Not What Was Expected IV

The corporal was about to speak up when Alfred cut him off. "Then it is as the king wishes."

"Yes, we are here to serve him after all. Now, let me see how you've been holding up the walls and security of this fair city. Come! Give me a tour of your men, then we will stand together to enforce our majesty's will!" he laughed out and stood up from the table. The sergeant looked up at her commander, fear in her eyes. She knew her parents were outspoken about what was happening in this city. They would have the sword run through them if he allowed this. Commander Dalonas simply nodded and walked with the general outside.

"Prepare my horse! Let's see the men and women who took in the corrupt hero of House Rikter, chained and ready to go to the king! A shame that was, losing him, but that was not your fault commander. Probably paid cutthroats ready to get them to safety. We'll find them as well, after this small setback." General Galdin waited for his mount to be brought to him while Alfred got onto his steed, his escort following along. All of them were wondering what he was going to do.

Once the general was ready, his own escort with him, they rode slowly out of the camp and headed towards the city. As they reached the halfway point, with the sergeant terrified of what was going to happen in the next few minutes, Alfred did his best to keep strong and work out a plan in his head. As they reached the walls, the gates opened up with his men looking at him in concern. They knew what was going to be ordered of them.

"Hmm, at least you've kept the place under control with the men under your command recognizing their superiors. I haven't seen a parade formation in some time" Galdin commented as he surveyed the troops. The man was escorted through the lines of the Silvinholm Artinian army that kept security of the city, with a swarm of people with signs yelling and swearing at them in the distance. They were unhappy with the current conditions; however, most of that was the fault of the nobles doing as they please right now, very little if any of it was the military policing the area. They were the muscle to yell at though, with the houses hiding away in their estates while they all suffered.

"Is everything up to snuff for you, sir?" Alfred asked.

"Quite. Maybe this is enough for us to start, without my army stepping forward to assist. Now, prepare your lines." Commander Dalonas motioned for his soldiers to move forward, though he gave a peculiar look to most of them as they passed him. As they got ready, their shields locked and swords out, the crowds of civilians hesitated and quieted down. Rocks stopped being thrown as they all looked at each other, wondering what the soldiers would soon do to them.

Each footman stood there, scared out of their mind that they were going to charge against unarmed men and women who just hated how things were being run. "Hmm, your front line needs a little work, you can train them a little better after all of this is done."

"Yes sir." Archers notched their arrows and raised them, getting ready to fire. The general seemed amused at what was about to happen, looking at the people before the security force now realizing they were going to be killed. Huge swaths of them broke and ran, just trying to get some distance. The arrows would seek them out soon enough.

"Ready…" the Lieutenant commanded as the archers focused. Swordsmen closed their eyes tightly and prayed.

"Jared! How could you do this?!" A mother asked as she stared at one of the soldiers, her own son, his shield ready. His family was one of the groups that wanted things back the way they were, when they had better rights than what the nobles provided now. Without the Rikter family keeping things under control, the other houses did whatever they wanted, even infighting between them. The only ones keeping the peace were the Artinian security force there. The mercenaries had all now done what they can to leave the city, to seek out new jobs, a healthy chunk hearing rumors they would not be killed if they headed west into the unknown that had enveloped those towns and villages.

"Aim…" Alfred looked up at the archers and the lieutenant, constantly motioning with his eyes to look at the general. The bowmen seemed confused at first, then finally figured out what he was planning.

"By the king, this is taking too long Commander. Fire!" Galdin snapped. Nothing happened. "I said fire!" Again, no arrows were loosed upon the people. He turned around, wondering what the holdup was, and saw the archers aiming not at the discontents ahead of them, but at his guards as well as his own person. "I see. When did you change and be so soft hearted?"

"Since I knew wiping out half the population here would cause the city to collapse, and with it, Artinia. Without the trade here, the king has nothing but his imperial city. There is a better way than this, General, we just have to find it. They are just afraid of what the nobles are doing, if we can get that under control, trade improves without firing a shot, the livelihood of the people improves. We don't have to do this." Galdin simply stood there, his hands behind his back clasped together. A twitch on his lower lip was seen as he stared at Alfred, turning slowly into a grin.

