Lee smiled as he ate his burrito and watched the children playing a convoluted game of tag below, above and all around. The floating plates were now flying plates, well, more gliding plates. They jumped from the third floor balcony and chased each other across all three floors.

  He and some of the parents had been alarmed at first but most of the kids could free jump three stories down without issue. Some still got hurt of course, but they got healed and sometimes even increased their Vitality in the process. Plus now they had swords to hit each other with. They were dull obviously… but did leave a glowing mark on contact, and maybe a small bruise. Lee was perfectly happy with children learning and playing violent games. At least in this new world he was. He and some of the others did watch over the play, partly to enforce rules the kids came up with and also to watch for any bullying. Maria was ruthless and all of the children, as well as most adults by now, knew not to try anything where she was watching, or even when she might be nearby…

  Mostly they just created teams and competed against each other and Lee wasn't above giving the weaker side better gear if the teams were skewed too far.

  Lee took another bite and closed his eyes in pleasure. Jamaal had gotten cheese, it wasn't exactly a flavor he recognized but it was close enough and Lee didn't care at all. That plus the eggs, and Lee had found the only meal he would eat for the rest of his life. Well… he would probably have to eat anything Maria prepared for him, for survival purposes if nothing else. It wasn't that her cooking was bad, in fact it was fantastic, but it just wasn't the truest and purest form of food that existed.

  The breakfast burrito.

  Lee recognized Alejandro as he came back inside the building below him. He was getting better at recognizing people from their Mana alone. Pretty much everyone had different Mana, even if only minutely. And now thanks to the higher level of [Mana Mind], his range was greater than the entire building. He couldn't actively watch everyone inside, at all times, especially if he was busy with something. But when he was relaxing between workouts and magic marathons… It wasn't as hard to watch everyone. Of course there was also the privacy issue, but he solved that by not telling people about it.

  Lee savoured every bite and was just chewing the last bite when Alejandro joined him. "I sent the team off." He told Lee who only nodded with his eyes closed and jaw working. Alejandro was content to let him enjoy his meal and waited patiently until the last bite was swallowed. Lee mourned the end of another valiant breakfast burrito and started thinking about second breakfast burrito.

  "You seem much happier lately." Alejandro finally said.

  "Have you tried the breakfast burrito?"

  "I have and it was okay."

  "Blasphemy!" Lee whispered and recoiled from the man. "After all this time, you finally show your true colors!"

  Alejandro only smiled. "I am glad to see you doing better, as is everyone else."

  Lee had discovered, much to his dismay, that everyone nearby and especially those with the [Soul Tether], could feel his moods. Something to do with his [Soul Wound] he suspected.

  "It's my brother Stanley." He smiled. "I didn't realize how bad things were for him, and by extension me until it started getting better. There are still some dark days, or nights, but he seems happier more often these days."

  "I am glad to hear that 'our' brother is doing well." Alejandro said.

  Lee smiled. Alejandro was wearing him down, bit by bit with his unrelenting positivity, and Lee hoped that some of it carried over to Stanley. His… Their brother, who was still trapped in a Dungeon. "Do what you have to, Stan. And come home."

  There was a loud whistle from the courtyard below and all of the children dove for the ground. All but one. A young girl was trying for one last flight across the courtyard, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Maria appeared next to the girl and in a blur of motion, snatched her from the flying plate and tossed her tumbling through the air towards the ground two stories below. The plate was sent flying after her like a missile. The child landed on her feet somehow through the miracle of magic stats, and caught the plate that was no longer glowing with symbols.

  Lee had pulled all of the Runes from the discs at the sound of the whistle and the end of playtime. It did mean that he would have to reapply them tomorrow but he needed the practice anyway.

  "Class time!" Maria shouted and the children moved almost as fast as she did to line up in rows sitting in the courtyard.

  Lee turned away as Martin took his place at the head of the class and started his lesson for the day. The man's abilities didn't only work for stats and classes but apparently could work just as well teaching common topics like math and reading. Basically an old school classroom, except he would throw in random things like having the children sprint around the area while reciting something, or stand on their head while solving equations. Lee didn't know if those were part of the actual teaching or just there to keep the kids engaged and entertained, either way it worked.

