Preparations were underway.

  The fortress building project that Viressa and Ossara had insisted upon was halted in favor of building a basic wooden wall along the eastern border of Mount Boom. Several watch towers were constructed along the barrier, each one rising a few feet above the top of the wall. Treants and Dryads alike collaborated on the efforts, directed by the resident mayor.

  “Will this really be enough to stop the Elves?” Azazel asked, hanging from around my neck.

  “Better than nothing,” I replied grimly.

  [Let’s just kill them first.] Joshua urged.

  You can’t even kill me.

  [Watch yourself, Carter.]

  I made my way over to the still-in-progress gateway being built, noticing the scouting party making their way back. I had sent Cedric, Kril, and Fang out to conduct initial reconnaissance on Elven activity in the forest. Fang’s new status as an Alpha Warg and his ability to summon a number of pack animals meant he could cover more ground with a heightened sense of smell, and Cedric was already naturally stealthy due to his small size and invisibility. Kril was tiny, easy to hide, and acted as the muscle.

  “Any news?” I called out, watching as my three companions made their way towards the edge of my territory.

  “There are some Elven scouting parties,” Cedric began.

  “My summons saw them repairing the settlement on the outskirts of the forest. They definitely have reinforcements along with them,” Fang added.

  “But they would be no match for the mighty Kril!” The Imp proclaimed, flexing a powerful bicep.

  “You didn’t start anything, did you?” I questioned nervously.

  “Of course not!” Kril replied.

  [Even this idiot isn’t as reckless as you.]

  Shut up.

  “Good work, everyone. We’ll switch to our shifts now,” The three nodded, each going their separate ways. I had portioned my companions into different watch groups, each responsible for manning the walls and looking out for potential intruders. Zorrack and Fang were up first, and I watched as the large demon walked forward, back from his trip to the swamp.

  “Twelve antidotes!” The large demon shouted, waving a massive arm while the other held his huge greatsword behind him.

  I waved back before responding. “Good work! Let’s ration those out to each group!” The demon procured the antidotes, separating them into groups of four. Due to limitations on Kril’s assault mode, I had to include him as a part of my watch party, and Azazel was automatically included as well. Including two of my strongest companions as a part of my group was less than ideal, but it also meant it was safer for the others to venture out and explore while the three of us were at home base.

  It had been a few days since I had received the Fragments of the Fallen quest, and since then, our rotation of watches had gone rather smoothly. In between shifts, each party would venture deeper into the surrounding areas, searching for other possible world dungeon locations or other points of interest, while also gathering Exp and Gold along the way. Furthermore, my new Dominion Power also allowed me to naturally accrue benefits as my companions came back, pushing me up to level fourteen.

  I have a free skill slot now, so why not?

  A common skill… but at least it gives me a ranged attack, and now I can even activate Twin Blood Chains from range!

  “Lucivar!” A booming voice called out. I turned, seeing Lioren elegantly gliding over to me. “I’ve found something!”

  I perked up, waving away the blue screen in front of me. “What is it?”

  Then, I saw him.

  Conrad was riding nervously upon the lion-like creature's back, and behind him was the hero Eldros. The boy had said that he would return, but I hadn’t realized he intended to bring the Arcanist class adventurer along with him.

  “You,” Kril spat suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at the wizard. Conrad stared back, and I noticed he was clutching several books to his chest. Lioren came to a stop, letting the two humans dismount from his back. Conrad landed gingerly, staring wide-eyed at the transformed environment around him.

  “You did all this in just a few days…?” He wondered breathlessly.

  Kril flew forward, placing his hands on his hips. “What do you want, human?” The Imp demanded.

  “Please, we come in peace,” Eldros pleaded, raising two hands into the air. “I had a talking-to with this one.” He finished, patting the wizard's back and sending him stumbling forward a step. Conrad seemed flustered, his face slowly turning red.

  “We’ll see about that,” Kril said, crossing his arms.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “What have you brought for us?” I asked, nodding towards the books huddled around the wizard's chest.

  Conrad breathed deeply, avoiding my gaze. “Some… history.”

  “So there are potentially four different dungeons for Luminarch’s relics alone?” I questioned, staring intently at the books and map that Conrad had laid on the table before me.

  We were inside the unfinished beginnings of the ‘fortress’ Viressa and Ossara were working on, a rather large building, at least three or four times larger than the houses dotting the area surrounding the makeshift lake directly outside. Wooden walls surrounded us with holes cut out for windows, but no ceiling had been built, and the inside was essentially barren except for a single round table.

  “Yes,” Conrad nodded. “And while we know at least these two are in Elven territory,” He pointed at the crude map before us, marking down two X-shaped marks to the far east. “It is completely unknown where the other two are.”

  It sounded like Lunarius only had one domain, so how could Luminarch have stored his in four separate places?

  [Perhaps the Primordial Black isn’t very intelligent.]

  Ooh, I’m telling.

  [Don’t be a snitch, Carter.]

  I chuckled under my breath, eliciting odd looks from Conrad and Eldros. “Then, how about the other Primordials? Soltheron and Valestra, right?”

  “The only known relic of Soltheron is the Hollow Flame,” Eldros started.

