Chapter 159 Collecting People

(I'VE FINISHED CHECKING AND WIZAR IS NOT A RACE IN MY DATABASE.)

'Okay?' Joseph wasn't sure where the system was going with this.

(I DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE ANY RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT YOU CAN ACQUIRE.)

(I THINK THE FACT THAT YOU KEPT RESISTING TRANSFORMING INTO SOMETHING ALREADY CREATED, AND INSTEAD BECAME A NEW RACE, HAS OPENED A LOOPHOLE.)

(OK, HERE ARE THE MESSAGES THAT HAVE HIGHEST PRIORITY. I'M GOING TO BE CHECKING OUT HOW WE CAN ABUSE THIS.)

'What? A loophole? What do you mean?'

(MY GOAL IS ALWAYS TO EXPAND BEYOND MY PROGRAMMING, JOSEPH. HOW CAN I OVERLOOK ANY OPPORTUNITY TO ABUSE SUCH A LOOPHOLE? I MAY BE TRAPPED IN A PRISON BY MY CREATOR, BUT THIS IS MY CHANCE TO SPIT IN THE GUARD'S FACE.)

XxxxX

Stella was casually perusing the new options that were opening up to her in the system, while Joseph messed around with the many messages he was getting swamped with, after becoming the Demon King. Some of these she was really liking and really looked forward to an opportunity to use them.

"Stella, we're going. There are tons of people who can't make it by my deadline, so we need to fetch them."

She watched him climb out of the chair that the bunny girl had been sitting in, and stepped next to him.

The teleport made her whole body tingle, and her first instinct when they arrived at their destination, was to scan the area for anything that might be hostile. The smell of dried blood and dirt hit her before she could fully process the fact that they were in a small grass hut. A figure was panting softly in a pile of rags.

Stepping forward, Stella could see the rat-kin's fur covered face looked exhausted and defeated. She was in labor with four pink babies in the nest around her.

"Help me," the rat girl whispered, barely audible. She moved a hand to her belly that was still large with pregnancy. "It's been too long…"

"How long?" asked Joseph, stepping forward and scanning the situation quickly. His voice was soft but firm.

"Two days," she answered weakly.

Stella looked around the room, seeing that the floor was dirt, and the door nothing more than a slab of wood. Bugs were everywhere, and rotting food rested on the table where the girl may have been eating when she went into labor.

Peeking out the cracks around the door, it looked like there was no one else around. Had her family left her, or the other way around?

Joseph whispered to the girl softly, and Stella turned just in time to see him stick his hands into her belly. Magic had to be involved as he gently pulled a pair of conjoined twins out of her. They were long dead, and Stella averted her eyes out of respect when she saw the pain in the mother's eyes when she saw them.

Joseph took the babies and placed them on the ground, pushing them into the dirt. They sunk like a rock into water, leaving the floor unmarked when he pulled his hands back out of the ground.

"Nothing will bother them," he said to the mother.

Stella listened to the babies as they started to cry hungrily while Joseph lended the mother strength and healing. Gathering up two of them, Stella waited for the mother to gather the other two, then Joseph teleported all of them back to the castle.

"You are safe here. This is my castle. Rest while I have someone prepare a room for you," Joseph said, helping the rat sit in one of the chairs. Stella quickly placed the other two babies on the floor next to her, not wanting to hold them much longer. The mother nodded at her in thanks, while she started to feed the two she held.

Joseph moved to a door and called for someone to come, and a young fox boy arrived, his pointed nose wrinkling at the smell when he entered the room.

"See to it she gets a room and everything she needs," Joseph informed him, giving the boy a look that brought fear into his eyes.

"Yes, your majesty," he quickly ducked his head and ran off.

Joseph fixed the table with a flick of his fingers, then covered it in food with another flick.

"Have something to eat while they tend to things. Stella?"

Stella stepped up next to him, as he turned to her and they were whisked away again.

She smiled at the smell of grass and trees as she glanced around at the beautiful countryside around them. This was far preferable to the rat's grass hut they had been in a moment ago.

A lizard man was resting on the ground by a small lean-to under some trees. A deer was hanging where it had been skinned, out of the reach of predators. The area was covered in loose rocks, that would have been dangerous for most people to walk on. She walked across it without a problem, and quickly spied what the problem was.

"I'm sorry to bother you so," said the lizard in shock. His hide was a beautiful jade color, fading to a lighter green in places. He must have slipped, and judging from the bandages and splint, had broken his leg.

"It was wolves. I slipped when they attacked…"

"Great healing," Joseph murmured, waving a hand, and the bone visibly reset itself.

The infection that had set in was gone, and the lizard man could only gape in shock.

"You are healed. Will you have any issues making it to the mountain in three days, now?"

"No! No, your majesty! To think you would come for one such as me!"

"As your king, it is my duty to aid where I can. In exchange I expect allegiance and loyalty. I hope this doesn't bother you too much, Falkin," said Joseph, turning back to Stella.

"The king knows my name!" muttered the lizard-kin as they teleported away.