"That's not for us to choose, little man. I'm sad to see this happen, however, this will not end the way you think it will." A small crystal dropped from the cuff of his uniform into his hand, activating. His escort followed suit, all teleporting out of the city.

"Damn it. Seal the gates!" Alfred commanded as his men got into gear, preparing for a siege. He had known about those crystals for some time, he just didn't know if there were any more left. They were extremely difficult to create, only the officers or high-risk mission operatives were given them ever, with the Ghost's Ashes having almost all of them bar a few spares. The chances of them having anymore were slim to none, which meant no sabotage groups porting in and causing chaos while they were defending against trebuchets. "I want guards on the walls at all times! You, I want you to get all the other gates sealed up immediately, bring in all traders and convoys, I don't care if they are willing or not, it's safer in here than out there" he said sternly to the Sergeant. She acknowledged and hopped onto her steed, racing towards all the other entrances of the city.

"Lieutenant get me a list of supplies we can get a hold of, requisition spare weapons from the smiths. Someone get the civilians in doors! We don't need them wandering the streets!" The city of Silvinholm was going to be under siege, whether they liked it or not. They needed make use of every advantage they had available to survive this.

There were shouts from the people wondering what was happening, starting to yell profanity again. "Shut your mouths! We are about to go to war for all of you idiots!" the lieutenant snapped, shutting them up. The Artinian security was now the Artinian rebels, deciding instead to protect the rights of those who hated them being there… all because of their conscience.

Night

Selene walked out of the palace towards the research labs and noticed Morlanion outside practicing with a sword against a dummy. He looked to be sweating profusely and forcing himself to continue. "Morlan?" she questioned as the dev stopped right where she was, watching him. The man stopped swinging and wiped away the sweat from his forehead, stumbling a little and sitting down on a nearby bench. The empress jogged over and pulled a bottle of water from her inventory, handing it to him. "Easy, easy. Why are you pushing yourself so hard?"

He didn't answer at first, just drank the water and stared at the ground. The woman stood there stooped in front of him, worried. "I was of no use to you when we faced against that dragon" he finally responded. His hand gripped tightly the bottle, though it didn't get damaged. The warrior suddenly threw the container away and stood up, angry. "I was of no use to you! I'm useless!" he snapped as he walked away a few feet and stopped, breathing deeply and blowing it out of his mouth loudly.

"What are you talking about? Calm down, tell me what's going on." Morlan sighed and put his hands on his hips, his tunic soaked in sweat. All that could be heard was him breathing heavily. He finally turned around and wiped back his hair, looking her barely in the eye.

"I know I accepted the chance to see a live dragon, and I appreciate the opportunity to do so, but… when he captured us… I just… I couldn't help at all, I just walked around and let you do all the work. You are my empress, but it seems like I'm just dead weight right now, not even doing what I should be doing, protecting this empire I swore an oath to, to you your majesty. I don't feel as if I have a purpose. In Artinia, I was sent everywhere to fight battles far and wide. Now? Your military does all the work, I'm… I'm not even good at real diplomacy, that's what my father and mother excel at. Even Elsei is better at talking than I am."

Selene walked next to him and looked up into his face, filled with sadness. He seemed depressed, given his physical standing. His empress, her Valkyrja, her automatons, all of them were leagues above his capability. Each time an issue arises, he was just there to see it unfold, not really getting the chance to do anything to assist. "So, you're trying to somehow work even harder to be useful" she stated. He slowly nodded, not even looking at her.

"I don't know what I am going to do in this empire. Elsei can speak on behalf of the high elves, maybe I can go be a trainer at the academy, I don't know. I just feel like I'm not strong enough to be here, in the castle walls. I'm not strong enough to be in your presence."

