrier and maybe cast a spell or two. I send the new constructs in the tunnel, but just like the ones before, they stop before a wall.


    Completely at a loss, I throw a slow-moving fireball inside the nearest tunnel. From my point of view, it simply vanishes after reaching a wall, but the knights tell me otherwise: they saw something soft, like a curtain.


    A curtain? I am baffled, fireproof or not, the mana would not have dissipated.


    The captain calls our last remaining greater golems and sends it ahead with a torch. This time, there is no confusion, all but me see the cloth as day¡­ all but me. Whether it is with my undead sense, farsight or clairvoyance, there is only darkness, much like with an exclusion barrier.


    Manafuge or not, the undead went through. I pick up the metal balls from earlier with gravity and accelerate them towards the wall of darkness with gravity.


    ¡°It went through!¡±


    ¡°As expected, it cannot stop physical object!¡±


    The captain orders, gather the Chi traps, rearm them and send them on the other side of the curtains.¡±


    ¡°Golem, open your hand. Extend your arm, further. Now, close your hand and walk back!¡±


    With their cover blown, the monstrous undead are at the mercy of our elementals, but rather than being destroyed uselessly by them, they charge the knights to make their last stand.


    This time, the knights are ready for their opponents and make short work of their unarmored foes. Halfway through the battle, I detect another force, far greater than the other two the last tunnel ¨C the one we came through.


    ¡°I see,¡± Says the captain. ¡°they were waiting for reinforcement to surround us from all sides.¡±


    At first, I feel worried when I see mages among the newcomers, but they are all subpar, not even a match for the constructs, much less the knights.


    The last undead defeated, the commander orders the golem to bring the curtains to the middle of the room. The tunnels behind were long, probably as long as the one, we came in, but I have no time to think about that: I cannot see the ground anymore, it appears to me as an unfathomable abyss.


    ¡°My lord, have you ever seen something like this?¡±


    ¡°Never. It is as new to me as it to you: all I know about it comes from your description. From my point of view, it is like there is nothing there¡­ no, more like a hole in reality.¡±


    I try touching it but feel nothing, not even my own fingers. Next, I try teleporting myself with it, but the cloth stays behind. ¡°This is certainly not a natural material¡­ but as interesting as this discovery is, it is not our reason for coming. Let us look at the piles: bring me anything with magic or writing on it!¡±


    ¡°My lord says a mage,¡± A few minutes later. ¡°there are three tablets written in the Words of power, but I cannot make sense of what they say.¡±


    ¡°I use clairvoyance and immediately recognize the same set of words as the ones of the bags.¡± Whether these are truly the commands for the bag or something else entirely, only time will tell.


    We forage for a few more hours, but apart from a few tools made from an unknown bonelike material, nothing else stands out.


    ¡°Gather everything,¡± I order. ¡°We are going back to camp. The queen must learn of our discoveries.¡±


    Depending on whether we can reproduce it or not, the cloth could become a major discovery or a random oddity.


    As the tension drop, I remember our fallen knight and develop a strange, unusual feeling about him, a bad one. Why do I feel so bothered now, when a few minutes ago I did not think anything of it?


    I whisper to the captain.  ¡°What should I do about the deceased knight? Do I take him back with me to the castle? Is there a need to notify his family?¡±


    ¡°Do not worry about his family, there is none, but there are also many: the order is our family¡­ but it would be nice if you could take his body back home with you.¡±


    I first teleport to my workshop to drop all the items in the vault¡­ aside from the anti-magic sheets obviously.


    As I am about to float the corpse with gravity, something stops me. I try lifting the body with my own arms and almost fall over. My strength is not so different from a knight myself, but my mass certainly is.


    It would be easier so much easier to lighten the body with gravity, but once again I cannot bring myself to do it.


    After a great many jumps, I arrive at the castle, much heavier from gravity and carrying the knight in my arms. A guard hurry at my side to take the body from me, sad, but thankful.


    Why are they thanking me? It was my poor decision that caused his death, looking back on it the mission could have been accomplished without me¡­ no, it was!


    Why do I feel hurt? I never cared about the dead when I was alive, knowledge and artifacts mattered, sometimes we even remembered their creator¡¯s number, but that was it. No details of their lives or aspirations remained.


    So, why does this one death bother me so much? Why, when even his own people are taking it so well?


    I shrug. It does not dispel the bad feeling but it will have to wait, first I must inform the Queen of our discovery.

 Chapter 28

    Chapter 28


    Internal conflict


    I finish my report and ask. ¡°Your majesty, what do you think we should do with this anti-magic material?¡±


    ¡°From what you¡¯ve said, only an alchemist could learn more about this material, but I am loath to entrust such a dangerous item into the hands of a third party.¡±


    ¡°I heard there were skilled alchemists working in the castle. Do you not trust them?¡±


    ¡°I do, but alchemy cover many aspects, these elves are among the best with medicine and herbs, but not so much with other subjects. Not that there''s anything wrong with that¡±


    ¡°Are there no others you can trust?¡±


    ¡°There are, but the same cannot be said of their entourages, not in such dangerous times, and probably never. Humans are easily corruptible; they¡¯ve proven it time and time again. They favor themselves and their own above all others and I do not wish to see this material in enemy hand: I¡¯d much rather see it forever unused. For now, we will store it in the royal archive until we move it to the Vault.¡±


    ¡°The vault? Did you get news of the excavation? Is nearing its end?¡±


    ¡°It does. The many golems and enchants you gifted the Queendom with, have made progress much faster than anticipated: they should reach the vault in a moon at the latest.


    ¡°Wonderful news...¡± Neither our discussion nor this long-awaited news has been enough to dispel my discomfort. She has knowledge about me and my kind, but also know of feelings and has commanded others in battle: she might know what plagues me. "May I ask you a question?¡±


    ¡°It would be my pleasure.¡±


    ¡°As you know, one of the knights serving me died in battle, and although I barely knew him and we never exchanged words, his death bothers me greatly.¡±


    ¡°How exactly? Is it sadness? A feeling of loss?¡±


    ¡°It is not like that... it is similar to anger, but not exactly. It was my fault and there were so many things I could have done differently¡­ It would not have happened had I not been there, but I rejected my instinct and walked into a trap¡­ an easily avoidable one. I was there, I knew something was wrong¡­ I even had the means to prevent it, and yet I still let it happen!¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ let me ask you a few questions. Whenever something you¡¯ve created become widely accepted, how do you feel about it?¡±


    What does it have to do with it? "Content, I suppose. This is something I have never experienced in my former life, I mean, people actually caring about what I do, about me¡­ no, about anything at all! I like it when people are happy with my work, and when they praise my work, it makes me want to accomplish even more.


    ¡°This feeling is pride, although I did not know its name, then this was something my sibling, and myself experienced very early in life: whenever we did something right, Mother would smile and compliment us for our work, it was both our greatest source of encouragement and our motivation to better ourselves. Have you ever felt something like that when you were alive?¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Never.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, as a general rule, your kind had no expectations for anyone and for themselves. Work was only accomplished because it had to, they took no pride or interest in it, and it never mattered who did it or how well. Amusingly, even though your people had some pride as a species, as individuals they had none. Since you came, you¡¯ve accomplished many things, people have come to expect from you, to rely on you! By extension, you now feel obligated to answer those expectations: you have learned pride in success and shamefulness in failure.¡±


    ¡°Is this really what it is? I understand shame, I read the definition, but while the feeling it resembles it, I believe it is somewhat different.¡±


    ¡°I was hinting at something beyond that. In The City, there was no notion of rank or hierarchy, all were equals, but it also meant they were also equally replaceable. Since you have come here though, you¡¯ve occupied a position of power, and while the people learned to depend on you, you have grown to feel responsible for them.¡±


    ¡°This is it! They were under my responsibility, but I failed them!¡±


    ¡°This is where you are mistaken, dear, the knights are not your responsibility, you are theirs! They are sworn to protect you with their lives and it is both their duty and their pride. Do not get me wrong, it is good that you feel for them, but you must not let it consume you! Sometimes, avoidable sacrifices are made: you must learn to grow from your mistakes as to never repeat them. Remember, you and they have your own duties!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I feel reassured now. I was afraid that if I would become this way every time one of my knights died, it would consume me... Will you please allow me a more personal question?¡±


    ¡°Please do.¡±


    ¡°This sense of responsibility, is it something you feel for the whole country and all its people?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is both my burden and my pride.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, it is one frightful charge I cannot envy.¡±


    ¡°It has been the center of my life for the longest time. Only recently did I start developing new interests.¡±


    Cryptic. Since she offers no more information, I simply take my leaves. ¡°Thank you for your time. I feel better now and will go back to my duties.¡±


    ¡°It was my pleasure. Remember, as your senior and fellow god, I am always here for you.¡±


    What a strange way to put it¡­ ¡°Was this a joke?¡±


    As usual, her face does not change, she simply tilts her head, but to me, it appears like the most radiant smile.


    <><><>


    Back in my workshop, I try to put myself to work but cannot. All I can see and think about is this illusive smile of hers. I always understood that gathering all these different species under a single banner to form a nation was extraordinary, but the more I learn, the more I am awed by her accomplishment.


    Deep inside, it still hurts my ¡®pride¡¯ to find myself under the command of something I always deemed inferior and at the time the desire to avoid responsibilities was for a big part in my decision.


    In retrospect, working under her was without a doubt the best decision I ever made: it allowed me to realize my youthful dream of leaving a lasting impression upon the world¡­ and it also made me discover something strange, people ¨C including myself ¨C can have conflicting thoughts: deep inside, I still consider her less than me, but on the surface I know I will never be her match as a person.


    I scoff at myself. ¡°Stop dreaming, there is much to do and you need to refocus!¡±


    But words alone cannot change my mindset. To clear my mind of that smile and the strange thoughts it elicited, I offer to transport the reinforcement sent to protect the anti-magical material. Long menial tasks are exactly what I need.


    By the time I am done, I am ready to work on the task at hand. I take the tablets murmuring to myself. ¡°I hope you are really worth someone¡¯s death.¡±

 Chapter 29

    Chapter 29


    There is nothing civil about war


    Apart from the tablets and the anti-magic material, everything else is worthless to me. The only reason I call these millimeter-thick sheets, tablets is in regard to their unbelievable rigidity and sturdiness.


    All three of them are perfectly identical, unblemished by the years and contain the same eight chains of eight Words, meaningless no matter in which direction they are read.


    Eight times four makes it thirty-two combinations, but that is only assuming they are read in straight lines and does not require special knowledge or apparatus¡­ in which case they would be as worthless as everything else and we would be back to zero.


    First, we try to read them from left to right, then top to bottom, right to left and it is only by our twenty-seventh try that we finally get a reaction - the third column from the bottom-right, read upwardly. It renders the bag unresponsive, by which I mean that though it does not swallow objects anymore, I still appear to be working. At least, it has yet to release its content.


    This is the first-ever step forward since the bag discovery! We hurry and try the last five combinations but nothing happens: the bag is still inert... could it be we broke it?


    There are three more sequences to try. Anxious, we input the first one, and as soon as we do, the bag goes back to its usual state.


    With the bag restarted, we soon discover two more functions for a total of four commands. One of them is particularly interesting as it makes a floating text appears ¨C a visual interface of sorts ¨C listing the item currently inside for retrieval and inventory. The last one also displays some text, but this one is a warning: ¡®Do not deactivate the bag with items still inside. Doing so carries a high risk of damage to both the content and the surrounding. Are you sure you wish to continue?¡¯


    ¡°No, I certainly do not!¡± There is no point in taking risks. I follow the instruction and empty the bag with the help of the floating pictures¡­ there is quite a lot inside, even if it is mostly trash.


    I shut it down¡­ let us hope one of the combinations will restart it.


    ¡°Hey, it is my sandwich, it¡¯s as fresh as when I put it in!¡±


    What with that guy? We are about to reveal the secrets of the bag of holding and he is talking about his lunch? I look at his brooch, preparing to scold him but what he says next, stops me from getting further than uttering his name.


    ¡°Varettil...¡±


    ¡°Sir, it has been in there for a month and it is still as fresh as when I put it in!¡±


    That¡­ this is quite the discovery, the Queen already intended to use it as a granary of minuscule size yet tremendous capacity, but with what we just learned, its potential increased tremendously.


    ¡°I feel like I should scold you, but that was surprisingly a well-thought experiment.¡±


    The moment of truth¡­ again! I look inside and to my great surprise, the words of power are sewn directly into the fabric, many of which I do not know. The one I do, though, greatly resembles the dragon-slaying spell.


    All of this is well and good, and has tremendous potential but¡­  ¡°I do not see anything resembling a mana source, do you?¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡±


    ¡°Can someone write the spell down?¡±


    ¡°Already on it!¡±


    ¡°That was fast!¡±


    ¡°Someone gets the mana measuring tools. We are restarting it.¡± Hopefully.


    Our past experiments proved that the bag did not consume mana¡­ at least not in a quantity we could measure with our tools. This led us to assume the power came from the inside, but it does not seem like it is the case.


