C1601: 1709 - Judgement
Of all the organisations separate from the free cities, kingdoms, empires, trade federations and territorial associations in the Dungeon, the most well-known and impactful is the Abyssal Legion.
Almost as ubiquitous is the Church of the Path. Its origins are lost to time, though the Church itself claims to have arisen during the Rending. To some, it seems absurd that a faith based around the Dungeon as a proving ground and test of spirit could arise while that same Dungeon was tearing the world apart, but to others, it makes perfect sense.
Why not seek out meaning in the destruction? Better to think that the death and suffering were for a purpose rather than random and pointless.
Although not tied to any other authority, the Church of the Path makes its headquarters within the Grand Cathedral in the Golden City. Preaching that the Dungeon exists to serve and uplift the old races of Pangera, it has spread to almost every quarter of the world.
-Excerpt from 'Societies and Organisations of the Dungeon' by Allus
"We are here to execute the will of the Church."
Silent and unmoving, rank upon rank of soldiers, dressed in armour gleaming with pure silver and draped in robes of white listened intently, their discipline never wavering.
"Do not waver in your faith, do not stray from your purpose. If there are doubts in your heart, crush them without mercy. Even the slightest crack in our armour will render it ineffective. Dismissed."
Feet stomped on the deck as, rank by rank, the Judgement Battalion began to file down the gangway and onto the dock. The people of Green Mountain showed proper deference as they gave way, allowing the flawless lines of soldiers to enter the city. From the deck of the ship, War Bishop Pearson watched as the men and women who served under his leadership marched, heads high and souls afire, eager to serve the commands of the Church.
Eyes hard, he waited until the last rank had disembarked before doing so himself. Trusting that the auxiliaries would see to the care of their weapons and shields, he followed the last of his troops, eyes and ears open to the happenings on the mountain.
It had been years since Pearson had been home, but not much had changed since his last visit. A martial people, living in the shadow of one of the largest monsters the Dungeon had ever seen, locals were expected to live and act a certain way in regards to the Dungeon. It was the ever-present enemy, a shadow that lay over the brightest of days.
Of course, they welcomed the arrival of the Soldiers of the Path. Cheers rained down on the Battalion, along with flowers hurriedly cut from gardens, while others laid down their cloaks in the soldiers' path. Though, along with the celebrations, Pearson detected an air of tension and anxiety, like a worm burrowing within an apple. Of course, that was to be expected to some extent; a Judgement Battalion wasn't dispatched for nothing, there had to be a target, which meant danger was nearby.
Yet he was certain it went deeper than that. Something was going wrong here.
After seeing that the troops were billeted comfortably and the captains were assured of their duties, War Bishop Pearson strode away, heading to his first appointment.
High on the Mountain, almost to the highest inhabited levels, he found a residence carved from gleaming white stone. Dripping with luxuries and sparkling in the mana-enhanced light of the fourth, it was fit for a king, or a noble lord at the very least. Cringing attendants took his name at the entrance before checking he was allowed entrance. When he was granted permission, they apologetically asked if he could remove his armoured boots before stepping inside.
Pearson ignored them.
Shouldering past those who timidly tried to step in his way, the War Bishop marched within, not caring if he stepped a little harder onto the dappled marble floor than was strictly necessary. On the wide balcony, and under an arch of perfectly formed stone that extended a dozen metres away from the edge of the manor, he found who he was here to see.
"Grand Priest Alir Vinting," he said.
The man in question rose from his couch, placed his hand on his heart, and bowed in welcome.
War Bishop Graham Pearson was disgusted.
"It is most wonderful to see you here, War Bishop," Alir said, smiling. "I am gratified the Church saw fit to act so expeditiously in regards to my report."
Pale blue eyes as cold as glacier ice stared unblinking at the Grand Priest.
"How much is the Church paying to keep you in this residence, Grand Priest Vinting?" he asked.
Alir blinked, then restrained himself from rolling his eyes. He hadn't met this particular War Bishop many times, but Pearson's reputation was well-known within the ranks of the higher-ups in the Church. With his shining gold hair severely pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck, there was neither a hair out of place nor a single smudge upon his armour. Everything about him spoke of rigid control and uncompromising standards.
"On a mission of such importance, I deemed it necessary that I take up a residence that did not besmirch the prestige and authority of the Church," Alir said, his smile tightening.
Pearson said nothing for a moment, merely looking around him. Paintings, cloth woven with shimmering golden thread, the rug formed from the hide of a powerful monster. Then there was the view. From this high, the waters of the fourth twinkled like a jewel, distant mountains rising like titans to hold up the sky above.
"I deem it to be excessive. You will cut short your stay and be billetted with my troops."
War Bishop Pearson's tone brooked no argument, the matter was final. Alir smothered his reflexive wince and maintained the smile on his face, while suppressing the spark of anger in his chest.
"You do not have that authority."
"In the field, I outrank you."
Alir looked about himself, brows raised.
"Do you consider this the field? Is there a danger present I am unaware of?"
Pearson finally allowed himself the slightest of smiles.
"Men and women of the Judgement Battalions are expected to maintain battle readiness at all times outside of the cathedrals. The moment we step beyond the cathedral gate, we are in the field. If you don't agree, feel free to take the matter up with the Arch Bishop upon your return."
They both knew Alir was in no position to directly refuse. If he didn't want to move, Pearson could pick him up like a child and roll him down the mountain like a ball.
"Rejoice," the War Bishop said. "I will personally see to it that the funds saved are distributed to the widows and orphans who have lost their family members to the monsters. In this way, we light the Path."
Grand Priest Alir Vinting swallowed the anger now threatening to rise up and choke him.
"We light the Path," he echoed, bowing to hide his expression.
Pearson didn't look as if he was taking any pleasure in the other man's suffering, and Alir was certain that he wasn't.
"Now," the War Bishop said, "tell me about this creature I am here to kill."
-x-X-x-
[Oho! Almost got me there!]
[Wow! Nice try!]
[You'll get there one day, champ! I believe in you!]
[If you fully believed in yourself, you would have got me there. That's motivation for next time!]
There's something about messing with these delvers that I just don't seem to get tired of. Look at them dance! Look at them wail in despair as I yoink them up into the air!
Gweheheheheh.
My submarine efforts have been rewarded yet again with another ambush, and I have to say, they really put in some more effort this time. Perhaps the growing number of missing delvers has caused them to grow a little nervous, but they seem to be willing to go a lot further to try and bring me down now.
This ambush opened with two doom spheres being launched at me. Made of fire, they were like mini-suns, absolutely scorching hot temperatures that were singeing my antennae from hundreds of metres away. Taken a little by surprise, I managed to counter with two gravity bombs, but they were so weak I had to empower them to make sure they did the job.
Starting the fight with two massive explosive wars between fire and gravity was a rather spectacular way to go about it. I think the delvers were hoping for a better outcome for their opening salvo, but they still launched out of their hiding places and followed through.
Things went downhill for them rather rapidly after that.
[Oh no! My carapace is damaged! Aaaand it's fixed. Dang, look at that.]
Honestly, with so many delvers attacking me at once, the healing network ramps up very, very quickly. My entire body feels like ice right now, an abundance of regeneration fluid racing through my body. Some of these delvers must be heavy hitters, because they manage to put some damage into me, carving chunks out of my carapace and dents in my legs, but I heal so dang fast it just doesn't matter.
Mocking them for it also brings me a deep sense of joy.
[Next one to attack me gets lifted in the air!]
There's a brief moment when they all hesitate, then they overcome their fear and continue the assault. I can't actually tell who it was exactly, so I pick out one I think is a likely suspect.
[Up you go!]
Yelping with fear and surprise, my victim is lifted up and left hovering in midair, thrashing helplessly. Lifting mages up doesn't do all that much, since they can just keep throwing spells at me, but for combat types, they really struggle when they can't plant their feet. So much speed and power, but not available when their little feets are wiggling in the air!
Despite my overwhelming, and ever-increasing regeneration, I'm still doing everything I can to avoid taking severe damage. My antennae buzz constantly and I react faster than I can think, dodging, shifting my position, parrying with my mandibles, processing hundreds of different sensory inputs every second and responding accordingly.
It takes a huge amount of mental and physical energy to maintain. Making this enormous body jump and shift is not easy work. My legs and muscles have been empowered through my evolution, so they're strong enough, but it's still a big ask.
Luckily my tendons are mutated, otherwise I'd collapse on the ground like a puppet with its strings cut right now.
[Alright, playtime is over.]
After pulling together the Gravity Domain over the course of the fight, I empower and unleash it, watching with satisfaction as it rips through the tunnel, expanding with absurd speed and crushing everything caught within to the ground.