  Alejandro wandered off and Lee got back to work.

  Currently he was making a variety of plate mines that he would insert into the outside of the walls with Bradley's help. Small surprises to slow down or kill anything that tried to climb over. Only small surprises because he didn't want these to explode and potentially damage the wall, plus then they would then have to be replaced. No, instead he wanted stuff that could last. He'd already added Light Runes to the outside of the walls, along with triggers on top to activate and deactivate the lights. They came with two settings, normal that acted as a nightlight, and battle mode that lit the surrounding world in a blinding relief. The first could run for weeks without draining but the second wouldn't last more than a night.

  Lee had wanted to just Enchant the entire wall with a RuneScape but it turned out that the wall couldn't be done piecemeal. Well it could, but not all of it. The Mana cost was extreme but not insurmountable with the Well, the real problem was that he couldn't reach most of the wall around the Fort. He could reach a good distance with a RuneScape but it became too hard to control properly without [Mana Mind] letting him watch what he was doing and guide the Mana.

  Bradley also reported that areas he did enchant separated themselves from the rest of the wall and left a weak spot at the seam. So Lee had settled on using smaller traps. For now.

  Alejandro came to find him later, worry clear on his face. "We might have a problem."

  Lee followed him to the roof and together they watched the dark cloud that was approaching.

  "What do you think?" Alejandro asked.

  "I think it's bad." Lee said. "The question is how bad."

  "I've already called the alert. We are going into battle mode." Alejandro said and Lee nodded his agreement with that course while trying to think of what he could do to prepare.

  While he did that, Lee pushed his [Mana Mind] to focus in one direction and increase his range. It worked but it also felt weird to suddenly be blind to the area around himself.

  Then he felt it. A drop of Mana fell into his senses and struck the ground. The dirt bubbled and boiled and then left behind a small hole when it stopped churning. Another drop hit a tree and burrowed through the trunk nearly to the ground before stopping. A smaller tree was split in half. A rock melted.

  "Get everyone inside!"

  Alejandro immediately started shouting orders down to the wall and Lee realized that wasn't going to be enough. A plate appeared in his hand and Runes blossomed across it before Lee threw it out to hover over the rooftop. Another plate appeared as he called Alejandro to get inside. He stepped into the stairwell as Runes grew on the plate in his hand.

  Then Lee shouted at the plate he was holding. "Get inside now! Extreme threat! Get inside now!" His voice boomed out from the plate hovering above the roof and echoed across the fort. It was deafening and Alejandro moved to shut the stairwell door. Before he could, a drop landed on the roof just outside the door and Lee felt [Three] twitch before the door slammed shut.

  Alejandro must have been splashed because he cursed loudly and snatched the plate from Lee, his voice started booming out instead. "Abandon the walls now! Get inside! That's an Order!" Lee actually felt something ripple out through the Mana with that last bit but he paid it no mind.

  'This is bad! This is so bad!" He thought as he ran down the stairs. He was relieved that he could feel the kids still in the courtyard below, with the shield above the opening, but as for everyone else… He had a moment to worry about the garage flooding with acid but immediately noticed changes being made down there. [Three] didn't like the acid either…

  The booming voice from above cut out mid word and Lee felt the Runes on his plate fail under the rain of acidic Mana. "I have to do something!" He dropped to a seated position on the third floor balcony, just outside the stairwell. "Clear the courtyard!"

  Alejandro vaulted over the railing, already calling for everyone to clear out and take shelter. Lee meanwhile sent his mind upwards. He could see them now. They looked like flies… giant flies that drooled pure acid. It didn't seem to hurt them either, he saw many of them struck from above but it only rolled off their backs. "So many…"

  It looked like they just melted everything below the swarm and then dropped down to slurp up the Mana soup that was left behind. Even now he could see a small group crowding around the melting plate on the roof, and even more landing all over the building's roof and trying to melt and eat [Three] from the looks of it. "I'll give you something to eat!"

