Elsewhere

Duke awoke, as usual, to a slew of system messages.

*** That was exciting! Getting to meet up with a friend thought long-gone – what a treat! And then have them betray and try and kill you, well, that’s something extra special. Do you feel betrayed? I feel betrayed for you. Really, I do.

You made excellent use of your Abilities, and their growth reflects.

TELEPORTATION has increased to Adept 26

REGENERATION has increased to Adept 35

MENTAL FORTITUDE has increased to Initiate 28 (This one really saved your bacon)

OVERCHANNEL has increased to Practiced 8

FLAME DART has increased to Initiate 9

CLEANSE has increased to Initiate 18

RESTORE has increased to Master 22

IDENTIFY has increased to Initiate 13

INVENTORY has increased to Initiate 21

ARMOR SKIN has increased to Practiced 57

FLIGHT has increased to Initiate 32

COMBAT SENSE has increased to Novice 19

DUNGEON SENSE has increased to Adept 18

You have seen some Skill growth as well.

Stealth has increased to Initiate 23

Dodge has increased to Practiced 37

Aerial Maneuvering has increased to Initiate 12

Martial Art Combat has increased to Adept 17

Tonfa Mastery has increased to Adept 7

You did also kill a bunch of vampires. You killed 263 Tier One vampires, 9 Tier Two vampires, and 4 Tier Three vampires. Unfortunately, they were all low-level for their respective tiers. You only gain 7,425 experience from it all.

***

Duke performed his morning routine before coming to a decision. “Sam are you here?”

Sam appeared in Duke’s room. “I’m always here, Duke. I can’t really leave the area of the dungeon, you know.”

“Right. Didn’t really think that one through. I was wondering if you could build out a storage area off my room here? I have a ton of things in my INVENTORY that I probably don’t need to carry around with me. And considering what I am about to do, I probably should have as much room available in my INVENTORY as possible. Mind you, my INVENTORY space has gotten extreme at more than 81,000 cubic meters. But, really, how sad would it be to come across something that I really wanted to take but have to leave behind because I ran out of room?”

“A reasonable request. Here.” A door appeared on the right side of the room, one which should lead into the room next to Duke’s. He opened the door to find another hallway filled with dozens of doors. “This is your private storage area, Duke. The entrance door and all these other doors will not exist for anyone else. Consider it part of your Dungeon Master privilege.”

“Thanks Sam. That’s perfect. I have another question for you. Can your dungeon creatures survive outside the dungeon?”

“Duke, that is a dangerous question to ask. Think about the consequences should creatures from the dungeon run rampant through the countryside.”

“Good point, but you really didn’t answer the question.”

“OK, here’s the thing. Most dungeon creatures rely on the dungeon’s energy for life. Outside of the dungeon, they could survive for a matter of days at most. But the more powerful creatures could last longer and boss-level creatures likely could adapt to life outside the dungeon. Do you see where this could all lead? Straight into another Purge.”

Duke nodded in understanding. “So, if we take any dungeon creatures outside of the dungeon, we have to make absolutely sure they don’t get away. Sound about right?”

“I don’t like it, Duke. The risk is way too great.”

“What if the Purge was coming here to destroy you?”

Sam shifted into an even more ominous tone, the room trembling as he spoke. “Then I would throw everything I could at them regardless of the consequence.”

Duke noted the change in Sam and decided to step away from the conversation for now. “If I have anything to say about it, they would never make it anywhere close you, Sam. So, let’s keep that on the back burner for now. But the day may come when creatures from the dungeon are needed for our own defense.”

“Keep training your own troops, Duke. They will be enough.” Sam replied.

“I hope so, Sam. I certainly hope so.” Duke replied flatly.

An hour later, Duke had emptied most of his INVENTORY into the various secured rooms. He found it ironic that most of what he was storing was originally generated by the dungeon anyway. He kept the vampire corpses he was saving for Baslin and things he thought he might need in upcoming fights, but beyond those things, his INVENTORY was fairly empty. Not empty for long.

Duke popped downstairs to grab some breakfast with the group only to find them all missing from their usual table. He sat down at the table and was surprised when Calen was the one to bring him his breakfast. “The girls not working today?”

Calen chuckled. “They are, but I figured you would have questions and I could answer them better than anyone else here.”

“Questions like where is everyone?” Duke asked.

“Exactly like that, Duke. You have moved the entire enterprise onto a war footing. Most everyone is either training harder than ever or preparing our defenses in earnest. Amongst the varied conversations I’ve overheard there is wild speculation as to what is coming. Everything from an undead horde counting in the hundreds of thousands to Ghastul himself coming down from the heavens to smite us all. Folks are nervous and excited. They have been training hard for a while now and most are eager to test their mettle against a real foe.”

