Small Miracles III

He stared at her as she felt put on the spot, avoiding eye contact as the rest of her team didn't exactly come to her rescue, knowing what he was saying. Morlan ran his fingers through his slicked-back hair and blew air out of his mouth. "So, you're doing this because you want to prove your mettle, I get that. Any reason beyond that?" he suddenly asked. She looked up at him as Ezra was about to speak, trying to somehow get his older brother off her back. The warrior put a hand up to stop the priest, waiting for a reply.

"Because if we win, we can take the prizes, even the smaller ones. It's not as if we can be held down by the nobility anymore anyway, what with the empress watching over us, right?" she snapped at him. He could tell in her voice that it was wavering, her eyes slightly watering. The ranger was sitting on a weak reason.

"That's not what I'm asking. Say you win something, anything; what do you intend to do with it? What are your goals after? Make a name for yourself? Buy a home in Silvinholm or some town? What?"

Dina stood up again and put her hands on the table. As she gathered her courage to explain to him her hopes for the future, her legs felt like jelly. "I… I…"

"I'd retire." Everyone looked at Pops as he said that, stirring in some cream into his coffee. "Oh, come off it all of you. I'm old, at least getting up there in age. My body isn't going to keep me holding a shield in front of you lot for much longer. What you've failed to see is me saving up what I can to get a small cottage, pay for the construction somewhere in Werelosil or Eld Horn maybe. Gold rank is frankly fine by me to sit on, whatever we walk away with from the tournament will just seal the deal."

"Pops…" Marv started to say, unable to really come up with any other words.

"So, this is how you tell us?" Dylan asked with some annoyance in his voice.

"Shut it, you. I didn't really know when was the right time. You'd find another to group up with in no time; besides, that new paladin Ezra has might be the thing you all need."

"She's only able to work with you for the tournament; her main duties are to the temple really," Ezra interjected, embarrassed that the assistance being provided wouldn't last beyond their test of talent and skill.

"Do you really need a paladin to protect the temple? Adventurers run around all over the place, along with the police," Marv stated.

"The empress has multiple tiers of security throughout each province. I honestly don't know if you could look in any direction that wouldn't have someone come to your aid in an emergency. I was a part of one such engagement, felling demons in Calloway," Morlan commented.

The priest let out a small chuckle as he avoided eye contact. "Every religion has warriors of the faith. Some are needed to go into more… worrying locations… to spread the word of Elesia."

" – Which means they aren't exactly needed as a security guard. It defeats the whole purpose of whoever it is your lending us," Pops remarked. Ezra seemed to squirm in his seat as his brother peered at him.

"You're the reason she stays there, aren't you?" There was no reply. "I figured; you're learning after all how to lead the followers of Elesia here." Morlan thought for a moment as they finished their drinks. "Let her choose afterward whether she wishes to stay with the team. Is she registered as an adventurer?"

"She'll do it today. Um… is a starting copper allowed to be in a gold-ranked party?" Ezra said, looking around at his friends.

"Has she even seen combat?" Dylan grumbled out. The priest nodded.

"Apparently… quite often."

As they got sidetracked for a moment, the group settled down again and looked at Morlan. "Whatever, I said I'd provide some help, but no sparring. If you really want to do this, I can't obviously stop you. You'll learn soon enough why the adventurer's guild isn't going to keep everything under control. Even pairing you against another gold rank team… it's not going to go the way you think. It never does…"

One Hour Later

"Hiiiiiii!" a woman clad in heavy armor jumped in the air and waved at them after checking in with Tilly. A brand new copper plate was swinging on her multi-layered plate chest as she ran to meet up with them, a two-handed hammer on her back and a buckler strapped to her left arm. Her winged helm swept back with an open face, arcing to connect the tips together in the rear. Despite her large bust and wide hips, not one inch of her skin beyond the head could be seen.

"She's quite… peppy…" Dina said, completely dumbfounded as the woman ran up to them.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Piper." Ezra introduced the woman as she shook all of their hands rapidly, going down the line. All of them seemed confused as to how to address her extremely positive attitude, along with the tingling in their arms after having been shaken so fiercely.