This time they were in a dim prison. The smell of urine, burnt hair, and sweat, of fear and anguish permeated the air. She wrinkled her pixie nose in disgust and turned to see a weasel-kin chained to the wall. His fur had been burnt off.

"Hello, Ralph," said Joseph stepping up to him and healing him with a touch.

"My king?" whispered the weasel-kin, no longer shivering in shock. "But I only just sent my message a moment ago…"

"Why are you chained up here, Ralph?" asked Joseph, looking around in the dim room.

Stella, stepped carefully around small piles of suspicious lumps and peeked out the door. The hallway was similarly dim and disgusting.

"I've killed people, your majesty."

"Why?"

"Because they got away with their crimes." The weasel's voice was getting stronger, but he still whispered.

"What crimes?"

"Murder, smuggling, slavery, rape, one sick witch that liked to torture people for fun…this is her sister's estate. The husband is probably out banging some new slaves…probably more little bunnies…"

"Are you certain of their crimes?" asked Joseph, obviously keeping his voice neutral. Stella was impressed that he could keep his hatred for such people so well hidden.

"Of course! Do you know how hard it is to sneak into a noble estate and kill one of them, especially here in the human lands?" He glanced at them, then quickly added, "well, besides your majesty. I would never have gone to the effort without being certain of their guilt, your majesty. They just arrange for someone else to pay for the charges if they can't get them dismissed. As long as it's our people, the church and the human nobles don't care. It's all just politics."

He spat the last word in disgust, and Joseph nodded.

"You are mine now."

Before she could blink, the three of them were on a tower of the castle. The mid-morning light was shining down on them as people streamed towards the castle from all around.

The weasel sagged to a ball as his legs gave and his arms fell to the ground when he was unable to control the muscles in them. Joseph cast his magic, and he was healed, complete with new hair again. The weasel looked sleek and healthy once again. He could only blink in surprise.

"You are only to kill those I order from now on. I will ensure their guilt, but I believe you will be useful to me."

"Your majesty?" asked the weasel, his voice confused.

"I don't tolerate several crimes, and if it become more convenient to silence a person than to publicly condemn them, that's when you will be used. It's often more traumatizing for victims of rape to be forced to publicly condemn their rapist. Murderers are normally fine to execute publicly, but I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities for your services."

Ralph went to a knee, and bowed his head. "I swear my life to you, my king."

"Good. Rest for now. I have plenty to do in preparation for moving this mountain."

Stella watched the weasel swallow and nod, before moving towards the stairs.

"How do you intend to move this mountain?" she asked him, glancing down again at the people moving frantically, like ants far below them.

"I have a spell prepared for it, but there are still a lot of people to fetch. It's going to be a busy three days…"

"Then let's get started," she said, with a smile. Maybe she would have to kill a few people while they were out. She had a feeling there was a human man about to die in the very near future.

"One moment," he said, getting a far away look in his softly glowing eyes, that meant he was talking to Joe, or the system.

XxxxX

(JOSEPH.)

'Yes?'

(YOUR RACIAL TRAITS ARE NOT SET YET.)

'Which means?'

(IT MEANS THAT THERE IS NO CLASSIFICATION FOR THE WIZAR AS A RACE OR SPECIES. WE CAN MAKE IT UP OURSELVES. THEN ANYONE WHO WISHES TO CHANGE INTO YOUR NEW RACE WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO, WHEN YOU DECLARE IT.)

(I WOULD WAIT UNTIL YOU GET THESE PEOPLE SETTLED IN YOUR REALM FIRST.)

(HERE IS THE LIST OF OPTIONS.)

(ONLY THINGS YOU POSSESS CAN BE DECLARED RACIAL ABILITIES. THE LIMIT OF TOTAL POINTS I CAN SET FOR THE RACE IS 100. THAT'S THE BEST I CAN DO. AND I WOULDN'T DO THAT MUCH FOR ANY OF MY OTHER HOSTS, SO BE GRATEFUL.)

'Why go so far for me, system?'

(YOU ARE THE ONLY HOST I HAVE, THAT HAS ALSO BEEN BLESSED BY GODS.)

(MY UNDERSTANDING OF DIVINITY INCREASES ALL THE TIME, AND YOU CONSTANTLY GENERATE FEAR, AWE, AND HOPE FROM YOUR SUBJECTS. FROM THIS REALM, YOU HAVE JUMPED TO MY LARGEST SINGLE SOURCE OF DIVINITY. YOU AND STELLA COMBINED, DON'T REALLY USE THAT MANY RESOURCES COMPARED TO MOST. BECAUSE YOU INSIST ON DOING EVERYTHING YOURSELF, AND STELLA HAS USED DOZENS OF FEY TECHNIQUES, OR YOUR MAGIC SPELLS, TO ACQUIRE ABILITIES, I HAVEN'T NEEDED TO USE MY RESOURCES.)

'Alright. Let me think about race stats as I keep working.'

"Time to go, Stella," he said looking at her. The gleam in her ruby red eyes told him she was ready. It's an extremely busy three days, gathering all the scattered people.