The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

"Okay, Auburn... Ori and Fuellar will do the bulk of scouting and killing monsters. You have to focus on dealing at least some damage," Lanka said, a bit shocked because Fuellar had appointed her as party leader.

They were standing inside the gatehouse, going over their strategy one more time. Lanka had asked Fuellar for help because it turned out Warren was too busy helping in the Tavern. Confused, she looked at her Maid, who had been following her since the moment she gave her a name.

"Rin, you don't have to go with us."

"But it's now my duty to follow and protect you, Lady Lanka," Rin responded with a smile.

"But... Fine..." Lanka sighed and looked at Auburn. "You understand the plan?"

"Yes, Lady Lanka," the young Elf nodded, weighing Ikki's old mace.

"No matter how many times you level up, don't touch your skill or statistics, is that clear?" She looked at the young Elf who was maybe a year or two younger than herself.

"Yes, Lady Lanka," Auburn nodded with a serious face.

"And stop calling me Lady Lanka!" She threw her hands into the air in annoyance.

"Yes, Lady Lanka," Auburn smiled blatantly this time, grinning his white teeth.

Lanka sighed and rubbed her eyes. She had to get used to it sooner than later. Instead of erupting in fury, she smiled a little, making Auburn slightly uneasy. She stepped outside the gatehouse and took a look around, allowing Ori and Auburn to take the lead. She could clearly see the impressive Palace in the heart of Avalon, unobstructed by the fog that was illuminated by the soft morning light.

"Excuse me... Lady Lanka, Mr. Ori, and Mr. Fuellar, what are you looking at? Can you see something in that fog?" Auburn looked rather confused at them.

"Fog?" Ori asked absentmindedly.

"Yes, sir! The entire area is clear, but just over there, I see a thick fog obscuring the view," the Elf replied, pointing toward the centre of Avalon.

"One day, you will see what we are seeing, kid. The view is worth waiting for." Fuellar took out his bow and prepared himself, smiling at his younger compatriot.

"Okay..." Auburn shrugged his arms and prepared for the quest.

•••

Four hours had passed, and they were now slowly progressing through the zone, looking for slimes from which they should obtain fifty 'jelly cores'. While Auburn was excited, Lanka, Ori, and Fuellar were borderline bored. This was almost torture...

"How many more do you need?" Ori asked, barely covering his yawn.

"I think ten more, sir!" Auburn answered happily.

"Lanka..." Fuellar killed a wolf while sighing. "I think we are lowering his chances."

"You’re probably right," Lanka agreed, suddenly struck by a genius idea while taking a sip of water. "Rin? May I ask you to watch over Auburn's quest progress?"

"As you wish, my Lady." Rin bowed. "What are you planning to do instead, my Lady?"

"She is planning to conduct her exercises!" an angry female voice roared as they saw a flying Elf-like creature.

Lanka closed her eyes and loudly swallowed the sip of water she had in her mouth. The Priestess made her prayers, anticipating the crushing punishment, because she forgot about today's class with Scion Stella. Auburn, Ori, and Fuellar watched in awe as Stella descended on her outstretched, shimmering wings.

"I am so sorry, Professor Stella! We were so excited about Auburn's quest I totally forgot!" Lanka put her hands together like in prayer, begging for forgiveness.

"Oh, don't worry... You will just have to RUN AT ONCE TO THE TOWER! GO! GO!" Stella shouted, casting harmless yet painful lightning bolts straight into Lanka's backside, making her dash straight towards Avalon's middle castle.

The puzzled men looked at this strange sight in awkward silence. Rin shook her head and after making two steps, she was standing near Auburn in very different clothing. Her almost seductive maid dress was gone, replaced with a perfectly black bodysuit armour that covered and matched her perfectly. On her face, Rin had a simple black scarf-like cloth covering her mouth and nose, leaving only her blue eyes visible. Her normally loosely flowing, slightly curly blonde hair was caught into a ponytail. On her back, she had two thin short swords stored horizontally just over her hips with their handles on both sides. Over her shoulder another longer, sleek sword hung, while all throughout her new suit of armour she had hidden multiple throwing knives.

"Mister Fuellar and Mister Ori, I believe your previous observation was correct. You are lowering the success rates of Mister Auburn. Lady Lanka ordered me to keep watch over him; so you may vacate the area," Rin stated in a very different voice than they had heard her speaking with previously.

•••

Amber was at her wit's end. No matter what she did, her focus shifted and disrupted the thin flame she tried to hold. With a sigh, she dispersed the flame and took a few deep breaths. Irene took a break as well, equally flustered as Amber was. Lanka, however, crafted the damn flame perfectly on her first try.

