Chapter 88

Chapter 88

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The Dungeon, Medea Island, The Kalenic Sea

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I couldn't ignore it anymore.

I'd spent a few hours watching Kataren, trying to figure out what was going on with my new connection to her without any 'active' investigation. She went about her day, starting with washing up with some... traded soap? Huh. I tried to be respectful, and avert my attention from her body as I focused on her mind.

Once she'd finished cleaning herself I moved on to more pointed tests. Specifically, I decided to test if she still had that AT field by poking at it with mana. As the tendril of mana passed the five-yard mark with no change in my ability to control it, I slowed it down. Four yards. Three yards. Two yards. One yard. Two feet. One foot. Six inches...

She moved unexpectedly, eyes suddenly narrowed at the middle distance, and the tendril made contact.

Kataren gasped as the mana in the tendril rushed into her. It was very little mana, more like a string, but It was nonetheless a connection. The same as any I had with my other monsters. Well, that seemed definitive.

It's a pleasure to finally talk to you personally, Kataren.

"C-creator?" She asked aloud, looking around the empty room. "I... I can hear you in my head?"The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Of course. Did you think your little declaration would have no consequences? You forsook humanity, and in doing so swore yourself to me. It seems to have... removed... the strange affect humans normally have on my mana. Did you know that all humans, not just guilders, disrupt my control? It's one of the reasons why I can't just claim you, as I've done for every other animal to enter my dungeon.

"That- The Goddesses' protection?" Kataren said. She stumbled, then leaned against and slid down the nearby wall. "I- It's gone?"

Evidently. You feel no different to me now as any of my Children. Could you explain this... protection?

"I... It's an old tale." Kata stuttered, obviously overwhelmed. Though, she seemed to get a handle on herself as she continued, "When the Goddess of Life birthed everything in the land, she favored us above all the others. When She noticed how mana would warp and change everything she'd made, she went to the God of Light, and the Goddess of Love. Together, they wove a protective spell, to let us keep our forms and protect us from those who would try to change us."

Hmm. So it's divine in nature... no wonder I could never get past it.

"W-what are you going to do to me?"

Hm? Oh! Well, I have a few ideas to improve upon the human form, but without your permission I'd never push them on you. That'd be immoral. I'm sure you've heard how I always ask my Children for their consent?

"I have, but... you know they'd never say no to you, right?"

Much to my regret. Yes, I do know. They trust me absolutely, and it's a heavy weight on my mind. I could feel Kata mulling over that. I kept out of her thoughts, though.

"What improvements would you make?" She eventually asked. If I could, I'd have blinked in surprise.

Well, as a 'Platinum' guilder, your body has already grown beyond what is possible for a normal human to achieve. But I would say... it's done it very inefficiently. Your ligaments, muscles and tendons are tough, but not quite enough to keep up with your response time. I'm sure you've noticed that, when in battle, you notice things faster than you can react to them? It's a product of how you humans develop. Your manacores restrict your growth, in a way, to preserve your form.

I can break you past that limit. Even Guilders grow old and die, yes? I can fix that. Your bones are still made of calcium and carbon. By adding metal, I could make them even stronger. As with everything else. Heck, I could even connect you to a Respawn Crystal. You'd be immortal, but you'd be limited by the size of the crystal. It'd only let you respawn so strong.

"I..." She broke in, then trailed off. "This is... I-!"

Ah. I apologize. I'll give you time to think on my offer. There's no rush. But! I would like to make another offer. This one is completely separate to the one to change you for the better. I gave her a few minutes to pull herself together.

"Your... other offer?"

"It was... quite intrusive. This is necessary, Creator?" Huea blanched, realizing she'd just questioned if The Creator's judgement was sound. "I'm sorry, Creator, I meant no off-"

There is no need to apologize, Huea. The Creator interrupted her, mid-apology. He sounded... Happy? No need to apologize at all. Yes, I do believe it necessary. After all, we now have access to a human soul. Who knows what could happen if someone unprepared touched it? Perhaps they could find themselves possessed! We just don't know. In the meantime... Could you have someone fetch Hallmark's remains? I have an idea...

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The Dungeon, Medea Island, The Kalenic Sea

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I unfocused on the Seventh floor and let my presence spread out across the dungeon once again with a pleased hum. There was still so much to address; so many problems that cropped up in my absence, that I was finding it hard to list them all.

The Fifth floor needed one more adjustment. The castle had become largely irrelevant, with the delvers beelining right for the boss's tower. This needed to be changed. Taking inspiration from some of the most difficult games of my old world, I created a labyrinthine path through the castle. It went up towers, across bridges, over rooftops, down into literal dungeons and through sewers. There were shortcuts my monsters could access and, after some thought, I decided to add more monsters.