  Mana started moving as Lee built a massive double circle spanning the entirety of the rooftop. It drew even more flies flocking in and Lee could feel Mana being lost as they tried to eat his circle. "Bring it." He had Mana to spare and better they attacked here than the rest of the Fort. He tried not to think about how the other buildings were doing under the assault.

  Then the circle was complete and a RuneScape started growing and spreading between the rings. More and more flies came, drawn to the Mana. Lee pushed as fast as he dared, his body burning under the flow but not quite enough to harm him or slow down his working.

  The RuneScape finished with a burst of Mana and Lee immediately started creating a new one just inside the first ring.

  He knew the courtyard must be pitch dark by now, if only from the thick pile of squirming monsters that covered the shield over it, but then the wind started to move. Faster and faster it swirled, until a fly was pulled up from the swarm and dragged back into the sky. Another followed and then more and more until a floodgate opened and the swarm of flies was pulled from the roof and into the swirling tornado above it.

  Lee could feel [Three] shuddering violently beneath him and could see the energy being funneled to the roof, both to reinforce the shield and also to reshape the roof itself in an attempt to remove the acid that was almost a lake by now. "Thank you Three."

  Lee funneled Mana into the growing RuneScape, fighting both the acid that tried to destroy it and the increasing burn throughout his body. The tornado was so thick with flies now that he could feel the wind starting to falter under the sheer mass that was filling it up.

  He started to feel something strange as the RuneScape grew, a straining pressure that continued to grow along with the RuneScape. "What is that!" It continued to increase until it started to hurt and then he felt the patch on his Soul Wound glow brighter as it pulled more Mana to itself. "My Soul!"

  Lee understood, or was pretty sure he did, he had spread his Soul around as much as he could and it was wearing thin. Between [Three] and all of the gear, the walls, weapons, shields, so many Runes all over the Fort. The solution was simple. He took some of it back. He meant to only drain all the bombs and weapons that were still in the garage but in the rush, he took everything in the garage.

  Debuff Gained. [Mana Burned]

  The Mana raged into and through him, coming back along with the bits of his Soul that had held the Mana. It hurt. A lot. "I can still do it!" Lee clenched his teeth as the pain increased by magnitudes. He thought of the children huddled below, thought of them melting under a wave of flies… "I can fucking do it!"

  [Source Regeneration] Activated.

  He had gotten complacent. Had thought they were safe because nothing had happened… He thought of the team that had gone out earlier. "Bradley was with them… if he could hide them underground…"

  Debuff Upgraded. [Mana Burned II]

  He had overestimated his power… Lee thought of his beloved potatoes, the fields probably all melted and destroyed now. "They all must Die!"

  Then it was done.

  Lee fell over onto his back as the Mana abruptly stopped raging through him. He opened his eyes and was immediately blinded by the lightning raging above [Three] and shining down into the courtyard. He laughed aloud as he felt the bugs getting vaporized in the skies above. He couldn't hear anything, whether because his ears were damaged or because the roaring wind and cracking thunder was just too loud, Lee didn't care. It was beautiful.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  +1 Willpower

  +1 Intelligence

  [Source Regeneration] Deactivated.

  +1 Vitality

  Class [Runic] Level Up.

  Skill [RuneScape Creation] Level Up. Upgrade Available.

  Skill [Mana Mind] Level Up.

  Lee laughed through the pain until another message appeared.

  You have Defeated a Massive Swarm.

  For almost Single-handedly Defeating the Swarm, Your Contributions have Earned you:

  +10 All Base Attributes

  "Good…" Lee let the hammers in his head pound him down into oblivion.

  He came back to the world of pain in his bed. The bed was rocking back and forth. No… Alejandro was shaking him.

  "You bastard…" Lee slurred.

  Alejandro chuckled. "I am sorry brother but something has come up."

  "I am not gonna be good for much at the moment…" Lee tried to sit up and almost threw up when his head spun and throbbed.