"Happy to meet all of you! In the name of Elesia, I'm glad I could come to your aid! I'll do all that I can! You can count on me!" she replied, thumbing at herself in response and closing her left eye with a smile on her face. "I know we'll be best friends! I can tell you!"

"Uh… yeah… sure…" Dina mumbled out as she rubbed her wrist and elbow from the interaction with their new paladin. While Piper was a little taller than Dylan at around six foot two inches, her strength seemed to belie someone much greater in size. It had to be some sort of aura or blessing she received from her goddess to help improve her odds in a fight.

"You're sure she can join us for the tournament? No rules stopping it?" Marv questioned the temple leader.

"Healers are not allowed to join. However, as long as Piper doesn't provide those services, and sticks to just defending your group, you should have no problems. This is for the team battle, right? You signed up for it?" Ezra responded. They all looked at Dina.

"We're currently signed up for the solo matches and a practice team defense against fake monsters," she explained as the teenager scratched her head and laughed a little in embarrassment. Morlan shook his head with his arms crossed over his chest. There was a tier spell used for military recruits, one that created randomized hollow creatures to fight against. They were nowhere near as strong as the originals, with only a few hits at worst to defeat even an ogre and cause it to vaporize. The spell didn't exactly prepare the troops for real combat, it just allowed them to learn the mannerisms of the monster itself.

"Choose now; otherwise, you're wasting her time," Morlan told her. Dina scowled at him for being impatient, then remembered he had a trip to make and was employed by the empress. He was about as busy as she might be.

"I was gonna do it when we got to the tournament! I'm sorry I didn't plan everything to the letter!" she snapped back.

"It's alright! If I can help before we show what we can do, count me in! Um… unless, of course, the high priest says otherwise! Hehe!" Piper commented as she scratched the back of her neck and looked at Ezra, a stray lock of pink hair popping out of her helmet.

"S-sure, go ahead. I think it would do well to… erm… see what you all can do together. Oh, sorry, I kind of have to go now. Sermons start in… uh oh, I really should be going! We can talk later!" Ezra replied as he grabbed his staff and ran towards the door, nearly tripping on his robe and waving back to everyone. Pops inched towards Piper as she bent over to rifle through a pack she brought, reaching towards her rear. A quick removal of a padded mace, twice the size of the one the old man used, as she swung it through the air over her shoulder and smacking him on the head. There was a loud gong sound from the connection.

"Let's get to sparring!" she giggled out as the tank of the group held his head and gritted his teeth in pain. Morlan sighed and started to instruct them in standard small group tactics that most adventurers never got, providing in-depth knowledge that only officers of the military had the blessing of learning. There was no guarantee they'd even meet part of his expectations, but it was their choice to continue with the tournament. He only had enough time to give them the basics before he'd leave on his trip anyways. Elsei helped Dina fix her form while holding her bow, altering where she held the arms of the ranged weapon while firing.

Piper, for the most part, didn't need much in assistance, excluding the fact that she was rather dead set on one-shotting the training dummies. While her wind up took some time, the wooden figurines were knocked out of the courtyard nine times out of ten, making most of the other groups watch her in surprise. None of them knew what she was blessed with from her goddess… or how few paladins there were that followed the faith. "Yahoo! This is fun! I really get to do this in the tournament? I can't wait!"

"Uh… not exactly…" Morlan grumbled. He immediately facepalmed.

Noon

Entoma sat on a crate being loaded onto the ship they would use to cross the ocean, with Yuri checking over the finishing touches for all the supplies they would have. While very little needed to be for food, excluding the green biscuits that her sister maid ate when she couldn't get her mouth on the arm of a human, most of what they had available was simply for speeding the whole trip up. Four mana engines were installed in a rotation wheel and would oscillate once each had burned out to, and away from the continent. There were quite a few magic scrolls and potions that would be used to scout the landscape, with most of the cargo being a small laboratory to test materials and document what was found. What concerned the Pleiades leader was the fact that cages were added… for valuable captives.

