The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

I read the reports from the... Battle? Annihilation? I'll stick with the battle against the goblins and I tried to understand... All this madness. I analyzed the battle and created a base model of what the fuck happened. Was that the typical manner of attacking fortifications? Was it typical only for goblins? And so on. Ten thousand living beings were crushed because they attacked at once, without retaining any safety precautions, not even basic formations. Nothing. They just charged at my walls. Knys and Sigismund told me that was the typical manner of breaching fortifications used by most, if not all, armies.

Why? Why did they throw themselves into such madness? Why were they so willing to die? For dungeon denizens, it's not a big deal after all. They would respawn and can try again, but everyone else? They didn't respawn, yet they did the same thing. A barbaric charge straight forward with screams and war cries might look epic, but they were destined to fail.

My trebuchets from the middle castle wall towers fired 250 to 500 kilograms projectiles up to 1 kilometer away, with lighter projectiles reaching even further. Hurling such heavy projectiles didn't have to be precise, just launch a fuck you in the general direction. Stones this big and heavy would tumble, roll, and even bounce a little; moving dozens of meters under its own momentum, maybe even up to two hundred meters, crushing everything in its path. If they still somehow managed to come closer, I had other surprises hidden for them.

However, when goblins, in their tight formation, trampled under their mass anyone unfortunate to fall, they could only die. And now I had to re-evaluate all my strategies and doctrines. My knights would be effective, but I needed other forces to face such hordes in the open field. My skeleton guards needed to be upgraded.

I would need a Legion.

•••

The day after whatever the goblins tried to do came, and it was time to pay my first upkeep. It took a lot more than it should have and, in panic, I started looking for the reason why. Fortunately, the answer was trivial and reassuring. I was here for about one and a half months before I had to pay for the first upkeep. I'm not sure why, but only now, I had an exact timer showing me how many days were left for the next upkeep payment. So I had to pay for a month and a half this time. This could be just part of the system design, allowing dungeons to gather some mana before paying the first upkeep.

Things returned to normal after yesterday, so I sent my eagles to the villages that took upon my quests. I considered sending messages to all nearby villages, but truth be told, I was not sure if that was a good idea. As a bonus for yesterday's ordeal, I received my first-ever combat skill: Fencing. I probably got it because I personally executed a few goblin commanders. Now I could improve on it. I didn’t have to be some killing machine, but I had to be at least able to defend myself.

•••

I was sitting in the greenhouse garden on the sunbed enjoying the warm sun. Amber and Irene were wondering if they wanted to swim in the pool later or not, but today we spent the day together. It was the first day since I could remember that I was able to focus on them and them only. My Ladies enjoyed the greenhouse much more than I had initially suspected. The lush greenery, beautiful flowers, and little birds created an incredibly serene atmosphere of peace and respite. Irene enjoyed this place very much as it was soothing and she could really rest just by sitting on one of many benches or even laying on the grass. Amber, at first, wasn't sure why I even wanted to build something like this. But lately I was almost sure she was here during her free time. As for me... Well, it's hard to tell, to be honest. I noticed one day that things stopped bringing me joy and I was terrified.

Fortunately, Amber and Irene quickly fixed this problem. How? I have no idea. They simply were with me, holding my hand, or strolling near me, snuggled into my side. Whatever it was, it worked, but I received a clear signal that I was changing. How I hadn't noticed it before was also alarming. For the first few days in this world, I could sleep. I could have lost consciousness, but now it was impossible. My body just pretended to sleep. I'm no longer human physically and I knew that the World System was trying to change me mentally as well. It was only thanks to Amber and Irene I still had the strength to fight it. I was even able to revert some changes in my psyche.

"Theon?" Irene's sweet voice made me smile and focus on her person.

"Yes?"

"I... I forgot to tell you something very important..." Irene, who was holding Ambers's hand, looked at me sheepishly. "I should have told you everything about my past, but things changed so quickly and..."

For some reason, she was nervous. I showed them the bench so they could sit, but Amber instead sat on the grass and pulled Irene to join her. I looked at them with a smile and sat near them as well.

"Trust me, Irene... Recently I feel the same. So, what do you want to tell me?" I sighed, since I know too well when life runs too fast.