Interestingly, I can feel a few pockets of space fighting back against my mana, trying to hold off the overwhelming flood of gravitational energy. Now that there are almost no spells or strikes raining down on me, I'm free to wander over and take a gander at what is going on.
Oho? Another priest? Two priests! There's some serious anti-magic techniques at play here. Two small pockets of delvers are still standing as the priests, with the help of some mages, manage to prevent the domain from fully enveloping them.
Which is impressive and all, but it's clearly placing a massive strain on them. They're sweating buckets and physically shaking with the effort, which means they don't really have the energy left to actually fight back against me as I approach them.
[You might as well lie down,] I advise them. [Resistance is… only going to make her angry.]
Refusing to reply, the small group of priests and mages holds on stubbornly, unwilling to give anything away to a monster such as myself.
Well, that suits me just fine.
[Alright, Crinis. All yours.]
If they don't want to deal with me, they can deal with the darkness instead. She's been tagging along with me on my latest forays out into the tunnels. With a little help from the nameless, she's been able to sniff out and transport away any delvers that I capture, smoothing out the whole process. In only a few moments, the shadows consume every member of this group, and then I'm moving on. Legs up, gravity well activated, submarine mode engaged!
I've been spending most of every day out here doing this, and for some reason the delvers just keep on coming. That last group was the fifth I've defeated, and the fights honestly haven't been close. Truly, they have been blinded by greed.
It's almost disappointing, but then again, that was my plan.
Cruising around a bit longer, something catches my eye as I round a corner in the tunnel. Coming to a junction that appears to split in three different directions, I look toward the wall and see neat rows of tents and stacked boxes.
The delver camp? We've pushed out this far already?
Or maybe they were just set up much closer to the nest than I thought they were? Checking my tunnel map, they are surprisingly close to what could reasonably be called the outer edges of the nest. I suppose the Colony acting so timid emboldened them to the degree they felt safe being here.
Foolish notion. From the looks of things, they abandoned it rather recently. Perhaps they were able to sense me fighting that last group and made a run for it. Which means there's currently a whole bunch of delvers running through the tunnels trying to get back to Green Mountain…
Well now…
The chase is on!
-x-X-x-
The delver economy is an interesting case study in and of itself, since there are so many possible revenue streams and an inexhaustible demand for their services.
To start with: cores. Cores are, in many ways, the item more than any other that makes Pangera turn. Needed for any and all enchanted items, they are a fundamental fact of life for nearly every person who lives in the Dungeon. Used to make light, heating, cooling, cooking, freezing food, reinforcing walls and ceilings, cycling air, waste disposal, water creation and purification, to assist the growth of crops and livestock. Everything!
Cores used for this sort of long-term enchanting tend to degrade over time as well. One can't power their oven with the same core for fifty years, so they are combined with other old cores in order to prolong their life, cycling cores out of the market at a steady rate.
Then there's the demand for higher-end cores for combat and defense purposes. Needless to say, this is inexhaustible. There is always more need for high-end cores for armour, weapons, walls, gates, communication arrays, enchanted machines of war and pets.
And this was before the Colony's insatiable hunger for cores drove up prices!
To meet this demand, delvers are well paid and well regarded.
-Excerpt from 'Dungeonomics' by Merchant
"I don't like this," Frederick muttered. "It's too quiet."
"Just shut up and keep running," Shamus growled, Elsi nodding along as she ran behind him.
"I probably shouldn't be thinking this, but I'm kind of glad those morons tried to jump the thing. We may not have had any warning otherwise," Frederick said, maintaining his steady speed.
It had been a long time since he'd been forced to run through the Dungeon, fleeing for his life. As a manager for the Union, he'd spent most of the last ten years in an office or in meetings. Always more meetings. He'd always said he didn't miss going delving, but with his heart racing and adrenaline flooding his system, he could at least admit to himself that it felt invigorating. Too long behind a desk had made him rusty, his senses dull. Right now, he felt more alive than he had in years.
But also, closer to death than he had been in years.
"This is why I hate intelligent monsters," he complained aloud, "it isn't fair that something can be that strong and be this good at concealing its presence. We didn't have a whiff of it until it started fighting not two kilometres away!"
"I told you," Shamus said, face tense. "I warned everyone it didn't need to walk on the ground and could conceal its mana incredibly well."
"I know, damn it. No need to keep banging on about it."
There was a certain art to travelling through the Dungeon at speed. It wasn't helpful to move too quickly, as that would attract attention from monsters who loved nothing more than to chase fleeing prey. Moving too slowly was obviously unhelpful, so a happy medium had to be found where ground was covered at a good pace but monsters wouldn't chase after you like excited golden retrievers.
Right now the delvers were pushing right up against the maximum safe speed and perhaps even a little past it. Their numbers were helping to dissuade a few of the more eager monsters, but eventually something was going to give chase.
As long as it wasn't the ant, things would be fine.
"Oh no," Frederick groaned.
"What now?" Shamus snapped.
"I just jinxed us," Frederick replied.
"Shut up with your superstitions," Shamus hissed. "Focus on the damned tunnel."
He was especially frustrated at the moment. After receiving a payday beyond their wildest dreams, he and Elsi had been agitating to rotate back to the Green Mountain for days, only to be delayed time and time again since other delvers in the camp kept disappearing into thin air. Tempers on the verge of snapping entirely, the two had been discussing the feasibility of making the trip on their own when this disaster happened. Despite what they'd been able to earn from their first meeting with the ant, neither were in any particular hurry for a repeat visit.
Nobody on Pangera was more superstitious than delvers in the Dungeon.
The Union Manager did as suggested and focused. There were plenty of monsters about in the tunnel, but the vanguard was taking care of the most aggressive ones in a neat and efficient fashion, so the rest of them didn't need to slow down at all. Staying vigilant was always necessary, of course. At any moment they could be snatched up by a vine, or a beast could swoop down from above, fancying its chance to grab a cheeky meal.
Even though he knew he should focus his attention ahead, he couldn't help but glance over his shoulder, just to reassure himself.
What he saw froze the blood in his veins.
Gliding like an airship, utterly silent, was one of the largest monsters he had ever seen in his life just… drifting through air, as if mocking everyone else for being bound to the ground.
He saw it, and in that instant, he was certain it knew he had seen it as well. In that moment, it began to speed up.
"Contact!" Frederick yelled, voice booming through the tunnel. "On our six! Do not attempt to engage. Run! Run! Run!"
Taking his own advice, he Dashed, launching himself forward with all of the strength in his body. He did not want to be caught by that… thing.
Showing themselves to be the thorough professionals they were, the delvers launched into action, accelerating rapidly until they were moving as fast as they possibly could. No doubt some monsters would leap up and make chase, but what did that matter? If anything, those creatures would only help delay the ant by getting in its way.
If Frederick needed any additional reason to be afraid, he found it in the faces of Shamus and Elsi. The two delvers were as pale as sheets, and they Dashed with more urgency than anyone else, pushing their bodies to the breaking point trying to move just a little bit faster.
But… against a tier eight mythic monster, he should have known it would be useless.
When he hazarded a glance backwards, he saw the ant had landed and was now running on all six legs. A moment of hesitation, a slight beat as it tensed its legs… then…
BOOM!
It was right there amongst them, as if it had crossed the intervening space in less than the blink of an eye.
An overwhelming mind crushed through Frederick's defenses and latched onto him and the others as they all staggered in shock.
[Leaving so soon?]
-x-X-x-
Frederick felt like his heart had locked solid in his chest. Every nerve in his body screamed in terror as the giant beast loomed over him. With such overwhelming power, he could feel the monster's might within every cell.
Against something like this, there could be no victory and he'd been a fool to even entertain the possibility. This wasn't work for delvers, they needed to get the army, or the Legion if they wanted to fight this beast!
Then he noticed the monster's legs explode.
A shower of blood rained down over the frozen delvers, bursting out from the joints of the creature's six legs. A moment later, the legs themselves seemed to… detach, falling to the ground, followed by the monster, who collapsed with a thunderous crash.
[Dammit!] the creature roared in their heads, but this was all the opening Frederick needed.
"RUN!" he roared.
"We should fight! It's injured!" some idiot called back.
"Shut up and run!" Frederick roared back.
For all he knew, the legs being injured was just a trick. Was he going to risk his life to find out? No he was not. Instead, he ran.
A moment later, he stepped over Shamus and Elsi, lying on the ground facing up, seemingly having surrendered. He sneered at their cowardice. Because it spared them once, they thought it might do so again? Foolishness. After all, nobody else had come back after meeting it.