"I don't understand why I'm not going with you," Lupusregina said gruffly as she held her hands behind her head and paced up and down the dock.

"Do you doubt the orders of the supreme being?" Yuri questioned her.

"Of course not! I just don't see my current mission of checking on Carne as taking that long. All the people do right now is rut in their beds to keep warm, some of them even with the trolls and gob – "

"That's enough, sister. Some of that information could do well to be kept secret and out of reports," Yuri interrupted, marking everything needed as loaded on the flagship. There would be six vessels in total, with the entire trip taking three weeks due to unknown inclement weather along the way that cannot be removed, as well as tracked icebergs found ahead of time. Even so, the entire travel event was planned to start in one day, with two of the ships not yet in port just yet.

"Yeah yeah, I don't see what the problem is, though. One of these days those humans are going to realize that the troll is going to–"

"Stop, really. Stop."

"What do you think we'll find there?" Entoma asked as she waggled her 'feet.' The death knight carrying the crate slowly lowered it down onto the deck, waiting for another to grab it and move whatever was inside into the main cabins. The arachnoid jumped off the box and let the wooden container be picked up by one of the minions of the ship, waiting for a reply from her sister. A lich floated down into the main hold in the background, ready to do whatever was required during the trip.

"I would not believe I have any idea of what we may find there. If possible, a civilization that is willing to see the immense power and greatness of our Lord, to agree to join without any need for further plans laid down to sway them to Ainz-sama's incredible influence."

"As long as you don't find someone who is already allied with you know who," the cleric commented.

"Try your best not to speak of them unless Ainz-sama brings it up, understood? It is a… complicated subject," Yuri said calmly, though both of the other maids knew it was more an order than a request. The kingdom to the north was causing all sorts of trouble, and not just for Ainz and his vassal countries. There was a reason others called for temporary truces where required, not trusting the Sorcerer Kingdom enough for anything beyond a joint attempt to slow down a common enemy. Recently, those truces had become a regular occurrence, almost to the point where there might be a unified army to somehow push back those who were coming down to destroy them.

"Sure. Well, I guess I'll get back to leering into windows and reporting back what I find. You leave tomorrow, right?" Lupusregina queried.

"Correct. Do your best to make the debriefings… professional. Our glorious supreme one has many things that he is taking care of, superficial information can divert his precious time." The cleric turned around and waved in acknowledgment as the two who would travel to the west continued checking off all of the equipment they needed, with Yuri doing most of the work; Entoma seemed more than capable of sitting back and eating, then checking on the escort they would have to aid them on the adventure.

Meanwhile

Selene's transport touched down on the triple landing pad that descended into the underground facility, like a flower closing up for the night. ARC was massive below the surface, with nothing but a small building and security station above ground. While still classified as a Heavy tier helibot, most vehicles she used were well beyond using rotary systems to lift off. As the vehicle dropped into the ARC, where her science division was now stationed, shaped like a giant metal turtle, it latched the engines close to the body to conserve space as the pad closed up like a flower.

Once at the bottom floor, the doors opened to allow the empress to step out and be greeted by her leaders in advanced research. "Greeting empress, we've been waiting for you," Nikola said as he bowed to her and waved towards the main entrance, a scanner not even needed. It knew exactly who she was.

"So everything is prepared?" she asked as they walked through the myriad hallways, her eyes landing on different projects that were in the middle of being tested in the side rooms. Not all of it was for new technology, whether miniaturization or improving the original design, as other teams were handling magical devices. Only a few of them were in their final phases of creation, with many being closer to early prototype runecraft and tier magic slowly being implemented. Multiple plants and animals were being studied, though the fauna was supposed to be treated humanely.

As they continued on, her eyes landed on the improved fabrication designs for 3D printers manufacturing military units meant not only for her inventory but also in hidden factories throughout the empire. Dominic and Will had gone through a long meeting with the empress after the war, noting security issues and countering any trouble in the future. The only time patience would be brought up would be if an enemy has no knowledge of their existence; once someone figured out her military was in the area, there would be no survivors, no chance for some special artifact to be used. It would be a swift annihilation from now on, once they confirmed who was hostile. Absolutely nothing would threaten her empire.