"How?!" Amber asked Stella as she pointed at the Nekomi, who was producing the perfect flame, though covered in sweat.

"Potential difference, my Queen. Lady Lanka has just a fraction of the mana you have," Stella said simply, nodding her head. "As a break in our usual training, please, Queen Amber and Queen Irene, cast pixie circles of power and hold them for me," Stella said, making Amber feel a little uncomfortable.

That was an exercise that almost killed her and Irene last time. Irene swallowed loudly and looked at Amber, who pursed her lips but stood up with determination. She closed her eyes, took a few more deep breaths, and started forming circles. Irene prepared herself as well.

Surprised, Amber manifested almost her entire might without any visible effort. Ancient runes swirled and danced around her while she constructed magic circles that roared with fully controlled power one after another. It crossed her mind that this was the power she received as a gift from Theon and somehow the thought made her feel better. In front of her, hanging in the air, were Irene’s magic circles, which were similar but yet a bit different. While Amber's circles had colours corresponding with the attributes she was calling upon, Irene's circles were all shining gold.

"That's enough, my Queens," Stella's voice made them both stop their casting after almost ten minutes. Both women suddenly felt a heavy magic recoil that almost knocked them down. Stella smiled seeing that. "As you can see, your magic manipulation is almost there. When you dispersed the circles, you felt how your mana wanted to rebel; it wanted to be unleashed. And that's why you train with the mana flame."

Amber smiled at Irene, who was panting a bit heavier than she was, but was as happy as Amber. Stella, however, pointed at Lanka.

"Lady Lanka is very talented. However, her ease of mana manipulation comes from her Sage affinity and the fact that she is already controlling a very powerful familiar."

"I never heard about such an affinity, Lady Stella," Lanka responded timidly. She glanced over her own status but hadn't found anything connected to said Sage affinity. But she found that indeed she had a familiar, which was a bit troublesome since all the data was hidden from her.

"I'm not surprised. Sage is a legendary class, even we Fairy folk haven't heard about Sages for thousands of years. But don't get all excited! Affinity simply means you can become a Sage. Lilly also has the same affinity as you, Lady Lanka," Stella explained, waving her hand in the air. "This means you learn much faster than anyone around you and when I deem you ready, I will teach you some magic that was previously forgotten."

Lanka fixed herself on the chair, suddenly feeling anxious. She understood why Stella wanted to teach the Queens of Avalon. But why her?

"Because your fate is forever twisted and bonded with the fate of Avalon, albeit not as strong or dangerously as ours. You are a noble of Avalon and Everlight Under Avalon is your home," Stella answered, shocking Lanka.

"But I didn't ask..." Lanka started, making the other women laugh.

"You had, Lanka," Irene smiled.

They all laughed once more, seeing Lanka pouting a bit, with her face turning red. After a moment, Lanka decided to ask about the familiar.

"Master Stella, I know it sounds silly, but I don't remember taming any familiar. What's more is all its information is hidden and I don't know why. Do you know the reason for this?"

"It is strange that you don't know what you tamed. However, I'm not surprised at all that the World Words hide information about your Familiar, since it's on a much higher level than you are," Stella explained with a shrug that made even her wings move a little. "You must find out for yourself what you have tamed."

•••

Josla read a report about the new dungeon and wondered if she should act or wait. It was a new dungeon, but it acted strangely. People went missing, and then miraculously they returned, just to take away their families and ride away in wagons pulled by strange beasts. The door to her chamber opened, and she saw Korkas, who sat in the chair with a heavy sigh.

"We have a problem. My scouts informed me that many people are entering that new dungeon and returning home with something."

"Maybe they are retrieving remnants of their families from the graveyard?" she suggested with an uncertain voice.

"Maybe. I'm tempted to send a company and let them search the villagers. But if you are right, then this dungeon is stupid," he replied, a little annoyed.

Josla rummaged through the pile of reports to pick up a scroll with the testimonies of adventurers who returned from that dungeon and threw it on the table. Korkas picked it up and briefly glanced over its contents, but suddenly he stopped and roared.

"Why did no one tell me about this?! We must act now!"

"Calm down. The winter will block all the roads soon. With spring, we will take the largest army possible and we will subdue that dungeon," she laughed at his unexpected concern.

"You fool! By spring, that dungeon will destroy us. Haven't you seen this?!" He pointed at one word in the report.

"Eriar? I don't know what that is." She was a little angry about his attitude. To call her a fool...

"Eriar is one of the Ancient Gods! Many scholars suspect he is the true World Creator!" Korkas yelled at Josla, whose eyes went wide in shock.