[No you don't!]
A flash of purple light, a rushing sound, cracking stone, and then Frederick was face down on the ground. Nose broken and bleeding, he tried to turn his head so he could breathe, only to find he was buried several inches into the rock. Whatever force pressed him down, it was incredibly strong. Even if he strained hard, he couldn't overcome it. Standing up was just a dream within a dream.
What was this?!
[You really thought my legs exploding was going to be enough to let you get away. Foolish!]
A pause.
[How long do these damn… ah! There we go.]
A few seconds later, vibrations through the floor told Frederick the monster was moving again. Hah! He knew it was a trick! You could never know what a monster was capable of. Regrowing limbs wasn't even a surprise. He'd once seen a monster that grew vestigial bodies, puppeting them about the place from a distance.
[These things are way too small! Vestigial legs my thorax! These are vestigial stumps! Oh wait, they're growing. Neat!]
The monster continued to force its thoughts into Frederick's mind, regardless of how he tried to force it out. It nattered to itself, almost like a child, yet he couldn't help but feel the sinister intent behind the chatter. Why broadcast these thoughts to them at all, unless to demonstrate its mastery? So confident of its invincibility, the monster could afford to take its time, to mock the delvers in their plight.
No matter how he strained, Frederick simply couldn't move, so he gave up trying. He could hold his breath for an hour if he had to, but if he strained further, that time would rapidly diminish. So far, everything was following the same pattern Shamus had reported from their encounter. The strange force that crushed people into the ground, pinning the delvers in place.
What would happen next?
[Oh, hey! I remember you two! Lying face up, good idea.]
So that's why they'd done that!
[Still can't breathe, though, can you? Not enough strength to expand your lungs.]
Hah! Take that, Shamus, Frederick thought vengefully.
Shamus must have replied but only the monster could hear him.
[I don't know, lift more or something. Work on your diaphragm. In the meantime, just relax. I need to go poke around.]
More vibrations as the monster began to move around, coming closer.
[Not you. Wh-why would you even think about that in this situation? Weirdo. Nope. Not you either. There has to be someone here… oh, a priest! Welcome, welcome. Not you either.]
Frederick felt the weight in his mind intensify further.
[Aha! Someone in charge. Hello there. I'll let you up for a moment.]
Instantly, the crushing pressure was gone. Frederick flopped over and looked up to see the ant standing uncomfortably close, looking down at him, antennae waving.
Antennae? They were like trees.
Cautiously, he stood. With this view from below, he could actually see the ant's mouth on the underside of its head. It was disgusting. A nightmare vision of himself being consumed by those twitching little clawlike things flashed through his mind.
[Right then,] the ant said. [Much like before, I'm thinking of sending one or two of you back, to really drive in the fear and terror. Build up a sense of helplessness, all that good stuff. By the time I reach Green Mountain, they should be trembling with greed and good old-fashioned terror. You know what I mean?]
[I-I do,] Frederick said, not understanding at all. This ant wanted to waltz up to Green Mountain by itself? Even as strong as it was, that would be suicide. Built as a fortress mountain to hold off monsters during the most intense of waves, it was packed full of soldiers and defensive arrays that rivalled the best the Legion could produce. [I'm sure they will be… very afraid. You should go there as soon as possible.]
[You know I'm in your head, right?]
Frederick cursed internally. He wasn't used to guarding his thoughts anymore, not after so long away from the field.
[You know what? I probably don't need to send anyone back at all, now that I think about it. The absence of survivors will be more than scary enough.]
Seeing the writing on the wall, Frederick ripped his blade from its sheath and ran at the monster, bladelight blazing along its edge. If he was going to die, he was going down fighting.
An instant later he was face down on the ground again, head ringing from the force of the impact.
[You're still in the domain… Are you really a manager? Sheesh. Crinis, take this lot away, would you? This is getting embarrassing.]
-x-X-x-
"Ah, if it isn't my favourite resident of Green Mountain. So nice to see you again, Ms Alice. Or is it Mrs?"
Once again, in the boat, greeted by obsequious, yet somehow mocking brathian merchants, here to meet this infuriating creature.
"I am married," she replied stiffly, taking her seat.
"Oh, how wonderful. I must say, as a terrifying and frightful monster," Merchant chuckled, "limiting personal relationships such as those are beyond my understanding. Not to say I don't have a family, I have the largest family in Pangera, but the idea of starting a new family all on my own is… quite dreadful."
"How could a monster understand what it's like to be a real living being?" Alice replied coolly. "Born from the Dungeon, you couldn't know what a real family is like."
If she intended to get a rise from the ant, she failed. Merchant merely waved her statement away as she removed and cleaned her glasses.
"Oh, pish. I have a mother and millions upon millions of sisters. From my point of view, your family is wholly inadequate."
Placing her glasses back on her head, Merchant reached out and picked up the cup on the table in front of her. Sipping her tea, she clacked her mandibles in satisfaction before putting it back down again.
"Well, we didn't come here to discuss family, we came to discuss a transaction. My favourite type of discussion. We have three hundred of your delvers locked up at the moment. Are you interested in taking them back?"
Had they really taken three hundred delvers? It seemed impossible, yet there hadn't been any word from those in the tunnels in days. At first, the Union hadn't been worried, but that facade was starting to slip with every hour that ticked by.
There were still hundreds of delvers in the city, but they were growing reluctant to leave. In such a short span of time, the ants appeared to have flipped the script, and now it was Green Mountain huddling behind their walls, too fearful to emerge.
"I require proof that you have them in your custody," she said in crisp tones. "There can be no conversation without that evidence."
"Of course!"
Merchant reached below the table, collected a sheet of paper and placed it on the table.
"No problem at all. We have a list of signatures here from all of the captives we've taken. Except for the Priests, of course."
Controlling her reaction, Alice took the paper calmly, casting her eyes down the list. She'd consulted with the Union only a few days ago, she recognised these names. When she saw Frederick Armon, she couldn't help but audibly tsk. He was the most senior member of the Union in the field. She'd hoped he'd been able to make his escape and bring back information, but that hope appeared to have been dashed.
"There are thousands of delvers in the tunnels right now, but we are sweeping them up at an impressive rate, wouldn't you say? I was here just a few days ago, after all."
The ant flicked ash from the end of her cigar and clacked her mandibles in amusement.
"How long until we get them all? And I really hate to push you, but it would be remiss of me not to remind you that this particular offer is severely constrained by the temporal flow."
"The what?"
"It's a limited time offer."
Again, a small folded piece of paper was slid across the table. What was it with this ant and its small piece of folded paper?
"This is the current price. It's not too much higher than the previous one."
Alice unfolded the page, then blanched.
"It's double!" she exclaimed.
"But who can put a price on a life? As it happens, me. This is going to get more and more expensive if you continue to hold off, so I suggest you take advantage of this early aphid special and save yourself from great pain in the future."
"I can't just agree to pay such a sum without the approval of the Council," Alice stated evenly. "Getting that approval takes time. There are budgets to consider. Limitations placed on public expenditure. It isn't possible for the Council to produce this much coin in such a short span. If the Colony wants to seriously engage in talks, then we need a reasonable time frame to work with and a sensible price point. So far, these talks have been nothing but childish demands and bluster."
Merchant laughed aloud while clacking her mandibles in time.
"A wonderful attempt to reframe our conversations, but I'm afraid it is you who doesn't seem to grasp the nature of this transaction."
Merchant buffed her glasses before replacing them, predatory intelligence gleaming in every facet of her eyes.
"Price is determined by demand. Demand is impacted by scarcity. Your supply of delvers is going to plummet rather precipitously over the next few days. Naturally, such a drop in supply will be met with an increase in price. The more Green Mountain wants its delvers back, the more we will charge."
How in the name of Pangera was it winking? There was no eyelid, none at all, yet somehow the monster gave the impression of a cheeky wink. Was it magic of some kind? An optical illusion?
"That's just basic economics. In terms of the timeframe necessary to raise funds, I'm afraid to say that's not our problem."
"It is if you want to get your filthy money," Alice pointed out coldly.
"That's backwards," Merchant grinned. Somehow. "It isn't us who want money, it's you who want delvers. What you really need to consider is, can you afford to drag your feet? Just imagine what number is going to be written on that page when we have every delver in Green Mountain locked up."
Merchant rubbed her front claws together.
"It's going to be delicious."
-x-X-x-
The nameless one wasn't used to being out in the tunnels in this way. Some of her sisters, those who served as soldiers and scouts during their hours in the light, were doubtless more comfortable in these environs, but the nameless one had not emerged from the shadows for many weeks now. Perhaps her identity among the waking had been completely lost at this point, an ant gone missing, ruled off the page and written down as lost. Or perhaps it was all too clear to her family just where she spent her time, and they chose to look the other way.