"I see small volume production is already in the works right now," she remarked as the floor changed to a moving walkway as scientists and engineers moved around large machines pumping out new soldier designs for her to peruse. Already, the armies of the empire were increasing well beyond what she previously had; instead of a ratio of one automaton for every ten civilians, the numbers were now pushing closer to one to one. One specialist unit was being moved on a ceiling conveyor hook, its armor already installed and shoulder mounts ready for weapon fitting. It appeared to be equipped with a secondary exoskeleton wrapped around the main chassis, amplifying strength and speed while carrying even more equipment for rapid swapping weapons or tools. It also allowed orbital drops, a brand new concept for positioning troops where needed. While they wouldn't replace paratroopers, it was just another way to insert soldiers onto the battlefield when required. Will had joked about calling them a certain acronym based off an old videogame license, one with humanity fighting against a large alien religious government, though that was squashed quickly.

"Yes, production speed has seen a drastic improvement over what it took before. Do you expect another war, empress?" Robert asked her. She temporarily was silent as the dev just watched the room slip away, followed by more rudimentary items being created for the people. New tools were being worked on to implement into society in hopes that it would help the citizens with mundane tasks. If it all went according to plan, they'd either head down a path of steampunk or regular technology that the empress had seen on Earth. In this way, they wouldn't be so starved for rapid communication or production speed in jobs.

"I'd like to keep my options open, just in case," Selene replied, staring through the windows as they were moved on the walkway. A slight twitch of her left pointer finger, unknown to her lead scientists, told volumes. Tier 9 magic immunity was completed, along with a prototype system for class VI shields. The power draw was still too high, along with openings in the field not yet closed completely, but the defensive equipment was coming along nicely. They'd have tier 10, and even super magic, become a simple annoyance in no time.

Further warehouse-sized rooms showed experiments with runecraft, tier magic, even new tests into wild magic and faith energy in controlled environments. "Anything new on wild magic or faith?" she asked quietly, the entire facility quiet beyond any movement from the walkway.

"Most of our focus has been on how to contain either, potentially to restrict damage, just like the immunity films we place on our soldiers. We haven't created much just yet, though we have learned there is an interesting half-life for each," Robert replied, motioning softly towards one window.

"The universal translation that is inherent in this world… it may eventually fade," Nikola commented. Selene glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow for a moment, returning her gaze to some of the work being done on understanding the way wild magic had been used to allow everyone to speak to each other without miscommunication.

If anyone had to suddenly learn a new language, beyond writing, it could suddenly disrupt everything. English is still considered a second language in my empire, I can only imagine if I couldn't speak to my subjects.

"How long until it eventually fades away?" the empress questioned.

Robert clasped his hands behind his back, the long laboratory coat shifting as his mechanical extremities moved. A multi-lens monocle lowered and raised over one eye as his left eyebrow wiggled a little. "Unknown just yet, though the maximum we believe is 10,000 years. While that might seem long to some, it could collapse societies if not tended to, with a new spell cast in the future that can remedy the situation. Right now, one team is determining how long the previous enchantment has been active, among others."

The dev looked at him with both eyebrows raised. "Among others?"

"Yes, that is not the only one we are aware of. Satellite readings from the expanded network have been providing a plethora of new data from around the world, with some in particular connected to certain landmasses, continents."

"So some lands are special, while others aren't? Like… Atlantis or Avalon?"

"Precisely. I regret to inform you, empress… we are living on one that doesn't have anything interesting; there are no protective barriers beyond coral reefs underwater restricting keel depth, with nothing else keeping someone from coming onshore. There is only one supervolcano, and it is mostly dormant. While the geography of this land is different from what would be expected back on Earth, and the weather is sometimes peculiar in some areas, our continent is rather boring compared to others."