"It's about my past, even childhood, Theon. Before I became an adventurer, I was a child of an ancient but impoverished noble house. Despite our material condition, my family was very important to the Ibrevell Kingdom..." She was looking at me like I had an idea about what she was talking about.

"Do I really have to remind you that I'm not a boy from the neighbourhood?" I said with an ironic smile which worked as intended, making Amber and Irene chuckle a little.

"Right... The Ibrevell Kingdom is the last fully Elf Kingdom. It's far to the southwest of the mainland and it's still one of the strongest nations. And... I think I disturbed its balance of power..." She looked miserable. "I was the daughter of Marquis Mhaenal Umelar. But I ran away when I found out that my parents wanted to wed me to old Baron Haldnar."

"Yeah... You told me that before." I nodded my head, reminding myself of my past conversations with Irene.

"What I didn't tell you, Theon, is the fact that I was to wed Baron Haldnar's son first. But he died during the battle against the invading forces of one of the local dungeons."

"Hmmm... Does that change anything? Did you fancy his son?" I asked, a little confused.

"No... I never even saw him. I only knew he was two years older than me. So I was absolutely unconcerned about his fate." She spread her hands in an indifferent gesture. "But I never rebelled against that marriage. All my childhood, I was told and raised with the idea that one day I would participate in a political marriage. And... I got used to it, I guess?"

"Okay..." Just nod, Theon. She needs to talk this out...

"But I rebelled that night. I still don't know why, but it was an irresistible impulse that pushed me to run. I just ran away, Theon... From my responsibility, my obligation..." She was shaken, but I wasn't sure what she felt inside. "I would have done that again. Every time. But you must know that the Ibrevell Kingdom never gave up. They send hunters to find me and bring me back every now and again. Theon... I think they have found me."

"What makes you feel that way?" I asked carefully.

"In Sebastian's report, he mentions capturing an Ibrevell Kingdom spy. He was investigating a case of a kidnapped princess."

"So?" I simply asked. I saw this report as well. Sebastian banished the spy, telling him we had no idea about any Ibrevell Princess to begin with. "It changes nothing, Irene. And if it made a difference, then we speak only about the positives."

"Positives?" She was shocked.

"Indeed. One day, the Elven Kingdom will have to decide if they want war or cooperation with me," I said without much care. Both Amber and Irene knew fully well that in my book, military conquest is as valid as diplomacy. "One day, they may find comfort in the thought that you are my Queen."

"Are you not mad?" Irene asked timidly, and I barely was able to hold the laughter.

When she was feeling strong emotions, her long pointy ears moved up, down, or even to the sides. When ashamed or embarrassed, her ears dropped back and to the sides a little. It was so adorable I couldn’t be mad even if I should have been. But this time?

"No Irene. I'm not mad, I am not even slightly bothered. You are safe in Avalon, and no one can take you away." I looked straight into her eyes filled with fear and warmly smiled. "I will not allow anyone to take you, Irene. I almost convinced myself that you and Amber are mine."

They started laughing, and I stood up, offering them a hand to help them stand up as well. They were still laughing as I hugged them- Amber on my right and Irene on my left. What she had told me changed nothing.

"I'm a greedy man, Amber, Irene. So don't expect that I would allow anyone to even touch you, let alone take you away. You two decided to be at my side forever, and I will do everything to ensure your happiness. But it's not working like this. It's not just my wishful thinking. To be happy, we all need to come to terms with our feelings. It won't happen overnight no matter what the World System is trying to impose upon us. But... We have all the time in the world," I explained, feeling their warmth.

"I simply fell in love with you, Theon..." Irene said slowly but with confidence in her voice. "I can wait for you as long as you need, my beloved one."

"I don't have to wait anymore, either. Thank you for the time you gave me, Theon," Amber said with laughter.

"Then wait for me a bit longer, my Ladies." I smiled warmly while we lazily walked toward the Palace.

I sniffed the clean and wonderful air while looking above at the melting snow on the roof of the greenhouse. This was the world that my soul always dreamed of. I was finally home. I was now happy, but happiness and bitter tragedy are separated only by a very short path. And that was why I must put my heart into our relationship, because I would hurt them otherwise. What was I waiting for? I still needed to say my prayers and beg for forgiveness from my old family. What I did was a little selfish, but I would lie if I said I wanted to change my mind. So now I must make my amends with the past and I must secure the future for us.