Take care to be silent, the leader of the group signed to the rest. Our prey has incredibly fine senses and is on their guard. There must be no sign of our presence.
As if the nameless one was ever anything less than flawless in her execution. She had hunted the most difficult prey in the Colony, some humans bumbling through the Dungeon would prove no challenge.
Yet, as ever, she did not cut corners nor let her guard down. Perfection was the standard demanded of the nameless, and she would not fail to meet that expectation, no matter the task.
Slipping between the shadows like water, the group of nameless moved as one, sensing, hesitating, only changing position when they were certain they could. On the edge of the shadow dimension and the material one, they danced upon the finest of lines, not straying too far to either side. After some time, they found their first target.
A solitary human, crouched in a concealed position against the tunnel wall.
In truth, it was an admirable attempt at stealth, and the nameless may not have found her if not for the ever-present shadow upon the ground. If it cast a shadow, they would find it. Shadows were windows for the nameless, and they were also doors. Of all the many things in this world, they were more sensitive to shadows than anything else.
Make sure she is alone, the leader signed, scatter.
The nameless one wasted no time, moving with purpose, soundless and sightless through the tunnel. As the others fanned out behind her, they searched high and low, peeking into every nook and cranny. Hunting prey such as this, they knew not to trust their eyes, nor their antennae, nor even the sense of touch. Nothing could be trusted, everything had to be verified, look at everything from as many angles as possible.
Only because they were so thorough were they able to find the second, concealed in a hollow stalagmite, using mana sense to track the goings on outside.
Another, the nameless one signalled, pointing towards the offender.
Within total darkness, there was not even a shadow to find. Only the feather-light touch of the delver's mind upon the tunnel's mana had given them away.
Prepare to seize them.
When they moved, it was over in an instant. The nameless one took the second delver herself. Although the darkness within the pillar had hidden her shadow, it did nothing to protect her from the arts of the nameless. Seizing hold of the darkness, the nameless one slowly, oh so carefully threaded it with her mana, extended through the shadow dimension to hide the point of origin.
Despite actively sensing for mana, the delver had no idea that the very darkness around her was changing, becoming more substantial. No longer just dark, it was now a door as well.
When the time was right, the nameless pulled it open, and through the opening the delver fell. No time to even cry out, she was enfolded in a blanket of shadow, her mind forced into slumber.
Flawless.
Once hidden in a separate realm, there were others to take hold of the subdued prey and move them back to the sleeping cells. Within the shadow dimension, the nameless had carved many paths for this exact purpose.
Good, their leader signed. We continue.
So they did.
Through the tunnel they went, hunting, searching, sensing. As carefully as if they were tracking the Council itself, they moved with the utmost caution, knowing that even the slightest hint of discovery would make their task ten times harder.
More were found, alone, or in small groups, delvers huddled at points, watching the tunnel, seeking for ants, never knowing that they were being hunted instead. One by one, they were embraced by the shadows, taken by sleep, and taken away to slumber in the cells.
It was clear there were too many watching over this one tunnel for there not to be a reason, and soon they found out why.
Stop, the nameless one signalled, and the group halted immediately. In silence, she signalled four separate locations. More behind, she added.
A high concentration of delvers. This many, this close together. There would be more.
Investigate, the leader gestured.
Where a group of nameless could not go, a solitary one might.
Slipping through the narrowest of gaps, she moved past the first line of sentries, and then the second, and then the third. Only then was she able to get close enough to sense what was hidden in the tunnel.
Getting out was much easier than getting in. After all, they expected enemies to come from in front, not behind. Doubtless those they had already captured were working with this group. Soon they would realise that some of their number were missing and their guard would go up. For now, they remained ignorant.
Once she was clear, she returned to the nameless waiting for her.
An ambush, she signed. There are hundreds of them. A large number of traps and prepared spells to attack the Eldest have been prepared.
Motionless, the nameless considered their next course of action.
It is beyond our mandibles now, the leader signed. We will notify the Eldest of this location and move to another tunnel.
Of course, they couldn't go to the Eldest themselves, who knew where they were at this point in time? Thankfully, they didn't have to. Alongside them, hidden on the border of shadow and reality, a single tentacle drifted, ready and waiting for their message.
-x-X-x-
[Master, the nameless have found something. A large ambush. Hundreds of delvers have gathered and laid traps for you. Would you like me to reach out and destroy the FILTH?]
[Uh, no, that's quite alright. Just let me know where they are and I can take care of the rest.]
[... Fine.]
I mean, I suppose I could let Crinis loose, but that would involve unleashing horrors beyond imagining upon my foes. I don't think there would ever be peace between the Colony and its neighbours if that happened.
There has to be a peaceful resolution. If we can't keep devoting our antpower into the fifth, then we will lose everything that we've managed to win down there. Once that war has been won, we won't have to sit on our hands and treat enemies like Green Mountain with such a soft touch.
Until then, these matters need to be resolved peacefully. The worst possible result would be dragging the Colony into another major conflict. We simply can't afford to divide our focus right now.
Well, hundreds of delvers, wanting to meet little old me? I was wondering if more of them might start gathering together. Spread out over so many tunnels, it took a while for them to gather together properly. I'm sure a lot of them are starting to head back to Green Mountain, which makes it likely this ambush will be the last I have to deal with in the short term.
Once I've finished taking care of this, it'll be time to start chasing down the stragglers and scooping up as many as we can get our mandibles on.
Gweheheheheh.
Thanks to the nameless and Crinis, I know exactly where this ambush is located, so I engage submarine mode and start zooming through the tunnels, floating through the air while being pulled forward by a gravity well.
It took surprisingly little time for my vestigial legs to grow out to full size after I blew mine up using an empowered Dash. I'll need further mutating to prevent every tendon in my legs from snapping simultaneously the next time I try that. Though it was useful to learn how the vestigial legs actually worked. The damaged legs were basically jettisoned, like a lizard detaching its tail, then the new ones started sprouting out immediately. It feels a little weird knowing that I have a full set of reserve legs growing inside me, but considering how fast they were able to grow out, I think the triad made a good choice.
Once I mutate them, I'm sure the time it takes for them to grow to full size can be cut even further. Eventually I might be able to lose all of my legs and have a brand new set in under a minute. Wouldn't that be a thing?
As I drift through the tunnels, heading towards the planned ambush, I consider what my best course of action is.
So far I've been able to dominate all of my encounters against the delvers with relative ease. None of them have been able to stand up against the empowered Gravity Domain, nor have they been able to do any significant damage to me.
Well, if I let them hit me for long enough, they'd crack through my carapace, but the regeneration network is proving to be… a truly absurd organ.
Although I haven't been testing the wellspring much, it's going to have to be pretty crazy for it to outshine this gift that Theorazzn's mana has given me.
However, with hundreds of delvers and prepared traps… that won't be so easy to handle. After all, the way to counter the Gravity Domain isn't to be so strong you can stand up in it, only monsters could possibly be that strong. Or monstrous humans.
Morrelia's dad could probably do it. That guy is scary.
No, the way to counter it is by breaking up the mana using external mana manipulation. Against a magnificent specimen such as myself, a dozen mages are simply not enough to do the job.
A hundred, though? Ehhhhh… maybe. If I can't just slam everyone into the ground, then ending the fight without too many casualties becomes that much harder. Of course, it's not like the Colony can't justify some of these delvers never going home, especially considering why they're here, but keeping the damage to a minimum will be great for our image. I'm sure the Church of the Path is out there spreading all sorts of nonsense about us. We need to make sure they keep looking like whinging losers in the face of our benevolent mandibles of justice.
Coming to a halt several kilometres away from the ambush site, I lower myself to the ground and land on my legs, still contemplating.
Obviously, it's not much of a trap when I know it's there… but walking in still leaves me vulnerable to anything they might have prepared. Nasty spells, spikes, rock falls, goodness knows what else. If I can trigger the worst of it from a distance and then go in myself, that would make me a lot more comfortable.
Hmmmm.
Alright, let's do it this way.
I release my hold on the concealment methods I've been using, letting the power of my core radiate outwards like a blazing, miniature sun. There's no way they won't sense that. Hopefully they also sense what comes next, because they'll be in a heck of a lot of trouble if they don't.
Planting my feet in the ground, I spin up my minds and take hold of the Gravity Mana inside me. Then I start pulling it out. A lot of it.
I haven't cast a singularity since I woke up, I wonder if I can handle the spell a little better than before?