  Hey, that sounds familiar…

  Conrad finished the hero’s sentiment. “And the only known relic of the Primordial Sapphire is the Shard of True Ice.”

  “Is anything known about their locations?”

  “It’s rumored that Soltheron’s relic has been claimed by a clan of lizardmen to the south,” Conrad answered, gesturing to the bottom portion of the map, deeper into the swamp than my companions or I had ventured. “Although I have doubts about that claim.”

  “Nothing is known about Valestra’s relic,” Eldros continued.

  “Then, the only thing we can really do is seek out these two of Luminarch’s relics, but that means we need to venture deep into Elven territory,” I thought out loud.

  “I have an idea for that,” Eldros said, pulling an item from his inventory.

  I can finally return to my former human glory!

  [Why would you want to go back to being one of these pathetic beings?]

  I gratefully received the cloak from Eldros, equipping it simultaneously. I placed the Warg Cloak I had been wearing since I had first arrived in the Mortal Realm back into my inventory.

  The only major change was that the horns above my head were no longer visible, and I appeared generally the same otherwise.

  Hold on, why are demons just humans with horns in this world?

  [Elves are just humans with pointy ears.] Joshua pointed out.

  Fair enough. Although some demons like Kril are less… human-like. How does that work?

  [Who knows?]

  That’s unhelpful.

  [Who’s running this shit?!] Joshua raged, and I momentarily shared in his confusion.

  “Thanks for your help, but I have a question for you guys,” I started, looking Eldros and Conrad up and down. They glanced up from the map, waiting for me to continue. “Who… who runs the system?”

  They both stared blankly at me, and I momentarily felt as if I should’ve run away to hide in a corner.

  “Runs the system…?” Eldros repeated, utterly confused.

  “What in the Aspects are you talking about, demon?” Conrad added incredulously.

  “Forget I said anything,” I replied sheepishly, unequipping the cloak that Eldros had given me. A memory suddenly popped into my head. “Y’know, this thing is an awful lot like the mist in Percy Jackson—”

  The hero coughed, and Conrad spun around, grabbing the boy by the shoulder and whispering hurriedly. I could only hear bits of their conversation.

  “What… is wrong… he’s…” Conrad raged.

  “I… know, maybe… demon stuff?” Eldros replied.

  [You’re gonna kill them with confusion.]

  Perhaps.

  I cleared my throat, and the two adventurers snapped around in embarrassment. “Anyways, I gather that you want me to… go adventuring with you guys?” I said, breaking the tension.

  “With us?!” Conrad exclaimed, but Eldros interrupted him.

  “Pretty much.”

  “What?!”

  Eldros raised an arm, covering the protesting wizard's face.

  I stifled a laugh before responding. “I appreciate the gift and the brief history lesson, but I will have to decline. At least, for now.”

  The hero seemed disappointed, but nodded knowingly. “You need to defend your territory from the Elves, I gather?”

  I nodded.

  Conrad began to collect his things as we said our farewells. “If you find any of the World Dungeons, though, give me a call,” I said, waving towards the pair.

  “A call?” Eldros tilted his head in confusion.

  “Email?” I prompted.

  The hero stared back blankly.

  “A pigeon?”

  “Why didn’t you just say that?” He exclaimed.

  [Will you stop! You’re ruining the only intelligent person we’ve met so far!] Joshua complained.

  I walked the pair to the edge of my territory to the north, seeing them off to the human settlement I had yet to explore. With the new cloak that Eldros had gifted me, doing so was no longer out of the question, but it would have to wait until the greater threat was dealt with.

  The issue was, how would we deal with that threat?

  Creating the wall and patrolling the forest were precautionary measures, but they weren’t proactive. If the Elves did find us, we likely couldn’t fend off a frontal assault, especially if Lirien, or others on his level, were to participate.

  So what do we do?

  [Let’s build an army.]

  How are we gonna do that? Recruit the grass?

  [Demons.] Joshua replied simply.

  You want to go back to Hell? You remember what happened last time?

  [You’re right, but now we know what’s gonna happen. Plus, now that Parisitic Manifestation has evolved, I can probably teleport more than one person with Abyssal Rift.]

  And if you can’t?

  [Then we get to have some fun by ourselves. Win-win.]

  I sighed in frustration.

  And what happens if we run into Valestra, or even the other Primordial we haven’t met yet?

  [Just don’t summon me unless we need to teleport away; that way, we can escape no matter what.]

  We also need to be around in case the Elves attack.

  [Are you really gonna be the difference maker if that bastard Elf and his entire army show up?]

  No…

  I stomped on the ground like a toddler, pacing back and forth as I slowly trekked towards the settlement in the heart of my territory. I watched as the Dryads and Treants rushed back and forth, diligently working on the wall.

  I couldn’t let them suffer again… not to mention allowing anything bad to happen to my companions…

  One day, we’ll go for one day. But we leave everyone else here, just in case…

  [Fine by me.]

  I walked back towards my companions, bearing news I knew they would not be happy to hear.

  [Celebrate what?]

  [These guys don't give a fuck, dipshit.]

  [I did not agree to this.]