The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

Galahad was in a defensive stance, and there was nothing else he could do. How is it possible that he was just level fifty?! The thought kept crossing the mind of the knightly scion. He tried to swing his sword, but the graceful parry tossed him off balance, creating an opening that was mercilessly exploited by his opponent. The cut was swift and short, without wasting any strength on theatrics or cheap moves. His opponent was calm and precise, dodging and parrying each strike that Galahad was able to deliver. And with each passing minute, the reason for this was obvious. Galahad was lacking.

Galahad had mostly improved the skills that would allow him to be his King’s General, not a duelist. Despite a high level and relatively high skill levels, his fencing was just level 30. Just then, it levelled to 31, but he barely felt any difference. His opponent was faster, stronger, and quicker. But if that was only the case, he could still win, tiring his opponent in a duel of attrition where he had the upper hand due to the simple fact he was a dungeon denizen.

But his opponent could be described as one as well.

But even so, this was still not the true reason why Galahad was losing. His opponent knew fencing techniques he had never seen before. And this was the reason for his downfall. His opponent was not an amateur and knew exactly what he was doing.

"I yield, my King," he sighed after receiving a kick that knocked him to the ground.

•••

"Tsk... I still don't feel this at all!" I had been in a bad mood since we started training.

At first, Galahad was beating me effortlessly, almost knocking me down cold on the ground a few times. But I managed to level up my class more than a few times since we had started. My class was broken, I was sure of it. In any MMO-RPG, such a class would guarantee an endless tide of complaints from the other players to the developers, and yet, I was frustrated. Not because this class was bad, but because I sucked as a blade master big time. For this class to work, you had to know what you were doing with your blades. AND I DIDN’T! I had a very, very brief idea about sword fight techniques from my previous world. Fortunately, my fencing was levelling like crazy, thanks to my class modifiers, and when it hit level 100, I could reset it, trading its levels for a blade technique of my choosing. I could repeat that process as many times as I want.

So the only way I could fight right now was by trying to recreate the stances and attack patterns I remembered from movies and videos I watched in my previous life. It was… a mess, or simply sloppy at best. I sucked as a fencer, no matter what Galahad was saying right now.

"One more time!" I raised my sabre in a duel stance, looking at my scion.

He tossed away his large shield this time and held his sword in both hands. We circled each other a few times before he engaged me with an obvious thrust, but I just moved away from its path, controlling his blade with my parrying dagger while closing the distance to deliver my blow. But Galahad had seen this trick before and he ducked down, using his long sword as a lever by resting its tip on the ground to push away the dagger. Then he hit me in the chest painfully with his fist, missing my solar plexus by a small margin. Yet still, he managed to hammer the air out of my lungs. I staggered, almost falling to the ground, but luckily, I managed to divert Galahad's next strike. I raised my hand to give up.

"Ekhm." I coughed and gasped for air. "You got me this time."

•••

I sipped some cold water while sitting down and resting a bit. Amber and Irene had taken Luna to the resident training grounds, where they started levelling her up. The Flower Girls had absorbed Dahlia into their ranks and were helping her to level up as well. Clovis was in the middle of his class quest, supported by Marie and the gang. That left me as the last unprepared person in Avalon. And that's why I was training.

The World System was a mystery to me, but it seemed like it finally had tuned to me or otherwise fixed itself since the first time I noticed it. Its messages were finally consistent, without mistakes, making itself clear enough that I finally knew what it wanted to say to me. I could read the stats of other people with little restriction when they entered my domain. And speaking about stats, I was fully aware that my stats could be considered broken. But then I compared myself with the Blood Dungeon, which statistics I had in my 'memory,' and compared to it, I was a damn weakling...

I opened the dreaded window, and I sighed... Wait. I don't have to use the Excel window? Excellent!

Level: 85

Health Points: 6850/6850

Mana Points (combat): 1250/1250

Mana Points (basic): 604 534/850 000

Mana Points (valut): 7 500 000/15 000 000

Stamina Points: 3000/3000

STR:83

CON:50

DEX:80

INT:20+150

WIS:20+150

CHA:20+150

Skills (combat form):

Blade mastery lvl 85

Dual wielding lvl 34

Fencing lvl 56

Blink lvl 50

Arcana blade lvl 80

Illusion blade lvl 65

Dash lvl 50

Magic parry lvl 65

Magic shield lvl 23

Arcane bolt lvl 76

Multicasting

Silent casting

HP regeneration lvl 34

MP regeneration lvl 34

SP regeneration lvl 34

… Stop! I don't want to spend the rest of the day looking at my dungeon skills.