-x-X-x-
Singularity is a heck of a spell, if I do say so myself. Earned for reaching the next rank of Gravity Mana speciality, it's definitely one of my personal favourites and packs a heck of a punch. To offset that absurd damage potential is the mind-cracking difficulty in casting the lousy thing.
Not only is the pattern more complex than a sculpture carved from jelly, it's just plain hard to hold the mana in place.
To create the disaster beam of doom that comes out of the singularity, I basically have to hold two gravity bombs in place and let them bleed into each other. Handling that much mana is a massive pain in the thorax; handling it so delicately is twice as bad!
Nevertheless, I make no move to hide what I'm doing as I draw out the mana and begin to weave it. Without any time pressure, I don't rush the process, letting the energy flow like a thundering river as I shape it and give it purpose. Before long, power is radiating out around me, a screaming warning and clanging alarm bell to anyone paying attention to the mana in the area.
I can only hope the delvers don't underestimate what's about to happen. If they're smart, they should be running for the hills right now. It's obvious they've been found out, why try and hold their ground still? Even worse, if they try and put up shields.
I've never tested the singularity against defensive magic, but holy moly, it would have to be good to try and hold out against this.
As I continue to cast the spell, it grows increasingly hard to keep the process slow and controlled. The more mana I weave, the harder it is to hold it in place. Like a boulder I'm trying to hold up on the side of a hill, which I keep making heavier with every passing second. Before long, I won't be able to hold it anymore, and it'll start rolling no matter what I wish.
Two dense balls of Gravity Mana form over my head, sucking in the light and surrounding me in purple-tinged darkness. Each sphere rotates slowly, inevitably, drawing closer and closer until they spark a furious reaction between them.
Delvers, please, for your sake, don't be there anymore.
When the beam is unleashed, it's as if it consumes all the light in the world. Beyond blinding, faster than light itself, it cuts through the air and creates a screaming void in its wake.
Distant rumbling turns into a calamitous roar that shakes the ground even where I am, kilometres away, as my spell carves through the air, the ground, the heavens and the hells alike.
When the light flickers and begins to fade, I am faced with nothing but a wall of debris and blooming clouds of dust and dirt. From this distance, it isn't easy for me to sense what's happening at the site of the ambush, but if any delvers stayed in place… let's just say they aren't happy.
Satisfied that anything that was prepared to attack me is likely in ruins, I march forward with purpose, ready to confront my foes.
[Crinis, can you start attacking me? Lightly, no need to go crazy.]
[Uh… I would rather not… Master,] she replies.
Nestled in my shadow, Crinis has been on her best behaviour lately, only trying to sneak inside my carapace a few times an hour. After I went to sleep for so long, I think she went through withdrawals or something. She's even more clingy than usual. Which is saying something.
[It's just to get my healing network ticking over, alright? Nothing weird is going on. In fact, you'll be helping me.]
[Well… alright.]
Some tentacles extend from my shadow and begin prodding at the underside of my carapace.
[Come on, Crinis! That doesn't register as an attack! Give it a little more oomph!]
[Fine!]
Her lashings could still be considered gentle, little more than an aggressive tickle, but at least it's enough to finally get the healing network to start ticking over. Barely.
Pushing through the dust, I keep my wits about me and my senses alert. There are still hundreds of delvers out here. I have to be careful. Most of their preparations are likely destroyed by the singularity, but I can't go about underestimating my enemies. It's likely that this fight will be the most difficult I've faced since awakening from my evolution.
Mind constructs spinning, I pull out mana and prepare my spells. Sensing carefully, I sniff out the tiny gravitational fields that emanate from the delvers. They're close, but concealed within the clouds of dust. Looks like they gathered together in the rubble to combine their strengths.
A smart move. I'd better get rid of this dust to improve visibility. Tracking foes via their gravitational fields in the middle of a fight is doable, barely, but I'd much rather use my eyes.
I just reset them, may as well get some use out of them!
A powerful gust of wind blows through the tunnel, blasting the dust clouds away and revealing the absolute devastation that has been wrought here.
It's… not pretty.
The singularity has carved a horrific gouge through the rock, annihilating everything in its path and tearing holes through the prepared traps of the delvers. It looks like several things have blown up and two separate rock fall traps have been triggered. Scorch marks, rocks turned to slag, others frozen solid in place.
Yikes! It looks like they really put together some nasty stuff over here!
Now, what are they doing? I'd expected them to start attacking by now…
The wind continues to blow, blasting away the thick clouds of dust and finally revealing the gathered delvers.
Who are all crowded together, on their knees.
Uhhh… what?
I reach out with a mind bridge to the closest delver.
[What… what the heck are you doing?]
[Surrendering!]
-x-X-x-
Turns out that word has leaked from Green Mountain that we are taking delvers alive as much as we can. As a result, this lot were happy to throw in the fight after witnessing the power of the singularity up close and personal. With the majority of their preparations destroyed and their ambush obviously discovered, they had no confidence going ahead with the attack, leading to the rather pathetic scene I witnessed afterwards.
Well, it's fine I suppose, it wasn't like I was all excited and hyped up for a dramatic fight or anything. Sheesh.
I'm a bit more irritated because, with so many of these lousy delvers here, I have to wait quite a while for all of them to get scooped up and taken back to the Colony.
Which is the only reason I use the Gravity Domain on them. I'm absolutely sure of that. There was no deep chuckling from the dark one as I watched these eager surrenderers wiggle in the dirt where they belonged.
Once all of them were finally out of my sight and transported away, it was time to get moving again. Luckily, the nameless were able to get into the tunnels ahead of me and start hunting down the rest of the delvers while I was forced to sit on my carapace and play babysitter.
Part of me would like to get back to the nest and check on how everything is going. It can't be easy for them having to house hundreds of highly trained, highly Levelled delvers, especially since they're short on antpower. There's a reason I left Tiny and Invidia behind. Hopefully that's enough muscle to keep them in check.
Through the tunnels I go, no longer floating along and concealing my presence. There's no need anymore, since all of the remaining delvers are currently hightailing it back to the mountain. Since word has gotten out that I'm out here in the tunnels capturing people by the dozen, it seems as though the thought I might be vulnerable enough to be killed is fading. The rush of blood to the head at hearing about just how much I might be worth seems to have dissipated.
I'd hoped more would stick around and come at me, and perhaps they will, after they get some time to regroup. For now, too many have gone missing, and I think the decision-makers on Green Mountain are starting to get spooked.
After all, more and more delvers have been vanishing and those prices just keep going up. I know Merchant has been putting the squeeze on the representatives of the mountain, I'm sure they're starting to get a little nervous.
Bankruptcy is coming for them. Gweheheheheh.
Running through the tunnels, I pick up more and more speed, getting my big body moving as I try to gain ground on the fleeing delvers. I'm pushing towards the edge of the territory claimed by the Colony now and closing in on Green Mountain lands. Does that mean I'm going to stop or slow down?
Heck no! We go even faster!
Something interesting I'm finding, as I run around at my size, is that it's often easier to go through an obstacle than to go around it. As I run, I smash through boulders, crash through stalagmites and stalactites, often shifting my legs out of the way so my body can plough through the obstacle rather than try to climb over it.
Doesn't feel like a very antlike way of getting around, but it's a heck of a lot easier than trying to change my direction all the time. I will no longer yield to the terrain! The terrain must yield to me! I mean, I must weigh hundreds of tons, if not more. I have to think of my poor joints!
I keep running, pushing my muscles and joints to find out just how much speed I can squeeze out of this frame. Quite a bit, as it turns out. Eating up the kilometres, I start to sense some disturbances up ahead.
If I can sense them, they can sense me too. Picking up speed, they start to Dash repeatedly, desperate to stay ahead. Oho! I can't see them yet, but I'm still tempted to try and execute another empowered Dash. However, this far from the Colony, I don't want to keep blowing up my legs. Besides, I'm not sure the next set of vestigial legs have even grown yet.
So I just keep running, pushing myself to pick up more and more speed, until my legs are screaming and my joints are aching.
It's not enough to gain on them, considering they're using Skills, but I'm staying in touch. All I have to do is wait for them to get tired, then they'll be mine.
Or… I could speed myself up a little….
Working quickly, I pull together a gravity well and cast it ahead of me before using all of its energy in one sudden burst.
The ground falls away and I'm catapulted forwards and upwards with eye-watering momentum. Well, it would be eye-watering if my eyes hadn't been replaced with actual gemstones.
Wheeeeeeeee!
Blasting through the air at my size is an extraordinary experience, I have to say. Not to mention, it's fast. I can sense I'm rapidly catching up to my targets, but I'm starting to think there's something I didn't think about.
