Uno

  I felt attacked.

  Despite Charles’ angry shouts, my plans weren’t as detailed, nor did they focus on making his life miserable. I had other, more interesting hobbies.

  And I would swear my innocence before any judge.

  Thankfully, there were no courts for Dungeon Cores, nor Geneva Suggestion out here.

  Well, on the other hand, because there were no laws, Yana was pretty much a Wild West continent. An uncivilized place with no rules. These rules, while stifling and annoying, were a mark of progress, a way to survive for the weak. On that basis of weakness, civilization was born, not out of warriors and monsters but crafters, merchants, and workers instead.

  It didn’t matter, though, nor did the rest of the what-ifs.

  This world was a cruel place, and I was one of the strong. That was it. With the caveat that those who lived by the sword died by the sword. A surety I tried to ignore. If you couldn’t change the inevitability, then why think about it at all?

  What mattered was the fact that Non was coming home. Strangely, she was not alone, either, the antisocial revenant that she was. And while I would prefer some exotic species to add to my collection, orcs, by themselves, weren’t bad. They could use tools, were (allegedly) intelligent, and knew how to use language.

  All things that my Ratlings did better.

  Now, why were said orcs wearing black clothes and smeared their faces with some unidentified silvery substance instead being all tribal and shit… Also, why did they look skinnier and leaner than those of their kind who regularly banged their heads against my fortifications? Great questions!

  [What the fuck is going on? Talk to me, girl!] I sent to Non as soon as she entered my range, the connection snapping back, like it was always there.

  The normally stone-faced undead carried an aura of exhaustion around her. Ignoring the startled looks of her companions, Non grumbled into the thin air. “A. Lot.” She sighed, waving her hands in the air.

  It was then that I noticed the extensive burns covering them.

  [Ey, ey, you’re hurt!] I choked out, overcome with panic. [Wait I moment, I’ll get somebody to help you!]

  The revenant girl started to say something, but I wasn’t listening anymore.

  Since Non was an undead, the common healing methods wouldn’t work. I didn’t want to risk using warpstone potions either. They had nasty side effects after all, and the Lebirs we used them on all exploded, without exception. Then again, if they worked, Non with rabbit ears or whiskers would look cute.

  No. Bad Uno.

  Focus!

  The answer was simple - what did affect and reinvigorate her was my mana, but both the revenant and her forces were still out of my dungeon premises. The range of my mental connection was greater than the halls I was locked in, after all.

  So I forced Dos to meet her on the way.

  It was a simple thing to turn him around and direct his attention to where his fellow dungeon resident was slowly trudging through the tunnels.

  The big, spiky dofus teleporting through the shadows was an awe-inspiring sight to those unlucky enough to notice him. It never got old, seeing people yelping with fear when a threatening figure materialized within the nearby darkness, only to disappear nearly as quickly. Many of the sentients started questioning their sanity after the event. The rumors he created were funny, too.

  Anyway, within minutes, Dos was already outside and sprinting down the Ratling-made tunnel.

  It was made this way because I didn’t want this part of the underground to connect directly to my Dungeon, so as a compromise, the entrances were all located near the first-floor doorway, but as a part of a completely distinct network. This worked well, letting the rats and humans expand freely while still maintaining an evacuation route for Charles and the rest of the sentients.

  I decided to make it this way to allow them to run, if shit hit the fan. The tunnels were independent of me, so they won’t collapse if I meet an untimely demise. As an immobile Dungeon Core, I didn’t have a chance to escape, anyway, and there was no need to take everyone with me.

  Believe me, I tried to bypass the restrictions. Moving my big, fat crystal from where it was connected to the Dungeon’s network was impossible. I had an instinctual fear of travel, which turned into a full-blown panic when someone tried to touch the pedestal or my crystal itself.

  A few Ratlings turned into the shadows on the wall were a testament to how instinctual that reaction was.

  I didn’t even know I could use electricity through my core!

  Anyway, Dos was making a good headway into the tunnel and soon emerged near the Non’s warband. Currently, they stood in a tense impasse against a few human soldiers guarding the tunnel. Both sides were glaring at each other, with their hands curled up on the handles of their weapons.

  My avatar’s appearance broke the status quo, as the humans relaxed.

  And greenskins…

  The greenskins reacted differently from what I expected.

  I thought of them as slaves or war trophies, or unwilling followers.

  Maybe even sacrifices.