"The World Creator? But..."

"If this is true, that Dungeon will be much, much more powerful than anything we have faced so far. And it's just four days away from the capital! I must go there now. Before the snow!"

"It's too late..." Josla said with growing fear in her voice, pointing at the first snowflakes falling outside the window.

"I have to go!" Korkas yelled desperately, but he knew that no one would risk attacks from the snow beasts.

"We have to use all this time to make plans," she said, biting her lip.

•••

"No... Please..." whispering almost soundlessly through her tears, a young woman cuddled her fox-like tail to herself.

A month ago, she received a vision telling her to move to the Cridia Kingdom and she had always obeyed that voice. But very soon after, she discovered that the world outside the Holy Grove was not only dark and dangerous, but was also full of many, many monsters. She had run and hid from them as much as possible, but those chasing her now were the most terrible so far. She was running from slavers for days now, but they were persistent. The woman hid herself under a thick cover of leaves and roots, hoping to rest a bit, but she was exhausted, remaining asleep for too long.

Now the pursuers were nearby.

She almost squealed when a heavy boot stomped just above her hiding spot.

"She is somewhere near! Search the area!" An unpleasant voice boomed right over the woman's head.

She covered her mouth to hide her breath and closed her eyes, praying for safety or just a little luck this time. The ear-piercing eagle-like shriek of a large creature almost deafened her. With painful ears, she heard muffled screams and the sound of violent battle. She sat in a small cavern under the tree roots, trembling in fear, but she couldn't muster even a bit of her courage. It was like almost hours had passed when the woman finally decided to check the area above. There was no trace of her pursuers anywhere, just a few charred spots and traces of still-fresh blood. In the distance, she heard faint laughter, undoubtedly belonging to three different women.

"Who saved me?" She asked herself as she looked around, knowing fully well she must run once again- this time, from the predators that would show up, baited by the smell of blood.

•••

I was in a rather good mood after my informal meeting with Knys and Sigismund. Well... I was. ‘Was’ was the key word here. Now I have mixed feelings.

"Arani, why exactly have you brought them here?"

"They will serve you as sustenance, my King," my Eagle Scion answered proudly.

"Let's start from the beginning. What the fuck, Arani?" I squinted my eyes and sighed.

"Iris, Lilly, and Rose, on their way back to Avalon, almost ran into a small party of slavers. True to your orders, my King, we have eliminated this threat," my Scion explained, looking straight into my eyes.

"So far, everything sounds right, Arani. Continue."

"When we defeated slavers, we brought their bodies here to be buried, my King." My scion was visibly proud of himself, making me sigh.

Suddenly I understood. That made perfect sense after the meeting with Knys and Sigismund. Arani is doing many things according to his dungeon-denizen instincts. According to my unofficial advisors, burying these bodies in the unconsecrated graveyard will bind their souls here forever. I was about to order to take them away but I changed my mind. I need mana and I could always get rid of them later.

"Bury them." I said flatly, knowing full well I was doing something wrong. "Good job Arani."

•••

I entered the Magic Tower and headed towards the classroom, wondering if Stella could help me. I slowly walked through the empty halls of the vast building, thinking in the surrounding silence about the consequences of my actions so far. I might be biased, but I thought that so far I did a really good job. Or maybe not? I just changed the lives of about one hundred people. In the overall picture, that's nothing and most probably I'll soon have to kill more people than I saved. Maybe saved.

I opened the doors and looked inside, finding four women busy with their training. They stopped what they were doing and looked at me, wondering what I'm doing here.

"Hello, my Ladies. I came here looking for an answer." I sat in a free chair. "I recently learned that Dungeons bury those they killed on unconsecrated graveyards within their limits. This way, they bind their souls forever to generate mana."

"That is correct, my King." Stella nodded, wondering what I wanted.

"My question is, what will happen if the graveyard is consecrated?" I asked after a brief hesitation.

This surprised Stella, who thought deeply about the answer. She sat silently for a full minute, making different faces, but most likely she was on her way to admitting defeat. Surprisingly, Lanka and Irene stared at each other and just shrugged their arms. It was Irene who gave me the answer I was looking for.

"As far as we know, that should change your graveyard into a perfect place for final rest. While souls are not bound to eternally generate mana, the bodies will, even after there's nothing left. Any prayer made for the dead lying there should give you mana as well."

"That sounds perfect. So... How exactly can I consecrate my cemetery?" I asked with a big grin.

"You can't, my King," Stella answered simply, trying to regain some of her usual authority.

"That's true. But I can," Irene replied, looking at Stella and me.