    I input the first sequence again to restart the bag. ¡°What are the readings?¡±


    ¡°Nothing sir, there is no variation in the surrounding mana.¡±


    My sense also tells me the same thing, but if I were to create a similarly sized exclusion barrier, even by my most conservative estimate it would empty the mana contained in a bag this size so fast we would not have time to register it.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Whatever its source of power is, it is beyond us for now. But, what could it be? There are not so many possibilities, only two in fact, the bag materials or a remote source.


    I cannot say it was not worthwhile though, the floating images alone make the usage of complex enchantments possible for all. As if that were not enough, we have also gotten many unknown words of power to decipher, a task which might take years - not that anyone here would complain: for the like of us knowledge is just as important if not more important than what we can do with it.


    <><><>


    Three days have passed, and four copies of the bags have been made. As we cannot reproduce the weaves, we used crystals, and it shows. So far, the best we achieved it was eight seconds before it failed.


    In a way, it is a step forward. It confirms that the spell has nothing to do with the lack of mana consumption in the original model. On the other hand, it means I will have to go with the many large crystals route to power my dragon-slaying spell.


    <><><>


    Three more days, and we have our first functioning bags. By diminishing the volume, we have managed to keep the consumption almost reasonable. Why does diminishing the size by about one-third result in barely a twelfth of a twelfth of the previous models? No one knows but with each new bag we create, I become increasingly wary of the risk of accidents ¨C one part of the spell is similar to the dragon-slaying spell.


    I take two prototypes with me and teleport as far from civilization as I can. There I do everything in my power to damage them ¨C from afar, thank you I already died once ¨C but nothing I do put even the slightest scratch on it.


    The next method is a sure way, but less likely to happen naturally. I create an exclusion barrier to consume the mana as to force one of them to shut-down but nothing like what the original warned us about happens. No, the items drop off the bags one after the other until apart from a few larger ones that tear through the bag albeit without damage to the surrounding.


    Good, I feel more secure now. As I happen to have a functioning bag with me, I go to the beach to collect two hundred kilos of sand ¨C the bag maximum capacity ¨C and the spindle of spider-silk before returning.


    As I drop the materials in my workshop¡¯s safe, Varettil comes to talk to me excitedly. ¡°It was time all along, sir! I put some hot and cold objects in the original bags and ours, the temperature barely changed! Elaric was wrong, the state of the food was not due to a lack of air!¡±


    He is somewhat wrong with his assumption, as an absence of air could give similar results. Yet¡­ Time? Mana consumption? Could it really be this simple?


    ¡°You know, you can simply put a candle inside, it will show whether it was a lack of air or not. Either way, I have a new experiment for you: I want you to put objects with the same temperature in each of our prototype and the original, then measure the change every few days. I want to see if there is a correlation between the rate at which the temperature changes and each bag¡¯s specific consumption!¡±


    Varettil is a bright fellow, although, in a different way from Alaric, he thinks about the implications for an instant before answering vigorously with a bright smile. ¡°Yes, my lord, I will see to it immediately!¡±


    As I go back to the castle for the night after what should have been a good day, I am taken to the throne room by one the Queen¡¯s personal servant. There I learn that what we all feared has come to pass: a little less than one week ago, the southern provinces which used to be part of the One True God¡¯s Kingdom have fallen into a state of open rebellion.


    Luckily for us, the rebels¡¯ attempts to cajole non-believers into joining them have been unsuccessful. Their recent mellowed attitude could never erase decades of ingrained grievances and distrust. As soon as the insurrection started, the non-believer ran north to seek refuge and put themselves under the protection of the order.


    The knights, who had been preparing for an invasion, quickly sent news and deployed into the northern part of the province.


    I ask. ¡°Why did it take this much time for the news to reach us?¡±


    ¡°The messengers had to avoid the kingdom¡¯s assassins along the road.¡±


    ¡°If the kingdom intervened this directly, then it really is an invasion and the traitors aiding them can be considered the same as foreign enemies.¡± Says a great Korok so tall he almost reaches my shoulder and looks like he holds a serious grudge.


    ¡°The messenger explains, they were disguised as bandits but I¡¯d never mistake their accent: they were unmistakably from the kingdom!¡±


    ¡°What of the south?¡± Ask the Queen.


    I hear the citizens have formed militias to hold the cities, but their numbers are too large by far. They have clearly received foreign reinforcement.¡± His tone becomes somber. ¡°We moved as much personnel as possible, but I fear that the human garrisons and whoever was left there are no more.¡±


    ¡°We see¡­ They made their choice, so be it. Announce the One True God¡¯s cult is now illegal and arrest all known worshippers. Sequesters them in the camps we had prepared, they may not all be traitors but I doubt the people will see it that way.¡±


    It might come as a surprise for the so-called human supremacist of the One True God¡¯s religion, but they are far more hated by their brethren than the non-human.


    The highest-ranking clergy-man from the capital is brought before the Queen, but I feel no fear in him, only conviction. ¡°Witch,¡± he says with contempt ¡°an envoy from the high clergy will come soon for parleys, you better listen to his demands for it is your beast last hope to beg for the Lord''s mercy.¡±


    ¡°Can you even call that parleys when you attacked us without a declaration of war?¡±


    ¡°There is no truce with monsters and infidels, we only took back what was rightfully ours.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we see now that there can be no truce with the mindless and we regret our past foolishness of seeking a peaceful resolution¡­ we will not make the same mistake again. Guards put this one to the question.¡±


    Despite what transpired, he appears triumphant and I suddenly feel like repainting the room with his blood. The voices in my head scream in hatred I have never imagined possible. ¡°KILL HIM, PURGE THEM ALL.¡± And I cannot discern anymore which thoughts are my own.


    I hurriedly leave the room, and they calm down. I cannot say if it was my outrage that incited the collective or the other way around but I now know one thing for sure: I was not as prepared as I thought I was.

 Chapter 30

    Chapter 30


    The emissary from the Church


    It has already been four weeks since the war started, the dig should be over by now, but there is still no news. On the southern front though, the situation has been quite favorable to us. Between the clergymen, prisoners of war, and civilians running away from the conflict, the knights have gotten a clear picture of the current situation and recent events.


    Amusingly, while there have been some rare anti-war protests in the north and north-western provinces where the presence of the church is virtually non-existent, they did not last for long. As soon as the truth of the event reached them, the cries for peace changed into pure outrage.


    We knew the kingdom had spent a long time preparing for this war, but not how and for how long. It goes decades back, and includes among other things, proselytism, the stocking of underpriced preserved food through fake merchants, soldiers working as bandits inside the territory to get the lay of the land, gauging the knights¡¯ response time with small uprising and acts of banditry and finally hiding weapons caches for the rebels in preparation for the uprising.


    With all these years of planning, you would expect at least a decent implementation in the final stage, but no, it was rushed down, starting a good four or five months early. Add to that a mess of conflicting order coming from the various church¡¯s factions and you get why the rebels in the northern and eastern confines often failed to set the roadblocks or contain the population. You will not hear a complaint on our side though, as the Queen put it: their failures are our successes.


    On a side note, the knights were not the only ones putting down the revolution. Counter-revolutions happened in all manner of small cities and villages, anywhere where they were not the majority or insufficiently prepared and¡­ well, let us say that the years of pent-up resentment were liberated all at once in debaucheries of violence. Revolting but honestly well-deserved.


    As of now, apart from the major cities and fortresses in the south, all resistance has been crushed, and the war is now in stalemate as the knight order circles the cities and fortresses, in preparation for the upcoming sieges. That is what I thought, but a conversation I am hearing tells a different story and I am starting to wonder if the Knight-general did not let some of this happen just to give himself a good excuse to raze said cities.


    ¡°I say we maintain the sieges until they starve to death, and once they¡¯re weak enough, we burn those places to the ground and whoever is still inside¡­ same for any bastard who dares protest.¡± Declares the Knight-general full of rancor.


    ¡°I understand your feelings general, most of us vividly remember the last war, but genocide is a dangerous idea and a worse precedent to set. No matter how justified our actions, once we plant this seed, it will develop into fear and distrusts towards the Queen. Do you really want every little nonconformist to start thinking they¡¯re next? Because I assure you that¡¯s what will happen!¡± Speaks the commander of the Royal Guard in return.


    ¡°We can¡¯t kill her majesty subjects general, and shouldn¡¯t we at least listen to their envoy before taking our decision?¡± I think this small Korok one is an intendant or something like that. I distinctly remember the people wearing this livery as having something to do with the allocation of resources.


    ¡°For the first part, they aren¡¯t her subject, they aren¡¯t even rebels, they¡¯re the kingdom¡¯s soldiers¡­ and there¡¯s nothing wrong with killing the enemy.¡± Counters the general. ¡°As for the second part, I can already tell of their demands: ¡®Freedom for all human¡¯ ¨C that¡¯s rich coming from a bunch of retarded slavers ¨C and getting their lands back.  I don¡¯t think they¡¯d been this insistent if it was the same bloody barren desert as two hundred years ago.¡¯


    An elf ¨C I think she is the minister of water and agriculture ¨C interjects with a chuckle. ¡°Why not give it back? Our work is far from being finished, and it will revert to its previous states in forty to fifty years top. I for one, certainly would not mind cutting the expenses and the less than savory travels to this moron infested dump.¡±


    Being subjected to the hard gaze of his college, the minister immediately retracts her earlier statement. ¡°I was joking obviously. I¡¯d never dare to suggest ceding her majesty territory under any circumstances.¡± She continues, almost as bitter as the general. ¡°But I agree with the royal guard commander: we shouldn¡¯t dirty our own hand with genocide¡­ not when the empire would be more than happy to do it themselves.¡±


    ¡°Our opinion is to wait for the envoy,¡± says the queen softly, ¡°the situation is already in our favor and waiting will only reinforce our position. Their demands are of little import: the kingdom doesn¡¯t keep its promise with monsters and heretics.¡±


    A small Korok I do not know intervenes. ¡°But what of the people stuck inside the besieged cities? Not all of them are enemies, we cannot punish them for the crimes of others!¡±


    ¡°We had been expecting war for a long time and had most of the personnel removed the instant the protests began. I am sorry for whatever few are left behind, but I will not risk thousands of knights for the sake of a few hundreds of uncertain allegiance.¡± She pauses gravely, then adds. ¡°Do not fear for your flock my kind sir, mixity does not exist in the south, it was only ever a reality in some pioneering villages and they have already been liberated¡­ quite often by the people themselves.¡±


    This gentle looking male is the head of the goddess church? Even though I am considered a god myself, I never took enough interest in them to recognize their members.


    ¡°All in favor of waiting say ¡®Aye¡¯.¡±


    I am quite surprised to see her put the motion to vote since she usually has the last word¡­ although considering they all agreed with her; I suppose she still did.


    I would prefer if the war ended soon but... even if it does not, I still need a place to test my dragon-slaying enchant and as I remember a demonstration of force proved quite effective with the empire.


    <><><>


    Another two more weeks have gone by and without a peep from the excavation team. At least, the emissary from the kingdom has arrived, and that means things will move again soon.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Thankfully, there are no need ceremonies: we are at war and both sides have all the reasons in the world to hate each other ¨C although ours make sense, unlike theirs ¨C so there is no reason to even try looking nice.


    His demands are textually those predicted by the Knight-general and despite being on the losing side the lunatic showers us with demands. It would honestly be hilarious if it were not the man himself was not so insufferable¡­ not only of me, for the collective too.


    I, for one, am in no hurry to be in his presence again, I do not know which of the two is the worst: the collective¡¯s banter or the man, but even the head of the Goddess¡¯ faith ¨C the gentlest soul I ever met ¨C looks like he wants to strangle the man, and this fact speaks for itself.


    Sadly, this choice is not mine to make, the Queen herself asked for my presence at the final conference, so here I am.


    As soon as the cleric enters, the Collective¡¯s chatter grows in intensity, and it seems unusually personal and focused.


    ¡°LIAR! TORTURER!¡±


    ¡°KILL HIM! KILL THEM ALL!¡±


    ¡°WE WILL RIP YOUR SOUL APART TORTURER!¡±


    ¡°HELP US PASS AWAY!¡±


    ¡°THERE IS NO GOD, NO PARADISE: ONLY ETERNAL DARKNESS!¡±


    ¡°PRAISE THE LORD, BROTHER! LET THERE BE NO REPOSE UNTIL WE¡¯VE CLEANSED THE WORLD OF THE DEVIL¡¯S SPAWN!¡±


    I do know how or why, but every member of their faith I met managed to be even less popular than the empire¡¯s diplomat - a man whose entire lineage comprises only of the most treacherous blackguards.


    I do not understand why they call him a torturer, but burning madness in the man¡¯s eyes takes me aback. The small clergyman always has a disgusted look on his face, and whenever he looks at any of us, he seethes with pure hatred.


    Why send someone like him to negotiate? Can you even call that negotiation when interacting with us is already more than he can bear?


    ¡°Her Divine Majesty the Queen will allow you to expose your request.¡± Announces the prime minister.


    ¡°There is only one god, monster, and this is no request: you will comply or suffer the consequences! Free our people, leave our territory and cease this masquerade! Prostrate yourself and plead the One True God for mercy, in his benignity he might even allow your pitiful races to serve under him and us, the rightful heir of the world.¡±


    I am not an emotional person but each and every one of his words grate on my ears: he is insolence and madness packed into one neat punchable bag of fat and bigotry.