"Your parents are far weaker than you and they live here now."

"They assist you with laws and regulations, that's different. I'm no good at that. Perhaps… perhaps I should…" he turned around and sat down again, thinking what to say next. The dev slowly walked over and sat next to him, about to place her hand on his back but thought better of it with all the sweat.

"I'm sorry I put you in that position, I didn't realize we were just sitting you on a shelf to look handsome. I just thought you might have wanted to see a few sights, not have to always worry about being in the thick of it. You're no tool, Morlan. I thought I wanted to make that very clear. You're a citizen of my empire, I wasn't just going to throw you at trouble like Artinia does in hopes it made it all better." He chuckled at that response.

"I've thought about how I can help the empire, after everything you've done. It's either the academy, or something else. The problem is, the only other things I can think of would be to somehow, some way, find others who are willing to stand with me to fix the issues your military cannot work on… something like, I don't know, how your police in towns work, but private."

"You mean a government sponsored mercenary fixer group." Morlan finally looked up at her and raised an eyebrow.

"I… think so?" he replied.

"Is this coming from you or Elsei as well?"

"I haven't talked to her just yet, she's staying in Eil'Ta Forest for the next two days dealing with the aftermath for the queen, per your Bronze Team members; they explained the escort that went with her wouldn't be coming back just yet. Apparently, they're dealing with the integration of the high elves into your empire quite well, just… there are personal issues for her back home that she's cleaning up, something to do with her mother."

"Ah." There was silence between them as Selene clasped her fingers together and looked up at the stars. "I'm sorry you feel inadequate around here, that wasn't my intention. I'm sorry that I embarrassed you when we shot off to the mine network as well." The sky, despite it being cold outside for anyone but her, was stunning and clearer than anything she had seen in a while. Earth was a polluted foggy mess now, while this world seemed so refreshing now that she wasn't fighting to survive. Morlan, on the other hand, had to be freezing and could very well catch a cold or pneumonia. The heat lamps throughout the outside were going strong to protect the gardens and keep the royal stables well taken care of for Asterion and the other animals that lived within the walls. The reactors hidden below didn't even have a hiccup for the power requirements the castle had.

"You know, I actually envy my younger brother, Ezra. He knows his place within Elesia's Abbey. He has a gift that I don't have." He was pouring his insecurities out it seemed, at least about how he would pull his own weight. He really wanted to do his duty, to help keep the empire safe… he just didn't know how right now beyond the idea of a specialist team.

"What are you talking about? You're a lev… er…" she started to correct herself, almost about to tell him he was level 35; "You're stronger than you think. Those martial arts you have are fairly impressive for a warrior to have."

"They didn't work against you."

"I have stronger armor, magic and I've beaten a Valkyrja in a duel. I'd like to consider myself an exception to the rule."

"Point taken." That meant that while he couldn't do much against the empress with those skills, they were still powerful abilities to use on others. She could only imagine what some of his abilities could do to an ogre, or a young dragon with at least some proper weapons and equipment, at least tungsten steel, more than likely Elite quality tier or higher. More silence enveloped them as he leaned back and watched the stars as well, with a good five minutes going by before he spoke again, relaxing a little next to his ruler. "I'm hoping to train hard enough to somehow make myself stronger, to be a force you can count on here, your majesty."

"And find likeminded individuals, I can respect that. Maybe, maybe trying to assist the police in cities and towns might be the way to go; I mean… they'll be restricted by laws and policies to keep the citizen's rights protected, maybe having a special group going around investigating that which I can't divest any of my military to work on would be a good idea. Some crimes do go unpunished, even with the police doing their duty." Morlan looked at her with wide eyes. She was agreeing to support this idea. The man jumped off the bench and kneeled in front of her, keeping his head down and averting his gaze.

