---

Story Codes: Fantasy, Gamelit, Magic

For a list of all the dungeon builder stories click here

Comments are very welcome. I would like all criticism, positive and negative, so long as it’s
constructive, and feedback is very appreciated.

---

---

Click here for Part 10.

---

---

Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

Chapter Twenty-Two

I entered the meeting room off the throne room, Fara trailing behind me. Hagane and Nina entered after her. They were the two monster girls that worked with my elven scholar. Nina shut the door, her devilish body looking so sexy as she leaned against it.

“We call this the Outpost Plan,” said Hagane.

“Indeed,” Fara said.

I arched an eyebrow. “Outpost Plan?”

“We think it will accomplish two of your goals, Lord Leo,” Fara said as she unrolled a map of what looked to be the northwest corner of the world. My dungeon was inked in near Astovin Village. South of us was Lord Shorvin’s estate then Myrecilla at the Myr River. That river formed the northern border of the Shaliania Forest which was home to the Elven Kingdom of Kalianiathrastia.

Not Fara’s kingdom. That was farther south in the Varmilianakiza Forest. I was starting to understand the lands. The Low Carianith Mountains ran south and merged with the Greater Carianith Mountains which headed to the southeast, forming the southern border of Myreman. Fara’s forest was on the other side of those. I never realized just how far she had to travel to get here.

“Okay,” I said. “What is this plan?”

She traced a line from my dungeon to the west. Not due west, but maybe west-by-southwest to one of the twelve shrines. It lay where Kalayna Bay met the Oncora Sea that lay to the north of all the lands. The Bay separated my part of the world from the lands Fuegin had conquered to the west.
“I think this is the Water Shrine,” said Fara.

“Because it’s underwater,” said Nina. “We really have nothing more to go off of than that.”

“It’s the only one to lie beneath the ocean,” said Fara. “Perhaps that’s just a coincidence, but it is also the nearest shrine to us here. I propose you work your dungeon that way setting up outposts.”

“Outposts?”

“Towers that thrust out of the ground,” said Hagane. Places to put monster girls to keep watch over the surrounding land.”

“To find dungeons and either befriend and destroy them,” said Nina. “You need power, Leo. You need mana veins. This is the best one. We either get a new ally like Siwang, or we put down another rabid dog.”

“This is the concept of projecting power,” added Hagane. “This is why the United States has bases all over the world and the biggest carrier fleet. To project power. You can rapidly deploy Halia’s adventurers and monster girls to deal with any threats, protect the people of this world, and increase your power all at the same time. If we have any chance to reach the Shrines and to raid the cities that hold the other Blessed Blades, we must expand. Rapidly.”

“The downfall of any Empire is the slowness of communication, the inability to deploy troops quickly where they are needed, and the attrition suffered by endless border wars,” said Nina. “That was what destroyed the Romans. The dilemma is an Empire must always be at war or it dies, but that is also what kills it in the end. If you are not attacking your enemies, they are gaining in strength to attack you. But you have none of those problems.”

I nodded. Instant telepathy, teleportation of my forces, and the ability to revive dead monster girls.
“So you put Level 1 Monster Girls in the towers,” said Hagane. “They patrol the areas for you. If they come under attack, you can either remove the tower before it’s breached or deploy overwhelming forces to defend them. You will reach your tendrils across the world, creating beacons of hope.”

“Okay,” I said. “I think that’s—”

The valley alarms rang through the dungeon. Someone had appeared in the valley. I turned to dash for the doors when the dungeon warnings rang. The intruder had already reached the dungeon? Was that the main entrance or somewhere else?

I burst into the throne room to find my monster girls spilling out of their orgies and rushing to the map. Lana Fulmine glanced at me and frowned. She shook her head in confusion and pointed at the map. I reached it.

A single, red dot right at the threshold of the dungeon. It flashed.

A dungeon builder wanted to connect with me. I concentrated. “Who is this?”

“Leo, it’s Fuegin, we need to talk.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moment Fuegin appeared outside of the cave that housed the main entrance to Leo’s dungeon, the builder closed his eyes and muttered the words to a powerful spell.

“Mirror and reflect, let the brilliance of Lady Sherida copy.”

A wave of distortion washed over him as he went invisible. At the same moment, an illusory doppelganger of himself stepped forward. He needed information, but he wouldn’t put himself at risk. He could see and act through the double while remaining standing on his teleportation spot.

He had burned one of his many, many mana veins to create a permanent spot he could use to transport from his dungeon to Leo’s. Luckily, Leo had not moved his dungeon’s entrance. Fuegin had points like this scattered across the world in interesting spots.