    ¡°Not you, witch,¡± Continues the madman. ¡°your reign of imposture has reached its end! Sadly, despite your crimes against God and against all common sense,¡± He spits those last words with disgust. "the council will allow you a clean death.¡±


    I had in mind to use his country as a testing ground for our dragon-slaying spell, hoping to emulate what happened with the empire, but now I feel like liberating the whole country from the shackles of life. It seems the Collective is already full of their brethren and all the best if it can make true on its menaces.


    His rancor is made even more manifest by his next words. ¡°That is far more than you deserve putrid wench! Surrender and at those monsters you call your subjects may still serve under us or fight and all of you will face annihilation as God intended.¡±


    ¡°Putrid wench?! HOW DARE YOU!¡±


    I throw his entourage up to the ceiling with gravity them back to the ground with five times the force. You all came here to die, right? Then let me grant your wish.


    This one though¡­ I walk slowly toward the clergyman, to give him the time to digest what happened. Around him, his escort suffocates under the effect of my spell.


    ¡°You finally show your true self, abomination!¡± Exults the fat bag of madness. ¡°I came here knowing my fate, I fear you not, God is with me: do your worst, monster!¡±


    If he is asking for it, I will oblige¡­ I remove my helmet and weigh myself with gravity to raise the heavyweight clergyman ¨C  as small as he is, his mass is probably not that different from my own, armor included ¨C to eye level.


    ¡°Fear me not, you say? Then why are you quivering?¡±


    He screams. ¡°God will strike you down!¡± And attempt to cast a spell.


    It hurts to see such incompetence: this is a prayer ¨C a bad one at that ¨C not a spell! Counter-spelling is something that exists, but is very rarely done: it¡¯s almost impossible to pull off, even in the best circumstances. In this case, though, the badly written spell combined with his overall incompetent casting makes it easy for me.


    While I take control of the unstable mana, ask. ¡°I thought your god was the one supposed to punish me. Why are you the one casting a spell?¡±


    He finally finishes his chant but nothing happens.


    ¡°Next time, try a real spell instead of a half-assed prayer, it will be more efficient than waiting until whatever imaginary entity your deranged mind came up with to answer your call.¡±


    My barb worked because his next spell is a proper one, but it is too little too late, by now even his own mana is under my control, which is something I did not think possible until now.


    ¡°There are many, so many people are waiting for you on the other side, torturer¡­¡±


    Those words struck a chord because he quivers and cries. ¡°Lies! I won¡¯t succumb to your lies, demon! I am God¡¯s faithful servant!¡±


    I ignore him. ¡°Where is the paradise you promised them, liar? Where is your god? Should I deliver your rotten soul to their ghostly hand so you can answer their question yourselves?¡±


    All he can do now is mumble some incoherent words.


    ¡°What did you do? How did you garner so much hatred from your own brethren, torturer?¡±


    All this while, he has averted his eyes, but upon hearing my question he jerks and accidentally looks into my sockets. His meager resistance stops as he stares transfixed deep into my nonexistent eyes then suddenly he quakes, shivers and ultimately faints with a painful scream.


    What did he see? Even I cannot tell, but deprived of the target of my wrath, I quickly revert to my usual self. A quick check of his entourage shows some broken bones and damaged organs. I stop my spell but that is it, whether they live or die is their own problem.


    As I drop the fool on the floor, I finally register the extent of what I did and the irrationality of my behavior. The foul man and his followers were clearly posturing, and I just destroyed any chance of negotiation we may have had. Wary, I look at the Queen, but find her¡­ beaming with delight? At least that is the feeling I have - her face is as expressionless as ever.


    Thankfully, the emissary is not dead¡­yet. I awaken him forcibly and ask again. ¡°I am still waiting for my smiting fool, tell your god to hurry as I do not have all day.¡±


    My anger has receded, I still hate him, but do not feel like listening to the voices¡¯ nauseating suggestions anymore. He, on the other hand, is terrified by what awaits him on the other side, and this is something we can exploit to our advantage. ¡°Nothing? Any last words? No, then I suppose it is high time I deliver you to your past victims.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, don¡¯t kill me! I know everything about the council! About the war! About our troops! I¡¯ll tell you everything, please don¡¯t kill me!¡±


    So he says, but all I hear are his teeth chattering!


    The Queen speaks gently. "Put your helmet back, dear.¡± Then order harshly. ¡°Take him away, let us see if what he knows is worth prolonging his pathetic life.¡±


    As soon as the little man is taken out of the room, the Prime Minister brings two of his fingers close to each other.  ¡°I was about this far from strangling the man myself.¡± and a chorus of approval echoes.


    Was I but the first to lose self-control?


    ¡°Do not fret, dear: they came here to die. We suspect they intended to break all possibilities of peaceful resolution with their deaths¡­ leave him be, our men will soon get the truth out of him.¡±


    She walks to me and speaks softly to me, her head slightly tilted. ¡°Thank you, dear, for getting angry for my sake. It made me so very happy.¡±

 Chapter 31

    Chapter 31


    Clerical error


    In this specific case, putting the prisoner to the question was unexpectedly non-violent. Expected considering the cleric disposition, but disappointing for the voices¡­ and for me.


    From the little he said so far, the interrogators ¨C a section of the knight order adept at asking leading questions and discerning lies ¨C were certain his case would not warrant further motivation. The Collective did not care, though; seething with anger and betrayal, each of his words was perceived as insulting and deceptive.


    Notwithstanding our opinion of the hateful emissary, he taught us that there were three major factions in the church and that he belonged to the second biggest one, ¡®the faithful¡¯: the worst fanatical and uncompromising jerks - as the name implies.


    ¡°What was your purpose coming here?¡± Ask the interrogator.


    ¡°It¡¯s just as the witch... as her Majesty presumed: we intend¡­ed to stop the filthy renegades from the political faction from brokering peace with monst¡­ our esteemed neighbors.¡±


    ¡°Speak freely, we all know what your faith says of us.¡± Orders the knight, annoyed by the constant backtracking and rectification.


    ¡°We couldn¡¯t allow them to throw decades of hard work and sacrifices out of baseless fear.¡±


    ¡°And what was it they were so afraid of?¡±


    ¡°Golems, damned golems! Any soldier worth his salt can fight a golem single-handedly!¡±


    Yes, I do not get it either. What is there to fear about golems? They are deceptively fast and dexterous for their size, but their reaction time is simply terrible.


    ¡°You spoke of decades of hard work and sacrifices. You meant the preparation for this war, right? When did they start?¡±


    ¡°Ever since the days of infamy, when the faithful were enslaved and submitted to the corruptive influences of the devil¡¯s spawn and the unfaithful. Despite all our preparations, it was only seven years ago that we finally gained an opportunity, when the empire, forever damned be its name, went to war with one of the southern nations.¡±


    ¡°But why commit on two fronts? Isn¡¯t that strategically unsound?¡±


    It appears that after being given the authorization to speak freely; the cleric was quick to forget about his situation and went right back to his disgusting former self.


    He utters in contempt. ¡°Those are cowards¡¯ words, unfit from the true believers. Victory will be ours, no matter the cost! God will receive sacrifice, bless us and lead us to victory.¡±


    Wishful thinking, but what else can you expect from a faith crazed moron?


    ¡°Even so, it is true that we lack the resources to fight on multiple fronts. We intended to stall the Queendom with a massive uprising while we dealt with the weakened empire. Later, the martyrdom of the fallen would have been enough to fuel a second holy war.¡±


    ¡°It did not go as you intended.¡±


    ¡°You are right¡­ We did not expect the Queendom to accept a formal alliance with the empire, not after their past betrayals.¡±


    ¡°This is quite simple, our hatred of you is a lot stronger than our dislike of each other.¡± Explains the knight-general dismissively. ¡°The south-western province has always been an uncontrollable piece of barren land, inhabited by knuckleheaded cultists. Its occupation by your troops loses us nothing, if anything, I welcome it as a long-awaited opportunity to cleanse the place with fire and sword.¡±


    ¡°So, you boast, beast, but had they listened to us, it would have occupied your troops for years to come.¡±


    ¡°I do not think so. Nevertheless, let me thank you and your kindred for your incompetence, you are, as usual, a perfect representation of your faith and your God.¡±


    ¡°My lord,¡± Ask the commander of the Royal guard. ¡°Did you detect any lies?¡±


    ¡°No, I did not¡­ but does any of this really matters? None of what he said changes the outcome: they are the enemy and we must crush them before the dragon awaken.¡± I do not know if my answer is entirely my own, but I will stand by my words.


    ¡°There is a method to it. Interrogators always start with minor questions the subject don¡¯t mind answering only to ask the important questions later when they feel so incriminated that whatever information they give doesn¡¯t matter anymore¡±


    We turn our attention back to the questioning.


    ¡°So, your faction caused this early start and messed up years of planning in order to outmaneuver its opposition?¡±


    He bits his lower lip and that is enough of an answer.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°What happened of your perpetual war with the mountain tribes?¡± Asks the interrogator finally directing the questioning towards more important subjects.


    ¡°One of their leaders converted in exchange for our help against the other tribes over a decade ago.¡±


    ¡°I am surprised you accepted his offer, I thought you considered the mountaineers subhuman.¡±


    ¡°The prophet called them ignorant brutes, but does it not stand true for any of the faithless? Don¡¯t misunderstand me, we don¡¯t trust the savage as far as he can spit, but as long as it could buy us enough time to deal with the empire then it¡¯s worth supporting him.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t most of your slaves come from the mountains? How did you deal with the lack of manpower?¡±


    ¡°They still do, we now buy our slaves directly from him. Sacrifices had to be made, but it freed it secured our southern frontier and allowed us to redeploy most of our resources to the north and the east.¡±


    I do not want to understand this man¡¯s thought process, the way he keeps offering information while apparently still clinging to his faith makes so little sense that I find myself asking. ¡°Why are you betraying your people and your god? I dare not hope it is because you realized the foolishness of your belief.¡±


    ¡°Shut up Abomination, not even undead are immortal, in time even you will face God¡¯s judgment.¡±


    ¡°I read your sacred texts fool, and if any part of them is to be believed, your god is so inconsistent that for all we know he might actually welcome me with open arms. Why don¡¯t you answer my question, if you really believe in your gods, why are you betraying him? If you truly believe, then you are delaying the inevitable by worsening your crimes.¡±


    The man becomes bloodless and shivers. ¡°The voices...¡±


    ¡°Oh? You heard them too?¡± That is good news, despite my research and theories, it is the first concrete proof that I am not going insane.


    ¡°I... I did many terrible things. I hunted believers, tortured and killed them in the name of God... I thought they were all heretics and traitors. They had to, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be there but¡­ some of them were truly unjustly accused, either for personal and political gains. I did not know, I acted in good faith¡­¡± He sobs. ¡°but even if God pardon his servant, they won¡¯t. I heard their voices calling for me! I felt their hatred!¡± His eyes suddenly become unfocused and his tone changes, becoming hopeful. ¡°That was a trick! It had to be, you set me up, right? Right?!¡±


    ¡°You have already betrayed your people. Does it really matter anymore?¡± I smile internally as I answer his question, adding just enough to the truth to play on his fears. ¡°But there was no trick, I hear them too, even now they ask me to deliver you and your peers in their ghostly hands. Your church and this holy tribunal of yours could not be more unpopular on the other side.¡±


    The man mutters terrified. ¡°I never said anything about our organization.¡± Then break down crying and laughing bitterly at himself. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what happens to me, I¡¯m tainted and I will soon be paying the price, but god and his faithful will triumph, the devil won¡¯t save you this time!¡±


    It is my time to laugh. ¡°Your devil is nothing more than a dragon/calamity, a very tangible and earthly monster that your mindless warmongering threatens to awaken. As for your god banishing it, the truth is much simpler: a beaten-down prey offers little entertainment.¡±


    I leave the room without listening to his answer and the Knight-general follows after me. ¡°You know, the empire using the golem as an engineering corps wasn¡¯t bad, but listening to this one got me thinking. Greater golems are pretty fast for their size and weight, almost like walking siege machines but¡­ what if we equip them with chariots? Imagine ranks and ranks of golems charging into enemy columns, they¡¯d be a truly unstoppable cavalry!¡±


    ¡°I get your idea, I really do, but we simply do not have the resources, and we need to first honor our deal with the empire.¡± Seeing him so dejected, I feel sorry for him and make him an offer. ¡°You know what? As soon as we are done with the empire¡¯s order, I will have the workshops work on yours.¡±


    ¡°What about the ones from the digging site? Didn¡¯t you say there¡¯d be tons of them in the vault?¡±


    ¡°There should be many cores stored inside The Vault, but I would not go as far as to say tons.¡±


    ¡°Just an idea, but is there a way to change a greater golem¡¯s shape?¡±


    This is an interesting question. ¡°It has never occurred to me. Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°If we intend to make them into a cavalry, then why not make them horse-shaped from the beginning, it¡¯d be easier for them to step over the enemy troops, right?¡±


    ¡°Horse legs are too thin to support that kind of weight.¡±


    ¡°I did not mean exactly like true horses, as long as they are four-legged and taller than human it¡¯s fine.¡±


    I spend some time considering every aspect of the spell for a while, then come to a shocking realization. ¡°Now that you mention it: there is no mention of the shape anywhere in the spell¡­ Come with me, I need to try and see for myself.¡±


    I quickly use farsight to see if there¡¯s room, and teleport us to my workshop ¨C at this distance, there is no need to take special care. As soon as we arrive, I find a greater golem core and guide my guest to the garden.