"I will do whatever I have to for this to become a reality, your majesty, with your permission." She sighed and lightly touched his chin, tilting his head up for him to meet her eyes. The police in most towns were all human, with the main criminal activity mostly cleaned up at the beginning when her armies swept through. The new officers available were required by law to be paid well and have their moralities checked monthly, though their benefits were so incredible that no bandit or thief could ever bribe them. Their families also received discounts at shops as long as their fathers and mothers served and protected. This all combined, among other things, completely dashed all chances of corruption.

"I'll see what your father can help me with to institute a specialized task force organization here. This… might be what the empire needs, in all honesty." He was smiling at her, a glimmer in his eyes. At that moment, she only had police in her municipalities and security defense forces outside any of the walls. Beyond that, was her military. There was no real in between of soldiers and civil protectors. Now the dev realized she was going to need something akin to the FBI, NSA, US Marshalls, ATF and CIA. Morlan could become the director of this organization, small as it was going to be at the beginning.

Once we take Silvinholm, he could have his pick of the finest adventurers maybe, or even the best students from the academy with Skuld's approval.

"I've been renewed, empress. Thank you." He quickly got up from his kneeling position, his head down for a moment as if saying a silent prayer in her name. The mountain of a man then turned on his heel and walked over to a sword to pick it up, getting ready to practice again.

"Hold up, hold up. I understand you want to get stronger, but there is a limit to how much your body can handle" Selene intervened, standing up to put her hand on his to gently have him lower the weapon. He sighed and nodded, closing his eyes. "I take it you somehow thought with enough hard work you might be able to stand next to Hrist, Bryn and I?" she questioned softly.

"I… had a feeling you would say something like this. I'm probably pushing it a little too far?" Morlan's eyes wandered down to the ground as he lowered his weapon. He was working so hard with what he had. He wasn't some dumb warrior with a sword, that much was certain. There was a reason he was considered a hero of Artinia. The problem was, he had no capability for magic, though his martial arts did replace that. He had no training in technology, so uplifting him with the same equipment Bronze Team had was risky, as he could potentially shoot himself in the foot. There was a sharp mind there, however it needed to be tended and nurtured, which the battlefield didn't give much of a chance to do.

"Your body can only take so much before you tear a muscle or damage ligaments. Maybe if your body was augmented in some capacity, you could get past those limitations I think… eh, whatever… just take it easy…" She rambled out, as he looked at her, listening to her every word. There were projects that could be started, at least primitive ones given she was still in Early Intersolar Era tech. Each one was designed to create super soldiers, pretty much the age-old idea of Space Marines that every sci fi game or story had in some capacity, whether it was Halo or Warhammer 40,000.

While her tech at the moment seemed vastly higher in some areas compared to those universes, there was a drastic gap in many other tech paths; most of the improvements she had was from the side tech tree for steampunk as well. Weird science had been a major boon to her at the beginning. She wouldn't really have anything that was FTL capable until after quite a few more tech ups, so her super soldier programs would be a little antiquated until that time came around. There was also the fact that she just didn't need to invest anything into them in the first place, with her automatons, and now standard tech robots in some specialty jobs, doing all the grunt work. Still, it could help her in minor issues around the world, or multiple worlds, if specialty groups that were highly loyal to the empire and their empress were improved beyond their normal means, to act as the special forces for nonmilitary related purposes.

"Augments? You mean to improve my body? That's… that's wonderful. I'm willing to start whenever you wish it."

Fuck. Damned diarrhea of the mouth.

"Wait, what? Uh, Morlanion, I don't think that's the best course of action, at least… um… I mean… I… uh…"

"What do you mean? You just said the only way to get past my limitations is to augment my body. Let me guess, magical? I am ready and willing."

"Look… when I said augment your body… I… have some… experiments… that might… and I do say this carefully, might be able to speed the process up for physically enhancing your body." Morlan blinked at her for a moment.

"Well what am I waiting for? Let's do it!" he laughed out.