His doppelganger reached the threshold of the dungeon and stepped just onto it. He waited. For all intents and purposes, the double was Fuegin. It was an Ultimate Tier spell, the most powerful magic any builder could achieve.

“Who is this?” asked Leo, connecting to Fuegin’s doppelganger who was linked to the real Fuegin.

“Leo, it’s Fuegin, we need to talk,” sent Fuegin. “I swear by my Void Crystal that I, Fuegin, shall not harm you or yours. I ask leave to enter your dungeon and be granted safe passage to your presence.”

“I swear by my Void Crystal,” Leo intermediately answered with far more force and confidence than he had had months ago, “that you shall have safe passage to me and be allowed to leave unmolested so long as you do nothing to threaten or harm myself or my vassals. But wait, I’m making a direct path through the dungeon for you.”

It was both smart and dumb. If there was an attack, they could rush straight to the heart of Leo’s domain.

It took another ten or so minutes before he could enter.

He walked through a cave to an open door and a tunnel. That tunnel opened onto a meeting room. It was barely fifty feet into his dungeon. Leo opened a metal door on the far end and slipped in along with a dwarven woman in brown robes.

Your Vault is right there?

It was tempting for Fuegin to just kill the doppelganger than attack the dungeon. It wouldn’t violate the oath since he was outside the dungeon. He could blitz in and kill this upstart, but… He had killed Sulanga Stormfury with an inferior force.

And he had a lot of monster girls in the meeting room. They had been lurking on the edges but now they all moved in. More than just his twelve companions. Leo flicked his eyes through them. He knew some were companions and some weren’t.

For Lightning his lightning sprite and a raiju. For Ice, a valkyrie and ice sprite. For Water, an undine and a naga. For Life a dryad and a rakshasa. For Earth, a golem and a bugbear. For Light, an angel and a lampetia. For Fire, a devil. For Thunder, a thunder sprite. For Dark, a succubus. For Metal, an animated statue. For Wind, a sylph and a djinn. For Death, a banshee. And then there was two humans, the paladin and maybe a priestess in blue robes. A halfling mage joined the dwarf mage that entered with Leo. The elven scholar was present, looking calm.

It was a display of power.

Leo motioned for the seat at the end of the table. He sat down at the opposite end, his monster girls sitting down around him. The nearest to Fuegin were the valkyrie and the raiju, both looking fierce, especially the raiju crackling with lightning.

Fuegin had at least one of all these unique monster girls in his harem. He had multiple of many of the “unique” monster girls. If Leo wasn’t so far away, it would be easy to destroy him, but Fuegin had to worry about his own empire.

His monster girls had to be in force. Most of his companions were governors of conquered cities, public displays of his power. He kept only his twelve most important ones close to him, and even then it was only Amante that was almost always at his side.

But he had left her behind today.

He wanted to appear weak. He wanted Leo to feel safe.

“My, my,” said Fuegin, looking impressed. “You have really gained power. I’ve been hearing about your defeat of Sulanga Stormfury. Most impressive.”

“He was a beast that had to be put down,” Leo said.

“Of course, of course,” said Fuegin through his doppelganger. It truly felt like he was here. He flicked his gaze around. “So many beauties around you. All twelve elements. That’s surprising. I don’t understand how you’ve gained them. Been killing more dungeon builders than I’ve heard about?” Fuegin leaned forward in his red robes. “Unless… Have you learned something?”

“Mostly from killing dungeon builders,” Leo admitted, “but I did find the First Dungeon Builder’s home. It lay right beneath mine. Deep in the earth.”

Shock rippled through Fuegin. Both the real him and his doppelganger swallowed. “The first dungeon builder? You’re sure?”

Leo smiled. “My elven scholar is sure. Fara swears it’s the first. She’s an expert in Meskalamdug the Flaming Devil, and she says there are unmistakable signs down there. Including an inscription in some form of cuneiform.”

That didn’t surprise Fuegin. He’d noticed that the magic symbols were cuneiform and that some of the gods he recognized were from Sumerian mythology. It made him wish he had selected a woman who was an expert in the languages for his companions.

And none of the many, many companions he’d gained over the years had much knowledge on the subject. Even the ones who had served over a dozen previous dungeon builders and had been alive for hundreds of years didn’t know much of it.

“Is that where you gained your fire dragon?” asked Fuegin.

Leo shifted. “So you heard about the siege and the fight with King Thanitis’s forces?”

