Dungeon Robotics 134

Hey Guys! 

Regan

I stared after Louella then looked back to Alara. “I think she’s jealous,” I said with a snicker. Alara proceeded to smack me over the head.

“You are going to make a child with me.”

I coughed, surprised at what had come out of her mouth. “Um, right now?” If I remember correctly, we would have to give up half our cultivation base to make a child as dungeon cores. Of course, that was a dungeon core offspring. We could make children that weren’t dungeon cores, but I don’t think that had the same sort of power that shew was going for.

“No. I know its dangerous right now,” Alara replied looking at her hands. Sadness rolled off her like a physical force.

“I’m raising all sorts of flags saying this,” I mumbled then looked Alara in the eyes, “but when everything is over and it looks like there will be actual peace for a time, then yes. I will make a child with you.” I leaned down and kissed her, hopefully calming her down a bit.

We pulled apart though we were both reluctant. “What do you mean by flags?”

I smiled as I started down the passage to catch up with Louella. “Its something from my old world. There were games that people played where your goal was to raise flags that showed your progression through the game.”

“I see.” Alara cuddled in closer. “I would like to see your world someday.”

“If it was interplanetary, I think it could happen someday, but as its in a different universe it might be a bit harder.”

I remised about my old world, the conversation bringing it to the surface of my thoughts for the first time in months. I was usually so busy that I didn’t have time to think about it. I wonder how things have progressed since then. If time was traveling the same speed, then the machines should have set up a colony on Mars by now. The humans should have taken their first steps to bring Earth back to normal. I just hoped they learned from their mistakes and put war behind them.

I cleared the thoughts away. I likely wouldn’t ever find out unless I asked Creation next time I saw him. I probably should be saying if, but I just knew it was more along the lines of when. I was still surprised Destruction and Creation allowed me to escape. While it certainly wasn’t easy, it wasn’t nearly as hard as they could have made it.

We caught up with Louella outside Quin’s cell. It was dangerous for anyone of flesh and blood to go near her, but the three of us should be plenty strong enough to deal with her. Two of use were either constructs of mana and the last while she was technically made from flesh, I wasn’t sure it was real flesh. 

I placed my hand on the panel. “Quin. We’re back.”

This time the puddle of blood formed an actual body. She sat in the bowl looking at the wall. “If you’re going to keep me here, at least give me something to do! I’m so damn bored!”

“Just be glad you’re not with my other prisoners. I don’t torture in the traditional way, but it's plenty effective,” I sent back. The necromancers that I had locked up is Steel Spire were likely never going to be able to return to society. Even if I found a way to strip them of their unholy mana, they were so broken now that there was no saving them. 

“Keeping me bored all day is an effective torture method.” 

“True. I could find ways to make it more enjoyable for you,” I replied then pressed another button on the panel. Spots along the wall lit up before streaks of flame jetted across most of the free space in the cell. Only the exact center was safe, but even then, the heat in the room will soon reach levels that would kill most mortals. 

“You know this doesn’t bother me!” Quin shouted. It was true, while her body would certainly take on burns and she could feel all the pain that came with them, the moment the heat dropped enough she could repair the damage quite quickly. While she had said she was on the lower end of the demon caste, if that was the case it would make dealing with a demon invasion a nightmare and one that could be close to unwinnable. 

I removed my hand from the panel and turned to Louella. “As you can see, not getting much from her.”

Louella snickered and all the little spirits around her mimicked her. “Sounds like you guys are getting along swimmingly.”

I sighed then placed my hand back on the panel. “You willing to talk today?”

“Just release the poison, so I can end this suffering!” Quin shouted back draping herself over the glass chair like a drama queen. 

“She wants to die?” Louella asked with a skepticism in her voice.

“Yeah. Or at least that’s what she’s portraying. I left her down here for a few weeks, and I guess the boredom is getting to her.”

“Just give her something to do.”

“It’s not that easy. Anything I put in there gives her something to use to escape.” Quin was pretty versed in magic. Few people were her match after she had been alive for over a thousand years. I had to seal the room completely to make sure she didn’t escape. 

“Can you make one of these walls transparent and still maintain the protective spells around it?”

I shrugged as I didn’t see the point. “I suppose.”

“Just make one of the walls transparent then add one of these Apps over here at least she can watch something.”

“That’s a great idea! I’m ashamed that I didn’t think of it myself.” I quickly made the changes. Then pressed on the panel. “Alright, I have a deal for you. I’ll relieve your boredom if you answer my questions, but first a peace offering,” I called in before I pressed another button turning off the flames and another that materialized a cow inside the room. The cow had barely finished forming before Quin wrapped her liquid form around it.

