It’s such a common thing for people to ask questions to things they already know the answer to, like if mana infuses everything, then why don’t buildings or the furniture in our homes come to life?
As if they’ve never heard of mimics, haunted houses, or the countless stories of relics with unimaginable power.
Then again, maybe it’s just hope, the same thing which allows us to try something a dozen times, and believe this time might just be different.
That our dreams can come true, our weapon, or even spatula being able to awaken, and take us to heights we truly can’t even imagine!
They’re nice dreams, even if they typically run counter to what we know to be true.
After all, do rock elementals just form off on the side of random road?
No, of course not, instead they’re found in mines or in areas regularly bathed in blood…Time, even mana, only able to take something, so far, and much like in order for someone to change, there first has to be a want, a need for it.
A process bathed in destruction, death, pain or simply a discomfort that grows just too uncomfortable to bare.
Change after all, isn’t truly something chosen, instead it’s more like an itch, which just can’t be scratched, and the more it bugs us, the more likely we are to become something different.
It’s probably why walls, city, town or otherwise are one of the most common buildings to awaken, constantly attacked, damaged, and covered in blood, until one day they begin to level up.
Getting stronger, after every battle becoming a powerful beacon of strength for a city!
Until of course, the wall gains enough of a brain to wonder, hey why exactly do these things, or people keep attacking me, and then things rapidly become interesting.
The city being razed, as the walls turn on their owners or some empire becomes threatened by the rising power, truly a tale, old as time.
So be glad that your kitchen ware isn’t coming to life, and remember that if you use them for their intended purposes they will almost always remain that way, just like you won’t grow or change, unless you truly have a reason to.
The words of an architect, who has had to tear down far too many buildings who DIDN’T go quietly
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“My liege a report from Katar has just come in, the mana levels have stopped falling, and have even begun to normalize.” Salvatore laughs as he kicks a lizard with one of his boots, sending the hundreds of pounds of flesh, and armor slamming into a wall.
“We should have done this ages ago, I bet even now the remaining Salazar are scurrying into little holes hoping that now we will leave them alone.” His eyes darken.
“But it’s too late now, and it’s time for us to finally finish this, besides Hesto now has so much more mana density than Katar it would be a shame to let them keep it.”
Behind Salvatore stands the remains of a burning crumbling city filled with dead bodies, and blood running down the streets.
His army is picking apart their bodies, pulling cores out of their chest, and stripping any valuables off their bodies.
A scene happening across Katar as the Salazar are steadily purged throughout the world.
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An image is displayed above an orb, a major city now little more than a glowing crater in the ground.
Osmond crushes the orb in his hand, the glass shattering to the floor, without being able to pierce his hand.
So many dead, with no one able or rather, the nobles too afraid to stand up to Salvatore, which means wherever he goes death follows.
While the nobles, instead of facing him, keep sending us out to “save” some random villages, to make it look like they’re actually doing something, dragging a few thousand people to the capital, and ignoring the millions who are dying.
“Millions of Salazar.” while the nobles hide in their little castle, behind the shields that are currently just too difficult for the Nelka to crack, but with every city that falls it becomes that much easier to breach.
Everyone else though is just left to fend for themselves, but with only three major cities still standing across the entire world… “Something has to change, it needs to.” A group is gathered behind Osmond, Salazar covered in battle worn red, and black metal plates, soldiers.
The fodder sent out to fight, and die while the nobles stand in their little castle.
His fist slams into the metal gate, causing a ring to echo across the city, and a grumpy Salazar in silver plates glances over at the crowd.
A couple of hundred soldiers leaving quite an impression to some, but this guard isn’t remotely close to being impressed.
“Didn’t I already tell you sorry lot to stop coming around here?” Osmond stares up at them “Have you received an answer yet?” The guard’s eyes narrow at Osmond, before a smile grows across his face.
“You know what, there has in fact been a response that those in power wanted me to convey.”
A stream of yellow liquid, then falls from the gate splashing onto Osmond, and some of the soldiers.
All of them freeze in shock, before the red glow of mana links them together, and sinks into Osmond’s body.
He rapidly doubles in size, before he leaps on top of the wall, and starts ripping the guard into pieces.
His claws sink through the guard’s armor as if it’s not even there, and he moves at speeds the guard can’t even react to.
Limbs, blood, and torn flesh are flying into the air as if the guard is being put through a blender.
Leaving the other guard absolutely covered in blood, and staring in horror at the dismembered remains of their friend, but their hand still manages to find its way to a button.
