The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

After we returned home, the girls went straight to bed. They slept almost the entire day, so in the end, Irene fulfilled her promise. I spent the whole day on the reorganisation of my legions- they performed well, but not well enough. That called for the changes and that's why I bought a few more upgrades for the skeletons to boost their statistics and improve their combat effectiveness. With this, my legionaries should have better survivability, their fighting skills increased as well, and what was even more surprising, they could now use better gear. I would have to ask Ragnar to create new armour for my legions and I just made a new pattern for them to spawn with.

I was strolling aimlessly in the greenhouse alleys and finally laid down on the sunbed near the pool. The main topic for today was my hmmm... Skills? Status? Normally, I would call it a character chart. But after I ranted so much about it being so similar in style to Excel tables, it stopped looking like that at all. Now I couldn't bring them up, as if the World System held a grudge about that. Because of that, I have mixed feelings- on the one hand, I can't see the overview of my skills and statistics anymore, on the other hand, I just know my skills and what they do. I was no longer sure which was better... However, the skills on their own are only half of the success- you also should know what you are doing. It was just like the skills amplified the personal... Well, skills.

It was so inconsistent, no this was wrong and unfair... It was counterintuitive. Everyone was capable of doing anything, but skills gave additional depth to what people are already doing. In my old life, I think I observed something similar. It was like eating something in a restaurant run by the master chef who painstakingly made sure that each dish served was absolute perfection, and later, when you tried to recreate that insanely good food at home, you discovered that it was only edible at best. So as long as magic is not involved, everyone can do everything- but never as well as the person with the corresponding class. I think it could be described as skill, talent and passion- the three different but quite measurable aspects influencing the outcomes of everything in this world. Ultimately, it was very interesting on its own, but in the short term it created an insane level of complexity, which would be fun to explore and learn about if not for the uncertain future that awaited me.

I still don't know enough about the outside world to feel comfortable- I have an overall picture, but to be honest, I can't witness anything first-hand. Because of that, I can't simply engage with the skill mechanics alone and neglect preparations for the spring. I can't leave Avalon, so the only thing I can do is to read reports to learn as much as I can about the world. Well, technically, I could watch the world using the eyes of my denizens, but after a few attempts I gave up; the amount of mana I used hardly was worth the effects I received. Yes, the world outside struggled, which is inevitable if most of the economy is based on dungeon resources, but even in this struggle I could see the shards of normalcy and happiness. The people of the world adapted to this change a few centuries ago and simply lived their lives full of danger and constant threats, but what choice do they have? Curl up in the corner and cry? It would change nothing.

I wondered if I have not focused too much on a single-minded solution of saving this world by conquest. I am not sure if I really wanted that either. This was not a game; when the dice would be thrown. The end result would always mean more death, and it could mean anyone’s demise; even Amber, Irene and Luna were in danger. But there were not many other choices for me right now. Queen Josla is mobilising her army, and she is preparing for a long war, so she must be aware that I am not a random new dungeon, but a serious threat. According to the newest reports, some of my spies were finally detected and hunted down in the entire capital city. Strangely enough, no one managed to connect these newfound spies with me, so fortunately, the main theme of their war preparations was to strike me as soon as possible before I started sending expeditions.

They estimated that I was at least as strong as the Blood Dungeon, which is quite a sound conclusion, but objectively wrong. The Blood Dungeon was, in fact, a much more powerful dungeon than I am, but I am more combat-oriented. This basically means I suck as a dungeon, but I am a very strong young kingdom. The Cridian's army would be more or less one hundred thousand strong and I still couldn’t find out what levels they were, but even if we talked about level fifty or sixty on average, I could be in trouble. My legions were level sixty-five on average and I got beaten badly by the level sixty demons...

"My Lord?" A calm voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Ragnar?"

"Do you remember when a few weeks ago I promised to investigate the whereabouts of the pieces that make up the Heavenly Valkyrie armour set? I think we managed to find their estimated locations."

•••

I was sitting in the war room with Ragnar and Ruby, who explained their findings. As I suspected, some parts of this set were lost during wars, but they were in nearby countries, so reclaiming them shouldn't be that problematic. What pleasantly surprised me, however, was the fact that the second part of this set was in the Cridia Kingdom.

"So the Valkyrie Sigil, the magical shield, is most likely in one of these three dungeons?" I looked at the map surprised- according to them, one of the suspected dungeons was the Wolf Manor dungeon, near where Thor was.

"Yes, my King. According to legends, it should be there and while we don't know if it was destroyed or not, we think it's very unlikely." Ranger nodded.