Yes, you are holding back from me. “I was very concerned. When I heard that an entire army came to destroy you, I was figuring out how to send you help. I was watching with the Scrying ritual, but it seems you have found ways to handle it.”

“Yes, that’s where I found the fire dragon,” said Leo. “She’s the daughter of the first dungeon builder and his dragon wife. She was sleeping down there. Quite the surprise.”

“I imagine,” Fuegin said. “And that gave you the Fire glyph.”

“And Meskalamdug’s Void Crystal was still intact. He died, but no one had found his dungeon. It seemed he was mortally wounded and fled back to his dungeon to perish. He had hidden it with such cunning, and buried it so deep in the earth, that no one found it until I started looking around for Mana Veins and stumbled into it.” Leo shrugged. “He had the Death Glyph, so I gained it there.”

“I see,” Fuegin said, thinking. That explained two of Leo’s impossible glyphs. “And where did you get the Thunder glyph from? Sulanga didn’t have Thunder.”

“A minor dungeon builder preying on the dwarves,” Leo answered smoothly. “I killed him to help with my alliance with them.”

Fuegin studied Leo. It was more than possible. He watched Leo, but he didn’t know everywhere the boy was sending his dungeon. And so many dungeon builders popped up like vermin. It was more than possible for him to have killed a minor builder who had recently appeared. Especially one even farther to the east and away from Fuegin’s empire.

“What did you find in Meskalamdug’s dungeon?” asked Fuegin, leaning his illusory doppelganger forward.

“Just an inscription in Ancient Sumerian,” said Leo. “Or maybe it’s Babylonian or Hittite. But I think it’s Sumerian.” Leo shrugged. “None of us can read it. Can you?”

“No idea,” said Fuegin.

Leo concentrated then said, “I’ve asked Fara to provide one of the copies of the rubbings we took of the inscription. Maybe you can make heads or tails of it. The man seemed to have made it while dying. It’s important, just written over four-thousand years ago.”

“Thanks,” Fuegin said. This rubbing could be important. “And you didn’t find anything else.”

“No, no,” said Leo. “Just the fire dragon, the bones of another dragon, Meskalamdug’s corpse, the inscription, and the Void Crystal. I preserved that bit of his dungeon but destroyed the rest searching for his mana veins.” He shrugged. “Sadly, those had dried up in the last four-thousand-odd years.”

The slender elf rose, holding a rolled-up scroll of parchment that she set before Leo. She bowed, her ears twitching, then she turned and left the room again. Fuegin studied her. She was a resource the dungeon builder would gladly seize.

Only she rarely left the dungeon and she must be sworn directly to Leo to let her exist with such comfort down here.

“And there’s nothing else you found?” Fuegin asked.

“Nothing,” Leo said with an innocent-seeming grin.

He’s holding back. Fuegin could feel it. Leo had found something. Something important. Something he wasn’t sharing. He’s lost his trust in me. Amante’s right, he’s grown too powerful.

Fuegin wanted to destroy Leo, but the distance between their lands was great. There was a whole sea between them. He’d have to start expanding his power east. Conquering fresh land. Get in the position to be able to strike at Leo.

A dangerous thing to do, but he had to hit Leo before he gained even more power.

“Thanks,” Fuegin said, rising and picking up the scroll. “I’ll see what I can make of this.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“He just vanished,” Spaika, one of my oreads merged in the stone outside of the dungeon, reported. “After dropping the scroll. Something invisible picked it up. I suspect that it was an illusion that entered the dungeon. The real Fuegin stayed outside. Now he’s gone, too. He stepped forward and likewise vanished. Though there was a burst of light this time.”.

“He has some way to teleport back and forth between his dungeon and mine,” I said. “You marked the spot.”

“Yes, my Lord,” answered Spaika.

I leaned back in my chair. I might have to trap that spot. I looked around at the monster girls I’d assembled. “Well, did it work? Is he convinced I’m not a threat?”

“He sees you as a threat,” said Lana Fulmine.

“Yes, there’s no doubt,” growled Bjorni. The bugbear folded her arms. “He was cagey.”

“He used an illusion to come in here.” I rubbed at my chin. “That must be from the fourth level of spells. He never entered my dungeon. He stayed outside the entire time.”

“Oh, yes, he sees you as a threat,” said Smerta. The valkyrie grinned. “He doesn’t trust you not to break your word and imprison him.”

“He knows there are dire consequences to a dungeon builder who breaks his word sworn on his Void Crystal,” I said.