How in the name of heck am I going to land?
As it turns out, heavily.
CRASH!
Smashing into the ground heavily, I don't even bother trying to catch myself on my legs, as I know that would just smash them to bits. Instead, my carapace scrapes along the stone as I slide forwards, absorbing the tremendous force of the impact.
Luckily, it's enough to get me within range of the delver group trying desperately to escape my grasp.
Gravity domain!
A purple sphere of hyper-dense energy expands outwards at a rapid pace, washing over the delvers and slamming them into the ground. A successful capture.
-x-X-x-
Green Mountain is both more, and less impressive than I thought it might be. I mean, it's hard for these places to not be impressive, given the way they're built on the slopes of mountains so large they literally hold up the roof of the stratum.
Combine that with the ambient mana of the fourth, being filled with life, light and water, looking at just about anything creates a jaw-dropping view.
Having said all that, the city on this particular mountain is clearly old and well-developed, with high walls, a bustling port and thousands upon thousands of dwellings climbing up the slope towards the upper reaches in the clouds. Is it the Silver City? Not by a long shot, but it's clearly prosperous.
If not a little bit militant.
Where the Silver City was designed to be an inhabitable work of art, Green Mountain looks like it was built to frown at the world. Despite the name, the buildings are quite grey and austere. If I look closely, it seems as though many of the structures have been built to form internal walls and defensive positions in the event the city is ever invaded.
Not quite a fortress, but clearly a place that has a rather defensive mindset. Makes sense, considering one of the major industries here is core harvesting. Close enough to the Mother Tree that they can see her in the distance, the people here have cultivated a reputation for holding negative views of all things monster. Unlucky for them that the Colony happened to pop up and seize the mountain next door.
Oh, it looks like they've spotted me.
It took a couple of days to hunt through a bunch of tunnels and make my way right up to the boundary of Green Mountain itself. Not wanting to run into their walls and outposts down in the Dungeon, I decided to tunnel up to the surface, creating a stone pathway as I went, to breach the surface of the lake and take a look at the city for myself.
I can faintly hear alarm bells ringing from the walls and see figures scurrying about, pointing and shouting. They seem energetic. I suppose it must get boring wandering around on the walls all the time.
I mean, if an attack is going to come, it's going to come through the tunnels, not over the water. Still, I wave an antenna at them in greeting. Hopefully they're able to see.
Oh, looks like they can, they're launching fireballs at me.
Big fireballs. They must have some sort of siege equipment set up on the walls, to be producing so many of these things in such a short period of time. Rather than stick around and engage in a mana war with an entire city's worth of mages, I let myself fall back down the tunnel I made, dropping down hundreds of metres before catching myself with a gravity well before I hit the ground.
Handy trick, that. The more I manipulate myself using gravity wells, the more useful I find it. Fall damage? Hah! Not for me.
Once I drop down to the ground, I find several of the nameless are waiting for me, concealed in the shadows.
I don't remember being able to see them this well in the past. I think they're getting sloppy.
"Eldest, we have caught all the stragglers that we can," one of them says, stepping out of the darkness.
"Thanks for your help. I didn't want to take you away from your regular duties for so long. Hopefully there aren't too many who have started skipping their rest."
"There are many," the nameless one says, clacking her mandibles as if disappointed by the behaviour of unsupervised children. "The cells will be overflowing for the next few days."
Seriously? Sheesh. I never intended for any ants to become so manic about enforcing the daily rest period, but it's rather annoying that my siblings have decided to run so wild the moment they were let off the leash. Have some self control, dammit!
"I'll lend Crinis to help you," I tell the nameless one. "Clearly, my siblings are insufficiently afraid of the dark."
That'll show them.
The nameless one performs the eightfold genuflection before me, a rare honour considering I'm not a part of their order.
"With the shadow herself to aid us, we will catch up in record time."
[Are you alright with that, Crinis?]
[As long as you don't go too far away…]
[I'll be good.]
[Then I'm fine.]
Ultimately, we managed to catch about half of the delvers that were in the tunnels, somewhere in the vicinity of twelve-hundred. Apparently, Merchant is back negotiating the sale right now. I wonder if the Council of Green Mountain is finally going to bite the bullet and pay up. An absolute king's ransom has been demanded for their people, investment funds for Merchant's interests. I'll be keen to see what she comes up with. The Colony needs cores, after all!
But if she ends up losing all the money, she'll get a mighty thwacking! I don't care how small she is!
"Well. Now that they're huddling behind their walls, it's time to move on to the next phase," I sigh, stretching out my joints and cleaning my antennae.
For now, we head back to the nest and take a short break. I could do with a status check and perhaps a few mutations before I go any further, and I still have new things to experiment with.
I'm sure that Green Mountain will be coughing up blood when they fork over all that money to a pack of monsters, and screaming to their allies about the injustice of it all. They'll be angry, have their backs up, and be out for revenge.
That's fine. That's exactly how I want them to be.
After the second round is done, they'll be begging for us to leave them alone. I'm already tired of playing with these fools. I want vengeance on the slugs below, and these delvers have taken up more than enough of my time.
-x-X-x-
"A wise investment," Merchant nodded sagely, her glasses glinting in the dim light of the ship's stateroom. She gathered up the documents from the table in her front claws, stacking them neatly before placing them in her satchel. "The delvers of Green Mountain are a force to be reckoned with, who could possibly place a price on such exceptional and dedicated servants of their home city?"
It was difficult to say this without sounding sarcastic, given the fact the Colony had swept up over a thousand of them in a matter of days. But Merchant was who she was, and came across as nothing but sincere and pleased for the people of the Mountain.
To Alice Erry, it was utterly galling.
Getting the Council to agree to the ant's usurious price had been a nightmare. None had been willing to let the ants simply keep citizens of Green Mountain indefinitely, that would have been an outrage the people would never stand for, but getting them to settle on a single course of action had taken the best negotiators working around the clock to achieve.
"It was close to war," Alice said bitingly, receiving her own papers and putting them away. "Only in the last hour were the votes swayed towards paying your fee."
"War?" Merchant asked, as if she had never considered such a possibility. She shook her head energetically. "Absolutely terrible for business. It would cost more than the price you just paid, and you wouldn't get your people back anyway! No, I am pleased that your Council has made the wise decision. It bodes well for the future relations between our people."
Alice very much doubted that. The Council was furious at having to shell out such an exorbitant sum, devastating the budget and forcing them to impose a levy on the people to cover the shortfall. Now the commonfolk from the bottom of Green Mountain to the top were up in arms against the ants even more than they were before.
"If your goal was to cement the ill-feeling my people have towards monsters, then you have certainly achieved it," she said.
Merchant laughed.
"Of course not. We simply wanted to make sure that you were smart enough to pay. It really is the wisest choice. Now, when we take your people again, we can be confident you will do the right thing to get them home without any fuss."
Alice paused, then frowned.
"You want to take our people again? How are you proposing to get them now that they are safe within the city? Is this… a threat of invasion?"
"Invasion? Of course not! Don't be ridiculous. That would… why… that would be so hypocritical of us! After criticising your people and making you pay such a high price for invading our lands and threatening our people–"
"Monsters, not people."
"To think we would breach the walls of your fine city and… and snatch your delvers out of their beds? That would be madness. Of course we have no such intent."
"Then how could you possibly capture our delvers a second time?" Alice asked, eyes narrowing.
"Well, I presume they have to leave sometime. Or are they going to sit inside the confines of Green Mountain forever? That hardly seems likely, especially since your Council expects them to pay back a percentage of the ransom paid. Those delvers need to get back to work."
It wasn't hard for Alice to connect the dots.
"So you're intending to do to us what the delvers did to you," she snapped. "Keep them holed up inside Green Mountain, unable to leave, unable to work, afraid of capture. Such an action would be illegal in the extreme. We have the right as a sovereign city to access the Dungeon."
"Of course, you have every right to access the Dungeon," Merchant assured her with a magnanimous gesture. "We would never dream of preventing you from accessing the Dungeon. However, your delvers do not have the right to come back from the Dungeon, now do they?"
Such a question, so innocently phrased, so calmly delivered, yet carrying so much menace. Alice Erry felt a chill run down her back, though she concealed it. The next few months played out in her mind so clearly. Delving teams leaving, some of them coming back, but not all of them, the numbers ticking up over time, causing the rest to grow afraid, to stay in the city. If a settlement wasn't reached, then they would be forced to leave. After all, the ants had no problem with delvers working out of other cities.
Only Green Mountain.
Without those delvers, the city would lose a major part of its income and trade, along with a solid line of defence during waves. It wouldn't destroy Green Mountain, but it would set it back by decades.