I still haven't spent the majority of my skill points. Partly because some of my skills levelled up on their own while I used them, and partly because I wanted to check if some skills had to be levelled only by spending skill points on them. The last part is a luxury in my new world. It was hard to imagine people hoarding their skill points as my residents and I could.

"My King?" Galahad stood, resting against his large shield. "Why do you use only basic fencing during training?"

"Because, Galahad, my skills revolve around fighting with blade weapons."

"I mean, why do you not use your other skills as well, my Lord?" My scion tried to clarify his question.

"I'll show you why..." I stood up and switched from my dagger and sabre so that I then wielded two sheathed arming swords. "Prepare!"

"Fight!" Galahad shouted and took a defensive stance, loosely holding his shield while preparing his sword for a thrust.

With a bright flash, I vanished and appeared right next to Galahad, hitting him from his blind spot and disappearing again. With a series of blinks and dashes, I slashed and pummeled Galahad with the blunt tips of the sheathed swords until he gave up. He stared at me in silence for a moment before shaking his head in disbelief.

"I'm shocked, my Lord. I was not expecting anything like this. How did you come up with the idea of using Blink like this?"

"It was not my idea. I saw it in my previous life. Actually, that's one of the most iconic skills that we, people who don't know magic, imagined in our games and fantasies about magical fencers." I smiled, "I have a few more tricks, but I don't even have to test them on you, Galahad. I know they are devastating."

"I see..." Galahad poorly masked his curiosity, which was topped with a grain of disbelief.

With a sigh, I pointed my sword toward a group of target dummies. In the air behind me formed seven large, shining, almost metallic sapphire blue magic circles, inside which seven smaller similar circles revolved. Each one of them was the magic foundation of the Arcane Bolt- a spell that was a combination of bolt spells consisting of all the elements. It was a bit more powerful than any other basic bolt spell, but its true power lay in its multi-element nature, which mostly ignored single-element resistances or immunities. Casting a spell was an intuitive process; each spell has its cool-down, cast time, and projectile speed, which translated to the relative ease of aiming. In the case of Arcane Bolt, the casting time took about two seconds and its cooldown was instant, while the projectile itself was one of the fastest spells. By combining seven Arcane Bolt circles to revolve around a simple position-adjusting circle, I essentially created an Arcane Bolt minigun. Unfortunately, it was not making the mandatory "Brrrrr" sound, so I had to settle with the sizzling sound of vaporized air and impact blasts.

The idea was simple. The largest circle spun, making sure that the Arcane Bolt that was ready to fire was always in the top position. The smaller circles were simple Arcane Bolts that triggered on auto. The entire setup was nothing special, even vulgar in its crudeness and simplicity. Using larger circles to align smaller ones simply helped with aiming; that way I only had to control seven paths of projectiles, instead of the total forty-nine.

I showed all of this to my scion. While no one could seriously call a single bolt of any element powerful, the devastating torrent of a continuous stream of Arcane Bolts was terrifying. The target dummy ceased to exist almost immediately, and I just moved the tip of my blade over the other targets. My bolts flew where the tip of my blade was pointing as if it was the barrel of a rifle, leaving nothing but scorched and pitted earth in its wake. With a quick flicker of my arm, I moved the arming sword as if I wanted to sheath them, dissolving the magic circles behind me. I looked at Galahad, who knew I was not exactly proud of creating such a destructive spell.

"What was that spell?!" I heard his shock.

"Arcane Bolt." I calmly stated.

Galahad stood in dead silence for a moment as he contemplated how I managed it. He was a brilliant commander, and I was instantly proud of him when I saw how he trained my Legions and prepared for war. After our duelling sessions, I saw how his combat prowess was rising. He finally nodded with conviction; it seemed he finally guessed at what I had done.

"Most casters I'm aware of will prolong the casting time of a bolt-type spell to make it more powerful. But after seeing that, I would have never guessed that it was 'just' Arcane Bolt, my King."

"Yes... But most dangers I will be facing will most likely entail assassination attempts or will leave me with just a fraction of a second to respond." I sighed, storing both arming swords in my inventory. "That's why I must train fencing and my response times, Galahad."

•••

I spent the whole day sparring with Galahad and I wished I could say I was tired, but no. I paid a visit to Wendy and ordered fur coats for my Queens. After that, I went outside and walked down the streets of Avalon, breathing in the chilly evening air. I was in the middle of my relaxing stroll when I received an odd notification.

"The fuck?" I asked the most important question while I abruptly teleported to the war room, immediately closing all the gates of Avalon and sending armed patrols in all directions.