  "Actually, some… one wants to speak with you."

  Lee just breathed raggedly while he waited for the world to stop spinning. "Can't it wait? Fuck…" He gagged and brought up some bile. The drums in his head pounded harder.

  "I am truly sorry brother, but it can not. Tensions are high and I think we need the Vice-Commander to weigh in." He helped Lee sit back up and handed him a handkerchief. "I could carry you…"

  "No… no." Lee waved him off as he wiped his mouth. "That will make it worse. Just help me up."

  Alejandro pulled him gently to his feet and held him steady until the vertigo passed. Lee pulled up his status to see if his Debuff had gotten any better.

  Status

  Name: Lee Cascade

  Race: [Mana Driven Source-Touched Human](E Rank)

  Titles:

  [First Time?]

  Traits:

  [Adaptable] [Source-Touched] [Magic OverReach VI] [This Is The Way] [Ruthless Soul]

  Class: [Runic(Journeyman VI)](Legendary)

  Class Skills:

  [Rune Compression(Initiate VI)](Rare)

  [Rune Creation(Apprentice IX)](Rare)

  [RuneScape Creation(Apprentice X)](Rare)

  [Rune Storage(Initiate IX)](Epic)

  Attributes:

  Strength: 50

  Vitality: 51

  Dexterity 52

  Perception 50

  Intelligence 65

  Willpower 55

  Twin-Soul 205

  Non Class Skills:

  [Soul Awareness(Apprentice III)](Rare)

  [Create Plate(Journeyman VI)](Rare)

  [Source Regeneration](Passive)

  [Venom Resistance I](Passive)

  [Liquid Mana Blast(Initiate I)](UnCommon)

  [Mana Mind(Apprentice IV)](Passive)(Epic)

  Buffs:

  [Three]

  [Sentient Lair]

  Debuffs:

  [Mana Burned II]

  [Hungry]

  [Fatigued]

  [Critical Soul Wound(Patched)(Shielded)]

  It hadn't gotten better.

  "How bad was the Swarm?" Lee asked between swallowing back bile in his throat.

  "We lost a few… some people who were too far away, and some who had sheltered on top floors when the roofs gave out."

  "Damn."

  "It could have been much worse." Alejandro hefted his shield. "Your enchanted shields allowed all of the guards and patrols to retreat with only some injuries."

  The door to his apartment didn't open itself when they approached and Lee stared at it in confusion.

  "The building has been… sluggish." Alejandro said as he opened the door by hand. "Ever since the attack."

  Lee only had to start thinking about [Three] and he could see it still shining brightly all around him. Well, maybe slightly dimmer? But regardless it looked okay, it was probably just tired, it had been doing a lot all at once. "How long did I sleep?"

  "Maybe five hours?" Alejandro said with a glance at the sky.

  The Rune Lights in the stairwell didn't flicker to life until they were halfway down the first flight.

  Lee didn't notice anything unusual until they were on the first floor and heading down to the garage. Then he stopped.

  "Monsters?" There were monsters or at least non-humans, in the garage. They were surrounded by humans though.

  Alejandro chuckled. "You'll see."

  Lee just let his [Mana Mind] pick up the details and he spent the last bit of the walk observing and analyzing the situation. He immediately noticed Bradley and felt relieved that he as well as Saira and Mar, who were standing next to him, had survived. The trio was standing almost protectively in front of the monsters and between them and the other Humans. "But why are they naked?...Oh right, acid rain." He was just glad they had survived and noticed that they had a few pieces of his Rune gear on them, still intact. Though Bradley didn't have any… "I need to change that." The monsters behind Bradley felt extremely weak but also not…

  They entered the garage and Lee let his eyes take over. It was rather dark inside and Lee could see why. Fly corpses were piled up against the bars that usually let in the light.

  "...we can't allow this! Lee is incapacitated and can't…" Someone was talking loudly. It sounded like Wilson and Lee headed towards it.

  "I'm here." Lee said but his voice was weak and no one heard him.