    Unlike usual, I make a conscious effort to keep the image of a horse while I activate the core and the general was right¡­ although there has probably a few images other than that of a horse mixed in.


    We both contemplate the six-legged abomination with its two humanoid arms and legs coming out from the middle until I break the silence. ¡°Thank you general, you just made me aware of something major: the caster can influence the result, even with enchanted tools. With that said, this thing is disgusting.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call that a problem. I mean, it can carry its own weapons and its appearance would certainly leave a mark on the enemy.¡±


    ¡°And allies alike.¡±


    ¡°Can I keep this one? As an example, you know, to see if my mages can produce something similar?¡±


    ¡°You want that? I do not mind. Just you keep it out of my sight.¡±


    ¡°There is one more thing. It¡¯s about the dead... can they¡­ Can they really hurt him... hurt us?¡±


    ¡°I do not think so, not directly at least, but I guarantee you it is not for a lack of trying: there is a lot of resentment out there.¡±


    We go our separate ways and I suddenly remember the small permanent construct golem I made months ago. Could its small size have been the result of my thoughts rather than its method of creation?


    I quickly fetch the core and put it down on the ground out in the garden. As I activate it, I visualize a normal-sized golem. The final product appears slightly different from usual, but there is no denying its size. It has always been known that two identical spells could have slightly different results depending on the caster, but due to the method of activation and the massive amount of information contained within enchantments, it was never considered a possibility for enchantments


    Do the caster thoughts truly have more influence on an enchantment that is commonly accepted, or is it something specifics to golem? I suspect the former, but even so, the difference is probably so negligible that we will probably never know.

 Chapter 32

    Chapter 32


    Dragonslayer


    The collective¡¯s constant chattering has all but chased me out of the palace. I spend most of my time cloistered in my workshop, cut from the outside by the anti-magic material. It would be a lot like my earlier day in the city if I did not resent it so much.


    The cause of my torment is one insufferable small cleric who purchased his prolonged existence with betrayal. Today again, I come to beg for his relocation ¨C or better yet, his execution.


    ¡°General, I would like to...¡±


    ¡°I know, you¡¯ve brought it up enough time, but I¡¯m sorry, the answer is still no.¡±


    ¡°What use is there in keeping him here? Nothing he has to say matters! Let us kill him, burn the Kingdom to the ground, and go home.¡± My thoughts are all over the place and abnormally belligerent, which goes to show how much influence the collective has over me.


    ¡°As soon as we attempted to move him to a safe-house, a bunch of assassins came after him.¡±


    Incompetent fools, you really cannot trust the kingdom to do anything right! But it gives me an idea. ¡°Let me help with his relocation.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about letting both of you meet.¡±


    Yes, I would not be either, I feel like I would probably tear his throat if I saw him right now.


    ¡°We are considering our response¡­¡±


    I stop him there. ¡°Talking while sitting on your ass all day for a week does not count as a response, it is the very definition of procrastination!¡±


    ¡°You are unusually passionate, sir.¡±


    ¡°I am not, the dead are, and they will never leave me alone as long as he lives. Right now, I am still in control, but I assure you, if you do not get rid of the reprobate soon, I will have to take matters into my own hands¡­ or they will!¡±


    The constant hammering is maddening, but the worst part is the way it resonates with my own insecurities to capitalize on my fears. What if the constant battling awakens the beast? What if it delays our supply? What if I do not have enough time to test the tool and it fails at the most critical time?


    It is dangerous to give in to the lunatic¡¯s attempts to delay us; we need to be decisive: we must bring an end to the war¡­ since things are not going my way, I have no choice but to seclude myself in my workshop, away from the collective¡¯s influence.


    Even though I will be the first to admit my seclusion is not without benefits. For one, I have learned from the unsecured tool of destruction fiasco, and produced identification tools for every single restricted area¡­ and seeing how many unwelcome guests they have stopped already, it was high time we did something.


    I have also completed a few teleporters prototype. They are only good for moving small and light objects, like paper, and the calibration is a real pain, but I made it possible to select a target with a floating menu, and that means anyone can use them.  Speaking of floating text, it is quite possibly the most ground-breaking discovery as it opens all sorts of tools to a wide audience, regardless of ability.


    Unlike me, the master is the most cheerful he has ever been; the department is making more money than he had predicted and he escaped criticism by lying through his teeth and saying it was me and my best students who made all the first batch of unbreakable mana sources.


    I stop my reminiscing to take yet another look at the dragon-slaying formula. There does not seem to be anything wrong with the spell, but if I were really that confident in my own judgment, I would not be so anxious. My biggest worry is probably the inscription phase, it has always been a long spell, but the addition of multiple security measures leaves absolutely no room for mistakes.


    Someone knocks and I instantly answer. ¡°Please come in.¡±  And the door opens to reveal a giant quartz. ¡°What beauty!¡± I say, looking transfixed and the giant crystal.


    ¡°I understand the feeling, sir.¡± Says the master with a large smile. I failed to notice him, standing behind the two apprentices leading the floating platform.


    ¡°How heavy is it? It must be at least two-third of a ton.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s somewhat heavier than that, sir. The alchemist did a good job with this one and the other large crystals, they are the purest I have ever seen.¡±


    ¡°Now, we can finally initiate our plan to deal with the dragon/calamity.¡± We should probably use it right away, but I am too fearful of what would happen if it fails.


    ¡°It hurts that we¡¯re dependent on the alchemists,¡± Says the master. ¡°but I still don¡¯t know what they are doing differently and they aren¡¯t taking the bribe.¡±


    His complaints take me by surprise. ¡°You seemed so confident.¡±


    ¡°It seems like the bastards love their secrets even more than they love money. I hate that we¡¯re being dependent on a third party. At least the deal is mutually beneficial, and we have a fallback plan¡­ even if it is far from ideal.¡±


    ¡°How many crystals this size do we have?¡±


    ¡°This one is the biggest, but there are four more coming which are only slightly smaller, and the three dozen we prepared to fuel the spells.¡±


    ¡°What of the monitoring and recording tools?¡±


    ¡°No problem on that side, either. Everyone is perfectly trained! We can implement the plan whenever you want!¡±


    <><><>


    The collective prattle as usual, but I am in too good a mood to listen. Everything is ready: I only need a place and permission. At my request, the Queen and concerned people meet in a conference room ¨C or is it a war room?


    ¡°Your Majesty, Dear ministers, General, I have asked you to come because I have finally created the dragon/calamity slaying enchant I have promised you... but, it needs testing, we know too little about to risk using it against the dragon right away. I propose we use the Kingdom¡¯s capital, and specifically its greatest religious edifice as the target for this experiment.¡±


    My idea is met with dubious looks. The prime minister is first to shoot down my proposal. ¡°I know where you come from, my lord, but you are underestimating the lunacy of fanatics. It is very likely to drive them into righteous fury.¡±


    Others have more mixed opinions. ¡°I do not think it will bring peace, but there are only benefits in facing a disorganized enemy.¡± Says the royal guard captain.


    ¡°I am all for it,¡± boom the Knight-general ¡°but why stop at one little church?¡±


    The Queen also speaks words of concern. ¡°We strongly doubt it will stop the war. In fact, we are certain they will hate us all the more for it.¡± But then she tilts her head and adds. ¡°Then again, they see us as targets for annihilation, and we intend to forbid the practice of their religion so¡­ unless someone as a better idea, we agree with this proposal.¡± As usual, there is no opposition.


    Later that day, I teleport ahead to make a last survey of the area. We have long decided on a place ¨C a tall hill barely ten kilometers away from the outer wall ¨C but it pays to make sure the situation has not changed in the last few days.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The hill being as barren and unoccupied as ever, I soon start bringing people and material under its shadow.


    Half-a-dozen trips later, a small patrol of cavalrymen catch sight of us and attack without sending a warning or calling for reinforcement. I do not know whether their stupidity is a result of overconfidence or because of a lack of experience, but one thing is for sure: their death is speedier than their approach.


    As their mounts¡¯ legs break under the increased gravity and they all fall to their doom, a knight comment under his breath. ¡°Untrained morons, couldn¡¯t be bothered to raise the alarm first.¡±


    ¡°I do not mind them making my work easier¡­ and it is not like it would have changed anything to the outcome.¡±


    Even so, no matter how incompetent the Kingdom¡¯s troops are, a missing patrol is bound to raise suspicion.


    <><><>


    Twenty knights, including three proficient with barriers. Ten mages manning the observation and recording tools and another fifty exclusively to supply mana, all transported by me and me alone. Our numbers are well over the estimate, but people are not machines, their condition varies by the day.


    Why did we settle on this hill when we could have used spells to observe the situation from further? Because we do not know enough about the spell and it is better to have a direct line of sight in case it disrupts the normal use of magic.


    Our target is the highest tower of the tallest church. I use farsight to get a good view and start the tool of destruction. Our target today is only made of stone, so after careful examination, we settled on a half charge.


    Forty minutes later, a dark dot appears over the capital then suddenly expands. Unlike the preparation, the spell itself is very fast, not even a second in total. Faster than the eye can perceive, the layers of exclusion barriers protecting the subspace crumble one after the others and my vision spell cuts off.


    All the barriers we raised around the site shatters, but not because of physical or magical damage, just like with farsight earlier, all magics in the surrounding area are rendered useless.


    Knights and mages alike gasp as the walls crumble and small dots go flying far them ¨C considering the distance, these dots are likely to be gigantic pieces of masonry, maybe entire buildings.


    I tear my magically enhanced vision from the appalling spectacle to look at the records. Contrary to my assumption, the lack of mana caused the exclusion barriers to crumble.


    The aftermath of the destruction is unimaginable: it pulverized everything within two hundred meters, there is not a single building left standing within four hundred, and traces of destruction can be seen beyond one kilometer.


    This is horrifying, but not as much as knowing that this much is not even half of the full spell and might still not be enough to instantly kill and fully-grown dragon/calamity.


    The last part of my mission is to teleport pre-recorded messages all over ground zero, all saying the same thing: ¡®Make peace with the Queendom, or make peace with your god.¡¯


    As we get ready to return, the collective screams in horror.


    ¡°IT¡¯S HERE!¡±


    ¡°GOD, PROTECT US FROM THE DEVIL!¡±


    ¡°GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN US!¡±


    ¡°FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES!¡±


    Why scream so long after that the destruction has ended? I have felt the voices¡¯ fears and insecurities before, but never like that: the collective never fully agree on anything.


    The answer comes in the form of a dot flying at high speed towards the capital¡­ I get it now, ¡®oh god, why have you forsaken us¡¯ indeed!


    ¡°Run, the dragon/disaster is coming!¡±


    I activate the enchant; I doubt it will give us the time, but it is the only thing I can think of. Visibly, the others are the same: every mage, every knight pour its mana knowing full well they will die.


    Why? Because there is no way to run from that, it is too fast.


    The giant creature flies over the city nonchalantly, burning people and building as it searches for¡­ us.


    Only three minutes have gone by? Forget about full charge, but what level is enough to hurt this thing? Quarter? Half? We will be lucky if we even get a few more minutes.


    The monster sees us in the distance and heads slowly towards us, burning everything in its way at a leisurely pace. Damn monster, it is mocking us.


    I am sorry my Queen; I have failed you¡­ we should have targeted without waiting.


    The beast is in range. It inhales slowly and deliberately but just as I am about to release the dragon-slaying spell; I feel the beast surprise and confusion then an instant later, something much more massive descends, crushing its neck like a raptor.


    The new dragon makes the full-grown adults from the stories look like small fluffy woodland creatures.


    ¡°What an awful surprise, to think one of your species still lives. I hoped you had all perished... Oh! But you ARE dead.¡±


    We are still alive and for some reason, it is talking directly in my head. ¡°Hello, dragon/calamity, to my knowledge, never once did your kind talk to mine.¡±


    ¡°Why and how would such a thing happen? You killed us on sight, and I¡¯d be doing the same if I could.¡±  It spits the next words angrily. ¡°As much as it pains me to deal with lesser beings, I come with an offer you cannot reject, one that benefits us both: leave me alone and I will kill the other dragons, attempt to harm me and I will lay waste upon this continent until not a single blade of grass stands. I assure you; I know this spell well and prepared for it: you won¡¯t ever take me by surprise!¡±


    I had forgotten I was still powering the enchant. I stop immediately and order others to do the same. As it said, even if it cannot harm me, it can still harm the Queendom.


