133 Chapter 7.20

Fall had begun, the air was yet again a bit colder, as the leaves of the trees outside the agri-botanical gardens changed color as they prepared to fall.

It had taken several months, but Elder Merrin's team had finally completed the inventory. Thankfully since a large portion of the materials for inventory were corpses these were instead immediately stripped of their belongings and other than a single corpse of each sent to Jan, they were handed over to Bilol for processing for his people. The Changelings were given first rights to all corpses after the state had what they needed for their research. It was the most effective way of ensuring they all were able to increase their power. No one on the raid team disagreed. Or as an old Skygge proverb would say, 'the rising tide lifts all boats.'

The five person team had worked around the clock. This had only been possible because four of them were humans that had a parasite as a driver for their sleeping hours. The fifth was Elder Merrin, and he only slept roughly 4 hours each day.

But after months of sorting, now it was time to dole out rewards. Although Serin had allowed for each member of the 20 person raid team to lay claim on 5 items each as a personal reward, Serin had gone first. There were four items that he had used his position as raid leader, subjugator, and literal 'king of the land' to claim. This was because he had never seen such a dark red line issued from his [precognition] skill to four of the items. He was not aware of whether it was that the four items he selected had to stay out of the general populace, or if it was that they would somehow be paramount to his survival. But he claimed them. No one seemed to notice, as they were more interested in other items pulled from the raid.

The first was the pair of archdemons. Serin had acquired the [enthrall] spell, and with a bit of high magic, was able to have them bound to his service. Unlike the [Command Undead] which was a spell to bind the undead, or the [Chain] which was the spell to bind the plated, [Enthrall] was used on monsters. The higher the monster, the more power required. And it seemed that each archdemon had used almost all of his mana pool. He could not wait to take them out of [stasis].

The next was a Runestone. Serin recognized it as the legendary runestone that contained the [Sacrifice] ability. As Serin used [greater identify] on the skill, he called over Elder Merrin. As Elder Merrin came over, Serin looked at him. "Scratch all records of this from your inventory."

Elder Merrin smiled, "I already have. All of your tagged items don't exist, my lord."

Serin smiled.

The third item his skill called to him was another runestone. This one had the ability [implode mana]. Serin realized if the enemy had this, it would be used against him, as when used against a target it uses their own mana as a fuel source for an explosion.

And finally, there was one that he laughed at as he picked it up. It looked like a simple necklace, but upon inspection, he realized it was a [spell mantle], although this one was fairly weak, it negated novice level spells against the user. But more importantly, he could use [harvest] to pull the enchantment off and mass produce such an item if he wanted.

One of the few things that Serin had to fear as a glass cannon caster was the 'multitude of weakness', or 'death by a thousand cuts'. He could withstand a dragon's fiery blast, but if he had one thousand [firebolt] spells fired at him, he would be turned to ash.

'Now I just need to make sure that i am not hit with one thousand [fireball] spells.' Serin mused.

Since there were only four things his skill was telling him were imperative to remove from circulation the fifth item he took out of vanity. It was a gigantic throne made of gold. Absolutely austentatious and completely against his sensible decor, it would make a fitting site for imposing on foreign heads of state, should they visit. 'Or maybe for festivals' he mused.

Serin crushed his [Sacrifice Runestone] and saw something appear on his status. Was this dark magic? He would have to figure it out. Most likely through Trial and Error.

Serin Level: 131 Class: Boundless

Race: Higher Human Souls: 0

Affiliations

Adventurer's Guild – Titanium Member

Haven Citystate - Sovereign (Autocracy)

Protectorate - Sovereign

Bonded to:

Olma - Changeling

Avea - Construct

Stats

Strength: 242(+)

Agility: 330(+)

Endurance: 317(+)

Intelligence: 498(+)

Willpower: 390(+)

Charisma: 201(+)

Luck: 315(+)

Points to assign: 310

Serin laughed to himself. He rarely went to his stats page anymore. He leveled up so infrequently it was almost not worth it. He was too busy on his other screens to bother. On anyone else, physical stats these high would allow him to wrestle a dragon, but a large portion of his power was being used to ensure that his overwhelming mana did not kill him.

Serin closed his screens and brought himself to the present. It was time to take in his new guests.

***

They came out of stasis, weapons at the ready. They had been conscious this entire time. As the two archdemons attempted to fight the shackles that bound them to Serin, they instantly felt defeat. To them, Serin's power was untouchable. Here though, in the basement of one of the government buildings, the two archdemons stood. The contempt for their new 'master' written on their faces.

Their struggles had stopped, and they had each taken a knee before their new Lord. Serin smirked, "Now that we have our new relationship understood, I have a few questions."

It wasn't a request. Serin had Juni present, but it seemed she was not needed.

"We hail from a Continent to the West, a land of misery and dust. It is here we fight amongst the other fiefs and duchies, proving our worth. For, just like times of past, when the bridge opens, we ride east, taking the spoils of the weaker races. And when our time comes, and the Great Khan rides, he will bring with him the sweeping flame that will return the land to the beautiful chaos of the Wild."

They continued their explanation. They spoke of a land that was in constant fighting that would only unite under the strongest, and when that happened, they rode. It seemed they did not understand agriculture, animal husbandry, or any other form of sustainability. Theirs was a culture that raided and subsisted on the spoils in between their raids.

"That's an interesting story. And where might this land bridge take you? What world do you come from?"

"You seem to be mistaken, oh great traveller of the planes. This bridge opens to your world. And this continent will be washed clean of your nations, just as it has before, with the arrival of the great Khan"

Serin knew they believed what they were saying. But he did not know it to be true. Regardless, he would discuss it with his representatives and take the external threat into account for their future plans. But for now, he needed to explain a few things to his new servants. Serin looked at the Archdemons.

"I am aware that you are not plated. By our law, that makes you resources, not people. I am aware you are sentient, so I will relegate you to a position just above the Content. You will not be used for processed material. Instead, you will serve. I am aware you are a breeding pair, or whatever your kind calls it. If you sire children, they will serve. You can fight it, or you can serve. If you are angered by this, I ask that you instead re-evaluate. Look upon the strength of my Nation and realize that even if your great khan rides like a wave of flame he will break upon our mountains and walls. Had you not been able to make such capable servants, your bodies would have been reprocessed like your kin."

They stared at Serin. For only a moment, then they responded. "By your will, Master."

It seemed [enthrall] was already dampening their unruly behavior.

***