There wasn’t a trace of the animal once as she reformed into her human shape, only instead of being child-sized she was closer to teen sized. “God. I haven’t had anything to eat in weeks. That really hits the spot,” she said licking her fingers, though I didn’t see the point considering there was nothing on them.

“You willing to talk?”

“First, I want to know that you actually have something that will help relieve my boredom. I’d hate to agree to this and only get to see a clock or something equally mundane.”

“Fair enough.” I went ahead and had the wall change so that she could see through it. On the wall, I turned on my DungeonTube. I made it so that adventurers could learn from others. Only the first twenty floors are free to watch. You had to pay mana to watch anything deeper. Otherwise, people might attempt to clear floors they weren’t ready for. It was sort of a benchmark and a way to make some extra mana on the side.

I made it so that a spell would track her line of sight so that she could select videos while making sure to disable all the other features. It was mainly communication, but I didn’t want her talking to anyone that she might try to convince to help her.

“That is amazing! Is it similar to Crystal sendings?” Quin exclaimed as she watched the video I pulled up as an example. A party was working their way through the junkyard level at the top of the dungeon.

“Sort of.” I paused the video. “Now. Do we have a deal?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Though I need to remind you that a thousand years or more have passed. My information is a bit outdated.”

“That’s not a problem. Your society was already advanced when you came here. If I know history, I might be able to predict how it developed.”

“I see.”

The next two hours passed quickly as I recorded everything she told me. As I thought from the answers I got from before she turned suicidal, Deorus was similar to Earth with only a few dynamic changes. Mainly there were individuals that couldn’t be killed. The chaste is based on your level of mortality.

As there were several ways to kill her, Quin was ranked quite low, but given her regeneration and other mimic abilities, she made a great infiltration unit that was sent ahead of the other soldiers. What I found interesting was that the Demons didn’t age and they found it incredibly hard to reproduce.

“You say incredibly hard, so if a thousand years go by, how much would your population increase?” I asked after I heard that.

“Increase?!” Quin parroted before she broke into laughter. It took a moment for her to calm down. “Unless something changed. There wouldn’t be an increase. We barely reproduce enough to replace the members that are killed during infighting. With the world spirit dead, I honestly find it hard to believe they are still alive.”

“I have reason to believe they have found another way to get here. I just don’t know how many they are bringing this time.”

“I guess our great leaders couldn’t stomach a defeat and are coming for round two. Typical.”

“You’re sure that there is no other way for your kind to get here?” Louella asked.

“Why fix something that had been working for t of thousands of years?”

“True.”

“They were smart enough to make and use the first method, I don’t doubt they are smart enough to come up with another method. Thank you for the information on the military force. I will prepare as if at least triple this is coming.” I pointed at the screen. “Just look at what you want to watch. The screen will register it after five seconds.”

With our questioning done, we moved to the only zone in my lab floor that you can teleport in and out from. I took us back to the hotel that the automaton had put Louella and the group she was traveling with. A quick glance through the structure showed the members were enjoying themselves.

Louella knocked on the door where the three adventurers were staying before she made her way in. Yuno had a large smile and the girl Sara appeared to be enjoying herself they danced to some music that was playing. Some Jazz which I wasn’t sure existed in this world. Nero sat in the same chair as before reading one of the books that came with the hotel room. I had sort of just stocked it, so I wasn’t sure what it was about. I only knew it wasn’t anything dangerous as those are all black marked in my mind.

The two stopped and rushed over when they saw Louella. The girl threw herself at Louella and they hugged affectionally. Nero got up and made his way over right behind the pair. 

“Yuno, Sera, Nero. Thank you for the help you’ve given me the last couple of weeks. I’m not sure what would have happened if not for you guys.”

“Then you’re all better?” Sera asked her.

“Yep! I remember everything including that I had Nero sent to jail for his continued efforts to court me.” She looked up at the man who was rubbing the back of his head. “Still. I’m not sure I can thank you enough for helping me. I might consider that dinner you were asking about.”

“Really!?” Nero turned to Yuno and smacked him on the shoulder. “See. I told you good things would happen!”

I moved forward. “Since you have done Queen Louella a service. As her friend, I will give you a reward each for your help.”

“We can’t! You’ve already done us an equally great service by helping my sister.”

“Now, now. That was that. I would have done that for anyone that had asked. If good deeds aren’t rewarded then there is less of a reason to do them.”

“Then,” Nero said seriously causing everyone to turn to him. “Help me get back to Celestia so I can kill a certain bitch.”