"The dungeons very rarely dispose of the equipment pieces- especially a legendary piece like this because it's a good bait for people who will try to reclaim it," Ruby added.

"Makes sense..."

I walked to the window, rubbing my chin, when a messenger eagle arrived at the chamber. He bowed to me and conveyed Thor's report, which was strange at best.

"Hmm... The Wolf Manor Dungeon wants to talk with me." I said out loud. "Interesting..."

•••

Thor was sitting under the large fallen tree and was looking at the dire wolf, who tried to present itself proudly, but looked pitiful in comparison. The large Fenrir King, with his long magnificent fur, simply dwarfed the Wolf Manor messenger, who was surrounded by two smaller fenrirs and six large shadow wolves.

"So what that your master wants to talk with mine? I sent an inquiry about it and until I receive instructions, I can't promise you anything, Hrulf. Especially when you haven't told me anything."

"My master wants to know who are you and why you serve another dungeon." No matter how you look at this, Hrulf was like a defenceless pup compared to the monster he talked to.

"My name is Thor. I am the scion of the Righteous Dungeon." Fenrir snarled angrily at the smaller wolf. "I always serve my Master..."

Thor blinked and fell silent when the voice of his King sounded in his mind. He happily wagged his tail when King Theon praised his efforts and asked to see what that dungeon wanted.

"The message was conveyed and my Master wishes to learn what you want. Speak."

"My Master, Demesne of Moonlight, sends her highest regards. She wishes to learn the reason why so many powerful denizens are looking around her manor instead of preparing for the dungeon wars?"

"The dungeon wars?" Thor repeated faithfully his master's question.

"Each winter, dungeons clash with each other while the people of the world hide in their settlements in fear of the winter beasts. How old are you to not know that? No matter. My Master is old, but she was weakened by the Cridians, so she doesn't believe she will survive this year's war. That's why she sent me to bargain with you, seeing what powerful monsters you are commanding, Lord Thor."

"So, what does she want?"

"To live." Hrulf's response was painfully honest. "She doesn't want to die."

Thor just nodded, as there was not much more he could do, anyway. He patiently waited for any kind of proposal, as King Theon told him to. Hrulf, seeing Fenrir's patient gaze, sighed and continued.

"That's why my Master needs to know how powerful you are."

"And how exactly does she want to measure this?" Thor asked after a moment, needing to confirm Hrulf didn't have anything more to say.

"The easiest way would be to compare upkeep costs. My Master's upkeep was the biggest in the entire area back when the Blood Dungeon was vanquished. She pays monthly four hundred and fifty-seven thousand mana points. What's your Master upkeep?" Hrulf looked proud, telling this.

"My Master pays for monthly upkeep over one million mana points." Thor smiled with satisfaction. However, he wasn't sure if that was really a reason to brag.

"A million mana? And your master is earning enough to keep these expenses?!"

"Yes, without much effort now." Thor was uncertain and a little lost. How exactly that was measuring the dungeon power eluded him, but Thor remained calm- King Theon didn't know as well.

"My master..." The dire wolf paled...

•••

"Ummm... What?!" I sprayed my tea over the window.

•••

"My master has some questions before he decides," Thor asked without any emotions in his voice.

"Naturally!" Hrulf happily wagged his tail. The very idea of such a powerful monster as a potential ally was exciting.

"Seven years ago somewhere here an Elf woman named Hrrida and a human male named Vincent were murdered. He was a knight, and she was a ranger. Do you know anything about that?"

"Why..." Hrulf opened his mouth in shock and stopped wagging his tail immediately. "Yes... My master told me to tell you the truth. We knew them, their party and we liked them. These two had a daughter, who we tried to protect- I didn't understand why, but my master felt attached to these mortals. But in the end, we failed."

"You have not. The daughter you are talking about is now a beautiful and powerful woman. She is the Queen of Avalon and the wife of King Theon." Thor looked at the wolf for the first time with respect. "I know you are telling the truth. Where do they lie?"

"Over there." Dire wolf looked toward the lonely tree on the small hill. "What do you plan?"

"We will take them to the Righteous Dungeon and we will lay them to sleep in the Royal Mausoleum. This place was consecrated by the Saintess so they could find eternal rest." Thor nodded at two of his shadow wolves, who faded into darkness. "My master wants to know as well if you have the Valkyria Sigil."

•••

I agreed without any additional conditions on the non-aggression pact. I ordered Thor to leave some of his wolves in the Wolf Manor so they can learn more. He, however, would return home with the bodies of Amber's parents. The thing about master-servant relationships would have to wait a bit since I had to learn much more before I could decide what to do...