All because of some stupid ants.
"You really think you will be able to do this?" Alice Erry said, growing angry. "That we and our allies will simply sit back and allow it? There are delvers from the Silver City here, from Way Island, from Highpeak Stronghold. Are you prepared to go into conflict with all of them?"
"Please, please, Ms Erry, there is no need to be so confrontational!" Merchant chuckled. "Conflict? Of course conflict isn't necessary. We are simply engaged in business. I like to think of it as… a long term investment. Did you know that ants can be very patient creatures? We don't sleep, not really anyway. We go into torpor, a state of complete motionlessness, where we slow our systems down to their absolute minimum, but we remain awake, in a sense, just… waiting. I'm sure your allies will kick up a stink, I'm sure they will come over here and make a show of force.
"But we can be patient. We can do this for decades. There are so many more of us than there are of you. Eventually, the Green Mountain will begin to feel the full cost of its decisions."
Alice stared at the ant, anger simmering in her chest. How dare these ants even think they could get away with this? The entirety of Green Mountain was furiously angered by what had happened. Another push, and they might just go to war regardless of what the Council said. Also, she knew something that the ant did not. The Church had sent a Judgement Battalion and they wanted that big ant in pieces. Perhaps Green Mountain would be willing to aid them in their quest.
At the same time, Merchant knew something that Alice did not. The Colony, or more specifically, the Eldest, was not patient. Not in the slightest. This would be resolved quickly. Surprisingly quickly.
The nameless did not like to miss their sleep.
-x-X-x-
Sometimes, a monster needs to be taken care of. This is a universal truth for everyone who makes their life in the Dungeon. By their very nature, monsters are territorial and eternally hungry for growth and power. Eventually, one will rise above the pack, stand head and shoulders over the others and establish its own place in the winding tunnels. And, on occasion, that place runs a little too close to the territory of a city or kingdom, creating problems, endangering lives, threatening business and being an all around nuisance to everyone involved.
In case of such an event, every independent state in the Dungeon must maintain some level of armed force capable of removing such pests, which are normally beyond the reach of regular delvers.
Specially raised strike teams, monster killing experts, Dungeon annihilators, slayer squads, whatever they're called, their purpose is the same: a specialised team to be called upon to deal with a particularly nasty monster.
The Church of the Path is no different in this respect. When there is a monster that the Church has deemed must be destroyed, it calls upon a Judgement Battalion. Fanatically loyal, rigorously trained and expertly equipped, they are excellent at their jobs and people are always pleased to see them arrive in town. An answer to prayer and bringers of hope to the faithful.
- Excerpt from 'Dealing With Monsters' by B. S. Wordsmith
As a War Bishop, Graham had seen many things. Mighty monsters brought low; devastated settlements that had stood for hundreds of years, destroyed in an instant. New ones popping up, seemingly out of nowhere.
Yet perhaps none had been quite as interesting as the sight of a Grand Priest attempting to sleep in a bunk alongside the regular soldiers. When Alir had emerged from the barracks in the morning, it was clear he had barely slept, his eyes were bloodshot, with dark circles beneath them. Graham took no joy in the man's suffering, but he did find it rather intriguing. Like seeing a rare species of bird or a fascinating trinket in the marketplace, it was something he found difficult to look away from.
"You haven't had enough of an eyeful yet?" Alir grumbled as he pulled out the stool next to the War Bishop and sat heavily at the table with a groan. "By the Path, I'm tired."
"I am well rested," Graham said, making the sign of the Path on his chest.
Alir stared at him, carefully blank-faced.
"Thanks. Thanks for saying that."
"You're welcome."
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
A simple porridge of oats, seeds and nuts had been served for the morning meal, and the makeshift mess hall was filled with the sounds of murmured conversation, earnest prayer and spoons scraping against bowls as the troops made sure to savour every bite. It wasn't often they got a meal as flavorful as this.
Graham watched openly as the Grand Priest stared at the bowl in front of him for a full minute before gradually raising the spoon to his lips, taking a reluctant mouthful, then grimacing as if in pain.
"Excess is sinful," Graham reminded him.
Alir slammed a hand down to the table, his face flushing red, but only for a brief moment. A second later, he had regained his calm once more.
"Yes. Yes, of course. As is flavour, apparently."
"Would you like to meet the orphans who eat well this morning thanks to the humble meal you are enjoying now? Perhaps seeing the light in their faces would provide the indulgence you seek."
Another grimace was all the War Priest received as an answer before Alir ate another spoonful.
"How long until you head out into the Dungeon and deal with this pest? I heard it was sighted from the city walls only yesterday. How much more do you need to get out… out of the city?"
Graham felt he had been about to say 'out of my way' before correcting himself. No matter.
"You believe we have been idle these past few days? We have not. I have interviewed every delver who has had any level of contact with the creature and returned to the city. As the captives have only just begun being returned, I must speak to them as well. Our Dungeon specialists are creating a profile of the monster's capabilities while we consider different strategies for tackling it.
"At the same time, my best scouts have been cautiously moving through the tunnels, trying to find the best location for us to make battle. I believe that while we have been doing all of this, you have been… what have you been doing, Grand Priest?"
From the looks of things, not much.
"I have been coordinating with the Union to arrange support for your efforts," Alir grated. "They're furious about being forced to pay additional taxes, and the Council is furious about having to make them. Perhaps even angry enough to provide some of the city guards to help take down that ant."
"Unnecessary," the War Bishop said.
"I don't care if you think it's necessary. If we can get help, we should. I don't care what you do with them, put them on the front lines, let them get chewed up by that filthy insect's mandibles, make them dance a routine to distract it. We have an opportunity here that is rare and precious. Soul Crystal is coveted by the Church, and we are in a position to deliver it!"
And likely a promotion to Cardinal for a certain Grand Priest, Graham thought to himself. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing for members of the Church to be ambitious, but he found he didn't particularly like Alir Vinting. The man was lacking in faith.
"We will set out into the Dungeon in two days," the War Bishop stated evenly. "If you insist on providing this assistance, make sure they are prepared."
This would be a difficult assignment, of that, Graham had no doubt. A tier eight mythic was as strong of a monster as it was possible to encounter in the fourth stratum. In addition, the monster had proven to have strange and unique abilities that defied explanation. They would have to be ready for every contingency.
-x-X-x-
How were we supposed to know they would turn on us? After so long, fighting side by side, building up our communities together. We trusted them. They trusted us.
Even though they told me why, I still can't wrap my head around it. It's madness. The whole world is mad.
- Excerpt from the private notes of a lost brathian Satrap.
Nice to be back in the nest once more. A chance to stretch my legs and catch up on a little sleep, always welcome. I also managed to convince Solant to give me a little more support for this next bit of the plan, which is nice.
Well, I just walked up to a few battalions and told them to follow me, but I'm sure it'll be fine. To be honest, if she failed to account for me doing that, I'll be disappointed in her planning abilities. I also have the human priests working alongside the ants, providing their helpful aura buff.
"WE ARE NOT WORTHY OF YOUR LIGHT, GREAT ONE!"
It would be better if they weren't so noisy. Beyn seems to get worse with time, not better. He by himself is bad enough, but of course, he's never alone. There's a whole chorus line of them, with their flashy robes, incense, mandible clackers and scarily intense gazes.
I'm just trying to sleep over here!
"We bow down in supplication!" the priests declare in a sonorous chant.
"THE TRUE PATH IS REVEALED BY YOUR GLORY! WE WEEP WITH JOY TO TREAD UPON IT!"
"Endless joy! Endless joy!"
They've been at it for hours now. I have no idea how their vocal cords manage to hold up for so long. Just another drawback of useless, vocal communication. Pheromone superiority has never been more apparent.
Well, while I'm ignoring them, I've decided to spend a little time working on the second of my new, mysterious organs. The Everflowing Well of Living Waters is a heck of a name for an organ. I've been reluctant to test it too much, since I've been a little nervous about the whole liquidmana thing. Like, is it even safe for me to have that stuff inside my body?
Better to check here in the nest where it's safer.
Ignoring the never ending display of uncomfortable levels of devotion taking place nearby, I turn my focus inwards, onto my new organ.
It doesn't look like much, a ring of blue-ish… almost spongy material. Sort of like a porous type of rock. It's probably about the right size for a human to wear it as a rather unfashionable hat. Considering the amount of evolutionary energy tied up in the thing, I would have expected it to be much larger.
Tentatively, I extend a sliver of mana from my core towards it. I'm not sure what I think is going to happen when they make contact, but… here it goes!