  Alejandro solved that by slamming his shield into the wall. That got everyone's attention and the garage quieted down.

  "Lee!" Bradley called. "These Anubi here surrendered and asked to speak with you."

  "Anubi what?" Lee staggered closer through the parting crowd with Alejandro's help and finally laid eyes on the monsters.

  "They are so cute!" They looked like tiny dogs wearing clothes, all sitting in a group and looking at him… Lee looked at Bradley. He was wearing stone shorts… Saira had a blanket draped around her and Mar was also wearing a blanket, which he could see because she kept flickering into and out of sight. "She is getting braver to stand up to all these people."

  "I thought it would be safer inside here than outside the walls…" Bradley said, bringing his attention back.

  "Normally it would be…" Lee thought but wasn't sure now.

  Alejandro must have had the same thought because he had turned to move partially in front of Lee, his shield not exactly raised but ready to be in a moment.

  One of the dogs, or Anubi, barked and everyone bristled. "Are you the Runic?" It was staring at Lee.

  "It can talk? In English?" Lee thought in a daze. "And how do they know about that?" Lee glanced at Bradley.

  "We didn't tell them." Bradley said as he held out the stone staff the Lee had helped him with by covering it in Runes. "They saw this and started asking about it." Bradley looked at the dogs. "They got a Debuff for surrendering, it makes them nearly helpless, but it only has a few more minutes."

  Lee nodded while Maria moved another half step in front of him. Lee could see a knife in her hand, tucked flat against her arm and half up her sleeve.

  Voices spoke up in favor of killing them immediately but Lee ignored them and watched the monsters who were staring back at him nervously and hopefully.

  "Why did you want to see me?" Lee finally said to the 'Anubi' who had spoken.

  The dogs traded glances and the first one spoke again. "We have heard stories of the Runics, legends of them, of the power of their Fortresses." It stared at him for a moment. "We would be prepared to swear fealty to you, if you would grant us protection and a place in your kingdom."

  Lee gaped while mutters went through the crowd gathered around. "Why?" He finally asked.

  "We merely seek safety and a place to raise our families, same as any Sentient." It barked.

  "What does fealty mean and what can you do to help here?" Lee wanted more details before agreeing to anything. "Monsters that can talk and…" Another thought struck him rather suddenly. "Humans are technically considered Monsters as well now."

  "We are three of us Adept ranked Alchemists and the other three are ancillary Classes to ours. Swearing fealty would bind us to not betray or work against you and would punish us for betrayal. Are you truly a Runic?"

  "Potions!" Lee liked the idea of that. "I am the Runic and I can show…" He tried to summon a plate to make some Runes and fell over before Alejandro could catch him. "That was a mistake… no Mana use, got it!" When he finished gagging, Lee looked back up from the floor and past Maria's legs. "Got a potion for Mana Burn?"

  The creature glanced towards the ramp and the mounds of dead flies out there. "The Swarm?"

  Lee nodded and Bradley chimed in. "Thirty seconds."

  "Alas we do not have one prepared but, We will word it thusly instead!" It said rapidly with a glance at Bradley and the hostile Humans all around them. The Anubi leader dropped to all fours and the rest of them followed its lead.

  "We the Druller Pack Swear Fealty to the Runic Classed one before us. We swear to serve and defend him to our best and be defended by him in turn. We swear to never betray this oath lest our words strike us dead!" All of them repeated it as he went.

  Alert! You have Gained an Oath of Fealty from the Druller Pack of Anubi. This Oath binds both parties to a mutual defense and protection pact. Betrayal of the Oath by the Pack will have variable penalties dependent on the level of the Betrayal. Up to and including Death. Betrayal on your part will Remove all Oath Restrictions from the Pack.

  Trait Earned: [Minor Lord]

  For having an Oath of Fealty from your new Subjects, you have gained this Trait.

  +0.1% Effect of All Attributes and Skills

  Increase the number of your Subjects to Increase this Trait and the Effects.