I zoomed in on the map and started zooming it out... But there was nothing. I contacted my scions, but they were as confused as I was, which was not a good sign. I nervously watched the map from every angle. It lasted for about half an hour and I was unable to find any raiding forces. In desperation, I told Stella to activate the Emergency Buff Protocol and ordered my denizens to not engage any unknown adventurer or resident. I issued a warning as well, using my audio system. One of the sparrows flew into the war room, but after receiving Stella's buffs, it flew away. I noticed my Queens teleported to the Palace, according to the panic procedures I established earlier.

It was hopeless. I was ready to unleash my field army at this point. My panic was caused by the fact I couldn't find any invaders after an HOUR OF FUCKING RAID WARNINGS! What was scarier was that everything indicated that the invaders were all in Avalon the entire time…

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!" I yelled.

•••

The Great Nest was under attack, and the King was not able to fight these invaders. That's why Sky General Twirrl marshalled his troops to battle. His flock had flourished under the care of the Great King, who allowed him and his kin to nest within his domain. The time had come to repay him for his mercy.

"Twirlll'li!" He ordered his highest-level subordinates, and they obediently attacked the invading swarm head-on.

The Wind Slashes mercilessly cut at the invading forces, but there were too many of them. The invading swarm belonged to a hostile dungeon and was strong. The nightmare hornets would be a terrifying enemy for any other denizens; their venom was able to put to sleep almost any humanoid in no time, immersing them in a realm of terror. From this nightmare sleep, rarely anyone woke up and, even then, rarely stayed sane. A single sting was painful, but for this terrible effect to influence anyone, no less than six stings were required, but not for his kin. For Avalonian Sparrows, the nightmare hornets were a delicacy. Twirrl’s forces started taking the first casualties, and he needed just one glance to know they would lose this battle without help.

"Twit! Chiiirp!" He ordered his herald, who made a tight barrel roll and flew straight to the King.

The desperate battle took its toll on the defending forces, but they would not give up. The hornets would never reach the Palace, not as long as they were here. General Twirrl proudly noticed how his forces decimated the hornets' formations. Two minutes passed when he suddenly felt an insane rush of power that enhanced him. Around him, all his remaining forces started to change as runes of arcane power formed unbelievable magic circles. It must be King Theon's intervention! His herald made it in time!

The ancient magic of Faé Queen Stella pierced the air, carrying with it the gentle light of Queen Irene's magic. Twirll's wounds started to close, and he felt incredibly invigorated, ready to throw himself into the fray once more. He looked at his soldiers, and, in awe, admired the power of the Righteous Dungeon. All the sparrows seemed to be invincible now; their claws and beaks were like diamonds, shredding hornets in half with a mere touch. Their feathers became like the iron armour that Master Ragnar forged in his workshop, and their wind magic cut like the sharpest razors.

Lord Arani's scream pierced the air as he returned to Avalon, and his mere presence buffed all the sparrows even more. The tide of the battle changed in Twirll's forces' favour. He landed heavily on the top of an apple tree to better grasp the situation when he saw the enemy general. He was hovering in the air, assessing the battle, and in front of Twirll, he slaughtered two sparrows who dared to challenge him.

"Chiiiriiip!" he screamed, summoning his two adjutants.

Two large sparrows broke from the formations they were leading to join their general. Twirll aimed straight at the large hornet while his backup would take care of any hornet that would try to interrupt. With a single chomp of his beak, he bit off the head of a lesser hornet, swallowing it with pleasure. He was closing fast, akin to small lightning, but his opponent was already waiting.

The hornet conjured a spell and buffed himself in the seconds before Twirll got to him. The two creatures clashed once, and that was almost the end of the invading general. He was sure that the sparrow would die, and he paid dearly for his conceit. He lost his two legs and his stinger was almost completely crushed by his opponent's unbelievably hard feathers. But the hornet general had no time for shock if he wanted to live, and the sparrow was not going to give him any time. With a sharp turn, he swiftly closed once again upon him, slashing with his razor-sharp claws. The hornet barrel-rolled to avoid the claws, but the sparrow anticipated such a move and nicked the side of the hornet.

Twirll cork-screwed in the air and sent a Wind Slash towards the hornet general, but when he almost tasted his victory, three smaller hornets broke through his adjutants. They used their bodies to block the Wind Slash, robbing Twirrl of his well-deserved triumph. One hornet tried to avoid physical contact with the sparrow, because he finally understood that the birds must have received buffs. He gained speed, rapidly changing directions, all while trying to identify how long the buffs would last. The sparrows couldn't be enhanced forever...

Two hours?! How was that even possible?! His master never once blessed him with a basic buff, yet so many potent effects could never usually last so long!