The Shadow Golems would continue to haunt the dark places of the castle, with their Spirit acting as a mini-boss. That reminded me, I needed to create an island for them as well. Something to think about. The Stone Golems I brought more into prominence, having them shape themselves as statues and gargoyles and positioned all over the castle. In order to fool Isid's manavision, I had all the real statues saturated with mana in such a way that it was difficult to tell the difference. There were signs; differences in mana density, the way the mana moved through the spirit's bodies, and more. But that moment of hesitation could be vital.

The newly-risen second Stone Spirit would also be a miniboss, and this one would guard the courtyard before the Metal Spirit's tower.

I brought a particular clan of Ratten from the Fourth, this one festering with poison and disease, and set them up under the castle. I gave their clan head a boss-level respawn crystal, declaring he'd act as yet another miniboss. They were disappointed to be departing the constant war on the Fourth, and I wondered on what to do about that. Another thing to add to the list.

Three minibosses seemed like enough, but now I worried I'd made the castle too difficult. I decided to make certain shortcuts accessible after one of the bosses was defeated, to bypass their section. They would still need to pass through golem- and Ratten-filled sections, but they wouldn't need to fight the minibosses again.

Finally, I littered the metal golem's tower with lesser golems. These of base Iron and Copper, and wielding a variety of crushing, slashing and piercing weapons.

In one final rework, I filled the castle with carvings and left a few 'artifacts' to reward those that indulged their sense of exploration. Effort should be rewarded, after all.

I went back up through the dungeon from the Fifth, inspecting each floor. The Fourth was still filled with War and only War. I expanded the tunnels more, giving the Ratten plenty of space to expand. Hopefully some space would have the place feeling less crowded.

On the Third... I was surprised.

I watched a duel between one of my Kobold Warriors and a Gold Guilder. Both wielding swords, they moved smoothly, confidently, with neither having a decisive advantage. It was... like watching two knights who'd trained together for years. Both knew their opponent's style intimately, and could confidently anticipate and intercept every attack, avoiding every feint.

Eventually, the Guilder knocked the Kobold back, inflicting a shallow cut across the monster's chest. The Kobold took a deep breath, raising one hand to it's wound. The human... let him? The Kobold nodded, sheathing his sword, and I felt him deactivate his part of the enchantment he was tied into! I had no idea they could even feel it, let alone activate it beyond dying!

The Guilder and Kobold exchanged a solid forearm handshake, then the human turned and joined his four party-mates, who had been observing from the side this entire time. The party turned and left, then the Kobold returned to his living area, behind a wall that parted when he touched it.

I thought about the whole scene for a bit, wondering about the implications. Having an idea, I took a closer look at the minibosses of this floor, and noted they'd all surpassed the soft-caps the respawn crystals should have imposed. There was some kind of gentleman's agreement, here. At some point, the Kobolds must have talked to the guilders, and made an arrangement. Duels, one-on-one, to first blood. The Kobolds could continue to grow in strength, while still getting experience in combat.

A few questions later, and my theory was confirmed. At first, the Kobolds threw themselves at my mercy, for not fighting to the death. I waved it off. This was a Good Thing. I insisted they continue the practice, and if they ever found themselves tiring of the constant duels and wished to move on, I'd happily ascend them into Drake-kin. If they were thinking of such a thing, though, they would need to train up a replacement. They could select a 'squire' or 'apprentice' from among the villages.

I left the Second and First alone, for now. They were running smoothly, and I couldn't think of anything to improve them at the moment. I did get a few Crabs to travel to the Eleventh, though. I thought the crabs would do well down there.

That left the 'Zeroth' floor. I let my awareness roam the ocean around the Island, checking in on the monsters. The area was already pretty bio-diverse before, but now it'd jumped a whole order of magnitude! The Leviathan, Sea Serpent and Kraken were doing very well. I wondered about connecting them to respawn crystals, but decided against it. The size their crystals would need to be boggled the mind. I'd just raise new ones if any of them died, or perhaps make them mates, to make the whole thing more 'organic.'

The shark and large fish population was equivalent to the ballooned number of smaller fish, which meant there were dozens of every conceivable species, with more coming through the current constantly. A larger portion of the current had been diverted my way, but the main channel hadn't been moved any closer. I let out a sigh of relief at that. I was already irreversibly altering oceans, disrupting them completely would be disastrous.

I left the 'Zeroth' pleased. I'd be ready for this invasion fleet. The only thing to wonder now was...

How many people would find themselves beset by sudden bouts of thalassophobia? The ocean was deep and full of horrors, after all...

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