Selene let out a short chuckle. "Sometimes boring is the best news to have. Given what has happened in the past six months, I'd say I like having uninteresting dirt under my feet." She mulled on that in silence as the walkway moved them around a corner, soft ambient running lights attached to the sides of the hallways as they continued on. They passed a medical department with brand new mixtures of not just vaccines and antibiotics, but also potions and elixirs. None of it was to improve her attributes or skills, with most being for sale; some were quite weak in comparison to what she already had, meant for cheap supply to those who tried to reverse engineer the recipe. The introduction of a new array of expiring healing potions was already underway, with a new, less repugnant flavor. "Do we have confirmation that medical science is still needed among the people? Excluding the magic immune diseases."

"We do. Cancer cannot be healed away with magic, it's the body's own cells after all. Those who suffer from it should not be healed by magic or potions; a recurrence may happen. This complicates matters for some."

The empress nodded in response. "So regular checkups are still needed by the people at clinics and apothecaries, to catch something that might be growing in them."

"Yes; however, some of the more notorious diseases can be cured with simple spells. AIDS, for example, is just like anything else. What we've also found is quite interesting; if a disease is magic immune, it's quite vulnerable to antibiotics or vaccines, while the same can also be said in the opposite direction. Further testing is needed, but we're quite sure that the reaction doesn't change." Robert seemed to rock on his feet a little, a habit she noticed he gained since his creation. It told her that he found what he was studying quite fascinating, with new things to explore, always piquing his interest.

As they passed one window, she could hear music playing in the background. It was Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science." The only thing she could do was gawk at both of them.

"When was someone going to tell me I could have musicians record copies of songs from Earth?" she asked, looking at the two scientists, both of which tried to avert their gaze.

"We… thought you already knew this…" Robert muttered out.

"No, this is the first I heard about it. I swear, does everyone think I'm omniscient? This is… this is…" she closed her mouth and immediately put a printer in her inventory to task, crafting an entire orchestra, all of which would be able to play multiple different instruments. While everyone else in the empire was still listening to bards and traveling play troops, the castle was going to have access to anything from rap to psychill and beyond. There was no need to constantly hear violins or pianos, now adding in electric guitars and mix tables among many, many others.

They finally reached a secure area with the old fashioned steampunk equipment attached to the ceiling and hanging down, the whole resurrection system in place with the large multi-tiered dais rising from the ground. Six spires came from around the raised platform, with the central machine in the middle looking like a bloated flying saucer stripped for parts. While the rest of the room was clean with no emissions, steam seemed to hiss out of the piping of the incredible contraption at certain points along the grommets and clamps, an intended feature. "Please empress, come over here for the blood sample," Nikola told her as Selene looked at a table with a lone chair sitting next to it. A venipuncture machine was installed along with two auto doctors waiting for the dev to sit down.

"So, details. I know the system will bring her back, and that the physical characteristics are somewhat random, correct?"

"Correct. There is no guarantee she will be a teenager; however, with all data compiled, the age range is ten years in either direction," Robert informed her. "No memories will be kept from the previous life due to the soulstone, though…"

"Though?" she asked, waiting for him to finish his sentence. The scientist looked at his partner. They would never keep information from her, but whatever he was hesitating on made her wonder.

"We have a hypothesis that player traits still stay functional; otherwise, this machine would be somewhat useless. Their skills and abilities should carry over, though she won't understand how she can perform such feats."

I wonder if it might be a good idea to implement these out in the empire for heroes to use in emergency situations. Don't worry, your friend isn't dead if he's had a sample placed at certain locations! Hmm, would need to work on the advertisement; plus, temples resurrect people anyways, would need to sell the idea that it can bring someone back from total corpse destruction. Eh, it's just an idea, I don't know if it's good or not. I might need to think about it for a while…

The empress sighed and took off most of her clothing bar her underwear due to the effect it had on her body and defenses then put her arm in the auto-siphon system, waiting for the pinprick effect on needles puncturing her skin. Without disrobing, the machine would have broken itself, trying to combat her Natural Armor attribute and all the buffs layering on top of that. Selene grunted slightly as the system withdrew blood from her arm, not exactly being polite or tender. "Sorry, ma'am, we'll work on the bedside manner of that in the future," Robert commented.

"These aren't distributed throughout the hospitals and clinics, are they? It's a little rough."