    ¡°You would kill your own to ensure your survival?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d do it for sport, why wouldn¡¯t I do it to ensure my survival?¡±


    Its disgust towards me is strong, I can feel a deep-rooted hatred towards me and my species. ¡°I really hoped this freshly born toy would escape our programming.¡±


    ¡°Programming?¡±


    ¡°Inhibition to prevent us from harming the Vault and its Guardians¡­ even the undead ones, apparently. But you are an unusual one though, you care about those critters.¡± Its eyes become sharper. ¡°Here is my proposition: I will protect this continent from the other dragons and leave your critters to their pathetic lives. In exchange, swear you will never target me directly or indirectly, and that you¡¯ll never set foot on my continent. It is the one northeast from here, the biggest in the world. What do you say?¡±


    I cannot trust it, but I do not see myself having a choice. What bothers me the most though is how nonchalant it was about hunting its own kind. ¡°You hunt your own species for sport?¡±


    ¡°They are the best entertainment there is. This toy was too young to offer a challenge, but it knew nothing of your kind, and I wanted to see if it could harm you.¡±


    ¡°That is awful. How can you do that?¡±


    ¡°Mere mortals cannot understand our sense of value. We are immortal and asexual, other dragons are competitions or toys for our amusement, as everything should be.¡±


    ¡°I accept your proposal!¡±


    ¡°Before we conclude our agreement, let us talk a bit, Guardian. I have not spoken with anyone since our creators left this world.¡±


    ¡°You were created? What happened to them, did you kill them all?¡±


    It laughs. ¡°Foolish creature, if I cannot harm you, why would you assume I could harm them? Not that it matters, in this world they were absolute, even that spell of yours could not budge a hair on their face unless they willed it. And I didn¡¯t say mine, I said OURS. ¡°


    What is this walking living catastrophe telling?! Wait a minute... ¡°Ours?¡±


    ¡°I do not know why they created us; their actions never made any sense. Believe it or not, but I was a pet and your ancestors were nothing more than caretakers for their precious Vault. As a result, we were rendered unable to harm you directly or indirectly. But that wasn¡¯t enough for those bastards, they had to go and give you this damn spell to protect yourselves.¡± It Chuckles. ¡°But not from tidal waves.¡±


    ¡°Why did they leave?¡±


    ¡°How should I know? Why should I care? I only pay attention to what is enjoyable to me. I Kill time, critters, and sometimes my kin. It is too bad that only my own species offer decent competition, but since they take so much time to grow, I have to make do with whatever else I can find.¡± Its voices become even more menacing. ¡°Do you agree with my terms? Or do you want me to burn more of this place?¡±


    ¡°I gave you my words.¡± I would not mind if it burned a little more, as long as it is this place.


    ¡°Words mean nothing! I do not trust you, and I would kill you here and now if I could. I want something truly compelling: I want an oath.¡±


    ¡°I know no such spell.¡±


    ¡°Then listen well and recite after me.¡±


    It contains a few unknown words, but overall the content is straightforward enough that I can repeat it without fear.


    Before going, the dragon/calamity gives me a final warning. ¡°As promised, I will hunt the remaining lesser dragons and true dragons on this continent. But remember, if any of your people set foot on my continent, they will become my prey and my meal!¡±


    ¡°I will warn my people, but I can make no promises for other nations.¡± I suddenly realize what he just said. ¡°There were more than one dragon/calamity around?¡±


    It laughs. ¡°Two more, but only this one was stupid enough to fail to notice me. You can go now, guardian, I have no more need for you. Let it be the last time we face each other!¡±


    ¡°How can there be young if...¡± It is already gone.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Ask a bewildered knight at my left.


    ¡°Why did it kill the other? Why did it go? Did you repulse it?¡±


    Some are crying in joy, some are praising the Goddess, some are even praising me¡­ but they shouldn¡¯t, it was all dumb luck.


    ¡°Is the Queendom safe?¡±


    ¡°Did you not listen to our conversation?¡±


    ¡°No sir, we only heard your voice?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, sir, all this while, it stood still, staring silently at you.¡±


    This is probably for the best. I can let her decide what to tell our people.

 Chapter 33

    Chapter 33


    The Vault


    I teleport straight into the magic department¡¯s garden along with the first group. It was our gathering point for departure and I posted guards to keep people away for the day. I send a knight to the palace, I know everyone is tired, but someone has to inform the queen I am stuck teleporting everyone.


    I spend the next two hours teleporting back and forth, but by the time I am finished, the Queen is ready to grant me a private audience.


    Upon seeing Her, I feel reassured, as though I am finally safe and home. I know these feelings are forced onto me by her nature¡­ but I could not care less.


    ¡°Your Majesty, I come with good news: our spell destroyed the enemy''s main church as intended, and the dragon is no threat anymore. As the knight told you, when the spell struck, the dragon/calamity from the war came to inspect but found itself incapable of harming us¡­ well me. Then another true dragon, older and more powerful took this opportunity to kill it.¡±


    ¡°So, I have heard. We are glad to see you coming back safely from the terrible encounter but¡­ how? And why did you need to speak with me in private?¡±


    She only uses the feminine first pronoun when we are alone, and I find it strangely attractive.


    ¡°The creature revealed some sensible information about my¡­ our origins. According to the beast, long ago, some creatures of immense power created us and the dragons. The vault was theirs, and I and my kind were nothing more than its caretakers.¡±


    ¡°This is very alarming. Where did those creators go?¡±


    ¡°The beast did not care, but it revealed to me that it was nothing more than a pet for them, which is also the reason why it could not hurt me, a vault''s guardian.¡±


    ¡°I cannot imagine such a proud being demeaning itself unless it was true.¡±


    ¡°Yes, this is also why I am inclined to trust in the beast. It has no reason the lie and the contract between us is... mortally binding.¡±


    ¡°All the more reason not to dismiss its words, then¡­ and it explains so many aspects of mother and yourself, like your inability to leave or displace the city. As a similarly artificial being, I better understand her choice of forcefully teleporting us away: given then choice, we¡¯d have died at her side.¡±


    ¡°This programming was compelling yet subtle, the first time I realized my past behavior irrationality was after my rebirth.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, dear. I feel so much better knowing she did not abandon us willingly.¡±


    ¡°Seeing how you have turned out; I know she loved you dearly¡­ you and your siblings. You know, I always felt it did not make sense for a species as powerful and knowledgeable as ours to be so indecisive and unassertive.¡±


    ¡°Do not forget about your lack of survival instinct. Although, I assume it would be a major flaw for caretakers.¡±


    ¡°That may be true¡­ unless the loss of the vault is less problematic to its creator than the secrets it keeps.¡±


    ¡°We will find out eventually. In fact, even accounting for difficulties, it should have been unearthed by now.¡±


    ¡°Since there is nothing more in the way, let us have a look. Will you do me the honor of accompanying me?¡±


    ¡°I''d love to¡­ but the knights and ministers make a fuss whenever I go somewhere dangerous or leave for an extended period of time. In this specific case, though, I¡¯d be inclined to listen to their opinion...¡±


    I jest. ¡°I am told going straight into potential danger is apparently frown upon for royalty.¡±


    ¡°I fear my people have become overprotective. I may not be as spry as I used to be, but I am still more than capable of protecting myself. Just because my other duties have kept me away from the battlefield does not mean I forgot how to fight or lead others in battle.¡±


    This is the first time I have heard her complain.


    ¡°Dear, for my peace of mind as well as your own security, take your knights with you, and please exert extreme caution.¡±


    ¡°It reminds me, I would like to recommend the knights and mages who accompanied me today for promotion, the bravery they displayed when facing the beast was nothing short of exemplary!¡±


    ¡°Consider it done. Now, let¡¯s see what we can tell the others¡­¡±


    <><><>


    I recount the events once more leaving out some details. ¡°When the spell hit the capital, the dragons detected it from afar and came looking for its origin. As powerful as it was, the ancient being had no way to know we only had this one enchantment. As a show of goodwill, it killed the other and made this proposal: As long as we do not threaten it with the spell and recognize its sovereignty on the northeastern continent, it will keep itself in its own territory and prevent the rest of its kind from settling on our continent.¡±


    ¡°It sounds too good to be true!¡± Says the prime minister, his face unable to settle between relief and fear.


    Anyone would assume that without knowing all the facts, but far more than our own origins, it is the existence of the creators that her Majesty wishes to keep secret.


    ¡°We have the power to end the threat once and for all, should we not use it!¡± Proposes a voice I fail to recognize.


    ¡°Did you not listen, fool?" Answer the general in my stead. "It takes over one hour to fully charge the spell, if¡­ No, when the dragon detects the spell, it will attack. And it is not even the only dragon in existence, the others are simply too afraid of this one to come out!¡±


    ¡°There is yet another thing you have forgotten: the oath. If either of us breaks it, it will destroy our very existence. Even if I wanted to, and I do not, I could not help create a new dragon-slaying enchant, much less make one myself.


    The Queen and I are the only registered users for this one tool and the knowledge of the original spell is just as well guarded. It will take a long time before anyone can recreate it from scratch ¡­ but it is probably safer to impose an oath on anyone who has information about it.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible for the dragon to ignore the oath? Their extraordinary resistance to magic is well documented.¡± Ask the prime minister.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°No amount of resistance can stop a spell that targets the soul, the spirit, the mind and the body from within. Even if it managed to somehow survive the spell, it would be as an empty shell.¡±


    ¡°This spell is awfully convenient! Is there a way to enforce international treaties with it?¡±


    ¡°I do not think so: the spell binds individuals, not nations.¡±


    I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone asked this question. Thankfully, we prepared an excuse in advance. ¡°


    ¡°At first, I did not intend to reveal this secret because it would make me a target for the foolish and the dangerously minded, but there was another reason the dragon/calamity so readily proposed this deal: an oath taken long ago with my ancestors making it impossible for the beast to harm me, directly or indirectly. But it also means that if I had fired the spell, it would have destroyed us both and the other dragons/calamities would have been free to do as they wished.¡±


    No one knew of the oath spell before today, including me. The existence of a more powerful version capable of binding generations probably sounds doubtful, but the risks are not worth the benefits.


    <><><>


    There will be only forty knights accompanying me this time, I would be taking more if it was not such a pain to teleport this many people and material.


    A little more than one hour later, I teleport the last of the equipment, and we enter the dig site. It is a very long way down, but even so, the site sounds eerily quiet. It is only when we finally reach the deepest level that we hear some noises; it seems as the workers are working on clearing the last corners of the room.


    It feels like it is unnecessary work, but it does not matter. I ask the foreman. ¡°When did you unearth the door?¡±


    He looks vaguely in my direction and answers hesitantly. ¡°We¡¯re almost done my lord, just a few more days.¡±


    What is he talking about? ¡°It is right there! I can see it clear as day!¡±


    ¡°Indeed, we just need to remove this dirt and¡­ prepare?¡±


    ¡°Prepare for what?¡±


    He speaks slowly, his eyes unfocused. ¡°Prepare for the... completion-of-work celebration?¡±


    He is not making sense, so I just ignore him and head directly to the door myself and... Ah! So that is what he meant. I nod. ¡°He is right, let us come back another day.¡±


    The knights look at me confusedly. ¡°My lord?!¡±


    As I walk away, I feel like a fog dissipates and remember my purpose. I do not attempt to approach the door again: this is one frightful security if it can even mess with the mind of the dead.


    I do not remember much about the vault, but I am almost certain there was key. It is safe to assume it act as identification or protection against whatever defense the lock is equipped with.


    I look for sources of mana in the building, there are a lot, but most of them are around this level. A quick search of the upper level reveals a few corroded metal chests containing some busted-up data crystals, and a strangely pristine key with a very unnatural appearance: it looks as though it was forced together from completely unrelated parts.


    Whatever, I do not care about its shape as long as it opens the door. I order the knights to stay back, walk unhindered toward the door and open it.


    As anticlimactic as it sounds, this alone frees the workers from their hallucinations. Looking like he just woke up, the foreman asks. ¡°My lord? When did you arrive? Why¡­ Why is the door open?¡±


    The poor man is still confused, he has conflicting memories of digging up to a few minutes ago, and yet the site is clean and the door open. I do not know how long they have endured the lock''s mental attacks, but I can easily guess why: the mechanism still bears traces of their attempts to force it open.


    They acted against orders and paid the price, but I cannot blame them too much because I would have done the same. ¡°Do not even try to think about.¡± I warn him ¡°You did a good job and now you should all go home!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, my lord. We will do as you say. Up till¡­ a few days ago? I couldn¡¯t wait to see the inside, but I suddenly don¡¯t feel like it anymore.¡±


    I am not surprised, even if they have no memories of being enthralled, they must be sick of this place. All I can do for them is hope there will be no lasting effects.


    Surrounded by the knights, I finally enter the vault.


    <><><>


    Overall, it is a lot like the royal museum in the capital.


    On the first level, all sorts of magic tools and golem cores are displayed along with a description of the spells and the method of fabrication.


    I do not know from what material the displays are made but even though I can see no problem with farsight, it blocks most components of clairvoyance and my undead senses. It certainly has mana repelling properties but was still made with the mind of letting some in. However, the method and purpose of its creation will not be revealed until we have analyzed it¡­ and then again, probably not.


    On the second and third, all sorts of Children''s bodies are in display, mostly the puppet type, but there is also a pair of organics set apart in their own case too big for them. The cores have their own display on the third level, and each one is accompanied by a small description of the spell, new features and improvements compared to the earlier versions.


    The sight makes me uncomfortable: on the one hand, they are inactive tools, but on the other, the person I admire most is also one of them.


    Not all the cores and bodies are fine, but after some repairs, we might revive up to three dozen. Yes, I know I should not count my chickens before they hatch, but any number would be a great boon if they are even half¡­ one-tenth as intelligent and adaptable as the Queen¡¯s siblings ¨C let us be realistic there, she and the others are a world apart from older models.


