Since I am the Vess Queen, these creatures must be the Vess, I wonder if anyone knows more about my race? Maybe someday I could look into it, but I am not worried about it for now.

  I mull over the implications of having a new race for a few hours. We are traveling much slower than my Vess are capable of. In part because our group is so much larger, but primarily I think it is for my comfort. I need to pee, and without even needing to issue a command, my entourage stops so I can go.

  They are connected to my mind in such a way that they know my needs before I even do, my drones going as far as to create a toilet for me to sit on out here in the woods.

  So, I sit in comfort to relieve myself while my hunters faithfully stand guard. It’s nice, being taken care of like this. It is kind of an odd thought that even though I am their queen, I am undeniably weaker than even my Whelps. Although, they would not exist without me in the first place, so whatever. I don’t usually think too hard about these things, but there isn’t much else to do while traveling.

  Resuming our travels, it takes several hours before we enter the mountains and reach our destination, a dungeon.

  The entrance is innocuous enough, just the mouth of a giant cave, more than large enough for my soldiers to enter. I send a few scouts inside to check it out. Then I turn and summon a few dozen drones, commanding them to make me a new home. This time, I want something more, I am thinking this might be a long-term base, maybe even the seat of my power. To that end, I spend the rest of my mana to summon three squires, they are also capable of construction, just at a much larger scale.

  Leaving my creatures to their tasks, I take a walk, taking in my new home. The dungeon I have chosen sits near the base of one of the closest mountains, in regard to Ironhill that is. I believe this mountain range is called the Spinesnap, and it forms Lotheris’ natural western border with Karnaka. There are no settlements on it or even near it, due to the density of high-level monsters in this area, mostly trolls and giants, with drakes living up on the higher peaks.

  Even though we are at the base of a mountain, we are already at a fairly high elevation, allowing me to look out over the forest we passed through to get here, ugh that forest has a name too, doesn’t it? I really need to pay more attention, but I guess I am getting used to my Vess taking care of everything for me. Right, the forest is called the shivering woods.

  I stop to watch a pack of hunters harassing a nearby troll, keeping it busy. Not a minute later, a few archers fly by, peppering the troll with stingers.

  +500 XP

  My creatures are working hard to ensure the surrounding area is safe for me. I continue my walk, One dutifully following on my heels.

  I stretch, letting out a yawn in the process. It really is nice to move my actual body around, maybe I should try being a little more active. Pausing my walk, I notice my hunters ripping the troll apart but not eating it. I walk over and watch them for a while, I never pay attention to what happens after they kill stuff, guess I figured they just let the body rot.

  “Hey hunter, what are you guys doing?” I ask the nearest hunter while I lean into it, burying my face in its fur.

  I receive impressions and visions in return. They rip out all the useful parts and bring them to the drones. The drones then process the material by coating it in gunk, and finally it is stored away in underground warehouses for later use. I get the impression there are several such warehouses in the forest filled with bones, hides, and just about anything else useful a monster might drop. Apparently, there are mana crystals and coins too, useless to me now, but it is probably nice to have for later.

  Really, I haven’t needed the coins, there isn’t anything I want to buy; the Vess provides everything I need. Over time the drones have become much more proficient at crafting, incorporating wood infused with gunk and leather to make comfortable furniture for me. I guess the texture might be disturbing to a human, but I am more than comfortable using Vess made stuff. The drones have even figured out how to make soap, and have gotten better at cooking, making me stews with foraged vegetables.

  I scratch the hunter I was communicating with behind the ears, before continuing my walk.

  The air is colder up here; however, my dress and cloak are keeping me perfectly comfortable, the black material swishes around me as I move. I purposefully do a little spin, ending with a curtsy towards One, who yips and jumps around excitedly. Giggling, I scoop him up and snuggle him under my cloak. I know he doesn’t experience temperatures, but I still want to coddle him.

  Eventually my little bundle of energy squirms out of my grasp to jump in front of me, growling at something unseen down the hill. It is adorable that he wants to protect me, but my heart aches at the thought of him being injured.

  I let out a surprised squeak when I am picked up by the back of my cloak, a hunter easily carries me back towards the dungeon, while a few dozen hunters rush forward to engage some threat, a few archers buzz by overhead. Guess my walk is over.

  I am quickly taken to a new burrow, about an hour from the dungeon, and am tucked inside. The hunter who carried me impresses upon my mind the importance of me staying safe while they secure the outside, I can go on walks later.

  I pout, can’t believe I got scolded by my own summons.

  +500 XP +500 XP +500 XP +500 XP

  Congratulations you are level 21! +5 Wis, +2 free points!

  +500 XP +500 XP +1,000 XP

  Wow my summons are really taking my safety seriously.

  +1,000 XP +1,000 XP +1,00 XP

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Congratulations you are level 22! +5 Wis, +2 free points!

  After a meal and a bath, the time has come. I stand outside of my burrow and use my newest skill, Summon Soldier. In an instant, the towering abomination looms over me, ready to serve.

  “Go into the dungeon and start killing.” I command.

  The soldier immediately begins moving towards the dungeon. I settle back into my cozy burrow and shut my eyes to watch my new killing machine.

  My scouts have already seen the first few floors, all full to the bursting with trolls, in such a density that is never seen outside. After that are lizard-man creatures who wield nasty looking scimitars, and then there is a boss, a giant lizardman chief. A barrier prevented my scouts from going any lower.

  Entering the dungeon, my soldier begins meticulously killing every single troll. It only takes a single swipe to decapitate its target, and with six blades, it can kill multiple targets at once. It shows no trouble coordinating its multiple arms, using them independently of each other, exercising perfect control over its weapons. Every blow the trolls land just seems to bounce right off the hard carapace of the soldier.