  Instead, the orcs moved as one, brandishing their weapons and shielding Non and her kobold ninja from any harm. At the same moment, I noticed another anomaly.

  A small, human head peeked from behind the mass of green limbs, her blue eyes observing my avatar with a cold detachment that didn’t fit her age. Unlike the monsters surrounding her, the young girl was wearing crude tribal garments made of leather and fur, and she clutched a broken toy in her hand.

  “Maria, stay back!” One of the orcs grunted. “Monsters are dangerous, more so those dungeon-borne, and Lady Death would have our hide if anything bad happened to you.”

  “But, but…” She mumbled cutely.

  “Yes?”

  “Could the monster kill me?”

  “Of course it could…” The orc suddenly turned, his expression changing into… exasperation? It was hard to tell with the tusks. “Listen, little one, we talked about it.”

  “Yes.” The girl nodded and calmly answered. “We talked about it, green uncle. I am ready to die.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Humans are so strange.” The orc muttered before turning back to her. “No, you’re not going to get sacrificed. We would rather die first.” The girl only pouted, like somebody refused to give her a lollipop.

  Another weird thing. I was pretty sure that monsters had their language. And yet the orcs were speaking like humans. Perfectly understandable, with the smallest hint of an accent, which probably came from the mouth full of teeth.

  I heard enough; nothing more would come from simply observing. My spirit surged, and suddenly I was Dos. The ego of the avatar fought me for a second before relenting, slinking to the backseat of the mind. I was pretty sure it felt annoyed.

  I hummed, the sudden sound scaring the people around me.

  It was concerning that the empty flesh I made had already become independent. I could easily squash the burgeoning psyche, but decided to let it go. It wasn’t like I wanted to claim this monsterized puppet as my persona for eternity.

  I had better options.

  Snorting, I turned my attention to the shieldwall before me.

  “So, will you allow me to help you, Non?” I said, and my avatar grunted the question out, the words echoing with inhuman power. Now I knew why Dos tended to clam up around sentients.

  Non nodded subtly before approaching.

  “Mo. Ve.” The revenant pushed her defenders away as she strode forward. Trailing behind was her kobold attendant, little Maria, and one of the larger orcs.

  “My Lady, please reconsider!” The greenskin pleaded, his neanderthal-like face scrunching in worry.

  “Friend.” She shook her head.

  “That I am.” I smiled, and Dos repeated that expression.

  Then everybody recoiled - even hardened monsters reacted with fear and apprehension. The few human guards decided that it was safer near the orcs. Maria just stared, her blue-eyed gaze never leaving my avatar’s face.

  It was hilarious.

  I grasped her hands, turning them over. My face grew taut as I surveyed the damage, the laughter dying in my throat. Non’s skin and muscles were crumbling, especially those located on the palms of her hands. There were pieces where I could see bone under the char.

  Surprisingly, the bridge of her hand was pretty much untouched, her unnatural regeneration taking care of any scars or cuts. Only here, though.

  “What the hell happened?” I grumbled as my mana peaked, slowly traveling from her right hand toward the arm, then the other arm, and back into the left hand. A perfect loop. With each washing, the char crumbled, giving way to fresh muscle. In a few places, I even managed to replace the skin only after a few sessions. It returned to the pale color that was natural on the revenant.

  Non shrugged, before pointing her chin at the weapons hoisted on her waist. “Dan. Ge. Rous.” She mumbled.

  My mana faltered as I cursed. “This fucking system will be the death of me. Of course, the crude enchantment and sheer malevolence meant a curse!” I clenched my teeth, resummoning the item window.

  I could only assume that because the soul-stealing enchantment was classified as crude, it also leaked some of the siphoned essence into the surroundings. A life mana, if you will. According to games, it was a second-best affinity for killing off undead, with only holy damage being better at putting dead things permanently in the grave.

  And Non was carrying and using it this whole time. A month.

  It was like giving your child a radioactive toy.

  Fuck.

  The minutes passed as I poured more and more mana into Non’s hands, and soon they started to resemble their pristine state, complete with pure white skin.

  Which was funny, because Non was already dead. I chuckled.

  Seeing that I was really healing their master, the revenant’s servants relaxed. Some even smiled ruefully, which looked really out of place on the orcish faces.

  The humans also stopped clenching their cheeks and weapons. Everything was going fine.

  Just in time for Charles and Agnes to crash our little party.