    Further down, we find storage areas with layer upon layer of shelves, all filled with the purest of quartz sorted by size. A bit further, alone in the middle of a large room stands an unknown machine.


    With farsight, I look at every corner of the contraption and find a large reservoir in the back, filled with sand. Quartz and sand, knowing what I know today I realize the purpose of the machine and Immediately seek to confirm my theory.


    As the machine spews small crystals, I fumble with the controls a bit more, until I find which one makes them bigger. I would love to see the machine¡¯s inner workings, but every single access panel is literally covered with warnings against opening it.


    It is a bit annoying, but the plans are likely in the archives anyway, so why take the risk? Anyway, it looks like the master will get his wish of independence fulfilled sooner than later.


    One level down is the archive, the goal of this expedition. The sight can be described as wonderful and discouraging. There are thousands upon... No, it is far more than that: countless shelves across countless levels littered with data crystals.


    In front of the stairs is a platform extending over the abyss, but behind us, the stairs continue further down. I might have reached my destination, but I really want to know what lies all the way down.


    We walk for a long, very long time only to find a simple corridor and a door. The door itself is covered in drawings, but the repetitiveness and lack of symmetry remind me of a written language.


    In the middle, there is a keyhole, but even though the key fits perfectly, the door does not open¡­ something is missing, but I have no idea what it is.


    As we scrutinize the door in search of a way to open it, a knight starts mumbling rapidly on his own while moving his hands and fingers in strange ways.


    ¡°Uh-oh!¡± Says a knight. ¡°He is doing it again.¡±


    ¡°My lord,¡± Exclaims another. ¡°don¡¯t this part here look like this section of the key!¡±


    He is right, small cavities are carved all over the door with shapes similar to elements of the misshapen key.


    As I ask. ¡°Do you think the key can be disassembled into smaller pieces to fit these sockets?¡± The knights who had been mumbling by himself suddenly rips the key from my hands and start taking it apart with complexes movements and rotations I cannot even dream to follow.


    As he does his things he mumbles louder and louder. ¡°Rotate this. Yes! Push that¡­ No, remove this then push¡­ Damn, what a clever trap¡­ Well done bastard, well done¡­ Yes, I need to do this first... Or maybe that¡­¡±


    The Captain comes to my rescue. ¡°Better let him do his thing, sir. He doesn¡¯t mean harm but he¡¯s damn insufferable when he¡¯s working on a puzzle. He¡¯s insanely good at it though, three times champion already and he¡¯d probably have more titles if it weren¡¯t for his work.¡±


    I look at the dismantled key with dismay. ¡°He is not going to break it, right?¡±


    ¡°It is not like we have much choice anyway; he won¡¯t give it back until he¡¯s done¡­ not unless we pry it from his cold dead fingers.¡±


    <><><>


    Four hours later, the door opens to reveal¡­ absolutely nothing, just an empty void, a chamber made entirely of anti-magic material.


    ¡°An empty room?¡± Exclaims a knight?


    For me, the dark void has a single star within¡­ ¡°There¡¯s a crystal in back, can someone get it for me?" I do not dare set foot inside as I cannot see the walls and the ground.¡±


    ¡°No one makes make a giant room out of rare material just to store a fist-sized crystal!¡±


    ¡°A room that big to store something this small? It definitely sounds like a trap!¡± Concludes a scout as he jumps inside without a warning¡­ then come back an instant later unharmed with the crystal in his hands.

 Chapter 34

    Chapter 34


    Prototypes


    The crystal was not a trap, merely a data archive, albeit crammed with an absurd number of entries for its size and many unknown words of power to its spell.


    A quick read shows its content is probably log entries from the creators themselves. Upon realizing this I want to drop everything else to read it but quickly resist the urge; there are too many entries and I came here looking for a way to awaken her remaining siblings, not to satisfy my curiosity... it will have to wait.


    Since there is no immediate danger, I see no reason to keep the knights around. ¡°Captain, take the key and see if you can open the displays. Gather the children¡¯s bodies and cores, along with any documentation you can find, then prepare them from transportation. If the workers are still around, ask them to lend you some anti-gravity platforms or some crates.¡±


    The last part was probably too obvious, but the captain answers politely. ¡°Yes, my lord, it will be done.¡±


    Back in the archive room, I take a quick flight around the shelves but there is no marking, magic or otherwise¡­ No marking? No catalog? How is anyone supposed to find anything in this mess?


    I fly to the platform overlooking the place. If there is something, then it will be there! As soon as I set foot near the edge, a chair raises seamlessly from the ground behind me as to prove me right and when I sit in, a floating interface appears.


    Good thing there was nobody around: I can pretend I never spent the last half-hour flying around like a fool.


    The interface is a marvel of ergonomics, nothing like our half-baked attempts. It is riddled with discreet help notes, and there is even has a detailed guide to all of its functions. Apparently, by inputting one or more keywords, it will display the corresponding archives, along with summaries and then a simple touch will bring the corresponding crystal to the user.


    I obviously enter ¡®Children¡® for my first attempt.


    ¡°Three hundred and eighty-two responses?!¡±


    I cannot be bothered to read through so many summaries, I have to narrow it down a little. I try adding ¡®organic¡¯ but it makes very little difference. Next, is... 13055?


    ¡°Yes,¡± Now we are talking.¡± there are only two answers!¡±


    One is a reference book written by the 13055th, detailing her methods, spells and thankfully the schematics for all of her creations. The other is a manual on artificial souls and spirits, from an unknown author, but it has an incredibly long list of commentaries by others, including the Queen¡¯s mother herself.


    Artificial soul? I try using it as a keyword but there is only one result, the very manual from earlier. With enough commentaries to fill three or four books, how come no one took the pain to compile one?


    I reenter my previous search, validate the results and Half-a-dozen of seconds later, a tray comes out of the ground with the two crystals. That was fast... maybe too fast.


    I read the one by the 13055th first, but it does not go well: it lacks explanations, and when there are some, they are mostly referencing the soul and spirit book, or the commentaries.


    Since I do not seem to have much choice, I read that one instead and it quickly becomes clear why no one bothered writing another one: it is insanely detailed, although very deliberately incomplete. The commentaries help somewhat, but whoever wrote this manual was even more soulless than I am.


    I have never seen work this devoid of personality, another thing that stands out, is the lack of experimental data. Her Majesty mother¡¯s work is the complete opposite, it is filled with the writer¡¯s quirks and passion for the subject ¨C she was truly very unlike the rest of our kind, as I suspected ¨C as well as the backing experimental data.


    There is no mistaking it, this manual is a hand-me-down from the creators and that they purposely left some parts out.


    Nevertheless, it is enough to serve my purpose and more. Using some newly learned words, I quickly devise a spell to look at myself and... the term soulless was right on the money, I do not have one of those anymore. More importantly, my spirit is gravely damaged, as I thought all the perks from undeath come at a cost.


    There is not much I can do about that for now, what I am searching for... there they are: the traces of my programming! It seems to have taken the most damage, but I can still read parts of the directive which include: a directive to protect the vault and the city over it, a ban against study necromancy, resurrection and research on souls.


    It will take me some time before I can digest this information. I heard from the dragon that we were artificial beings, but I did not expect to find so many restrictions. A part of me complains that it is unfair, the Queen was only able to do what she did because she was not restricted in her development, but I dismiss it: this part of me is biased and does not give justice to her... to our people¡¯s accomplishments.


    Coming back to the ¡®Children museum¡¯, I find a group of children and knights attacking the displays. Unbothered by the fruitlessness of their efforts, they keep on hurting themselves against the immovable glassey panels.


    Confused by the situation, I call to the nearest knight, but not only does he not rescind in his effort, he makes no effort to look in my direction. This behavior could not be more unknightly, and it gets me so worried that I hurriedly set out to find the others.


    Sadly, teleport is somehow blocked inside the Vault which means I will have to make my way among the insane children and knights. Thankfully, they do not seem to register my existence at all, and after passing them and I soon find myself at the entrance, where the rest of my guards are fighting against their insane brethren.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    I have to help them, but who is who? ¡°How can I find the enemy?!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother, put everyone down!¡± Screams a lieutenant.


    I do as he asks and put everyone else down.


    ¡°Thank you, my lord. They are worse than any undead I have ever seen. No matter how much you hurt them and break them, they get back up after only a short while¡­ and to make things worse, anyone who dies instantly joins their ranks.¡±


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Whatever those abominations are, I know I am the one who set them free by opening the room downstairs.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start by assuming that anyone who does not answer is one of them.¡±


    As proposed by the lieutenant, I free anyone who can speak, then still at his demand, burn to cinders those who cannot. Knowing how much importance they attach to proper funerals, I ask. ¡°Is this really alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord! Any of us would rather burn than let our bodies manipulated by those things!¡±


    With the one still inside, it makes eleven dead¡­ eleven out of forty, among them the captain and the other lieutenant. Once again, it was my boundless curiosity that led them to an early grave¡­ only there will be no grave for them to remember the fallen.


    ¡°It is my fault, the warnings could not be more obvious, and I chose to ignore them. How did it happen?!¡±


    ¡°Unclear, sir. As soon as we opened the displays, the Children attacked us. They were very clumsy so we thought we could just push them back in then close the displays but three of us joined in the attack and things got worse from there.¡±


    ¡°We are lucky they can only steal the bodies and not the knowledge, or by now we¡¯d all be dead.¡±


    Relentless undead with insanely fast regeneration and the strength and techniques of great Korok knights¡­ I shudder thinking about the kind of damage they could do to TheNewCity.


    Bitter, another knight comments. ¡°They won¡¯t stay down. I cut my friends¡¯ heads and arms and they¡­ those bloody things were up not even ten seconds later, acting as though nothing ever happened!¡±


    ¡°Thank for, sir, for destroying them... I couldn¡¯t bear mutilating my comrades¡¯ bodies any longer.¡±


    ¡°Get out, close the door behind,¡± I order. ¡°I will eradicate those pieces of garbage!¡±


    ¡°My lord,¡± Says the lieutenant and last surviving officer. ¡°I cannot let you go alone.¡±


    I refuse, but he follows me anyway.


    ¡°We must gather information first, learn what they are and how many.¡±


    This is sensible. Destroying them here would certainly satisfy my vengeance, but I would rather not learn later that I let some go and cause a catastrophe somewhere else. Even though I understand it all, I still feel like destroying them on sight, to make them suffer¡­ even though it is probably impossible.


    I try to control myself, but as soon as we get them in sight I am overtaken by rage and blast the first two with Sha bolts.


    The lieutenant shouts. ¡°My lord, remember! We must study them first!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are right¡­ Thank you for reminding me, lieutenant.¡± The ones I attacked are already up¡­ my anger really did serve no purpose.


    I think it is safe to look at the room without my usual filters as there should not be so many living things inside, but I still exert caution and remove them one by one until I see... hundreds of light balls bouncing around the display and as many gathering around the children.


    I try to explain. ¡°They look like ghosts, but they do not have the feel of undeath. They are neither spirits nor elementals. Something about them feels... abnormal¡­ incomplete, but whatever they are, there are too many to count.¡±


    I try to speak the nearest reanimated knight. ¡°Do you want the bodies inside?¡±


    At first, I believe it is going to ignore me like the others but it turns to attacks the lieutenant and I have to stop it by blasting it with a Sha bolt.


    The body falls down, dead as a doornail. A light comes out, only to be replaced by another one and a few seconds the burnt parts repair themselves and the corpse gets up to pound on the display.


    I did not have time to properly analyze the healing, but it had nothing to do with natural regeneration¡­ at the very least, I know it used mana, so putting them in a mana-deprived environment should bring a stop to this endless cycle of regeneration.


    I kill it again, and the freshly repaired body lunges towards the lieutenant, only to suffer the same fate as its predecessor. This time though, I use gravity to hold it down to the ground.


    ¡°They are dumb beyond belief.¡± Comments the officer after listening to my explanations. ¡°It¡¯s like they are obsessed with getting a body but have no idea what to do with one.¡±


    I finally succumb to my guilt. ¡°I am sorry, they must have been imprisoned in the deepest chamber and seeing how have conveniently gathered here, I suspect this place was intended to stop them. This too failed because of me.


    ¡°I see, then it is a good thing we did not collect the bodies before going down.¡±


    Is that all he has to say? In many ways, the Koroks are as foreign to me as those creatures.


    Are those things even alive? They act like golems, mindlessly trying to accomplish their task, but lacking the tools and knowledge to perform it properly.


    I study one of the spheres and find it similar to an artificial soul but with elements of spirit and elemental. The truly frightening thing about those chimeras is their programming: animate, and nothing else. How is that enough to move? To possess and control others?


    Still, the simplicity of their function in itself tells a lot: they are early prototypes, early experiments that had to be confined due to some unforeseen incident. Looking at them now, it is all too easy to imagine what kind.


    It still begs the question, why bother to keep them at all? Unless they were meant as a trap¡­ in which case I did a magnificent job of springing it.


    I ¡®kill¡¯ multiple knights and a single child, and every single light gathers around the child before spreading to the other, the opposite though, does not stand true.


    ¡°Lieutenant, they seem to have a strong preference for artificial bodies. I do not think they will target you as long as you don¡¯t present an easier target than the children.