  When Lee refocused on the Anubi, they were all staring at him with hopeful and tentatively happy expressions. "How do I know that?" He didn't see any tails wagging and they had dog faces…

  "Lord Cascade." They all bowed again. "They must have gotten a notification with my name? And maybe my Class since they worded the oath that way?"

  "Are you sure this is wise?" Wilson stepped up to Lee with a frown as Alejandro helped him to stand up again. "Can we trust them?"

  "I got a notification that they can die if they betray me…" Lee said thoughtfully. "And if they can make healing potions, that could be huge! We already don't have enough healers."

  Wilson didn't look convinced but he nodded reluctantly. "Where will they stay?"

  "Here!" A voice shouted and Lee looked over to see the 'chemist' gleefully looking at the Anubi. "Of course he would be happy. But…"

  "What do you think of living down here?" Lee asked them. "We would of course put up walls and whatever else we can reasonably provide."

  They looked dubious at the prospect as they looked around the rather bleak garage and Lee decided to add something else. "This building is Named [Three], it is always watching and will shelter you better than any other place we have." It was both a threat and a reward in one. Lee swayed on his feet. "But can I deal with that later? I need to sleep…"

  "You have already created your Fortress!" The leader barked. "We would be beyond honored to reside in even the lowliest of hovels within such a place!"

  "Great." Lee turned away. "Alejandro, can you…"

  "Don't worry. I will handle everything while you sleep."

  "Thanks…" Lee was almost back to the stairwell when he heard something and stopped in place.

  "...haven't heard of or seen any Undead. Why…"

  Lee turned back, adrenaline helping to wake up his mind. "What did you say about the Undead?" He said to the leader Anubi.

  "I… I was just asking if they were nearby or not… it is always a worry when going to a new Dungeon World."

  "Why…" Lee swallowed on a suddenly dry throat. "Why is it always a worry?"

  "Um… because they always take a large portion of each new world?" It whined nervously behind the English words. "Are they nearby? My lord?"

  "What do you mean they 'always take'?"

  "They… they just do! They always send an assault and claim a large Raid Dungeon for themselves. They usually spread greatly from the initial victory as well… that is why I worried about being nearby."

  "Don't they lose sometimes?" Lee demanded. Pleaded.

  "I've never heard of it… but it's possible I guess?"

  "Stanley…" Lee swayed on his feet. "Stanley can beat them… He has killed some of them already! But he is still trapped…"

  "What ails you my Lord? If it is something other than the Mana Burn I may have a potion…"

  "Please don't call me lord… I'm Lee." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Stanley is getting stronger everyday… and Caffeine is with him. Worst case… we use the Source." Lee knew that last option would probably mean their death. But he had a very strong feeling that neither of them could live if the other died. "If it comes to that… We'll make sure the Undead lose this time."

  Lee opened his eyes and looked at the Anubi. "I will be okay, I just need rest."

  "Of course, my… Liege."

  Stanley sighed and leaned more heavily against Alejandro. "What is your name? And how do you speak English?"

  "I am known as Trak, my Liege. As for the language, it is this." He pulled a necklace out from under his shirt. "We only have the one but it is a necessity for traveling between the Dungeons."

  Lee tried to analyze it with [Mana Mind] but his head started throbbing harder. "Thanks, Trak. We can talk later. If you need anything ask Alejandro here." Lee tilted his head towards the man he was leaning on. "He is my brother." Lee heard and felt Alejandro's laughter.

  "It is an honor to meet you!" Trak bowed to Alejandro.

  "Come brother!" Alejandro said. "You can rest now and I will watch over our new friends."

  Lee decided to let the man carry him back upstairs when he remembered something he needed to do. "Upgrade."

  Skill [RuneScape Creation(Journeyman I)](Rare)

  Journeyman Effects.

  You may now create a RuneScape from a distance so long as you have a Suitable Medium to Channel the Mana through.

  "I guess I did create the RuneScape on the roof at a distance… and I guess Three is a suitable medium?" Lee wasn't about to start experimenting now. Later.

  He was asleep before he got back upstairs.