•••

For us, this might have been a lazy day, but everyone else seemed to be busy. Ian and the Flower Girls once again took a large detachment with them and went into the wasteland to tame more buffalo and maybe something more. At first, I was a bit nervous to let them go, but this was exactly the reason I had to. I couldn’t stop them, but I could give them an escort big enough so they, and I, could feel comfortable.

Ian managed to tame six buffalos last time. Two bulls, three cows, and one cow calf. The herd instantly fell in love with their new home and, thanks to Ian and the new cows, I could build them a freshly unlocked cowshed. Well, it was Bjorn who was overseeing this project and my basic skeleton who worked there... But yeah. I built it. I even sounded like a proper politician now. I ordered other people to do stuff and then claimed all the credit.

Anyway...

Woolly buffalos are... Umm... A Scottish Highland cow that also gives plenty of milk. And they have wool. At the end of the sunny and warm autumn, when I was talking about taming them with Ian, it seemed like cheating somewhat. A cow that gave high-quality milk, meat, and medium-grade wool? But looking outside the window, I now understood why. It was maybe a week of snow and it was already half a meter deep. Without their thick and warm wool, these cows would not survive the winter. Verni was able to obtain milk from the already-tamed buffalos and it made its way into Annika's kitchen.

And here we were. I called every single resident, and we were waiting for Annika to finish her work in silence. The smell of freshly baked bread was spreading over the kitchen, making everyone hungry. I personally cut it into slices and waited. However, everyone looked at me with suspicious gazes. They thought I asked Annika to make milk chocolate. But they were wrong. That would come later.

"It's ready, my Lord." Annika gave me a jar containing... I tried it on the tip of a spoon. YES! I quickly spread it onto the bread and added just a drizzle of fine salt.

"Please, everyone, help yourself!" Everyone took a slice and sniffed it with a suspicious expression on their faces, but I wasn't waiting for anyone.

I took a bite of freshly baked bread with the most excellent butter I had ever tried. It was just incredible. I cried, still biting on my slice, when Amber decided to try it herself. She made a sound that I could only describe as a moan of pure pleasure. Irene followed her with exactly the same effect. But this was not the main course. Oh, no... I sniffed the air and smiled when Annika opened the large stove and took out the garlic bread.

"This is fantastic!" Fiona yelled after devouring her slice.

"I agree, Fiona! Now the garlic bread." I took a bite. "Umm... Delicious! I should make some memorial or statue for Ian, the man who gave us cows!"

Do I have to say they loved garlic bread?

•••

"That's last! That's the last one!" Auburn shouted, raising his mace and shield in the air. "I finally made it!"

For the last week, he was making it through the quest. It was tedious, boring, and demanded incredible patience, but he made it. At first, he was assisted by a small party and later by the Maid of Lady Lanka. But he finished this quest all alone and now he finally understood it was meant to be this way from the beginning. He felt incredible.

Auburn walked into the guildhall with a tired but proud look in his eyes. Everyone was waiting for him. Even the King and Queens were there. He rolled the page with the quest across the counter and put all five items on it. Auburn looked in front of himself and smiled. King Theon rubbed his chin with a smug face but said nothing.

"I declare this quest as completed!" the young Elf shouted.

"And I confirm that is cleared," the King replied.

In front of Auburn, The World Words manifested.

As a reward for the quest, you are allowed to pick up a new unique class.

You strode the battlefields with your brothers and no danger scares you. In the furnace of battle, when others fail, you can still raise your mace to crush the enemy. You have the strength to cover an ally behind your shield. Your faith is stalwart and firm. You are the Apothecary.

The Apothecary is a heavy melee brawler specialising in mace and shield combat. But don't let looks deceive you. The Apothecary is a healer who uses lesser to medium healing spells and can fight on its own. You can use healing auras and battle shouts as well, making you a dangerous foe in battle. Outside of battle, you are a doctor who can tend to wounds and mend broken limbs. You can also craft all health status related potions.

Do you want to choose Apothecary as your primary class?

Yes/No

"YES!" Auburn shouted, full of happiness.