    The light balls probably do not have the intelligence to look further away once they settled on a quarry. With that in mind, I immobilize a child and bring it along with us to the surface. As expected, the spheres orbiting the knights are quick to go for my bait.


    ¡°I am sorry but I cannot bring you home. You will have to travel with the workers or wait until I am done.


    ¡°We will wait if it¡¯s alright with you. There is more than enough food and water to sustain everyone for weeks, we¡¯ll just ask the worker to leave whatever they can then hunt for the rest.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? It could take weeks, maybe months.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely, sir. Anything sounds better than explaining to the Queen why we came back without you.¡±


    I look at him blankly. She is so kind; she would never hold it against them.

 Chapter 35

    Chapter 35


    Creators


    Yet another failure. I have been trying to create a spell to destroy souls and spirits, but since I am missing a great deal of information, things are not going my way.


    I know I have all the necessary words strewn among the create artificial soul, create artificial spirit and oath spells, but without a clear understanding, what I do amount to stringing random words while hoping they will combine into a valid sentence.


    The notes are not much help either, all my predecessors ever did was look into the applications and without ever trying to understand the core of the spells. 13055<sup>th</sup>? Her case was a bit special; she went further than anyone else, dancing all around the taboo without ever crossing it.


    So far, I have tested hundreds of combinations, but this barely amounts to a drop in a vast ocean of possibilities.


    I have already lost track of how many days I have spent working on this, but at this rate, I feel like my head is going to explode before I make progress.


    I take the creator¡¯s log, I doubt I will find information relevant to my current situation, but all the better, what I need is a nice change of pace.


    <><><>


    It is a strange feeling, I am reading a foreign language, and yet I get it¡­ for the most part. Some foreign concepts such as ethic still sound murky, but I would say I am getting about eleven twelfth of the words, which is far more reliable than my half-baked empathy/auto-translation skill.


    I do not think the translation spell is entirely to blame though, ethic as previously cited, appears in  many entries but its meaning seems to vary a lot depending on the author. Still, this is an interesting concept, one I intend to define and institute as soon as I get back.


    Another word that comes a lot, but makes no sense in any context is ¡®the board¡¯. People complain a lot about it - almost one out of three entry - but I fail to see why there is so much to say about a flat piece of wood, or how it relates to any of their decision... unless it is something religious, like an augur.


    I must say that reading through all those entries dampened my expectations about the creators by a lot. All-powerful as they were, they sound like normal people with their own strengths and weaknesses... mostly weaknesses.


    After skipping through a lot of content ¨C complaints! So many complaints! Did they really need to write them down? All of them? ¨C I find a promising entry titled:


    Artificial souls


    As you know, our previous experiment proved there exists a form of energy natural to all of this world¡¯s creatures. One that sometimes persists even after death.


    Well, I am delighted to announce to you that we''ve created some artificial souls and spirits and that we even managed to modify their function to a degree. It won''t be long before we can alter them to suit our purpose.


    Despite what you may have heard, S0 and S1 are neither Frankenstein¡¯s abomination nor weapons, these are simply tools: the first step toward an understanding of the nature of life.


    Comments about S0 and S1 come back a lot, but more than half of them give the feel of someone trying to cover their mistakes.


    Copy: S0, S1, and S2 disposal: Request of authorization: destruction of dangerous specimens


    I won¡¯t deny that those specimens taught us a lot, but it is high time we get rid of them. You are all aware of the destruction wrought by the escaped specimens, but this is not my main concern. What really worries me is the idea of this knowledge falling into the wrong hands.


    Here we can control them and confine them to a degree, but... We have all seen zombie movies. It doesn¡¯t even begin to describe the destructive potential of the specimens.


    I recommend the immediate destruction of the specimens and documentation. It is only a matter before some idiot brings the idea of weaponization and we all know who''d be using them and how incompetent they are!


    Copy to board: specimen S2.


    Thank you for accepting my demands, the failed experiments will be stored in a special room at the bottom of site alpha. It is good to see that you too, unlike my colleagues, understand how much there is to learn from studying simple entities defined only by a primal urge.


    A special room at the bottom? I had a feeling, but those light balls really are S2. Regretfully there is no sign of the method used to dispose of S0 and S1.


    Most entries afterward are complaints, demands, small notes and reports, but nothing substantial¡­ until suddenly they speak of modifying existing species with artificial souls, then it quickly escalates to the creation of not one, but five new species at once.


    Copy: Repurposing of AH5.


    I will admit that none of our artificial humanoids possess all of the desired traits, but there is a redeeming quality to AH5 in the form of their strong connection to mana. Still, as intelligent and willing as they appear and despite easily passing the Turing test, they show even less initiative and liveliness that most intermediaries A.I.


    Nevertheless, they are very obedient and show uncharacteristic curiosity toward our work. With our numbers dwindling by the day, I think we''d gain from using them as assistants and caretakers for our facilities.


    Despite all this, I do not recommend that we continue raising new species. It takes more time and resources that we currently have. In the time we have left, we should focus on altering existing species like we did in the past.


    Apathetic and with a strong connection to mana? It sounds like us.


    Copy: Ans: Repurposing of AH5.


    As proposed, the AH5 specimens will be repurposed as caretakers for site alpha. I have hope that with proper education, future generations will develop better traits.


    P.S: Please do not forget to report any dangerous or suspicious behaviors.


    Copy: AH5 progress


    The specimens have taken the initiative of their own. I do not know who gave them access to this knowledge, but they have created artificial servitors of their own.


    The children, as they call them, are at best half-baked imitation of our work, but they are nevertheless on the level of low tier A.I in abilities. More interestingly, the constructs show a remarkable amount of devotion toward their creators, something we have yet to instill into our own creations.


    It might not go anywhere, but I¡¯d like to require the allocation of some resources to their program, along with increased monitoring and reduced intervention as to not influence future development.


    Copy: RE: RE: AH5 modifications: Why?


    I disagree with your decision. Putting more restrictions on the caretakers goes against the very spirit of inquiry and what our project stands for.


    As far as I can tell, this is the final entry related to my species, there are no more references to the caretakers and AH5 after this one.


    From my point of view, theses entries tell the story of a great divide between the creators. This alone might even be the reason why this log was left behind in the first place: as a way to tell us, their creation, the story of our origins.


    Copy: to all: Bloody dragons now?


    Tell XXXX to stop messing around. The alteration of wyvern into dragons was already stupid beyond belief, but he just went and outdid himself¡­ And for what? To make a stupidly powerful pet? This creature of his makes a feral cat with a toothache look tame in comparison and it''s bloody immune to conventional weapons.


    Can someone please talk to the higher-ups? Have him sent back to H.Q? You know, before he and his damn pets blow the whole damn world to smithereens.


    Copy: to all: Tr: ''Losses''


    Twenty-two dimensional bag lost in two weeks and counting. Don¡¯t tell me about accidents, because the bastards all lost the corresponding manuals at the same time!


    Also, can someone pray tell me why my demand for implementing kill switches keep being rejected? What has become of our ¡®No interference policy'' from two months ago?


    Copy: to all: Project termination


    The project is being terminated. All traces must be removed with the exception of site Alpha that has since then become home to the caretakers. This will be the one and only exception.


    I repeat, the one and only exception.


    Thank you for your contribution, we hope to see you all in future projects.


    To XXXX: the caretakers are to be the only exception.


    To XXXX: Kill your bloody dragons!If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    It could not be clearer that creators all had different agendas and personalities, albeit mostly troublesome ones.


    It was very informative, and a nice break¡­ but none of this helps me with my S2 problem and for each answer, I have got, I have more questions.


    Why hide this journal in that room, specifically? Why did they not destroy S2 before leaving? Why did they lose equipment on purpose? Why did they leave? Why did they put restraints on our development? Why did they not remove them?


    I have an inkling of an answer to some, but for the others, I draw a blank.


    I go to the storage room to make a copy of this log for the Queen. I take a crystal about twenty times as big. I could copy the entire spell and be done with it, but I have already learned not to trust the creators, not after the nasty trap they left down there¡­


    And then it strikes me, the translation spell is the second part of the puzzle! The content was only there to make it seem like a harmless journal.


    Will the universal translation spell really work on the words of power?


    It has to, otherwise, there would be no point leaving it behind.


    But what if it really is a harmless journal?


    That would make no sense, not after the puzzle, not after everything I have learned. There has to be a purpose¡­ or else it would all be mere coincidences.


    Finding the right words take some time, but there are only a few dozen, and they have to be linked to the reading or displaying part, it is the only way they can work.


    I try each sequence of words, until what is before me stop being gibberish. This is it! The moment of truth. I turn to my unfinished spell on it and¡­ YES! I am reading them! I know the Words of powers!


    I realize there is a difference between knowing and understanding, but I do not need to go that far to destroy those awful parasites!


    And a few hours later, I step outside, a child¡¯s body under my arm. I have embedded a trap within just in case, but I believe we have seen the last of them. I nod gravely to the knight. ¡°They are no more!¡±


    Their relief upon hearing the news is almost palpable. The Queen told me there were things worth dying for and this was one such case. I still have regrets. I could have handled it better, but the knowledge I bring with me will benefit the Queendom for millennia to come.


    As the knight prepare for departure, I reflexively catch a passing insect, its soul¡¯s program is simple but one part, in particular, stands out: ''Multiply on earth and increase upon it''.


    It is almost frightening how much sense it makes.


    <><><>


    I am brought directly to the throne room without any of the usual formalities. The knowledge I bring is not for all ears, but coming unannounced in the middle of the day, I could hardly hope for a private meeting.


    ¡°There you are dear; we were getting worried¡±


    The knight general gives me an understanding look as if to ask if he can continue with his report.


    ¡°Please, go on.¡±


    ¡°What is left of the Kingdom¡¯s troops has joined with the rebels. As we speak, they are marching toward the capital. Reports indicate their logistic is a mess, it is almost certain they¡¯ll starve long before leaving the province, or soon after, assuming they get themselves organized.¡±


    ¡°Why attack us when they know they stand no chance.¡±


    ¡°Fanatics know no reasons, and whatever competent leader they might have had in the past perished in your attack against the capital. Honestly, I almost feel sorry for the ones left in charge,¡± His wide evil smile tells a completely different story. ¡°they cannot not go to war.¡±


    ¡°It is awful!¡±


    The knight general shows an even crueler smile. ¡°Even if there are some reasonable people left among them, this religious police of theirs will keep them quiet. You''ve struck at their most sacred heart and received the devil¡¯s own help, what else did you expect?¡±


    The Queen speaks softly. ¡°Just when the empire has launched a full invasion? It is as though they wish to hasten their doom. Nevertheless, it is beneficial for us, we have no interest in their land, and it frames both the empire and the kingdom as the aggressors.¡±


    ¡°What of the people?¡±


    The general shrugs his shoulders as he answers dismissively. ¡®Yes? What of them?¡±


    No one seems to care, and it is not like it bothers me that much, either. It is sad, but it is something they brought on themselves. ¡°What of your idea of using golem as cavalry? Is it working?


    This question is much more to his liking as he answers joyously. ¡°We only have a few prototypes running, but you should see how fearsome they are with their heavy metal chariots. I cannot wait to see them tear through the kingdom¡¯s infantry.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I wondered about that last time? Would it not be easier to put the blade directly on the golem?¡±


    ¡°No, the chariot has its use, but¡­ maybe... we could probably give them some weapons too. Something with a long reach and a large blade to make use of their size and strength¡­ I¡¯m thinking some kinds of scythe¡­¡±


    ¡°What about those we loaned to the empire, what are they doing with them?¡±


    ¡°There has been no sighting of them since the destruction of the main church. I believe they are using them on their southern front.¡±


    ¡°As they should.¡± Says her majesty tilting her head. ¡°Remember, the envoy only told us they would use them to reinforce their borders. He never specified which.¡±


    ¡°I have heard some other interesting news.¡± Says the commander again, visibly enjoying himself. ¡°Remember that southern barbarian leader the cleric was talking about? Well, he declared himself the reincarnation of their prophet and is trying to seize the most sacred sites in the kingdom.¡±


    As the one responsible for this mess, I feel like I should say something, but I have no obligation to feel sorry for enemies who are doing everything in their power to destroy themselves.


    <><><>


    Finally, alone with her Majesty, I recount my recent experiences, leaving out nothing.


    Her answer is quite unexpected. ¡°Those creators worry me, despite all their laws and regulatory agencies, they had almost no control over their own people.¡±


    I, however, see things from the other side. ¡°Honestly, most of our researchers would act the same if it were not for our lack of resources forcing them to work closely together.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you find it worrying?¡± She mutters something even I cannot make sense of. ¡°I¡¯llhave to increase oversight on the magic department.¡±


    ¡°I agree, I think It will be necessary to create an ethical code and some regulatory agencies to enforce them in the future.¡±


    I quickly switch to another subject as this one makes us both uncomfortable. ¡°There is good news, your majesty. Many of the children we brought back should be reactivable with little efforts and I am confident we will be able to do something about the others because¡­ we now have your mother''s knowledge.¡±


    ¡°Does this mean you can make new bodies for my siblings? ¡°


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    ¡°And for me?¡±


    I find the idea disturbing, but try to hide my trouble by asking. ¡°It seems plausible, but why?¡±


    ¡°Mine is old and faulty. As it stands, I need to spend one-third of my time in a suspended state just to remain functional.¡±


    I never knew it was this bad, but it explains why she needs a room.


