by Simon Archer
You have killed a dungeon boss and completed the dungeon. The return gate has now been opened. You may leave at any time.
“Finally,” I murmured almost in awe. It felt like I’d been down here forever, and I was ready to get back to my planet. Still, first thing’s first. I had gotten three levels, most of which was probably from the boss since the ants had all long since turned grey in color to me, indicating they weren’t worth much experience anymore, and I needed to add those points.
I did it quickly, dropping another six points into both Strength and Agility and three into Fortitude and Intelligence.
That done, I distributed skill points to Aura Infusion, Auric Extraction, and Auric Sense. Satisfied, I set the ants to harvesting, but as I started to make my way to the chamber, One and Two, the Sentry Ants I’d first created came over to me and knelt down in front of me.
“What’s going on, guys?” I asked, and this time, instead of their normal twitch of antennae, I heard something in the back of my mind. It was distant, like a cry from the other end of a long tunnel, but it was there. The word “help.”
Both curious and concerned, I flipped open their status pages, and when I did, I saw that they had both reached level fifteen, and hadn’t accumulated even one more point of experience. Both were exactly level fifteen.
Curiously, the level bar was flashing, and when I selected it, my eyes opened in shock because I saw a prompt I’d never seen before.
Creature, One, Giant Sentry Ant has reached maximum level and can no longer gain experience. He can now be upgraded to Elite Giant Sentry Ant. Please note, doing so will reset him to level one. Would you like to upgrade One, Giant Sentry Ant?
“Yes,” I said, and as I spoke, golden light enveloped One. As it faded, I realized that while his level had, in fact, been reset to level one, all the stats he had gained from leveling remained, but his level-based bonuses had returned to that of a level one creature. Worse, it looked like he also required twice the experience he’d needed to go from level fourteen to fifteen to go from level one to level two. Still, I knew that once he leveled up some more, he’d be demonstrably more powerful than he’d been before.
Satisfied I’d made the right choice, I upgraded Two as well, and once that was done, I made my way back into the queen’s chamber.
Her body still lay where it had fallen, though a pool of greenish ichor had spread out around it. I was glad she was dead and that it had been relatively easy. I wasn’t sure what would have happened if she hadn’t gotten close all on her own because I’d have had to fight my way through all those ants while she did whatever she wanted from behind them.
“Come to papa,” I said and used Auric Extraction on her corpse.
Pattern: Giant Ant Queen has been learned. Would you like to create a Giant Ant Queen? Please note, this is a special monster, and only one can be summoned at any given time. If you would like to summon more, you must defeat more.
It probably went without saying, but I most certainly did want to summon one, and even though it took my entire Aura bar to do it, I soon was summoning one forth from the void.
“Hello, master,” my new Queen said as she sprang into being. “How can I be of service?” She dropped into a deep curtsy in front of me. “Your every wish is my command.”
“You can talk?” I asked in shock.
“Yes, master.” She nodded once. “I am a Queen and thus have the ability to communicate on behalf of my subjects, should I be fortunate enough to be allowed some.” She looked up at me. “Tell me, master, what can I do to better suit you?”
“Help me find any secrets in this room.”
“Your will be done,” she said as she rose to her full height, and though she had that same green shade to her that my other summoned creatures did, I couldn’t help but think that it somehow made her prettier than she had been in life.
I watched her take a few purposeful steps away from me before she turned suddenly and bowed her head. “Master, I have a request.”
“What?” I asked, curious where this would go.
“I wish for you to grant me the usage of a Scout Ant. As a Queen, I can use its powers as my own but to greater effect. It will aid me in your task.” She paused. “Unless you do not wish for me to have such aid, at which point I will gladly search this chamber until you no longer wish it done.” She met my eyes, and the crazy thing was that I believed her.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” I said and, with a mental command, brought Scout into the room. “He’s all yours.” I scratched the ant behind the antenna before kneeling in front of him. “Be a good boy, Scout, and do as Queenie says.”
His head bobbed once before he made his way over to the Queen, and together, the two of them set to searching the room.
I, on the other hand, moved toward the dead Queen’s body and carefully removed the dagger she’d used. Then I used my Overdrive ability on it, but unfortunately, my Sense skill wasn’t high enough to discover more than the weapon’s name. Dagger of the Ant Queen.
“Too bad,” I mumbled as I shoved it into my inventory, and then began my own search of the area.
19
Mab
“Your human is quite interesting, Rhapsody,” I mused as I watched the glowing purple orb that sat between us. We were in my inner sanctum, deep at the center of the darkened world tree at the end of the universe. It was said that its roots reached down to Niflheim itself and that its branches sprang up into heaven, which was, of course, laughable because that would imply my tree had limits. It did not because darkness had no limits. It was always there, waiting and watching for the moment the lights went out, and as such was a fitting place for me to hang my hat.
For now, at least.
Darkness was fickle.
“Why do you suppose he has repeated the dungeon so many times?” I gestured at the orb where Garrett was once again repeating the Ant Queen’s dungeon even though it was obvious that he wasn’t even getting experience from it anymore. In fact, it had been that way for at least the last six attempts. “It’s not like he can get more queens since the boss doesn’t respawn with a reset, so he’s mostly just slaughtering minions by the droves.”
