Revenge of the Sorcerer King 2 - 22

Good Weekend everyone!

Chapter 22

Oberon

Breaking level one hundred increased the speed at which we were dealing with the armors. While I had access to more magic, the main were gravity magic and my Lightning Storm being amplified to the point it could deal with seven or eight of the armors on a targeted basis. The target armors exploding and usually took three or four each.

After that I just needed to use my gravity magic to contain the armors for a while as Irgire’s poison and the other’s magic went to work. I would take a few out with my Destruction Ray just to keep some experience points coming in, but because we were killing them easily now, I wasn’t getting nearly as much experience as I was before. 

The west wing was still throwing challenges at us. Everyone in the party might be well over level hundred now, but the power gap between us and the armors was still strong. I wasn’t completely sure as I had no way of checking, but given the aura of mana I observed. It appeared the armors were gaining somewhere between five and ten levels for every hall.

That made me worried about the boss. It would be over level three hundred if the trend kept up. I had to resign myself to being stuck down here for a while longer. With that thought, I sighed and moved away from the camp. Once I was clear of any bystanders, I picked up a rock and enchanted it with gravity magic.

With a toss, the rock streaked through the air and collided with one of the towers on the castle. Other than an explosion of dust and some pebbles I was barely able to make falling to the ground, I didn’t leave a mark. It had become a sort of past time for me.

“Lord Oberon.”

I turned to see Irgire making his way over to me. “I’ve told you to just call me Oberon.”

“That may be the case, but my father talked about you in such a way that you’re basically a legend to me.”

“He did, huh.” Ikynth was not my only child, and due to the way he decided to live his life was not my strongest, but as a half-dragon could hold his own in any fight with his siblings. I was disappointed that I never got to see him grow up along with the rest of my children. 

“If you heard it from him, you would think you turned the skies blue with your magic.”

“And how do you know I didn’t?” I retorted creating a simple light spell in my hand. The light shifted through the color spectrum before it faded to darkness. I grinned at Irgire before chuckling at my childishness. “What happened to your grandmother?”

“Returned to the Dragon flights. Not sure after that.”

I scratched my chin but shook my head. It wouldn’t be a surprise if she was still alive. Dragons live for millenniums. Though if she was, I was really interested in what kind of face she would make. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. 

“I think that only got worse with the changes to your body,” Irgire commented and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“What did?”

“The way you laugh to yourself randomly.”