    What she says next is even more surprising. ¡°You should look into changing yours too. It has more than its share of problems.¡±


    I doubt getting a new body will suffice¡­ but I probably have the tools to make myself a new soul and repair the damage to my spirit. ¡°You are right, it is worth looking into.¡± But remembering the ghost-like abominations I quickly add. ¡°But we should proceed with the utmost caution.¡±


    ¡°Be prudent, I do not want to lose you.¡±


    ¡°I will be careful!¡±


    ¡°As though I¡¯d believe you! Prudence has never been a strong point of yours, you need someone to keep a close eye on you.¡±


    That is rude, I am not that reckless! I have only had one or two... at most three brushes with death since I woke up.


    ¡°I thought this way for a long time, you need me to look after you.¡±


    It was a very awkward way to propose but¡­ ¡°Yes, I would love that.¡±


    <><><>


    A little more than a year has passed and the war has since long degenerated into a multitude of small conflicts. It really seems like whenever the empire destroys a small pocket of resistance another bunch of fanatics comes out from the woodwork.


    How they manage to hide such numbers in forests and mountains is beyond me. I mean, humans multiply fast, but not that fast, right?


    Well, since the one suffering from the empire and the kingdom, I cannot say I feel too bad about it. As far as I am concerned, they can keep on killing each other forever, as long as the Queendom is at peace.


    I got married eight months ago: that was about as long as it took to prepare a ceremony suitable for two gods¡­ one of which also happens to be the head of state.


    It was a majestic yet awkward ceremony. Who would have dreamed of the day when a skeleton in armor would marry a puppet?


    I am happy, the happier I have ever been and I could not be prouder of my wife: after I used the knowledge from the vault to grant her similar control over mana, she made such rapid progress that I feel like I am the one who as to keep up with her.


    Strangely, the only thing we cannot agree on is her new body. I do not like the idea of changing anything about it be she but she insists on making it taller, the same size as mine. I wish I could simply tell her I find her diminutive body ¡®cute¡¯, but the words never come out.


    <><><>


    Finally! After decades of research, we have done it: the first all-purpose soul. With this, not only will I forever be free from the collective, but we will not have to worry about body and spirit compatibility ever again, anybody will be free to get the body they want!


    I repair the damage to my spirit and prepare to move into my new body¡­ at long last, we will be able to touch and feel and feel each other''s warmth. Sometimes I cannot help but regret the cuteness of her diminutive body, but I have to admit that seeing eye to eye has its perks too.


    I am probably the first ¨C and last ¨Camongst my brethren to ever feel the joy of sharing a life with a significant other.


    I awaken and try to move my new body. Damn, I am tired, and my whole body feels on fire. Are those muscle pains? I had forgotten what it was like to have flesh. Not as great as I remember, at this rate, even with healing, it will take days before I can move around, and even more before I can face her.


    I look into the mirror. The face reflected would be comical, if only it was not mine. Forty years without muscle took its toll, I cannot control my facial muscles¡­ I might have to keep my armor on for a while.


    Cute? She calls this cute?! Easy for her to say, she never had muscles in the first place, apart from a few smiles here and there she is still as inexpressive as ever.


    I''m glad I went down there and thankful to the creators, not because they made us, but for taking the risk of leaving their knowledge behind. Sometimes, far in the future, once we are ready, I might even go and meet them in person.

 Bonus chapter

    Bonus chapter


    Over there


    A portal is about to open. I can barely make out the magic formation, there are too many layers of protective barriers and strengthened glass between us. I have never felt so confident before, but at the same time, I dare not hope¡­ I started this project over six thousand years ago and I have seen too many failures.


    ¡®Failures¡¯ might be a strong word though. After all, it¡¯s thanks to these missteps that we have a multiverse spanning federation.


    I look at Durk beside me and he oozes with confidence; despite his enormous muscular body and stupid face, the old orc rarely makes mistakes¡­ if ever.


    Like many others before me, I begged him to change his current body to one with a longer lifespan, and same as with all who preceded, he vehemently rejected the idea.


    I cannot say I do not understand where he comes from, in these days where people often change body for purely aesthetical reasons, species and individual identities have grown very thin. There is probably some truth in what he always says ¡®Without a visible end, and without limitation, there is nothing to drive one to prove himself.¡¯


    Still, I will miss him when he is gone¡­ a lot of people will.


    Durk smiles at me. ¡°This world belongs to the creators, there is no doubt about it.¡±


    He is certainly right, the power source on the other side is proof enough of that but¡­ that does not mean it is inhabited. For all we know, it could be an automated power plant or an abandoned facility.


    He speaks as though he read my mind ¡°Even if it isn¡¯t the right word, it¡¯s very likely to be their plane of origin.¡±


    ¡°You know, I still cannot wrap my head around your model of the multiverse but I have to admit it is much more stable and accurate than the previous one.¡±


    ¡°Madness helped me a lot, I don¡¯t think I could have done it if I were sane.¡±


    His attempts at disparaging himself do not have the expected result. ¡°As a former undead myself I can tell you that sanity is overrated.¡±


    He jests. ¡°Anyone claiming to be sane is in serious need of mental care.¡±


    ¡°Is that not like¡­ almost everyone?¡±


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t forget to care for those who claim to be insane too, or it might get dangerous.¡±


    Something creeps behind me and as usual, I am overtaken by disgust at the vision of the creature. I swear they are making themselves ugly on purpose. I have yet to meet a single species that does not find them repulsive¡­ and the list includes other tentacled monstrosities.


    The Dl¡¯o¡¯y shudders and waves its tentacled eyes in a particularly off-putting motion that I have long equated to laughter. Yet, another reason I think they are doing it on purpose.


    Most people, myself chief amongst them, think there is something off with this species. Their bodies are ill-adapted to¡­ to almost everything in fact, and yet, they are one of the most technologically and socially advanced species.


    It speaks in a beautiful voice punctuated by random slurping sounds. ¡°Founder, the portal is about to open, your dream of finding your creator¡¯s world will finally come true.¡±


    The irony in its voice does not escape me. Thanks to its ¡®encouragement¡¯, I have a foreboding feeling that I will absolutely find what I have been looking for so long and that I will be utterly disappointed.


    The Dl¡¯o¡¯y were the first species we encountered and the first to join the federation. It would be more accurate to say they are the ones who suggested its creation then convinced everyone else we should be the ones to head it.


    The portal is open and a golem goes through. It is standard procedure, it carries various artificial lifeforms and numerous instruments in its many arms, all designated to test the environment and survivability on the other side without contaminating it.


    The wait is barely a few hours in real-time, but even after millennia of wait, it still feels like years.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°It is safe.¡± Shouts a technician.


    The creatures are fine, there are toxins, bacteria, and viruses on the other side, but nothing we cannot handle, in fact, they are on the tame side.


    As for me, I am more interested in the footage: albeit empty, the facility on the other side is unmistakably from a scientifically advanced civilization.


    I ask the Dill¡¯o¡¯y twitching beside me. ¡°Do you want to come?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, this world seems compatible.¡±


    ¡°Was there ever any world that wasn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Just because something has never happened before doesn¡¯t mean it won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You have a point, I suppose.¡±


    We all put on our protective gear, then walk through the gate. On the other side is a room full of machines. I can distinguish computing machines, metal golems, archiving crystal, projectors but it makes for a strange assembly of mismatched elements, as some are clearly more advanced than others.


    The metal golems ignore us and continue with their duties of cleaning the room and taking care of the equipment. On our side, the technicians cast spells to analyze the room and the equipment.


    I am happy that there are not hostile, but the careless attitude of the golems bugs me, they should have some reaction to strangers barging in like they own the place.


    The mission overseer brings me the collected data. ¡°My lord, our preliminary search shows that there are many cities all over the world, but no trace of intelligent life¡­¡± Ominous but unsurprising: the annoying creature made me expect it. ¡°and due to the golems caring for the facilities, it is impossible to tell how long they have been abandoned.¡±


    He proactively answered the question I was about to ask, so instead I turn my attention to the most out-of-place machine and ask.


    ¡°What is this? It looks like an archive, but there are so many extraneous parts that I cannot tell anymore.¡±


    ¡°It is one. As far as we can tell, the outlying parts are for redundancy only.¡±


    With all the golems around and the technologies used, this level of redundancy only makes sense if it was meant to last for tens or hundreds of millennia. ¡°Whatever they stored on it; they must have really wanted others to listen. Let us see what it is all about.¡±


    Dear visitor, whether you have come here guided by the spirit of inquiry or with vengeance in mind: I am sorry but you are too late. I beg of you, whoever you are, hear our warning, and take it to heart. Do not repeat our mistakes, or your fate will be the same as ours.


    The disquieting introduction catches everyone''s attention, everyone¡¯s but the Dl¡¯o¡¯y who shudders and waves its tentacled eyes.


    The first artificial mini-universe was created not long before my birth, it was a mere program, a mere simulation and yet it was so complex that no machine of that time should have been capable of running it.


    That in itself should have been warning enough, but for the fools running it, the possibilities it offered were all that mattered. The speakers laugh dryly. Even at the time, I am recording these lines, many still refuse to see the truth.


    When I reached adulthood, a method to virtually explore these mini-universes was all we had, but by the time I became a researcher myself, one to interact with them was on the verge of being developed.


    As is often the case, it started as a purely scientific study, as a simple desire to understand the universe at a grander scale than ever before.


    Then came intervention, and with the causation of devastating events, we could not observe in our universe. It was all simulation; it wasn¡¯t like it mattered.


    It went on until we observed the first virtual life, a new field was developed, and with it came the greatest discovery of all time, something we could only describe as magic: a way to manipulate reality in and out of the simulation.


    By the time we made this discovery, the technology for simulated reality was already in the public domain. As scientists, some of us may have gone too far at times but we had guidelines¡­ the people and corporations did not.


    Games, weapons program, artificial species, the ravaging of worlds, of entire galaxies¡­ name it and someone did it.


    It was an insane time, but thankfully the technology was costly and limited. But progress cannot be stopped, and before long a new industry came to see the light of the day: the tailoring of worlds or even entire universes to the desire of the client.


    It was a wakeup call, some of us started debating the right of artificial life, and some like myself even wondering if it even was artificial in the first place.


    The self-entitled god laughed at us¡­ they had long lost all common sense and their hubris was such that they had come to believe in their own fantasy.


    Entire universes were destroyed or reseeded by egomaniacal fools trying to fulfill and then¡­ something even the worst pessimist among us never imagined in their wildest nightmare came about: without warning, our punishment was handled: billions vanished in an instant.


    We were the same: our reality was simply one of many and there were others above, looking down on us.


    Dear visitor, it is my and my esteemed colleagues¡¯ belief that we are getting punished for our crimes. We deserved it, but you still have time. Please, don''t let hubris get the better of you. You are not special; you are not the summit of creat¡­


    The message stops there. From the corner of my eye, I see the Dl¡¯o¡¯y spams uncontrollably as though it just heard the best joke in the multiverse.


    I wonder, had it not been for our early encounter with them and my wife''s diplomatic talents, could we have followed a similar path?


    As an artificial creation myself, I would like to believe that I would not, but I cannot say for certain. I know that without luck and the many talented people we met early on, many encounters could have led to conflict and from there¡­ who knows.


    A tentacle wrapping around my shoulder interrupts my thoughts but something about it feels different, it lacks its usual slimy and off-putting feelings¡­ it feels like¡­ an accolade?


    I turn to face the creature and as I thought, they were¡­

 Afterword

    Thank you for reading to the end, this is the first story I ever wrote, and at the time my English was absolutely awful. I cannot say it is great yet, but still a long way from then.


    My choice of the first-person story was both to avoid the pitfalls of narration, and to make it more personal in order to better illustrate the steps the main character makes along the way.


    As you have probably noticed, the character doesn¡¯t use contractions. I did it to give a sense of archaism and politeness to his speech, but this was quite the pain to write.


    Another quirk you might have noticed is the use of ¡°IT¡± until he learns the common language in chapter 12. He doesn¡¯t mean it as an insult, it¡¯s just a reflection of his species lack of care for gender as a whole; consider it an equivalent of how the articles they/them are often used to refer to an unspecified generic person.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    As for the Queen, English does not have gender-specific pronouns beside she/he ¨C same as French - and conjugation does not reflect the gender - French does - I had to be a bit forceful and have the main character specify the change.


    About the words of power, I do not want to dwell too much on that; I want the reader to decide for themselves. I thought of them as the constants, variables, and function of this universe, but I could be wrong as the final story is very different from the one, I set out to write.


    Finally, when I chose which crystals the character would get to grow, I did not make enough research, I just picked a list of crystal that could easily be grown, then sorted then by density, but it has come to my attention that copper sulfate ¨C the crystal hinted at in the story¡­ or at least I think it was based on the color ¨C is very reactive to water. Even so, I will not change the story, the managed to use a salt gem in the beginning, I assume he can deal with this much.


    THANK YOU FOR READING, AND SEE YOU NEXT TIME.


    Best wishes,


    E.G