  When they arrived, flanked by armored soldiers, the red-haired mage was already out of breath, sweating in his ceremonial robes, while his girlfriend simply sauntered near the center of the commotion with confidence only royalty would have. Her golden eyes took in the scene before noticing my revenant and Dos holding hands.

  So, of course, Agnes took her time to jest. “Am I interrupting something, Tinna?” She asked with a smirk. “I didn’t know you were into spiky guys. I would have helped, you know? I’m more than experienced now.” The smirk turned into a full-blown grin.

  “Stu. Pid.” Non only shook her head, her hands still clamped by my claws. “Na. Me. Non.” She reminded her with what I could only recognize as a pout.

  “Yes, yes, I know.” The monster girl sighed. “So.”

  “Can anyone tell me what is going on?” She poked Charles in the ribs, eliciting a yelp from the tired mage. “We were interrupted because there was an emergency. And all I see is Uno’s beloved returning with new slaves.” She blinked. “And a child. Huh.”

  “Name’s Maria, scaly lady.”

  “So it is.” Agnes nodded. “Speak, orcs. Or be destroyed.”

  “It would be wise to listen to her. I am also curious about what happened.” I mentioned to the revenant and her followers. We exchanged a knowing look before Non spat out an agreement.

  “Name’s Gruel. I’m an orc. Well… a runt, as you can see.” The biggest of the greenskins answered, his face painted silver. He clenched his fists before continuing. “Most of us are killed after birth. We’re too different, too weak to survive orcish society.”

  “Society.” One of the others chimed in, eliciting a series of grim chuckles, before spitting on the ground. “If you can call it that.”

  Gruel shook his head, continuing. “Some of us get lucky and are apprenticed to the shamans, else we’re used as messengers or advisors. Which is a glorified name for a punching bag.”

  “I know what orcs are, monster.” Agnes glared, her green scales suddenly glowing with power. “What I want to know is why you are following Uno’s chosen.”

  “Peace, beastkin warrior.” Gruel raised his hands in surrender. “The capital of the Geinard’s Kingdom is burning. We were a part of the raiding parties in Shieldstar, let loose by the advancing horde.”

  “You…”

  “Yes, I know. We are monsters, killers, ravagers.” His gaze held true. “We were forced to do so, but that is no excuse for our victims. And yet in that blaze Lady Death cut down our kin, spilling blood and harvesting lives like a farmer does wheat.”

  “And when we prostrated and begged to be spared… she allowed us to live.”

  “What else could we do but follow? Our lives are hers to command. She could devour us to grow her power, but chose not to do so. Do you know how rare that is amongst the monster clans?”

  “Not to mention, we would be killed if we returned home.” One of the smaller orcs added.

  “Yes, that too.” Gruel grimaced. “So we follow the Lady, help her with whatever she needs, and serve as a shield against any who would do her harm. Even as runts, we’re still powerful. We’re still orcs!”

  I stopped listening.

  Instead, my attention turned to Non. I touched her arms and legs, checking for any other sign of damage. The claws could be surprisingly delicate, tracing lines of her muscles and armor, pinching and smoothing.

  “Should you do that in full view of children?” Agnes asked, exasperated.

  I shook my head, but decided not to disillusion her. “Let’s go to a more secluded place, then.” I smiled. Once again, everybody recoiled.

  “Y-yeah. Do that.”

  “And remember. They are Non’s things.” I motioned to the orcs. “You can ask your questions, but they’re going into the Dungeon. That is non-negotiable.”

  “Fine.” Agnes’ gold eyes flared. “But not before I get answers about the state of the Geinard’s Kingdom.” I waved her off, and we walked back into the Silver Oasis territory. Me, Non, kobold ninja (he really needed a name), Gruel… and Marie.

  After leaving the power couple behind, I turned my head. “So… do you have them?” I muttered.

  Non nodded, instantly understanding what I was talking about, and waved Gruel in. Only now I noticed that he wore a large pouch on his waist. And I mean large - there were probably dozens of life orbs inside. I didn’t want to speculate, how many people Non killed to obtain them.

  So instead of showing a false outrage, I grinned while patting her head. In this form, the revenant was the right height to do so. “Well done, Non! It seems like you’ll get your wish.”

  “Yes.”

  “So… shall we begin, and not waste more time?” I turned around, staring into her black eyes. “Are you ready to turn into a real girl?”