“Ah. Well. As an undead, I just can’t help myself.”

~~~

Another week went by as everyone in the party continued to grind their levels. I asked Helena to start gathering information on the nearby towns and possible paths into the underground labyrinth that spread throughout the continents. Some of the darker races preferred to just avoid the sun altogether and lived there.

With more of my memories returning to me, I knew there was an entrance near my city. Likely the one the dark elf used in the first place. It would be a miracle if it still existed, given we were in the middle of a desert and a thousand years had gone by. The land might appear not to move, but I knew for a fact that the lands shifted slightly every year.

I had also sent the bow to Alessa once I managed to practice a bit more of my space magic. Helena said she had a new vampire that was rather good with the bow. Better to put it to use, than have it sitting in my dimensional bag. Since the bow wasn’t alive, it was easier to teleport. 

“What level are you sitting at?” I asked Irgire as we were watching the goblins do some practice dueling. 

“One hundred and fifty-three. Didn’t move at all today.”

“At least you broke one fifty. I’m stuck at one thirty-two. Hasn’t moved in two days. Maybe we should have waited on using some of my spells?” I said tapping my chin in thought. The easier you defeated something the less experience you got for it. If you killed it too easily then you got jack shit. 

At least I got another upgrade at one twenty, but I went with soul and couldn’t tell what exactly had changed. The only observable thing that I had noticed was the almost constant drive to kill all the mortal members of the party had been reduced slightly. Sadly, that was about it. 

“Maybe. I know the goblins are benefitting from it.”

I glanced up at the dueling hobgoblins. They were both over two meters tall and were doing no weapons wrestling. That didn’t stop the blood from flying as they hammered each other with heavy blows. If we didn’t have a few healers among the goblins then I worried about heading into battle tomorrow.

“I think there is going to be a power shift when we get back,” I muttered watching the goblins.

“At least Gobluke and Gobrin are part of the group getting a power gain, so the shift won’t be all-encompassing,” Irgire said. I glanced in the direction he was looking and snorted at the two goblins that had formed a small harem with the few females that were also warriors. I didn’t mind them relieve their tensions in the goblin fashion, but the least they could do was share. I almost felt sorry for the other goblins who saw the sweet treat but were unable to touch it.

“Tomorrow we push for the boss room.”

Alessa

After listening to Helena’s story, I felt sorry for the woman even though I knew she would probably smack me over the head if I told her that. While I knew there was much more to the story, I was only told up to the point involving her parents. At least it helped me calm down from the way my mother just left.

“Thank you. I think I’ll call it a day and we’ll hit the dungeon tomorrow,” I said allowing my blood armor to fold into the shards.

“I agree. We all need a small break,” Helena replied before she left the room.

I couldn’t sleep, but I could certainly clear all thoughts from my mind. Meditation helped to pass the time when there was nothing to do. I hoped that in a hundred years or so, I would have a few hobbies that I could work on at night. Letting my mind go blank, morning quickly came.

Stretching, I got up and dressed. The fairies had learned and brought me actual cloths that I could work with. I didn’t mind the dress, but I didn’t feel like it suited me. I was nearly a week behind on changing the women to vampires. I’m sure Jade had informed them about my situation. I wanted to get them all changed so they couldn’t run off on me. 

Walking through the hall, I soon made it to the women’s quarters. When I pushed the door open, I got a mixture of nervous smiles and dreading flat lines. Likely, Jade had told them what it was like being a vampire and some of them wanted the power while the others worried about controlling themselves.

“Volunteers first. I want to do six to make up for lost time.”

“Lady Alessa.” I jumped at the sound and turned to find Sarius behind me. I hadn’t been paying attention and he’d managed to sneak up on me. 

“Sarius, what is it?”

“I was wondering if you were going to offer the few men that were in the Gallery the same option as the women?”

I blinked as I sort of forgot about them. There were only three of them after all. I didn’t see a reason why I shouldn’t offer them the chance. I suppose that Sarius was worried about being the only male under my service. “I don’t mind offering them the chance.”

“Thank you. I have been feeling slightly outnumbered since we returned here,” Sarius said rubbing the back of his neck.

“I suppose that can’t be helped, with Oberon having taken most of the men with him into the dungeon.” I found it ironic that we’d been so separated by gender, but given the circumstances it was bound to happen.

“As you say.”

“Alright. After this batch, I will go offer them the chance to join my Familia.”

He bowed then left. He had been reserved ever since he became a vampire. I didn’t have to worry about his loyalty to me, but that didn’t mean he could be fully trusted. He could be making problems for Oberon without my knowledge. I’m sure the man was smart enough to know that wouldn’t just end with his death. Oberon would likely make him suffer long and hard.

Turning back to the women, the six that wanted to be changed next had moved forward. I nodded and we moved down to the cells where I transformed them all. Two managed to get sun-resistance, while still two others had required me to beat them to regain their consciousness. With that done, I sent them off to Jade. She would take care of them until later tonight when we head over to the dungeon.

I was sitting at level sixty-eight. I must have gained some experience while I was unconscious. Helena had said that I get a small share of the experience gained by my Familia. I idly wondered how long it would take for me to reach level two or three hundred if I just let my vampires do all the work. 

“I’m not going to join you in the dungeon tonight,” I heard in my head as I walked down the hall. There was no sense of voice with the sending, but you could learn to recognize who it was from. Though right now, I had only received telepathic communication with Helena.

“What? Why not?” I sent back worried something was wrong.

“Oberon asked me to look into something. It shouldn’t take long,” she sent back.

“I see. Alright, then we won’t dive too deep. Just give the newborns a taste.” 

“That sounds like a good plan.”

The link went away, and I rubbed my head. What could Oberon be asking her to look into? Those two working together is dangerous enough. If she’s doing it willingly, I felt sorry for whoever was in their path. I had an hour or two until I needed to meet the vampires and the goblins heading into the dungeon. I turned on my heel and headed for the quarters the men from the Gallery were staying.

I pushed open the door and found Sarius chatting with the men. I tried not to drool when I took in the three. They looked like they were carved by a god’s hand. Hell, I thought they looked better than most of the women in the other room. They would have to be at this level to serve as the noble women’s toys I suppose. 

“Lady Alessa. I was just informing them of your decision earlier.”

“I am sorry I have neglected you since you arrived. Things got a bit hectic.”

One of the men stood up. He was on the lean side with sharp features. He reminded me of a freshly sharpened sword in human skin. He narrowed his eyes before he said. “I don’t mind being changed into a vampire, but I saw the way you looked at us when you came into the room. I don’t want to go through with it if I’m going to become a toy all over again.”

I coughed to hide my embarrassment. “No. I apologize. I will admit I have a desire to drink your blood and maybe try some of the things I heard some of the older ladies talk about, but I promise not to do anything against your will. I spent most of my life running from people that would have done that to me after all.” 

His features softened before he nodded. “Alright. Sorry. I just don’t ever want to be forced to service the sexual pleasures of people again.”

“Fair enough. Well, I plan on changing you three tomorrow, so make sure you’re sure before then. Though, I’m not sure Lord Oberon would be too pleased if you refused.” They all bobbed their heads in understanding and I looked to Sarius. “Get ready. We’ll be heading into the dungeon in a few minutes.”