Alarms begin to ring across the castle “Well, there’s no turning back now.”
Osmond grabs the other guard by their throat, before holding their squirming body over the railing of the gate.
All of the soldiers stare up at Osmond covered in blood, and the guard gasping for air.
Osmond holds him in the air, until the guard is barely moving, and then drops them.
They hit the ground with a thud, before shooting up gasping for breath, and holding their throat while Osmond speaks “We are currently facing a choice, keep doing things as we have been, doing nothing while millions of us die, while those in power do nothing!
Or we can make a different choice.
We, right here, right now, can decide to stop making excuses, and choose to be different than the cowards who are hiding away while the innocent children are being slaughtered!” Osmond eyes turn into solid red orbs “Will you take this first step with me?
To show these cowards that if they’re not willing to fight, and die then we will bring the fight to them.”
The guard stumbles to their feet grabbing ahold of one of the soldiers, while pointing up at Osmond, and wheezing something along the lines of “Seize him.” The soldiers all of them stare at him for a moment, before one of them draws a sword, and shoves it through the guard’s chest.
A smile grows across Osmond’s face “Good, now let’s show them, let’s give them something new to be afraid of!”
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Power fades from the portal, the silvery gel dissipating in an instant, and the gate itself begins crumbling into little flakes, which drift through the sky.
Dagon meanwhile tisks, around half of their supplies are still on the other side of that portal, along with a decent amount of his men, but what does he have to fear on this world?
When even the greater dryad, a terror on his world has been reduced to a hollow empty shell of what it once was due to the lack of mana.
One of his Aids rushes over to him “Sir we-” “I know, I know, once we have the city core set up we will be able to teleport the rest here, even if it’s going to cost us a ton of mana.” Theo this aid becomes frazzled “No, well yes, but what I wanted to tell you is that there’s a message being broadcast!” Visit g.com for the full chapter.
A bit of unease begins to work its way through Dagon’s body, organization is never a good sign, but then again someone had to have set up these portals.
“What’s the message?” Theo’s stone eyes begin to shine.
“That there’s a bounty, a group of necromancers worth more than a million credits, and what’s even better is that the scouts have determined that this is without a doubt a newly integrated world.” Dagon on the other hand is less thrilled by this news “That’s far too many credits for a bunch of low tiers, which means the undead may be the ones who set these portals up in the first place, particularly with the necromancer on our world.” Theo starts to go grow pale, and Dagon’s eyes narrow at him “Keep this quiet, and have the scouts get some eyes on wherever these undead are, maybe there’s just a whole lot of them somewhere, but until we for know sure… we’re going to have take things slow, real slow, and maybe start looking for an evac point.”
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“Thank you appraiser for telling me something that I already know, what any one with two eye balls could tell me!” Tides slams a fist onto the stone bench causing the two balls of materials on top of it to roll.
The appraiser on the other hand gets an indignant tone to his voice, before waving one of his hands at the bones.
“Well, I really don’t know what you want me to tell you then.
One bone is common, and the other is uncommon grade, with both being of shoddy quality.” Tides shoves both of the balls into the appraiser’s face, while shouting “The question is why, what do the quality grades mean, and what are the inherent differences between materials?” A pitting expression grows across the appraiser’s face “Are you really asking how something goes up in grade, and what the qualities actually mean?” Tides hesitates a moment, the judgemental look putting him at ill ease “Yes?”
The appraiser’s lips press together “Well then, I guess I’ll explain it to you like the child you’re currently acting like…” Tide’s face grows more intense, but after a moment passes, and he resists the urge to erupt.
The appraiser continues “The grades are the overall mana density a material can hold, starting off at mundane, and stretching all the way to mythical.
The qualities though, are the levels in between these grades or the steps separating common from uncommon” He then picks up the common grade human bone ball “In order for this ball to become uncommon grade, it would need to reach, flawless by being refined, and having any impurities purged, at which point it would begin to evolve to the new grade.” Tides’ hands wrap around his head, while the appraiser awkwardly watches him muttering to himself “But that still doesn’t tell me anything, given whenever I try to conduct a ritual at best the materials just end up going up in tier.”
The appraiser gives Tides a strained smile “Well if that’s all, material refinement isn’t really my area of expertise” They then begin walking away as mana starts to pour out of Issec, until he hesitates “But, then what exactly are the tiers?” and a sigh practically echoes throughout the chamber “Think of them like layers, expanding layers that can hold more mana, whose purity is dependent on the grade, and quality.