  I instruct it not to engage the lizardmen until it has backup. Still, it takes a few hours to clear the three floors of trolls, before it climbs its way out of the dungeon. A few hours later, the trolls are back, and it repeats the process. The XP comes flooding in.

  +500 XP +500 XP +500XP +500 XP +500 XP +500 XP

  Over the next few days, I am able to add a few more soldiers to the dungeon, they have no trouble dismantling the lizardmen and easily make it to the boss.

  My seven soldiers form a ring around the boss, the giant lizardman eyeing them warily as it brandishes its war club.

  I order my soldiers to attack, and it begins. My first soldier quickly closes the gap and opens up with a prodding stab of its blade, the lizardman chief easily blocks with its club, before retaliating with a swipe of its enormous tail. The tail smashes into my Vess, knocking it back a few feet, but not causing any real damage, the chief narrows its eyes at that.

  In a blink, all of my soldiers engage, attacking from all angles, the chief is hard pressed to defend, with multiple wounds quickly opening over its body. It finds an opening and bashes its club into a soldier, sending it crashing into the wall of the dungeon. The attack costs the chief though, and a soldier stabs deep into its chest from behind. If the chief is in pain, it shows no indication of it, as it wrenches itself free and unites its club with another soldier's carapace, only managing to send that one back a few feet.

  The chief's eyes glint red for a moment, before it moves at a blinding speed, using a skill to land a devastating overhead smash on a soldier, flattening it to the ground, carapace cracking under the force. The skill seems to leave the chief a bit drained and is too slow to react to the next dozen strikes from the remaining five soldiers.

  Congratulations you have defeated Lizardman War Chief!

  +10,000 XP +100 gold +1 uncommon magic item

  Congratulations you are level 25! +5 Wis, +2 free points!

  New skill unlocked, Summon Ballista

  It turns out my soldiers are extremely hardy, the one who was sent into the wall was merely stunned, and the one who was crushed, well that one almost died, but one of my squires will be able to heal it up.

  The magic item is a random one, and a steel rod settles onto the floor of the boss chamber, along with a bag of gold coins.

  These rewards are kind of annoying. The XP is great, and I plan on clearing this boss every time it respawns, but I have no use for the coins, and I have no idea what the magic item even is! I guess this is the part where I take it to have it appraised or something? However, Ironhill is preparing for war, I doubt such a service would even be available, not to mention I am no longer human, I don’t think I can just stroll into a town and expect there not to be trouble, I have never seen a non-human in the city. On top of that, my creatures can’t use items, so into the storehouse it goes.

  Aren't rare classes supposed to get appraisal skills? Maybe one of my Vess will be able to appraise stuff in the future.

  Speaking of new Vess, the ballista seems very interesting. No, it seems downright exciting. It has the appearance of a sort of beetle. Of course, it’s the size of a truck, with the defining feature being a stinger twice as large as me protruding from its back. It is slow, it is completely defenseless in close range, it costs a whopping four hundred mana, but it is worth every drop. Essentially, true to its name, the ballista is walking artillery. It is able to launch missiles over tremendous distances, with so much force that I doubt even a level 40 individual would survive a direct hit unscathed, unless they have a strong defensive skill of course. This unit is going to make me an absolute powerhouse on the battlefield, as long as I position them correctly, they are absolutely capable of wiping out scores of lower-level soldiers. I think it would only take one shot to kill a giant, if I hit one in the face or chest. It should trivialize the Lizardman Chief boss fight, if I position one in the boss chamber and have my soldiers distract it.

  Now I just have to actually summon the expensive Vess. They can only fire a single shot before needing to rest to regenerate their spent spike, the squires are going to be crucial for the creation and storage of ammunition for my new artillery. So much to do, and it is all held back by my mana limitations. I can summon three soldiers with one hundred mana left over now, with half a day to recharge my mana, I can produce seven soldiers per day. A ballista costs me two soldiers, so I could choose to summon five soldiers and one ballista instead. I want the new summon, so I think I might have to find some sort of compromise. I still need hundreds of soldiers if I want a proper army.

  It’s time to get organized.

  The drones are still working to build my personal quarters to my liking. I decide to head outside now that my hunters gave the all clear, all threats have been pushed back, and things can really get going. I summon one hundred drones.

  I give orders for the construction of several warehouses and armories, to store monster drops and ammunition. Barracks too, I need somewhere to store all of the Vess I am not using to farm, I want to build up a standing army. I also make sure to have a medical wing constructed, really just a big empty room that my squires can be safe to heal in. Everything is going to be in a series of pitch-black underground tunnels covered in black goop, burrowed under the mountains. I want to make it as inhospitable for an invading force as possible, long winding tunnels with lots of twists and turns, easy to get lost in.

  On a whim, I give orders for a guest wing to be established close to the surface. Maybe someday I will have good enough relations with someone that they will want to journey all the way out here to see me. It's nice to dream anyway, been months since I’ve talked to an actual human being.

  One lets out a whine and rubs against my leg. Snatching him up, I make sure to let him lick me all over before I settle him in my arms. “Yes, yes I know I have you, so I won’t ever be totally alone.” Although now that I am a Vess, do I even have the same needs I used to? I think I still feel a little lonely? And hungry?

  Walking back into my personal quarters, I still only see a bed, what have my little guys been doing? I reach out to question a drone, getting flashes of a much, much deeper tunnel that intersects with many of the other tunnels being constructed. My personal quarters are going to be deep and safe, behind all of my Vess. This place is turning into a real hive, with evil bug monsters and everything. I shrug, my summons seem to know how best to protect their queen.

  A returning scout enters the range of mental communication and impresses upon me an alarming message, the Karnakian army is assaulting Ironhill.