All the adventurers started clapping and cheering for him. It was a big day for the guild as they had secured their second healer. And that was an incredible class- he could use heavy armour, shields and maces in actual combat. That meant Auburn would have corresponding skills, both active and passive, to be a proper front liner. His healing aura was not as good as active spells, but it drained much less mana and was an area-of-effect skill, allowing anyone in a ten-metre radius to slowly regain health. Besides, he could now use lesser healing spells similar to the light healing of a cleric, which already was incredible. He also could use other types of auras.

•••

I smirked. That quest drained one hundred thousand mana, but I doubled that investment. That was an incredible income of mana, so I could barely keep myself from rubbing my hands together. Oh, this is going to be good! I felt a sudden shift in mood after Auburn stopped explaining his skills and got tired of being excited. Everyone was looking at me with hope in their eyes. I bared my teeth in an almost predatory smile.

Oh yes, baby. I can feel that mana flowing already.

"My Ladies, I have some business to attend to with our friendly adventurers." I smiled at Amber and Irene, who almost started giggling, seeing my face.

"All right. I'll catch up with Lanka and discuss this with her." Irene showed me the book we decided to share with Everlight. She had a lot to explain and warn them about, so it would take some time.

"Then I'll go with Irene," Amber said after a few moments.

I nodded and watched them as they captured Lanka and hauled her away towards the meeting room upstairs. I went to one of the biggest tables and seated myself in the chair. With a flick of my fingers, I summoned a large pile of papers and waved my hand towards Idna and Knys. I was sitting on the longer side of the table, leaning in close. I wanted to have a good look at the person who would be asking for a quest. Near me, on the longer side as well, Idna sat, and on the short side of the table, on my right, Knys also sat. I placed the paper pile between Idna and me at an arm's length away.

"All right Knys. I'm convinced these quests are profitable for the dungeon, so I will create more of them. How do you want to proceed?"

"Thank you for your kindness, my Lord. I think we will need at least six, maybe up to ten healers. Alchemists and other similar classes would be also important for the Town. Besides that, I would be thankful if your Majesty would just allow the people to say what they desire and, if that's possible, to help them magnificently," Knys said with a big smile.

"That's reasonable... Hmm... An Alchemist..." I looked around at all the faces that looked towards me with hope and happiness. I used my dungeon skills to appraise them and saw some very interesting people, but two of them were just perfect to be alchemists. And one of them was very, very interesting.

Talent Gauge, my rare skill that I bought to just have it, then finding out it was worthless, was now just pure cheating. Ups and downs, I guess. It was pointless to use it on my denizens since their talents do not influence their skills and powers. But it worked perfectly on the people of this world. I just asked myself who would be an incredible alchemist, and this skill marked the right people. The brighter they glow, the better suited they were for the task at hand. And now I could see two people who were glowing like fucking Times Square for Christmas. Two lighthouses... I had to turn off the skill.

"You and you. Come here and sit down." I pointed at one wolfkin and one halfling, who quickly sat in the free chairs in front of me and Idna. "I'm sorry, but you two must become Alchemists."

I told them why, expecting some outrage or dissatisfaction, even disappointment, however, they started yelling excitedly. What's more, all the others in the guild started their merry cries.

"I guess you agree then?" I asked as a formality, surprised by their happy outburst.

"Yes, my Lord!" they shouted happily.

I took two sheets of paper and created quests. My mana... But I grit my teeth, as this would bring me profit. I created similarly boring quests as I had previously. However, these were less about killing monsters and more about gathering healing and other herbs and brewing multiple potions. With internal disgust and contempt for myself, I handed them the papers, and they accepted them as if they were some holy relics.

If they both succeed, I would snatch one for myself.

•••

"It's adorable! Look at it, Ian!" Iris was in seventh heaven, snuggling herself to the ice bunny.

"I think it will be excellent with potatoes." Ian indifferently summarised, putting three more tamed rabbits in the cage.

"Noooo! You can't!" Rose hid another rabbit behind her back.

"I think we can take these two as pets... But what if Ian is right? What if they are cute and delicious?!" Lilly asked, torn between the cuteness of the rabbit and her love for Annika's excellent food.

"My skill insists they are a delicacy." Ian confirmed.

The girls patted their rabbits in silence, thinking about this new information. Ian, in the meantime, ordered the skeleton guards to secure the rabbit cage in the wagon. It was an excellent day. He managed to tame an entire colony of rabbits and they had snatched almost thirty of them. With a little luck, King Theon could use them to create a hunting node. Still no luck with the buffalos, though...