"Excellent!" I clapped my hands. "Are you done for today, Stella?"

"I... Well yes." She shrugged.

"Irene, what will be needed to get this consecration going?"

"Nothing special. I just need to go there and..." Irene said before her smile was replaced by a grimace of second thought. "You know what? I will probably need Lanka."

•••

We all ended up in my cemetery zone. However, I decided to make a few changes. The mausoleum and cemetery were located in zone IV, while in zone III was the respite tavern zone which had a gatehouse to the outside world. So I performed a little 'reorganisation'. My dungeon zones in the lower castle are divided using five-meter tall walls, with a small gatehouse between the zones. Right outside of the gatehouse, I placed the cemetery that would be consecrated and marked where a fence and information board would be placed.

Call me weird, but it just sounded wrong to me to turn this entire zone into a consecrated graveyard and then make it a combat zone. That was just not right. To avoid confusion, the burial place would be called a cemetery, while the combat area would be a graveyard, and the mausoleum would stay the mausoleum.

"I think that's good." My skeletons had already made a crude fence. Later on, Bjorn would shout at them and I was confident they would transform it into something incredible.

Irene and Lanka entered inside while Stella remained standing near the fence, observing their every move. I felt a soft, warm hand that wanted to hold mine, but instead of just holding her hand, I raised my arm around Amber's shoulder and hugged her. We watched as Irene and Lanka stood in the middle of the cemetery, praying in silence for about ten minutes. It was getting late, and I felt Amber start shivering from the cold, so I held her tighter and covered her with my cape.

"In the name of Eriar, we humbly beg for your permission for this place within your ground to be a place of eternal rest for everyone despite the god they revered during their lives. We beg you to allow those who will lie in this ground to be free from all shackles and allowed to pass on for their judgment," Irene and Lanka slowly were speaking in unison while they both gazed up into the sky.

In front of me, I saw a system pop up.

Saintess Irene, the Queen of Avalon, and Lady Lanka of Avalon the Saving Grace are attempting to consecrate a sub-sector of your grounds called the cemetery.

This action will forbid you from generating mana from the souls of mortals buried on consecrated ground.

This action will increase passive mana generation by 25% from the cemetery.

This action will grant you mana from prayers made in this place and every burial.

Do you agree?

Yes/No

SysBro... This manoeuvre was entirely my idea. Yes.

I felt an incredible pulse of magic flowing from this place and just like that, I received a quarter of a million mana. Oh... So now I would receive mana just for burying people here as a bonus for 'helping them move on'. That's a very convenient bonus.

One that I'm not totally going to exploit if needed...

•••

Amber and Irene teleported home while I watched Lanka, who was deep in thought. She was praying and I could only try to guess her intention. I gave her a moment of silence which I used to look around and think a bit as well.

I don't think the same way I did when I was sent here and I would not have even noticed it, if not for my journals. I'm gradually changing into the dungeon. When I gave the first order to kill the slavers and mercenaries who brought Irene and others, I felt bad. I felt guilty for not being able to resolve this in any other way. But the more I learned, the more I discovered about this world, and the more I experienced first-hand, the less reluctant I was to use violence. I had always been this way, and I had never been afraid of violence. But knowing that, I had put my red lines very high.

But this was not XXI-century Earth. This is not a world with high ethical standards. Here and now, the only thing that counted was survival. And I understand that pretty well. Violence was not just an option. It was a necessity.

"My King?" Lanka was trembling from the cold. I took off my cape and put it on her without a word.

"Yes, Lanka?" I saw the first snowflakes falling from the sky. My breath left a trail in the air, but I didn't feel cold at all.

"Thank you, my Lord." She covered herself in my cloak and stopped trembling. She looked straight into my eyes. "May we ask for permission to consecrate a small cemetery in The Town under Avalon?"

"I don't see any reason why not. There should be a designated patch of land near the outer wall," I responded and quickly added, "I made it without knowing about this whole consecration or what would happen without it... Sorry."

"I think this will make people happier than you suspect, my Lord." She smiled at me and only then did I notice how beautiful she was. She had changed a lot since the day she first arrived inside my walls. "I don't think there is anyone in the entire Town who thinks you have malevolent intentions."

"I sometimes just don't know, Lanka..." I looked up into the sky, where dusk started giving up it's time for the night. But I smiled, offering my hand to her. "It's not just a Town under Avalon anymore. It's called Everlight now. Do you like it?"

"Very much, my King." She hesitantly took my hand, and I teleported us right into the courtyard of her manor.

She let my hand go very slowly and returned the cape to me. I smiled softly and teleported away after seeing Rin open the doors and welcome Lanka home.