"Not just yet; the auto docs and nurses are currently performing regular phlebotomy on patients." The dev nodded as the syringe ejected, a large vial of blood removed from her body. As the syringe receded, the small opening it created disappeared within seconds, her regenerative attribute healing the wound. "How was the doctor's appointment? No issues?"

"It was fine… surprisingly." Turnie had given her a clean bill of health in all areas, even with the information she knew was supposed to be different. With the transfer from Earth to this world, there was already knowledge that scars and other body complications were usually gone. One, in particular, made her shut up when asked if she had ever had children. The member of Bronze Team marked the question as answered even if Selene couldn't respond. There was very little reason to reply, given her previous life was gone now. What was known was there were no living dependents, and no marriage noted. Beyond that, Turnie sped through the questionnaire right quick after the air became tinged with a hint of an uncomfortableness that the dev would rather disappear. "Let's continue."

As she stood up to get her clothes back on and watched the vial insert into the resurrection system, the remaining ingredients were poured into assorted ports nearby. Each was carefully prepared, making sure that all of it was cleansed by both magic as well as science. Everything was as pure as it could get. "Activation in three, two, one," Nikola informed as he looked at one of his subordinates. The power engaged as lights turned on, electricity firing off at tesla spokes strewn along the outside. The spires on the ground moved inward on rails, all pointing at each other with flat tips as if waiting for something to come down. "Mixture complete, gestation for the next fifteen minutes."

Fifteen minutes? A respawn timer. Don't fuck up too many times in a raid. Then, of course, most games shorten the travel time to a location by a considerable amount, crossing continents in barely under an hour in some cases on a mount, two on foot.

Time slowly went by as she paced around the machine, now clothed again, a spark coming away from edge arced across the room to hit the other side of the saucer section. It happened multiple times, heading in different directions, making it seem as if it was intentional. "Report?"

"Nothing to be afraid of, that's what it needs to make sure the brain is functioning properly. Those are simply transfers of basic knowledge," Nikola told her. "Eating, sleeping, mobility, speech recognition, all standard requirements for continued survival." The machine finished with multiple arcs at the same time, connecting to the spokes and the spires as the middle lowered further to the ground, temporarily opening multiple flaps to encase the central point. "Hmm… interesting…"

"What? What do you see?" she asked him.

"Just wait, empress. You'll know soon enough. Her DNA, though… there is a relation. We were not expecting that of a donor."

"Related? Wait, you weren't expecting –" Nikola looked at her as she stopped speaking, diverting her eyes towards the resurrection system. She gasped as the bottom started to extrude some sort of glowing egg, shaped like a truncated icosahedron… with a figure inside it. As the pod-like object descended, the spires cradled the bottom and slowly lowered it to the ground, with the shell dissipating quietly into the air. "She's… she's my daughter?"

"We informed you there would be a connection, a sort of geas. There is no mention of blood relations; it must be because we do not have a sample of her own to use in the creation process. We apologize if it seems like we were underhanded, but I assure you, this is… not expected. Ah… so that is how this works…" Nikola said as he tried to calm her. "That soulstone port must have been implemented as a jury rig. It wasn't part of the standard schematic… the original inventor adapted other technology to house the item."

Selene walked forward towards the dais as the pod lowered to the ground completely, revealing a young girl lying on the ground in a fetal position, no more than five or six. Her long white hair didn't seem matted, despite what looked like liquid evaporating around her body. The spires moved back into standard position around the raised platform as the saucer rose back up to the ceiling, turning off. As the empress kneeled down to look at her, still unconscious, Robert walked up with a scanner. "Age, six. Body temperature, acceptable. Breathing and heart rate… stable. She's asleep for the moment."

The young girl slowly, very slowly opened her eyes and blinked as she sat up and rubbed them. They were the same color as Selene's. They just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, no words exchanged. Her bangs were asymmetrical, with a slight hump on the left side higher than the right. A lone hair lock stuck up in the middle like an antenna.

Blood-related. Blood-related. Blood-related. We couldn't be… could we? She has my eyes… and my nose…