“Which are?” Hagane asked.

“I…” I frowned. “I’m not sure. Souleen just said they were dire. Enough for dungeon builders to trust each other when we give that word.”

“Well, clearly he wasn’t taking chances,” said Ms. Trueno. “He doesn’t trust you.”

“But does he think I’m holding back?” I asked. “Is he going to attack me?”

“Maybe,” Hagane said. “Maybe he will be distracted by the scroll. He doesn’t have what we have. He doesn’t know what Led found.”

“Still can’t believe he is the key to this,” said Smerta.

“He got lucky,” I said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if other dungeon builders got lucky, but they hid the information they found. So long as Fuegin doesn’t learn about the shrines, that’s good. There’s one in his territory. Maybe two.”

“Just one,” Nina said. “And it’s on an island that he might not care about. The next one is just south of his territory in lands no one seems to have claimed. He could easily have moved his border farther south if he knew about it.”

“Fara is quite sure that he doesn’t know about the shrines,” said Hagane.

I nodded. That was something. “What do we do if he attacks?”

“Kill him,” Smerta said.

“Yes,” Garnet said. “All who oppose Dark Lord Big Bro must be crushed beneath our sexy heels!” She jumped onto the table in stiletto heels. “See how pointy they are. It’ll really hurt when we crush him for you, big bro!”

I stared at her and smiled. She was something else. “Okay, okay, we have to be on guard. Hopefully, he’ll be distracted trying to translate cuneiform.” I hesitated. “He won’t be able to translate it?”

“Naw,” said Nina. “Unless he has a primer like we did or there’s some sexy expert in Ancient Sumerian that he recruited as a monster girl, he’s boned. I mean, he’s been around for fifty years, right? So he came here in, what, the seventies. I doubt he even knew what cuneiform was, really. He came from pre-internet days. He has no way to know.”

That was something. “Good, because we do not have the time to tackle Fuegin.”

Or the strength.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The next day, Siwang felt really, really, really great. He loved his monster girls, but there was something special about Anji. She loved him because she chose to. His monster girls were all versions of them who could love him. That was how Leo explained it.

Siwang’s real mother was back in the other world grieving his death. She would never have sucked his dick or rode his cock. She would never have crossed that taboo line, but somewhere in the vast possibilities of the multiverse, there was a version of Xiongbu who could cross that line.

Who could have an incestuous relationship with her son? And it was the same for Lei and Guang.

But the Anji that he had spent the night with was the only version of Anji there was. And she loved Siwang. That made her special. Siwang’s heart sang as he entered his Vault. The Soul of the Void Crystal perked up at the sight of him.

She was like a dusky-skinned version of Siwang’s mother. The Soul didn’t have the same face, but the same figure. A sexy MILF. She quivered atop the black gem humming as it swallowed the power from the one Mana Vein Siwang possessed.

He needed more.

He had to find Mthunzi’s dungeon. Leo didn’t know where his first enemy’s dungeon lay other than a vague direction. Siwang would find it. He would search even farther away into the hills than he had. He gripped the gem and closed his eyes.

With Anji’s love and his monster girls’ support, Siwang felt invincible.

There was nothing the young builder couldn’t do.

So he started extending his tunnels. He didn’t have the power to lay out a large grid, so he was constantly extending tunnels, waiting to feel the mana, then destroying the few he made and shifting them. It was tedious work, but he kept at it.

With his mind sunk into the mental interface of the Void Crystal, he hardly felt the ache in his feet and lower back from standing in one place for so long. He just kept a hold of the gem and moved in a methodical pattern.

He concentrated on finding it. He had to get more powerful to help Leo. He had to find the—
Power flooded through him. He gasped as he himself grew stronger. He had just hit Level 2. He could make even stronger monster girls. The words to new spells, ones he’d seen Leo cast, now rose in his soul.

“Lord Siwang, you are amazing,” the Soul said, her voice full of motherly warmth.

“I did do it,” Siwang said, a large grin spreading on his lips.

It was an incredible rush to find it. The tingle of power rushed through him. He clutched the crystal, his mind razing with the possibilities. He felt the rush. He could make new monster girls to roam his dungeon and guard it against…

What? He released his Void Crystal. What does my dungeon need to be guarded against?

Siwang had long since moved his dungeon’s entrance within Astovin’s walls. Yes, that death dragon had come straight for him, but he didn’t have to worry about adventurers. Anyone who could attack him wouldn’t be slowed down by traps.

