A Guide to Kingdom Building

Cold droplets of water splashed on Servus 132-X's face as he moved along the dimly lit tunnel he discovered earlier. The tunnel was uncannily longer than of what he thought. His light flickered as again and was slowly losing its glow.

Servus 132-X slowly lifted the water-drenched rune and tried to give it more of his exousia—it didn't work. He only has a few of these runes, so it would be best to use it wisely, otherwise he might end up walking this unknown cave blindly. It won't help him at all, especially when this burrow was made by Giant Centipedes. Some hatchling or other hellish monster might be lurking in its darkness.

He flicked the rune vigorously, attempting to take some excess water out from it before applying some of his exousia again. It still won't work, and the lights continued to flicker as the light glowed weaker. He tried to do it a few more times until his frustration overcame him and smacked the rune to the tunnel's wall.

The light from the rune was fading. Servus 132-X was about to throw the rune when suddenly, light burst again, illuminating his way once more. He crawled forward into the deep recess of tunnel but this time, he made sure that the rune was far away from the water as possible.

The shimmering blue light from the distance became clearer to him as he inched his way forward. In his mind, he hoped that this would be the treasure trove Oyue made him see in one of his dreams. He crawled faster as the beautiful blue glow started to grow brighter.

He finally exited at the other end of the tunnel and was welcomed by another vast space in the cave. The stalactites hanged high above the canopy, that only its silhouettes protrude in the shadows. In front of him was a huge stone wall. It was pale and shiny with swirls and blue-colored veins that naturally glow across the pale canvass.

He moved closer albeit cautious with his footing. This part of the cave is still flooded with water although still ankle-deep, Servus 132-X wanted to ensure his safety first above all else. Slowly wriggling his foot in the muddy way, he also glided his rune above its surface so he can get some visibility.

After making sure that there was nothing on his way, Servus 132-X advanced and checked the mysterious markings on the wall. It was naturally made, or so it seemed. The colors were naturally embedded into the stone.

Servus 132-X touched the cold slab. He put his hands into the veins and traced it with his fingers. Surprisingly, the veins felt warmer than the rest of the stone. He tried touching the swirl, but it was as cold as the stone.

"There must be something in this stone, or rather within these veins." He muttered to himself.

He took the crystal ball once again and reported one of his findings. "Lord Prestonheim…" Servus 132-X waited for someone to answer on the other line.

"Yes, Servus 132-X."

"My Lord I found something here. A huge wall made of white stone."

"Should we be interested with that?" Lord Prestonheim asked.

"I just need to take some—" with a pickaxe on his other hand, Servus 132-X struck the stone, only to be blasted away by an invisible force. He fell to the muddy water throwing away the crystal ball and the pickaxe.

"ZZZZztttt…W-what's going on?" Lord Prestonheim's voice scrambled.

Servus 132-X immediately fumbled back to his feet. He hurriedly searched for the thrown crystal ball, luckily, he found it an arm's length away from where he landed. He immediately checked the ball and felt a hairline cracks on its lower half.

"Ser..zzzzzttt! Vus 132-X?! Servus 132-X!" Lord Prestonheim's voice cracked.

"I'm here my Lord." Servus 132-X answered while he looked around for his pickaxe.

"I heard a thud earlier. What happened?" asked the concerned Commander.

"T-the white stone seemed to have some sort of magic." He answered, "I tried to strike it, but I was repelled and thrown away by its energy." He scratched his head.

"Hmm…Interesting. What about aetherium? Have you found any?" The Commander's voice was now clear without any pesky interrupting noises.

"I think the veins in the stone are, but I cannot take it out." Servus 132-X answered.

"Just take note of that stone, but for now, find another proof of aetherium deposits." Lord Prestonheim tone sounded intrigued by this discovery but held himself back.

Servus 132-X knew that Lord Prestonheim albeit curious of the stone doesn't want to astray from their primary goal—finding aetherium deposits.

He answered back to the Commander, "Yes, my Lord."

He hid the crystal ball back to his satchel and finally noticed something. His light rune was no longer in his hands. The entire time when he fumbled and searched for the crystal ball, he had no light rune with him. But the place was bright enough for him to locate a transparent glass ball.

He looked around trying to find the pickaxe, but the the light was too dim for him to check the murky ground. He took another light rune and lit it up. Unfortunately, due to the rune being drenched it water, he had to flick it a couple of times before activating it.

Light bursts again from the rune but this time something strange was happening. The activated light was being absorbed by the wall. Surprised, Servus 132-X tried to let go of the rune he held in his hand. He was not able to let go. It was as if the wall commanded his hand to hold the light rune still as it slowly drains him of light and exousia.

The veins on the wall glowed and pulsated as it got filled with exousia and light at the same time. The glow scattered throughout the vein and crawled into the ground and canopy. It lit up the canopy like stars in a moonless night sky.

It was an exhausting yet awe-inspiring experience. For the past 364 lifetimes this was one of the moments wherein he was dumbfounded by how beautiful the view was. It looked like an entire galaxy sealed underneath the earth. A galaxy filled with deadly anomalies ready to eat you.

His eyes followed the light as it travelled across the canopy like a shooting star illuminating anything it touched. The light suddenly took a turn to the right and revealed another tunnel opening.

Servus 132-X could feel the strain of his body as his exousia was drained tremendously. He felt dizzy as his energy is slowly sapped by the white stone. After another few moments, he was finally able to lost his grip from that damned light rune.

He was tired but at the same time, excited with what he saw. Servus 132-X wanted to explore the new cave that has appeared, but he needed to rest for a while first. Looking for a place to lean on, Servus 132-X leaned on the wall adjacent to the power absorbing wall and enjoyed the view for a little while.

"Twinkle, twinkle litte star…" he sang. "How I wonder what you are?" He mumbled out in the open.

He already what they are. But he just wanted to sing a song taught to him by one of his comrades before, during his 301st incarnation. It was a nursery rhyme if he recalled it correctly—something that was perfect to this occasion.