"Morlan, listen to me carefully. These are experiments, as in not set programs. There is a chance they may not work as intended. I'm… willing to admit… this will be the first time I've ever done something like this before either. There is risk, even if the rewards could be high. I'd need you to sign waivers that you've read over thoroughly before you agree to them, like not holding me accountable for any side effects." While some of these basic projects would allow humans to become incredible superheroes, she had no idea what it would do to natives of this world. There was also no guarantee they would have the same effect on anything beyond humans here. While genetic enhancement or cybernetics might work on Morlanion, it could potentially cripple Elsei or anyone else Morlan brought into his group. There was also the risk that any of the enhancements could cause excruciating pain. She didn't have enough information on the genomes here.

"So… what you're saying is to be prepared for the worst."

"Yes. There is always a chance for some of these experiments to simply break you, even kill you. You need to understand this." He stood there and bit at his lower lip, thinking it through. "That's why I don't think it's the best course of action to take. We could go easier instead, like… different physical training, throw you through a higher education or Extreme Officer School, things like that." EOC was a thing after the 2050s for the United States that brought hundreds of would be soldiers from all throughout NATO to learn to git gud.

"Empress Selene, I trust you. I made an oath to you before, and I reinforce that oath. I… know you wouldn't lead me astray, now even trying to warn me of the risk. Give me the waivers. I'll read them, with the help of my father, and decide if I wish to go through with them. I need to show that I am willing to protect you as well as the empire." She just stared at him, studying his face. He was set in his decision. She wasn't just worried for his wellbeing; she was actually afraid of the experiments. This would be the very first time she'd do anything like this with a volunteer… or anyone. Automatons didn't need to be turned into super soldiers, they just had modules installed in them for new upgrades from the fabrication units in her inventory. It was simple to plug and play for all of her army. A Light auto could have Medium hydraulics installed for better lifting capability, there was no chance of rejection. There were too many variables for living creatures that scared her.

"Alright. I'll see about getting everything prepared for tomorrow. Just rest for the time being, we'll see about where to start. The first obvious choice is to change your training first, see how far we can push you right now without any projects put into place. It'll give us a benchmark for how much of an improvement anything will have. Then, education. I'm going to see just how far your brain can be pushed; we might be able to get that sped up with hypno courses or something."

Selene brought her hand up to her face and just covered her eyes in a facepalm. She needed to work on keeping thoughts like that from blasting out of her mouth when around friends. She was so used to brainstorming new features for videogames that it didn't occur to her to shut her mouth when it came to troubleshoot Morlan's hindrances to be a better soldier.

"I understand. Your majesty… thank you, for listening." She nodded and smiled at him. The list of experiments was fairly high after the school courses. The first thought was to completely alter his training regimen, adding in something like BUD/S from the Navy SEALS or Ranger School, potentially Operator training for Delta Force. While it might be impossible to provide all of the training course for him, such as firearms and maybe explosives, at least at first, it would at least give them a good idea of how far he can push himself. After that, higher education via some sort of fast track program, followed by genetic enhancement, then by potion enhancement. Cybernetics would be an emergency program if everything else didn't work as intended. The dev wanted to make sure as much of him was born and bred instead of replaced like a spare part. Afterwards, there was potential for extended technology training.

Morlan got up and looked at her like he had found an answer to an age-old question. There seemed to be conviction in his eyes, an ultimate vow to be better than he was to stand amongst the strongest. The empress closed her eyes tightly. What had she just gotten herself into promising this?

Shit… alright, now I really don't have a choice. Orlo and Turnie can't possibly jump between so many research projects and I don't think my research stations can really help in this regard.

The warrior picked up the strewn about weapons and gear to put them back in their slots, cleaning up the training yard. Meanwhile, Selene got to work on two new personality cores for lead scientists as she sat down again. While the members of Bronze Team were incredible, she couldn't just keep throwing two of them at a project and hoping for something to pop out. She needed a dedicated science division, regardless of how she can move up her tech tree.

I need more than a science division, for crying out loud… I need quite a few divisions to manage under me. So far, I only have two Generals, a magistrate, a magic magistrate, a head of construction for military and civil. I'm being stupid to not expand that. How many different secretaries were there for the U.S, or for that matter, any other country? How many of them were useless so I don't screw this up?