He could streamline his dungeon. Just have his living area and Vault hidden using illusions. It was simple. Where his dungeon intersected with Leo’s, if he concealed the paths that led into his dungeon, intruders would flow into Leo’s dungeon and have to face his far, far, far stronger defenses.

Then Siwang could have the power to extend his dungeon even farther. He could keep going past where he found the Mana Vein in Mthunzi’s old dungeon and just drive his dungeon southeast toward the next Shrine.

Help Leo out. If they were both reaching out for shrines, they could combine efforts. So he reached toward the Shrine that was next after the Light one that Led had found. He drove his dungeon and he got maybe halfway there.

It was a start.

He smiled. “Well, let’s make some new monster girls.”

“Yes, Lord Siwang,” the Soul said, all bright and cheerful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched the preparations of King Thanitis’s army. They would be marching in a few days. The king had reassembled his men, many of who had fled into the nearby hills in terror. A lot had been injured. He was letting them recuperate before marching south.

Our treaty was signed. I was his ally officially. That felt good to have the support of a king. Myreman was a large kingdom, too. A powerful one from what I was learning. There were parts of the world where the land wasn’t even claimed. Just left abandoned save for clusters of city-states who just controlled enough land around their cities to keep them fed.

That was such a shame that the world was in this state. I wanted to fix it. So much work to do. I needed to reach toward the Water Shrine. Siwang had told me his plan. I liked it, and it made sense. I hoped he could reach what Fara thought might be the Life Shrine.

It was important to get the Shrines. Siwang could make Level 2 Monster Girls, and I wanted him to get more glyphs. Soon, I would support him in attacking rogue dungeon builders. It was the best way for him to gain in power.

A stronger Siwang would only help us all.

I trusted him.

And I was glad that he had Anji. She was cute, and he looked so happy with her.

“Hey, Leo,” Usiku sent to me.

I blinked at being contacted by my fomorian. “Yeah? Is there something wrong?”

“Why else am I calling,” she said with wry amusement. “A new dungeon builder has appeared near Sharithin. Raided a few of the farms. The halflings are a tad spooked. They’re just getting over Sulanga’s raid, getting back to normal, and now this.”

“I’ll be right there,” I told her, letting my scrying sensor go.

I made the arrangements.

“Wow, haven’t seen these in a while,” said Kassie as she stood in the Teleport Hub staring at the three zombified horses I had. I’d made these to travel over long distances in my tunnels before Kassie figured out how the teleportation circles worked.

“Yeah, they’re not the most comfortable,” I said.

“I can handle this, Lord Leo,” Halia said. She had joined us with her new sword on her hip.

“I’m sure you can,” I said. “But this isn’t about killing a rogue dungeon builder. He just appeared. He hasn’t killed any of the farmers, just raided their grains. I want to talk to him. When your adventurers are a tad more capable, we’ll start sending you out into the world.” I didn’t like Halia going out. “So keep training them. If we start implementing the Watchtower Plan, then we’ll start encountering more of these rogue builders for you and your adventurers to kill.”

“Okay, Lord Leo,” Halia said. She didn’t sound happy.

“I’ll be right back,” Kassie said. She stood on the teleport circle to Sharithin with all my werewolves and phoenixes around her. The six monster girls crowded the circle. There wasn’t room to fit the three horses on there. “Asud Gu.”

They all vanished in a burst of light. In about ten seconds, the light flared again and Kassie appeared by herself. I led my horse onto the circle, the zombie placid. Uncaring. It didn’t stink. I had zombified them right after killing them, so they had no time to decay.

Mom and Hagane led the other two horses. Halia watched, looking annoyed. I would have to make it up to her. Eventually, I would have to just unleash her on rogue dungeon builders. She wanted it, but I was afraid for her.

I loved her.

I didn’t want her to die.

“Asud Gu.”

Light burst and when it faded, Usiku was standing there. She smiled as I stepped off the circle and threw my arms around her. My purple-skinned fomorian kissed me with passion. Her lips melted on mine. I grabbed her ass, our tongues dancing.

She was such a gorgeous thing. I was glad she had served me after I killed Mthunzi, her owner. Usiku had fought me, tried to kill me, but I had prevailed. Now she was mine. It was strange, I supposed, but I had become used to it.

I had too many lovers who used to be my enemies.

Like Halia and Hagza.

I broke the kiss and said, “Do you have any idea where his dungeon is?”

“The pixies are scouting,” said Usiku. “Mala!”