“If I could, I would make it so that none of them have to engage in the coming battle. I know that’s impractical, but that’s my thought on the matter.” Duke responded.

“That is what many wise rulers feel. It is entirely impractical though.” Calen responded.

“Yeah. I know. I’m still going to step into the shit before I send my boys and girls in though. If I can target their leadership and top-powers before they get to my troops then I increase our odds of coming out on top. Same old story – remove the command and control first.”

“Is that what you are heading off to do?” Calen asked.

“Well, no. This is more of a rescue mission right now. At least that’s what I hope it will be. If I wind up fucking up their command and control, I’m not going to shed a tear for them.”

Calen nodded as he left Duke to his breakfast. Duke ate with abandon, delighting in the varied tastes of his meal. If there was one thing that the Inn continually got right it was food and drinks. Duke allowed other thoughts to fade from his mind as he focused on savoring his meal. Damn dude, stop treating it like a last meal and get focused. In a matter of minutes, he was done eating, and it was time to get going.

Duke headed to the training area for one last review of his troops before heading out. He quickly made his way to his observation area where he could look in on any of the instanced training levels he chose. He did not consciously know why, but he found himself watching Aurelia train. She was fighting a group of vampires who were moving faster than she should be able to react to. Duke watched as she ducked a set of claws slicing for her throat while slicing at another with her sword, all while balancing on one leg, using the other to fend off an attack from behind. She moved so smoothly. Duke marveled at her motion, fascinated by how her armor could be so form-fitting yet still remain functionally protective. He found his eyes following her movements exclusively.

“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Elaine’s voice broke Duke out of his trance so sharply he nearly shattered the railing he was holing onto. He pried his hands off the deformed metal that had perfect imprints of his fingers. “You know she feels the same way about you, Duke. You should do something about that, and soon. Trust me, if you don’t, she’s going to do something to get your attention and it probably won’t be good for her, or you, for that matter.”

“I…I can’t get involved. Everyone I have ever cared for like that has left me. I can’t afford for it to happen with my army’s general.” Duke answered, consciously composing himself. He didn’t see the fist coming, but when Elaine punched him full-force in the chin, he certainly felt it. He staggered back a step, bringing his hand to his chin in shock.

“Don’t you dare put your past on her! You come from a damned different world. What makes you think your past there means anything here. Get you head out of your ass and live your life. We are going to war, I’m pregnant, and I’m not going to sit here and watch you two dance around each other for the rest of your lives. I know you have something to go and do, but when you get back, you had better do something about this. Got it?”

Duke looked at Elaine’s fiery gaze and nodded. “Right. When I get back, we’ll have the conversation. Where it goes from there is an open question. Satisfied?”

“It will have to do.” Elaine fired back before leaving.

Duke watched Aurelia for a bit longer before heading to check in with everyone else. Baslin was in his laboratory crafting away with glee. His reaction to the vampire corpses was disturbingly excited. Duke left quickly to find Grat pushing the forest back even further to form a living wall ahead of the towers and platforms that had been grown. He did not seem to be interested in conversation either.

Finally, Duke returned to the training dungeon and interrupted Aurelia’s training by casually killing all the vampires she was facing.

“That doesn’t help me, you know.” She pouted.

“I wanted to see you before I headed out.” Duke replied neutrally. The slight widening of her pupils that Duke’s XENOGLOSSIA picked up let him know her physical reaction to his presence.

“I’m glad you stopped by then. Do be careful. You are literally stepping into the heart of the enemy’s territory with no idea what defenses they have set up. This could be very bad for you.”

Duke smiled warmly. “Don’t worry. I will be careful. They have no idea that I even know that the vault exists, let alone where it is or what is in it. But I’m not letting my guard down.”

“You know, sometimes, it’s good to let your guard down.” Aurelia responded, her body language unmistakable. Duke felt himself quickly forgetting what he was there for, barely holding himself back.

“When I get back tonight, I’ll let my guard down. I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“I know.”

“Now, go get out of here. I have more training to do.” She playfully pushed him away. Duke suppressed his reflexive FLIGHT Ability to keep him I place and allowed her to push him away.

“Goodbye, Aurelia.”

“Oh, just go already.” She smiled at him.

Duke departed, trying desperately not to acknowledge the tear in Aurelia’s eye, or let one form in his own. Get it together, shithead. We’ve got stuff to do. You can get all emotional when you get back. Now, go already. Duke overcame his own inertia, prepared himself mentally, and poured 100,000 Mana into his TELEPORTATION Ability with full focus on his destination. He vanished.