With that said, if there’s nothing more Veronica has need of me.” “Go!” Tides, once again begins pouring mana into the bone, but this time he uses it to squeeze it, resulting in a tiny grain of bone, but uncommon quality, and a new spell is unlocked.
New Spell Unlocked
Condense – What came first the chicken or the egg! oh wait we already did this bit or wait did we do this bit?… Ehh, moving on 0_o how exactly does one raise an undead dragon if they find themselves in a world without dragons or beings made of a similar grade?
Well, if they don’t exactly feel like waiting the tens of thousands of years it would take for materials to naturally evolve, then!
They of course can just make the materials themselves!
At the low cost of loads of materials, and some mana.
(Mana cost is channeled, and higher tier materials cost more mana to manipulate)
The ritual has to be more than just throwing mana around, and condescending even if it has gotten me a step closer, isn’t quite the answer when shrinking bones doesn’t sound anything close to a good time.
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“The walls are nearly done Vie, at least the physical one’s, the enchanting, and engraving is going to take significantly more time, but all of your arcane mages are nearly out of work.” Vie flutters down from her cyclops onto a table covered in designs.
“Good, then let’s get started on my tower.” She hesitates a moment, her head shifting between two designs, before tilting her head entirely to the right.
On a diagram of a tower erupting out of a volcano, surrounded by lava.
“This one, this shall be my tower!” The architect hesitates “Well, if you’re sure, but I’m really not sure where we will locate a volcano, but I’m su-” Vie shakes her head, there’s no need to find one when if we dig down deep enough, the lava will come.”
She then turns, and points to the ocean, that’s perhaps ten miles away “Build it somewhere over there.” The architect turns eyeing the beach taking in the lay of the land “On, the coast that will be a bit of a challenge, but if w-” “No.” Vie sighs “In the ocean, let’s say two miles or three miles in.” The ghostly architect grows quiet for a second “That will be difficult, but with around a thousand mages, we can probably just start off with an arcane shell, before pumping out the water, but as for the digging, what exactly do you want done with all of the materials?” “Minions, used for crafting, or possibly exchanged with the city once we get going.”
Veronica then walks into Vie’s chamber, a medium sized room made of arcane crystal, and devoid of pretty much everything, but a table that fills the middle of the room, along with a crystal shell about a foot in size on top of it.
The shell has a hinge, allowing it to slide close in an instant, it’s also constantly being reinforced by the dark blue waves of mana pulsing off of her body, and complete with a little fairy sized bed.
“Get to work.” Vie says in monotone while nodding towards her architect, who shambles out of the room as Veronica takes his place looking down at the remaining sketches.
“Ready to start building your tower?” Vie simply nods before looking at some of the other plans “Yes, with the walls done, it’s time for me to build something for myself.” “That’s good, staying busy is important, as is remembering that you’re not alone.” Vie scoffs, before looking down at one of her pouches “You’re right, my dungeon core will always be by my side!” Veronica shifts the papers, which have sketches ranging from towering skulls, to mounds of bones.
“That’s true, you’re never alone, and just like that dungeon core there are people here who want to be there for you, and support you.” Vie’s violet eyes drill into Veronica “Without me, every single last one of you would be dead.” “That’s right, you currently have more mana under your command than most if not all of us combined, but that won’t always be the case. Right now, Tides along with the other necromancers are pushing the limits of evolution, and it’s only a matter of time until we start raising higher grade undead.”
Vie sighs, before dragging herself out of her bed, and fluttering in the air “That’s true, I’m just so tired, the other day was a lot you know… We all almost died in an instant, if the bombs were just a little closer, we would just be gone.” Veronica nods before turning towards the prison “That’s true, and there will unfortunately be many days just like it.
In fact the very first day I was raised, within hours I was bathed in the blood of someone trying to kill me… Since then, there probably hasn’t been a single day where someone or something hasn’t at the very least wanted to kill me.” She then turns towards Vie “All we can do is prepare, and work together to ensure that our enemies are the ones who die.”
A bit of life seems to enter Vie’s eyes “You’re right!
I’m Vie the master of death, a legendary dungeon fairy!
What do I have to fear from puny humans?” A smile grows across Veronica’s mouth “Exactly, you could raise epic grade beings with, but a wave of your hands, and you could even easily raise someone who could help push us all up in grade!” Vie’s eyes narrow suspiciously at Veronica “Right, maybe at some point, but some higher grade minions certainly would be a good idea, and the only question is what do I want, what would be the most useful to me?” She then begins buzzing through the room, before landing back on her bed, and begins flipping through her book as Veronica makes her exit.