“Yes, Lady Usiku,” one of the pixies said. She fluttered up on her diaphanous wings. Her light-blue hair swayed in a cute bob around her adorable face. “I’m ready to serve, Lord Leo, in any way you need.” She winked.

“Just lead me to the dungeon,” I told her. “We can worry about that stuff later.”

She threw her arms around me, her wings fluttering fast. “Yes, Lord Leo.”

Mala had hot lips and a very agile tongue.

Mom had an amused smile on her lips. “You should visit here more often. Your poor monster girls are getting so lonely.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll host an embassy orgy, Mom,” I said.

“That’s your responsibility,” she said, looking at me so seriously like she was telling me to clean my room or something.

We led our horses out of the embassy into the heart of Sharithin. The halflings glanced toward us. A cheer went up through them as they saw me mounted on my horse in my gray robes and breastplate. I held my spear like a lance, the tip crackling with energy. Mom and Hagane mounted up while the werewolves stayed in their female forms.

For now.

The phoenixes and Mala took to the air, flying above us.

The halflings weren’t afraid. They did look so tiny when I rode past them on horseback, but they cheered and clapped. They waved at me. I grinned and nodded to them, trying to be lordly and friendly. It was wonderful to see the city getting put back to right. The halflings were cleaning up their city. Lots of new construction marked where old buildings were destroyed.

Including a few that I had wrecked by thrusting up my dungeon exits around the city.

I had come to these people’s rescues. I had liberated them from oppression. I held my back straight as I rode through them, a huge smile on my lips. I felt such pride for what I had done. I had accomplished something important here.

I had done something to improve their lives. I was proud of what I had done.

I nodded to the halflings that we passed. None of them were afraid. It was amazing. This was my dream for the world. Where the normal people and dungeon builders could work together. Where monster girls were seen as friends, not foes.

“Hey!” Mala called. “Things are going so well here.”

“They are!” a builder called to the pixie. He waved to her as she swooped over, her wings buzzing. “We’ll be finished next week.”

“Awesome!” Mala said. “Lord Leo, this is Verin. He’s one of the best builders.”

“Lord Leo,” the halfling said, pulling off his cap and bowing. “Thank you so much. My family and I’d be dead without you. Terra saved my life.”

“Of course, she did,” I said. “I’ll let her know, Verin. And you have all you need?”

“We’re doing fine,” he said. “Sharithin’s learned to be self-sufficient. Our king… well, the king doesn’t like to leave Analim.”

“I’ve heard that before,” I said, shaking my head. Like with Myreman, the king of Anoshorie didn’t bother to lift a finger. In fact, Kassie didn’t even go to the king. She came to me. I had no idea Sharithin wasn’t the capital of its own country but just one of several cities.

It seemed like the world really was just city-states with some kings claiming to rule land that they didn’t do much but maybe send tax collectors to. It was sad that the world had come to this. That the people were so isolated from each other.

It took some time to ride through the crowds. Word quickly spread, and it became a parade as more and more halflings gathered to cheer us on. One woman gave my mother a bouquet that she smelled. Smiling, she wove the flowers into her hair.

I wouldn’t be surprised if those flowers just lived on Mom. She was a dryad.

Hagane just watched it all dispassionately as she sat astride her zombie horse. The werewolves moved around us, grinning. They had the sort of joyful look of a dog, but far sexier. They were enjoying the praise, too.

And, I was certain, the young halfling males were enjoying ogling their naked bodies.

Finally, we reached the city wall and the north gate. The damage here was also being repaired. Beyond the city was a small market town where farmers would sell their crops, so it was also bustling. But that was a good sign.

The farmers, largely, had hidden in their farmsteads and root cellars. Sulanga hadn’t gotten around to them, so he hadn’t touched their fields. Sharithin wouldn’t face starvation. I could help with that, but I didn’t need to.

So that was a relief.

It was a lot of effort to enchant land to grow crops swiftly. That was what the Astovinian farmers were doing. There were vast fields in my dungeon that were growing food fast. I would soon have to start exporting it.

That was another thing my dungeon could be used for. Transporting goods swiftly across the world. I mean, I could move any trade goods with a thought from one end of my dungeon to another. I could also “store” items in my Void Crystal to later pull them out.

Excess grain could rot, but if it was kept in stasis in my dungeon’s “inventory,” I could withdraw it at a later date when it was needed. There were a lot of ways that dungeon builders could be the allies of this world and not the enemies.

They just had to stop thinking of things selfishly.