She opened her character sheet and checked her stats alongside her inventory. Tech Era was Early Intersolar. The dev had slowed down on her use of the orb, which might have been a bit of a mistake. Being over 200+ was more than anything she had seen that could be a threat, beyond the abomination they fought. As her eyes watched Morlan finish cleaning the yard and head inside to take a bath, the empress set additional personality cores into production for surveillance, administration and even history. There were spares set aside in the eventual creation of further help as needed, blank until installed.

"Hey" Hrist suddenly said behind her as the Valkyrja walked up and sat down next to the auburn-haired woman.

"Hey…" she replied quietly as Selene leaned back.

"Is something wrong?" her general asked.

"Morlan wants to push himself to the near breaking point to try and reach our strength tier."

Hrist blinked at her for a moment. "He cannot, at best he'd be an einherjar, worthy of having on the battlefield. I cannot see him ever reaching our tier of power." The empress crossed her arms and looked at her friend, making an openhanded gesture to acknowledge her agreement.

"I accidentally blurted out that I have the capability to help him on that journey, though most of it would be experimental right now."

"You… you have that ability?" Hrist questioned.

"I do, sort of." The dev explained the situation, with the Valkyrja nodding in understanding.

"Can that be done to me?" her General asked.

"I… I don't know? Maybe. Look, this is experimental right now, I'd… I'm a little afraid to do this to even Morlan. He's a good guy, and I would rather not have one of the projects cripple him due to something going wrong."

"Then do what you need to make sure it is a success, otherwise, do not allow the experiment to continue. I can see the trust… and faith… he has in you. I would believe he might be secretly a part of the religion that has been building around you."

"Yeah. I'm trying to hide from those guys." Both them sat there on the bench, the light posts around the castle keeping the area well lit. It was freezing outside, though the cold didn't have any effect on the women due to their extremely high resistances. "Hrist?"

"Yes?"

"If this does work, and I'm not saying it will, do you really want to be enhanced?"

"I believe we would all wish to have the ability to improve beyond our normal means, if there are not any side effects." Selene sighed and nodded slowly, averting her gaze to the ground. A notice popped up for her involving a threat found near Olva'lore Forest. A second notice, though only registered as an issue, appeared for Silvinholm.

As she opened both, the dev decided to read the intel from the city she was about to take tomorrow. What she found was interesting. The army that was holding the city was rebelling against Artinia to defend the people inside. They were going to be laid siege to by the opposing force. Ornithopters kept an up to date population count on the districts, the numbers of soldiers and even had a limited list of supplies that were available, massive as that was. The Artinian rebels now had strips of dyed cloth on their shoulders to discern who was friend from foe. The nobles were bunkered up to keep themselves away from the people until help arrived from outside the walls.

The second notice made her eyes widen in shock. Drow were spotted deep in the cave near the dark elves, attempting reconnaissance. There was intel in the report that there might be a secondary exit point somewhere else as well due to information provided by King Weren before about the history of the Drow, with percentages placed throughout the continent all reporting zero. The ornithopters weren't there to guess, just provide information where needed. The analytics and scans for finding underground cave networks wasn't very big on her to do list.

All the more reason to get agents and an intelligence division set up. While the fliers provide excellent surveillance, I need boots on the ground to give me a heads up, like the FBI and CIA. At least I won't have to deal with the crap those agencies gave the federal government, given they'll be automatons and androids mostly.

Hrist stood up and looked at her, offering her hand to help her stand as well. Selene accepted the offer as they headed back to the palace, the research labs would wait until tomorrow. A quick task of her security forces near the forest to guard that cave, then a personality core processed into a research station, she was ready to head to the vault to use the orb. Her General watched as she left her side, with a quick glance back over her shoulder. "I'll meet you in the library, I'm going to watch the new comedy play right after this." The Valkyrja nodded and headed off.