Inwardly flinching away, the mana swirls into the Well and… vanishes. As hard as I try to sense any activity from the ring, there is nothing going on. I can't even sense the mana that I put in there! Where the heck did it go?!
Suspicious, I send another wisp of mana toward the organ, only to watch as that too vanishes into nothing!
Dammit!
This thing is supposed to pour out more mana than what I put in, not consume everything I give it and disappear it into the void! Where in the name of heck is it putting my sweet, sweet mana?!
Growing irritated, I feed it a larger packet of mana. I really was only giving it a hint of a waft of energy, perhaps it's simply not enough for the thing to get going. A more healthy, though still small, amount of mana comes into contact with the organ and… is gone just as quickly as the rest.
Alright… fine. FINE!
Clearly, either the organ is defective, or there is a minimum amount of mana it needs to take in before it starts to push any out. I can deal with that. I'd been hoping this wasn't the case so I could experiment with small amounts of energy, avoid taking any risks, but it seems as though that isn't going to be an option.
Resigned to my fate, I start drawing out a steady flow of mana from my core and feeding it straight into the Well, watching carefully the entire time. As far as my mana sense is concerned, the energy I push into the organ straight up vanishes into nothing, and by the time my core is half empty, I'm still not seeing any return.
Rather than keep draining my own reserve of energy, which I need to keep high, seeing as I'm leaking mana in the fourth, I turn my attention to external sources. I've been vacuuming in energy at a pretty steady rate to keep myself topped off, but I increase my efforts and direct a good chunk of that mana into the new organ.
More and more mana is sucked into the ring and still nothing comes out. I'm on the verge of giving up and complaining to Granin about this dud of a purchase when finally I get a response.
It's almost nothing, a very faint response in my mana sense, but I'm actually getting something from the organ. It continues to suck in mana, and that faint response begins to build, increasing in pace as time goes by. Soon, I can feel what is going on in there.
Clinging to the surface of the Everflowing Well is an incredibly thin layer of super condensed energy. Liquid mana. I can literally feel the organ heat up in my body as it starts to spit out more and more of the stuff.
And it is dense. Taking hold of it with my mind is difficult, more than ten times as hard as working with regular mana. When I direct it into my core, it just drinks it in, rapidly refilling my reserves.
And more is coming!
Much like the regeneration network, it seems this organ works on an exponential basis, spitting out more energy the longer the process goes on. However, that's not all. As the minutes tick past, I can feel the reaction inside the well running out of steam. It's sputtering, as if demanding I put in more mana to sustain the increasing level of output.
Instead, I cut off the flow completely and observe as the organ begins to cool down once more. It still produces more liquid mana, but in rapidly reducing quantities until it goes inert once more. Coated in perhaps a centimetre-thick layer of liquid mana, the ring has produced quite a bit more energy than what I put into it, but I know that if I kept feeding it and pushing the reaction further, it would have created much, much more.
Well, this is interesting. The output increases in scale, but so do the demands. I need to feed it more and more energy as time goes by in order to sustain it, and it will create more and more mana as I do so. Obviously, the liquid mana it produces can just be pushed back into the organ, I don't need to use energy from my core or external sources.
This… I think this is absolutely absurd. I haven't even mutated it yet!
The more I think about it, the more I think there has to be a catch. Otherwise, this is just an unlimited source of mana.
-x-X-x-
Naturally, there's a catch. Of course. Unlimited mana? It goes against the very nature of the entire world! If I could provide unlimited mana to myself, then I could wander freely around the Dungeon, even going all the way to the surface, as a tier eight monster! I could cast literally endless spells. Gravity well after gravity well, never run out of juice, and that's just the basic stuff.
I could create a pocket of hyper-ultra dense mana just by spitting it out of myself over and over again. I could theoretically recreate conditions from an entire stratum down. Or even two, if I kept at it long enough.
However, that's not the case here.
After pumping in a frankly absurd amount of mana, the reaction begins, and I checked, it can be self-sustaining, feeding the liquid mana back into the Well to keep the reaction going. Of course, more came out than went in, and the organ continued to heat up as the seconds ticked by. In the interests of science, I kept feeding in more and more energy, giving the Well what it required in order to keep going. Eventually, the Well grew so hot I felt as if I were going to get burned from the inside out. Just when I thought the Well was about to catch fire, it stopped accepting more energy, eventually petering out and going dormant once more.
What remained behind, clinging to the outside of the Well in defiance of gravity, is the 'profit', all of the energy it spat out that I couldn't put back in. Suffice to say… there's a lot. Extremely dense, I couldn't even try and break down the numerical value in MP this much would represent, but it's a lot. Thousands at least.
While I wait to see how long it takes for the Well to cool down and start working again, I try to think of the implications that this organ will have.
Having a huge amount of mana available is nice, but how significant is it in the long run? As it turns out, quite a lot. There's an almost infinite supply of energy in the Dungeon as a whole, but there is only a limited amount in any one location, and when a fight breaks out, the participants start competing over that supply immediately. Especially when there are proper magic users around. Monsters suck in mana by their very nature, but when groups of trained mages clash, fighting for control of ambient energy is literally the first thing they do.
I, on the other hand, can walk around with a backup supply worth thousands of MP sitting inside my body, where nobody can touch it. Even foes who are able to manipulate external energy far beyond my own level of skill won't be able to cut me off from mana so long as I have this thing inside my carapace.
More to the point, the thing hasn't been mutated a single time. I've no doubt I can increase its efficiency, or make it run for longer, or perhaps even change the type of mana it spits out. Maybe I can get it to the point where it gets close to running all the time, becoming a near permanent supply of energy.
Who knows?
From what I can tell, this organ is already extremely strong. Before I muck around with it and start adding mutations, I think I'll play with it a little longer, but I'm already looking forward to the potential it holds.
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The Everflowing Well of Living Waters.
It's Anthony approved.
The other big ticket item I need to test is the industrial manifold now housed in my expanded commercial empire. Obviously I'm not doing that in the nest, and I wasn't prepared to try it out in the tunnels where it might deliver a horrific and painful end to some delvers that I'm trying to profit from. Now that the tunnels around the nest have been cleared out, I'll give it a try the next time I go out there.
I mean… considering it has all of the effects of my previous acid organs, along with the energy of Theorazzn providing unexpected benefits… I'm genuinely a little concerned about the kind of product my business enterprise is now capable of delivering. Hopefully, it'll all be fine.
Hopefully.
Well, while I'm resting in the Colony, might as well get some mutating done. In private. That shameful public display before I evolved will never be repeated in my lifetime! Which means I have a reasonable excuse to move away from the screeching priests who are still going at full volume.
Once I'm out of the way, I bring up the menus and start perusing, locking in a few things.
Getting my tendons all the way up to +30 seems like a no-brainer. Having all the tendons in my legs rip off my carapace in the same instant was… less than stellar. I'd rather not try and perform another empowered Dash until I'm confident I won't be immediately crippling myself.
Which might happen at +40.
I'd love to start mutating my regeneration network, but I'm a little worried about it, honestly. The thing is so damned effective already, playing with it might get really out of control.
However, it is incredibly strong. I'd be an idiot to just avoid it altogether, and I do have some experience with it. So I might as well investigate some of the basic mutations at the very least.
Going through the list for the regeneration network is as intimidating as I thought it was going to be. Some of the first options I see relate to 'increasing the healing fluid increment', which is a weird way to say 'more healing per attack'. Interestingly, some of the mutations actually relate to the healing fluid reabsorption rate, which I didn't expect. I can't say it's very comfortable having my system pumped full of litre after litre of healing fluid, so having my body reabsorb it a bit faster would be nice, but I suspect the main benefit is probably to alleviate fatigue.
From what Granin told me, it's supposedly very taxing on the body to produce all of this healing fluid, especially in a short time frame. A regular monster would be absolutely exhausted maintaining the network for more than a few minutes. I am sustained by the pure Will of the Colony, so I don't really care about having to pay the stamina cost.
And there are mutations for that as well, reducing the stamina cost of producing the fluid, now that I'm looking for them. Again, I can probably ignore them.
Deciding not to commit too hard, I take the regeneration network up to +15. The first mutation increases the healing increment, which will speed up the exponential growth rate of the network. The second mutation increases the efficacy of the fluid, making it more enriched. Essentially, it will repair more damage for each drop of healing fluid. At +15, I combine the effects and move on to some other things.
Actually, while I'm at it, I should take a look at my species. I honestly don't even remember what Granin told me before I evolved.
Name: Anthony
Level: 11 (Mythic) (VIII)
Species: Endless Paragon
Huh. That's better than I remember. Nice.