After we left the bustling marketplace behind, my werewolves changed into the wolf forms while my phoenixes spread out to scout. The bird-women soared across the blue skies, standing out thanks to their fiery-red plumage.

“This way, Lord Leo!” Mala cried as she fluttered ahead of us, leading us toward hills on the horizon.

In a few hours, we left the farms behind and entered plains that were uncultivated these days. There were hints that the halflings used to farm out here. Traces of fences. Of fields that were a tad… square. Ruins of houses or barns poking out of the tall grass, which looked like wheat or other cereals that had gone wild.

The phoenixes were joined by the other pixies out scouting the hills ahead. They began scouring it as we reached the outcropping. The sun was high overhead. I drank from my waterskin, feeling the day’s heat.

“Aren’t you roasting?” I asked Hagane.

“Because I’m made of metal?” she asked. “No. I don’t appear to be absorbing the heat the way I should be. Perhaps the exact metal I am has a low heat capacity, or it’s magic.”

“Probably magic,” I said.

“Probably,” she said.

“It is warm,” Mom said.

“We found it, Lord Leo,” reported Dosaya, another of the pixies. “Isn’t that wonderful!” She squeed in my ear like a schoolgirl seeing her favorite boy band in person.

“We’re heading your way,” I said, passing the word along.

In another hour, we found an outcropping of stone with a cave reaching into the darkness. My werewolves sniffed around for any dangers while the phoenixes and pixies circled overhead, looking for signs of danger.

“No hiding monster girls, Lord Leo,” reported Chaandi. “It’s safe.”

I dismounted my zombie horse who just stood there like nothing mattered. I patted its flank. It didn’t so much as flick its tail. Of course, it didn’t have to deal with flies or anything. They just buzzed around me.

I was alive.

I stepped up to the cave. The moment I did, I could feel this was a dungeon builder’s territory. I stepped just inside and reached out with my mind.

“Hello, I’m Leo, a Dungeon Builder, and I am just here to talk,” I said to the Soul of the Void Crystal. “Please inform your lord. I am not here to do him any harm.”

I felt the acknowledgment then waited.

“Hello?” a new voice said. “Uh, you’re a builder, too?”

“Yeah,” I sent. “I just want to talk to you. I swear by my Void Crystal that I, Leo Baldwin, and my vassals, Zoe Baldwin and Hagane, shall not harm you or yours. I ask to leave to enter your dungeon and be granted safe passage to your presence.”

There was a moment of hesitation. I smiled, remembering that day that Fuegin had shown up on my doorstep. It had freaked me out. Then I thought he was my friend, but now… Now I wasn’t sure about Fuegin.

He was a dangerous man.

“I swear by my Void Crystal that you shall have safe passage to me and be allowed to leave unmolested so long as you do nothing to threaten or harm myself or my vassals,” said the voice. “Uh, yes, I’m sending a guide.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Bhediya, form up a perimeter. Keep the phoenixes and pixies in the air scouting for danger.”

“Yes, Lord Leo,” growled the wolf, the words coming out a tad strange.

I moved into the cave, Hagane and Mom flanking me. I looked around for the exit when a will o’ wisp stepped into view. Her gorgeous body was made up of roiling plasma of various hues of blue from sky to azure. They all mixed and swirled to form the shape of her figure.

“Greetings, Lord Leo,” said the will o’ wisp, her voice crisp and polite. “I am Zvaigzde. I will lead you to Lord Munjan.”

“Sure, sure,” I said, feeling a tad surreal. “Boy, I wish I had brought some of my own will o’ wisps.”

“Lord?” she asked me, her brow furrowing.

“It’s just I started with Lightning, too. Will o’ wisps were the first monster girls to serve me.”

“Oh, well, that’s nice.” She shifted. “This way.”

She turned and headed into the dungeon. Beyond, it was what I expected. Tunnels made of large, stone bricks. There was no light, but thanks to being guests, I could see. It was familiar and alien all at the same time.

Zvaigzde moved with grace ahead of me, her blowing ass swaying. She definitely was sex. Munjan was a lucky guy to start with Lightning. I remembered those early days when I spent so much time with my will o’ wisps.

Now they just guarded one of the rooms that led to my dungeon. They probably weren’t needed. Adventurers had stopped attacking my dungeon. I could probably just do what Siwang did, and move my dungeon entrance permanently into Astovin. Streamline it. Reduce the levels of defenses so I could drive my dungeon farther across the world to reach more shrines.

But…

I liked having a big dungeon. Siwang was using mine for protection. He was gambling, of course, but I liked having my entrance where people could attack it. A way to draw attention from Astovin. I wanted to keep it safe as much as I could.