“I am not sure, Mab,” Rhapsody said, and she looked deeply troubled as she watched the orb. “I would ask him, but you know the rules…”
“Yes.” I waved off her comment. “You cannot interfere directly, and your avatar is a little idiot puppet.” I smirked. “I suppose I could ask him.” I tapped my chin as I watched him move, all tight muscle and hard determination. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“I feel like you’ve done enough.” Rhapsody crossed her arms and looked off to the left where the infinite darkness of my domain spread out like a thick, cloying blanket. The shiver that passed through her was so delightful I couldn’t help but purr.
“It almost sounds like you’re jealous.” I raised an eyebrow at the goddess, and when she didn’t respond, I leaned in close. “You are, aren’t you?”
“I am not,” she huffed, and I knew she totally was.
“So...” I said as I leaned back on my emerald throne and examined my nails like they were terribly interesting. They were not, of course, or at least they had ceased to be millennia ago, anyway. That was the problem with immortality after all. Everything trended toward trivial and uninteresting. After all, an eye blink from now, Garrett might not even exist anymore.
It was strange because that thought troubled me, and since I did not know why, I decided to examine it closer. But that was for later. For now, though? For now, I had Rhapsody in my web, and I would not let this little fly escape until I’d made her squirm sufficiently.
“So what?” she asked, and when she turned back to look at me, her cheeks were flushed delightfully with embarrassment.
“So, why did you ask me to visit him? Isn’t that something that could be considered ‘help’?” I weaved my fingers through the air, and as I did, little crackles of ice snapped into existence. “You of all people should know bette
r than to make a deal with faeries, and yet you have come to me, their Queen, and asked me to do something like this which is so quite clearly very nearly against the rules.” I grinned. “Tell me why, Goddess.”
“Half Queen.” The way she said it was infuriating, although I did not rise to take the bait. After all, the cat has no need to deign the insults of a mouse. “And I came to you because your powers will be useful to him.”
“Is that so?” I purred, intrigued despite myself. “How would you know what I would grant him? Or that I wouldn’t destroy him outright?” I licked my lips. “I considered it, you know.” I gave a little shiver of pleasure. “I could have danced in his blood and used his entrails as a jump rope.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” She shook her head, and she was so confident, I wanted to dash her from my throne room. I did not because that would be rude, and if I was anything, it was polite. “Because Garrett is special, and I knew you of all people would see that.” She met my eyes in them, and the truth of that look stung me in a way I didn’t quite like. “After all, you always did like an underdog.”
“This is not an underdog story.” I waved whimsically toward the orb where Garrett was re-entering the dungeon for the sixteenth time. “He is less than a speck on a mote in God’s eye.” I smiled. “And Zaxcs is that God.”
“Even a mote in one’s eye can be one’s undoing.” Rhapsody was watching the orb intently now. Her face scrunched up in concentration as the goddess struggled to figure out what her chosen champion was doing. I would have loved to know, as well.
“Perhaps…” I shrugged. “But even if you thought I would help, how did you know I would not bestow another title on him?” I leaned in close now. “Perhaps one of Blood and Sex?”
“Do you want to fuck him, Mab?” Rhapsody’s sudden directness threw me off, as did the answer I knew in my heart. Well, the spot where my heart would be if I weren’t filled with darkness, shadow, and more darkness.
“I think I do.” I licked my lips at the thought. Garrett had tasted of power, but more than that, he’d tasted of potential. And I did so love powerful men with even greater potentials. “But he is not yet ripe. He will be more, and then, when he is most, I will take him to my bed.” I smiled. “How do you feel about that?”
“I feel like you should do what makes you happy, Mab,” Rhapsody said after a too long pause that made me think she was up to something.
And that’s when I realized what she had done.
“You little conniving bitch!” I snapped, and as the words left my lips, I was surprised by my own lack of composure. “You knew I would like him.”
“And if you liked him and were impressed by him…” She let the words hang in the air for so long I nearly reached across the table and strangled the too smug bitch. I couldn’t help it though. I was impressed by her maneuvering. “Then you would assist him when I cannot.” She grinned. “You do so love pretty baubles, and Garrett has the potential to be the shiniest toy.”
“It is not often one pulls one over on the Queen of Fairies.” My voice was hard and angry, and more so because I knew it was true. I did want Garrett to succeed, and not because of Zaxcs. After all, in the absence of everything, there would still be cold and dark. That was just physics.
“Half Queen,” Rhapsody repeated, and this time, I shut my eyes and prayed to myself for patience. It was hard because when I opened my eyes, she was smirking at me.
“Titania will never help you.” I gestured at the orb angrily. “She detests the humans.”
“I dunno. She does love things you love.” At Rhapsody’s insolent tone, I gripped the armrests of my throne so hard they would have splintered if they were not made of pure magic. “I could see her trying to tempt Garrett away.” She raised her eyebrow condescendingly. “It would be wise to stake your claim on him truly before that happens.”