Once down in the vault, and a quick touch of the orb to drain the much sought-after experience, she hesitated for the first time after receiving another five levels, then another five, staring at the artifact with her hand just barely hovering over the top of it. Although the dev was a little hesitant, her hand finally went back down and drained the action points required for a tech up to Middle Intersolar Era. There wasn't a drastic boost as she was expecting, though the new tier allowed for better impulse engines, radiation shielding, ground to space transportation and a few other essentials. Satellites would get a bit more streamlined as well.

While it seemed mostly uneventful for space capability, ground based tech, at least for off the planet she was on, had a far more advanced look, with limited terraforming becoming completely viable now. Up until now, for Early Intersolar, it was just going to be a dome colony placed here and there for anything off world, with at least some magnetosphere protection in some capacity from orbit. It wasn't anything amazing like turning Mars into a lush green tropical paradise, the new schematics would at least allow protection planet wide from radiation, better gravity and probably allow tilting and rotation if a planetary object is completely dead, at least very small ones like Pluto. So far as she could see, keeping a livable atmosphere naturally would still be a little out of reach, at least in a timely manner, which was surprising given the tech to make a micro planet or large asteroid rotate. There were no high-speed missiles that transformed anything into an Earth like environment just yet.

Selene finished up and dropped the security systems down around the orb again, then headed out. She was going to wait until her level was 250 before using all of the points in a burst, which would require another four days. A quick check up on Gabriel, who was fully recovered as he got to lounge in the music room, then she was in the library to watch the play recorded. As they watched together, the empress checked on the progress for the first mass driver.

Parts were manufactured like Juliet had said, they were installing them now. Having automatons and the robotic gantry system never need to sleep was a boon from the heavens for her. The plot of land set aside for the space elevator was now also mostly cleared. Gabriel slipped through the door and waited to be seen. "Can I… uh… may I be allowed to watch as well? The library was my next stop in this amazing palace you have, your majesty." He was well groomed now that he had a chance to clean himself up, with the beard now trimmed carefully with a razor edge point at the jaw line.

"Of course. Tomorrow though, I expect an in-depth conversation about your teacher."

"I accept, your majesty. Maybe you'll have the chance to meet him."

Meanwhile

"Everyone, prepare yourselves." The headmaster of the wizards in Aureos motioned for all of them to get in position, with most of them nodding and double checked their scrolls, their preparations, their ritual inscriptions. An apprentice had found a spell that allowed for translation of the spoken language between races, ancient in its thought process. There were theories that this was what was used in the grand all-encompassing effect that allowed everyone to speak to one another on this incredible world. The main theorem was that a dragon lord had cast wild magic while a wizard attempted to decipher the meaning, clashing against each other and somehow warping the spell. It was highly doubtful the wizard survived, given the strength of such a creature, so there is little historical evidence that this is what happened.

Digging further into the creation of the translation spell, they found a more advanced spell crumbling away in a dusty tome, following the same principles, [Comprehend Languages]. It was such a simple thing to miss, and an easy tier 1 spell, though it required a full ritual.

"The king wants to let us know that he is impatient for our success here, headmaster" Dragolas commented, keeping a boorish tone the entire time.

"He will have his artifact understood by the end of this night; he just has to wait a little more." The wizards all circled the symbols written on the ground, glowing in a multitude of colors and shapes. Some were damaging the stonework below their feet, eating away at the floor due to the caustic nature of the reagents. The original incantation required salt and soot, though this would seem to need more than a few exotic ingredients. The first attempt to use the spell had a reflection ward fire the mana used back at the journeyman who cast it, melting the flesh of both hands.

"Alright. We start!" The headmaster shouted as they began performing the ritual, greatly expanded in hopes that one of them would succeed. As the ritual continued, the papers crackled with energy, arcing out along the table they were on and lashed out at two very capable wizards, flash frying their insides. There was a sound of gurgling as they slumped to the ground, the rest of them continuing with their duty.