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Carter stands in front of most of the prisoners standing on a raised platform that one of the mages constructed.
“I have an announcement, hey!” People turn towards him, conversations pattering off while he once again starts speaking.
“We have managed to get a hold of a communication stone, which is currently sending a message all around the country, and maybe even the entire world.
A message not only detailing the undead threat, but telling everyone how they’re not only keeping us all captive, but slowly trying to starve us to death!” Muttering erupts, and Carter shouts over their voices “It’s only a matter of time, until help comes, and all we have to do is survive, but there’s no way we’re going to end up spending years here!”
A small cheer breaks in the gathered crowd, one that is quickly silenced, when a look out reports that the undead are getting riled up.
Columns of undead then start gathering along the nearby wall, and stare down at the gathered crowd.
Their fiery eyes burning in the dark, before a deep blaring noise begins to echo through the prison, throughout the entire city, and quickly sending most scurrying back to their little holes, but Carter focuses on something else.
A sound closer to clapping or the whooshing of the wind, and watches as a black cloud begins to approach the city.
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Veronica, stands in front of my new home, a one bedroom house in the third ring of the city.
It’s in a word cozy, a grand total of five decently sized rooms, made up of pure black arcane crystal that my shades are slowly filling in the allocated architecture.
While I on the other hand am in front of it, on the smooth white crystal sidewalk, exercising, and hitting my new cap.
A whole twenty five push ups, not exactly impressive, but all progress is good. Find the original chapter at g.com.
“You never managed to make your way to me, so here I am, once again here asking you what you think of everything that’s going on?”
I collapse to the ground, with my heart ringing in my ears, and my lungs trying their best to burst through my chest.
“Oh sorry about that, I’ve been distracted, but I mean you already jailed them, right, what more is there to talk about?” Veronica taps her foot “Well, there are all of those who died, then they’re the countless humans poking around our borders, and then there’s the fact that the prisoners aren’t paying their debt.” I let out a sigh “Well two million per person is a whole lot of mana, but not really unreasonable given how many people, and undead they killed…”
I look towards the prison, but can only see this section’s wall, shining off in this distance with black little dots of the undead patrolling its walls, before shaking my head.
“If it was up to me, I would ensure the prisoners have their basic needs met, and leave it up to them on how long they want to be caged, as for the rest of the people poking? Tell them what happened, and offer to trade with them, after all we can pretty much make anything at the cost of mana, and the people out there should need a whole lot. In fact, I should probably make a few mages to start making some free food, I can’t imagine how people are even managing to survive with everything falling apart.”
Veronica takes a moment “Those are some interesting ideas, and practically the polar opposite of what a number of my managers are constantly whispering in my ears.” But then she shakes her head “There’s no need for you to get involved though, when we are more than capable of handling it all, and food is a good way to bridge the gap, perhaps it will even result in another stream of mana, but” Her eyes almost seem to bore into me “That’s not entirely what I was asking, I was seeing how you’re handling everything, almost dying, and seeing so many die, has to be having some kind of impact.”
For a moment, my body grow still “I’m fine, it’s just another day, and things could always be worse, but I probably should have asked you how you’re doing with Kacious, along with so many undead dying.” She just looks at me, her fiery eyes, little more than an uncaring blue inferno.
“I’m a Crypt Lord, death is a part of me, just like how caring for those who are in my domain is as well.
It is amazing though how similar you, and the fairy are.
Both of you, so full of deflections, your emotions buried so deeply while you try to push, and distract yourself from whatever is ailing you” “I-” “Just remember that you’re not alone, and that if you don’t want to talk to me, or even anyone else you can still raise anything, including someone to help you face your troubles it-”
The arcane crystal begins to glow crimson red, as a pulsing beeping noise begins to echo across the city, and Veronica turns toward a black cloud filling the sky.
“What’s going on?” She turns towards me, before sighing “Nothing to worry about, there are just a whole lot of pests headed this way, and are making a mistake they’ll soon regret. It’s just, also something, which of course is going to require more paperwork, and means that I have to go.”
“Well, try to not have too much fun.” and off Veronica goes as a crowd of managers almost seem to materialize around her while fire, beams of lightning, along with countless other elements start filling the sky.
Transforming the blue sky into a sea of different colors, as black burnt husks, begin to fall from it.
Countless birds quickly meeting their end under the onslaught of the undead, and for a moment the cloud even turns away, but after a few seconds it’s almost as if they forget.
Swinging back towards the walls, and meeting another wave of magic.