I would have responded. Would have told that stupid Goddess just what I thought of that, but before I could, she vanished into nothingness and was no doubt halfway across the universe. That was unfortunate because it was beneath a Queen to chase after anyone, even a goddess. Otherwise, I’d have found that little snot and beaten her within an inch of her life.
Still, she had a point. Once my silly little sister found out about Garrett, she’d move on him, try to take him from me, and I could not have that. Not because I cared for him, though I did more than was strictly proper. What can I say? His cleverness intrigued me.
No, it was because she could not have what was mine.
And Queen Mab always got what she wanted.
20
“I think that will do it,” I said as I exited the Training Dungeon for the fortieth time and returned to the Hall of Mirrors, and like had been the case since around the third time through, Rhapsody’s avatar was missing. It was understandable since she was busy doing goddess things, and I had been at it for a long time.
I wasn’t quite sure how long that actually was since each return to the Hall of Mirrors instantly refreshed my need to eat, drink, and well, pretty much everything else, but it had been a while.
And yeah, maybe power leveling in a low level dungeon hadn’t been the best use of time, but not only had I reached level twenty four, now every one of my main summoned creatures, as well as a few extras I’d leveled up for just in case scenarios, had managed to rank up. I’d also found that after the rank ups, level five was pretty much the limit before they stopped leveling up.
“I am still saddened that I was not able to get stronger to better please you, Master,” Queenie said with her head bowed as we stood in the small shrine that was my home base in my own galaxy. “Would you like me to try again?”
“No.” I sighed. Queenie had only been able to reach level two before she’d stopped getting experience, and I had a feeling that had something to do with her status as a unique summon. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I wasn’t just doing this to get stronger.” I cracked my knuckles as I moved toward the mirror that led to my Godly realm. “Now that we’ve all gotten as high as we can, it’s time to get to work.”
I stepped through it for what felt like the first time, and this time, it was almost entirely unlike when I’d gone into the Training Dungeon.
It was hard to explain except to say that I suddenly felt unstoppable. My blood was suddenly rocket fuel, and my knowledge vast and infinite. It was like being hooked to a supercomputer that could also leap tall buildings in a single bound. At the edge of that near limitless well of power within me were walls that I knew would crumble if I got stronger. All I needed to do was level up, and my strength would truly be unmatched.
“So this is what being a god really feels like,” I said, and then because I was a little silly, I flexed, and in so doing, felt the very reality of the world around me warp.
“You seem quite powerful, master,” Queenie spoke up from behind me, and as I turned toward her, I realized I could see the very essence of her being… no… that wasn’t quite right because that would imply limits.
I could see the atoms making her up, and the subatomic particles making those up. I could see the Aura floating around her, through her, and surging around her. If I pulled my vision back a touch, I could see her organs, bones, and muscle. Everything was spread out before me, and what's more? I understood it all in the barest fraction of a moment. A unit of time so small it made a femtosecond feel like infinity.
I saw, and I knew things.
“You as well seem stronger, Queenie,” I said, and as I spoke the words, I realized how true it was because a thin conduit of godly energy flowed from me to her, filling her with power beyond what she’d ever had in life.
And all of this was just me at a level twenty-four Godling. What would it be like when I reached higher levels?
“Thank you, master.” She bowed her head. “It pleases me that you are pleased by my strength.”
“Glad to be of service.” I nodded before turning my attention back to my galaxy. It was still as cold and de
ad as it had been when I’d first seen it through the mirror. I glanced back at the mirror I’d stepped through and found it to be the barest fragment of starlight against an empty black horizon. While I should have been worried about finding it again, the moment the thought crossed my mind, a mini-map opened in the corner of my vision that displayed my exact position as well as the exact position of the mirror.
Unfortunately, the rest of the map was mostly grayed out, and I realized one of my limits was definitely omniscience. If I wanted to know about something, I’d have to, at the very least, find it, and while I knew I could spend time actively searching out each and every atom in this vast galaxy, I didn’t see the point at the moment. After all, I had a planet to terraform.
Instead, I focused on the planet closest to the orbital sweet spot since that is where I would begin my preparations, and as I did, I suddenly found myself standing on its rough red surface.
“I love the smell of nothing in the morning,” I said as I tried to inhale, but since there wasn’t actually air, it didn’t really work. Fortunately, in my Godly state, I didn’t need to breathe to do silly things like live or talk.
That was also when I realized that Queenie wasn’t with me and was, in fact, back at the mirror. And also, she couldn’t really fly in space, at least not now, anyway, since she had no form of propulsion.
I snapped my fingers and brought her to me. Then I spent half a moment giving her enough godly juju to make it so she could move around the galaxy with her own power.
“Better?” I asked when I was done.
“Yes.” She nodded. “This power will better allow me to serve you, master.” She peered at me. “What would you have me do?”
“Give me a second.” As I spoke, I knelt on the rough-hewn rock of the planet and put my fingers in the dirt. It was softer than I’d expected, and I instantly knew the composition. While I wasn’t super concerned with it at the moment, I did note that there was a lot of Iron Oxide in the dirt, enough to explain the reddish color of the place.