A storm started brewing over them, causing heavy clouds to cover the sky. The temperature fell like a stone tossed into the pit, and he knew his soldiers would die very soon. But this was not affecting the birds at all. They cut, ripped and tore into them, swallowing pieces, sometimes even a hornet whole. The hornet general had never suspected that simple sparrows could stop his advance...

Twirll chirped with pleasure as he levelled up. He unlocked a new skill that would finally put an end to this nonsense.

"Chhhiiirip!" He cast the spell and the world around him slowed down.

Twirll, in no time, reached the fleeing hornet general and ripped off his wings and stinger. After that, he closed his talons over its body, just in time before his new skill ended.

… A horrible pain pierced the hornet general, and in an instant he lost his wings and stinger. That was it... He lost. He had, however, gathered enough information that his death would be of benefit. He could die and respawn, and his master would learn everything. The hornet closed his eyes, waiting for death to come. However, he realized then that death would never come, feeling a rush of air around him as he was carried away.

•••

"My Lord! We can't find any attackers or their bodies!" Arani reported, as nervous as I was.

"Keep looking! We were raided, for fuck's sake!"

I stood leaning over the map as I considered my options. I tried to calm down, but it was so hard. Ten sparrows then flew through the opened window and landed in front of me, visibly proud of themselves.

"Twwwirlllit chiiirp!" The biggest sparrow exclaimed proudly. "Chiiiirrrrrip Twit chirrr chriii."

"What do you mean, you managed to defeat the invaders?!" I looked at him, confused.

"Chirp," he confirmed and, as proof, he presented the largest hornet I ever saw in my life, trapped within his beak.

It was an insect, easily fifteen centimetres long, scratching the map table desperately with its remaining legs. I crossed my arms and leaned over to take a better look, seeing the panic in the hornet's actions. Its legs left scratch marks on the wood as he tried to bite the fearless tiny bird with his huge mandibles, but it was held tight. I was rather impressed with the work of my little mascot, the mighty sky general Twirll. I had named him as a joke at first, but the small bird took it very seriously. The hornet made a sound similar to a low-pitched scream as it looked defiantly at me.

"Oh?!" I was amused. I looked at the critter with a smirk. "Those are some bold claims."

"Twrilip." My bird leaned menacingly over the hornet's head.

"No, Twirll. Take it to Stella and let her interrogate it. I will decide what to do later." I gently patted the brave bird. "Incredible work Twirll. I will tell Annika to prepare your troops a feast of boiled wheat with honey that you like so much."

"Twriit!" The little bird saluted me with his wing, and I could already tell he was happy about their reward.

He flew away, taking his prisoner to Stella while I sat down and focused on zone three,where sparrow companies were still fighting with the hornets. The sheer absurdity of the situation reminded me of the realities of this world. I sat down on my throne and analyzed the situation. It may look silly now, but in reality, that was a serious breach that could have resulted in damaging me. I absorbed the hornet remains that lay on the ground and unlocked the upgrade for my sparrows and spiders.

Wait a minute. Spiders! I looked at my neglected spawners. Snakes and spiders; both were perfect for what I planned. Let's start with spiders. What do we have here? I can make bigger spiders who would finally evolve into Arachne... Nah. I don't need that. What else? Hunter spiders looked promising. They were on the smaller side, fast, and agile... They could evolve later into black widows. Sort of… Which is very good. I tracked the entire evolution tree and was very pleased with it. The Death Weaving Spider was a badass creature. It produced several types of strands; classic sticky ones, silk, steel, poisoned or even elemental. I accepted the evolution plan and paid the demanded one million mana.

"Thank you, ghosts of the Lich’s victims, for your priceless gift of mana." I offered a quick prayer in dedication to them and focused on the World System window.

"Yes, I want to." Now it was time for the hard part. Name.

I closed my eyes and looked at the spider that crawled from the spawner. I expected it to be more apprehensive, but it was actually cute. It... She was maybe a little bigger than my hand, and her mostly black fur was mixed with intricate golden and red patterns along her central body. Her front legs resembled scythe-like golden blades, with a single red stripe that overlaid the gold decorating her legs. Her ruby-red eyes scanned the area, and she quickly tested her body. She swiftly dug out a small hole with her blades and crawled into it. After just a few seconds, she burst out at full speed and jumped at the tree, where she cut off a thick branch with her scythe leg.

I teleported to her location, and when she saw me, she started jumping like an excited dog. I opened my hand with a giggle and she gracefully landed on it. I looked at her with a thoughtful smile and made my decision.

"Hello, Crawline."

She bowed to me and quickly crawled back into the spawner in the big oak tree.

"That makes one..." I sighed, suddenly tired by the evening's absurdity.