A display leaving me stunned, a reminder that allows my recent conversation with Veronica to fade to the back of my mind, when there’s still so much that needs to be done, if I don’t want to keep being so powerless.
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Sarah on the other hand, after giving her new mythic guardian an item, which turns them completely invisible, and stressed the importance or rather the unending agony they would experience if they failed in their duties to watch after the dungeon core.
Has set off on her own adventure, and is completely obvious to the ping of yet another communication stone joining her auto ignore list.
After all, when has a tier one communication stone ever been used to relay something important?
She flies around, only bothering to go around a hundred miles or so in every direction scanning for concentrations of mana, and other weapons, which could cause significant harm to a Tier one.
A scan that finds faaaar more than she bargained for, every city having countless weapons, which at least in bulk could theoretically bring harm to the dungeon fairy, but really only the military bases, and some nearby ships have anything really threatening… So many unstable elements, filled with mana, but they all shall be cleansed!
Sarah takes a deep breath, before a wave of her green mana begins to pulse out of her body.
A wave that flows through military bases, ships, and the stockpiles of weapons, before wrapping around them.
The weapons lift into the air while countless people watch, and alarms begin to blare.
Countless missiles, jets, tanks, and crates filled with weapons floating into the air like they’re nothing more than balloons, before in an instant they’re compressed into tiny marble sized little balls.
For a moment the marbles float in the air, before they’re tossed away like pieces of trash, while the people on the ground freak out like a burst hornets nest.
All of the largest stockpiles of weapons are now gone, and Sarah lets out a sigh of relief as she slowly begins to float back, while taking in the sights.
Quite a beautiful journey, if one can get past the countless raging wildfires, which certainly have their own charm, oh and the countless cities reduced to little more than warzones.
Other than that though it’s quite peaceful with nothing else really significant happening well, other than one of compressed orbs managing to tumble its way down into an ant hill, which had already been experiencing… a bit of a growth spurt.
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Swarms of birds, not the fiercest of foes, but certainly an annoying one, requiring far more mages to be stationed around the walls, while the enchanters work on an easier solution, but surprisingly it’s not the most annoying thing Veronica has had to deal with today that’s entirely reserved for the living… who are ever so dramatic, they almost die, and suddenly it’s as if parts of them shatter.
Such an unreasonable reaction when death is simply a part of life, a creeping darkness, which can snatch away anyone at any moment, but at least one good thing came out of this, other than all of the bird materials.
Potentially, more epic grade undead, something that will certainly make all of us a bit safer, even if they’re under the thumb of the fairy, but they’re also just the start.
Veronica stands in front of a spell circle that has a hundred ghostly mages, a hundred uncommon ghosts pouring mana into raising a single rare Ghost.
A cycle, which could potentially go, until they hit mythic, but will also depend on how much density the arcane crystals manage to pump out, and how much extra mana the ritual circle will be able to generate.
Resource management, the true nightmare of any budding empire, but in the end all one can do is work with the hand dealt to them.
She then wanders down a hall stopping in front of a monument, a carved obsidian slab filled with thousands of names… The names of every single last undead who has died in this graveyard.
“None of you will ever be forgotten, and your lives are the only reason we are still fighting today. We won’t disappoint you.”
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Blood pools out of the body, as the stone knife slides in, and out of their chest.
The third stab drains the life from his eyes, and brings with it a flow of credits, but is far from the last stab.
Blood covers Vander’s hands like oil, as he grabs the chunk of crystal, the two were fighting over, and for a moment he just stands there looking at his status screen.
“Kid really should have just given me the crystal, and the credits he was holding out on.”
A bottle of water, and a clear vial then appears in a spray of mana.
The water is used to rinse away the blood covering his hands, the diluted blood dripping onto the corpse, from whence it came, until the water runs clear.
Then the clear vial is poured on the stab wounds, the flesh instantly starting to bubble, before falling off the bones, and transforming the stabs into monstrous gaps in their flesh.
He then walks out of the little stone shack, and leaves the body behind to rot.
Due to formating issues this story doesn’t quite look the way it’s supposed to 0_o and you can read an updated version on Kobo, or other platforms. https://litrpgandpolitics.wordpress.com The story is also at around chapter 60 with around 400,000 words, and will posted once per day, until it’s caught up.
Then it will either be weekly, or twice a week, with that being said, I still welcome any feedback, after all I’m still editing everything 0_0 and different perspectives can so often help one see the things we take for granted.
Thanks for reading, and I hope that you have a great day!