A circle of fire erupted around the table to keep anyone at bay, the wizards doing their best to stay undeterred. "Keep going!" An apprentice was lifted from the ground, screaming as he floated confused in the air, then sliced in half by some as yet unseen foe. Once the creature had fully materialized, the rest of the wizards were shocked. "Get the guards in here!" the headmaster yelled as a death knight stood before them in the middle of the room, defending the scriptures. Somehow, an imprint of the menacing foe had been stored in the papers, allowing it to summon to defend its master's personal items. Soldiers ran in only to be smacked around by the shield and large sword, with a few more spell casters behind getting a few shots in.

"Do not falter" Dragolas told everyone as he stepped forward and launched multiple ice bolts at the undead creature, damaging the legs but doing little else. It knocked it to the ground, long enough for the remaining guards to jump on it and do their best to tear away armor and bone. Maces slammed against the ribcage and shoulders, whittling away the hardened protection and allowing them to finally end it once and for all. The cost, however, was at least thirty dead.

Two more apprentices were shocked to death by lightning as the ritual finally completed, a concussive wave blasting out from the papers and knocking everyone off their feet. Whoever created these was incredibly powerful in their eyes. For all they knew, they were playing with the knowledge written by a god himself. These scriptures were more deadly in one ritual than most magical weapons they had created.

"It's… done…" one wizard said as he coughed and slowly helped another stand up. The headmaster walked briskly up to the table and looked at the writing, the circle of fire doused after the ritual was finished. A light chuckle escaped his lips. He could read them.

"The design of this artifact doesn't quite match that which Ulbert had in mind, though it may yet suit my needs. The materials were quite difficult to find, even if we had some of the more rarer reagents available in the treasury. I have high hopes for it to transfer the life force of one creature and use it as an energy source to finally attain that which my friend had once sought, to unleash a force so powerful and endless that no one could hope to defend against it. If it works, I will not have need for a new army again. The problem that needs to be addressed is to find one such creature strong enough to use as the fuel. I can think of only a few that are within the guild. I will not use them to attain this goal.

The activation phrase is the previous name we had once used for the precursor guild, Nine's Own Goal." – A

"It worked. It really worked…" he whispered to himself as he did his best to read through the papers quickly before they needed to bring them before his majesty. There was not a full translation, as some of the names seemed to not quite be understood, such as a mention of a man named Touch Me and Herohero. These were supposed to be people it seemed, which appeared to lean more to these papers weren't all there to explain the usage of the item, but also some of a journal as well. The headmaster could see why there was such outrage from the woman these were stolen from, the succubus. They needed to be careful once their king learned to control the artifact to get rid of these scriptures.

"Sir, have we done well?" one wizard asked, limping along with his colleagues towards the entrance to the room.

"Yes, you all have done very well. The king will be pleased."

{{Vectored response from Black Widow Sat /SL-41-S = Unknown power spike detected grid 129-4 in location designated: Aureos, Artinian Capital}}

{{Measured fluctuation = 1.7849 Gigajoules erupted six times. Verifying target location: Wizard Academy, 9th floor, internal ring. Determined source: Unknown object. WARNING: Capacitor capability detected near power spike. Discharge status = empty}}

{{Detected Undead, hostile combat form, primary mode: defense, melee. Hostile combat form was destroyed. Casualties tracked: 31}}

{{Further reconnaissance required. Threat potential still unknown}}

{{Send traffic to creator. Traffic sent. Unknown object detected near magical wards registered, tier level: World Class. AMENDMENT: Faulty object, unfinished, design unstable, further recon required, surveillance team RECON 9-2-6 requested}}

{{Orders tasked by creator: Long range surveillance. Track movement of unstable World Class object. Verify if activated. Verify if charge stabilized in capacitor functionality. End Task}}

A single spy satellite orbited just above Aureos at that moment, sending its feed once it had found something interesting for the empire to check on. The people of the imperial city had no idea that another ruler was now a little more interested in what they were doing.