Zvaigzde led us through a trap room. It had a checkerboard floor with every “white” tile crackling with electricity. You could move through it, but I had a feeling that this was where the will o’ wisps would be waiting to throw their ball lightning and knock people off the black squares onto the deadly whites.

It was a nice trap room.

Beyond, we reached the throne room. Zvaigzde pushed open the double doors onto a room shaped like an octagon. In the center was the dungeon map. Beyond that was a throne where a young man sat in robes of brown. He had tan skin and dark hair.

Standing beside him was his companion, a Lightning monster girl, but one I had never seen. She looked like a cat girl with ebony skin with white tiger-like stripes adorning her body. She was a slender thing with small breasts and not one, but two cat-like tails that crackled with electricity.

“I’m Munjan,” the builder said, rising from his throne. He was tall, over six feet. Sweat gleamed on his brow. “I, uh, hi. I don’t really know what is going on. I’ve only been here for a few days.”

“He’s learning, though,” purred the cat-girl.

“Right, this is Macka,” said Munjan. “Well, uh, if you’re a builder, I suppose you know what she is.”

“Your companion,” I said. “These are two of mine. Mrs. Baldwin and Hagane.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Munjan and Macka,” said Mom, her voice pleasant.

Hagane just nodded.

Macka stared at us with her golden, cat-like eyes. Her two tails twitched, lightning arching between them.

“I really, really don’t know what I’m doing,” Munjan said. “This is all so much. There’s this whole world, and I have to guard…”

“The Soul of the Void Crystal,” I said. “We all have one.” I chuckled. “I’ve been here months, and it’s very different from our world.”

“Yes, there’s no cable,” Macka said. “No TV. No internet.”

“Worse, everyone in this world hates us,” I said, giving it to him straight. “They despise dungeon builders. They want to kill us. You’ve already spooked the local halflings with your raids on the farms.”
“For food!” Macka glared at me. “Munjan has to eat.”

I raised my hand. “I’m not here to judge you. I get it. The world hates us, and for good reason, but I’m trying to change things. Those halflings that you spooked, they’re my friends. That’s why I’m here. They were frightened of you.”

“Of me?” Munjan looked stunned. “I just stole some food. I know my will o’ wisps were seen. They sort of stand out. But I wouldn’t hurt them.”

“They don’t know that. They think we’re monsters by default. A lot of dungeon builders have taken advantage of their power to prey on them. Others become jaded. When you have to defend your family from adventurers, it wears on you.” I felt that weight. “It can warp you. Change you. And, well, like I said, some builders are just dicks. Get off on the power. Want to flex on them.”

“They really think I’m a monster?” Munjan shook his head. “I’ve never hurt a fly. I wouldn’t. I know about monsters. I’m Serbian. My family fled the wars in the ’90s. It was bad.”

“We’ve earned this reputation, sadly. There are plenty of builders who have conquered their own empires. They rape, pillage, and destroy. It’s nasty. Just a few weeks ago, I had to liberate the local halflings from a brutal builder named Sulanga who had occupied their city and turned them into slaves. The moment a builder appears, adventurers will start hunting them down. They like to kill us before we can get powerful.”

“Fuck,” Munjan said, sinking down into the chair.

“But, like you said, you were just raiding for food. You haven’t attacked the halflings. You’ve shown yourself to be a good guy.”

“And they already hate me?” Munjan glanced at Zvaigzde. “They killed her on the last raid. One of the farmers. She died. She suffered just so I could have food to eat. And you’re saying, because of that, I’ll have people breaking in here to kill me?”

I nodded.

“And it’s over for me if I die. I don’t come back.”

“We don’t come back,” I said. “Our monster girls do, but not us. And if we die, they die with you.”

“Shit.” He took Macka’s hand. “Shit, what do I do? How do I defend myself.”

“Well, that’s why I’m here,” I said. “I and the protector of the local halflings.”

Munjan swallowed as he stared at me in my armor. Then at my two companions. “You have two glyphs.”

“No, I have all twelve.”

“Fuck,” Munjan muttered, the sweat growing.

Macka’s lips curled back in a hiss, her tails bristling.

“I also have Level 3 Monster girls,” I said. “They’re outside your dungeon right now.”

He stared at me, fear in his eyes. I didn’t like doing this. “What are you saying, Leo?”

“I need to know if we can be allies, or if we’ll be enemies,” I said. “I protect those halflings. I can’t have you raiding them and maybe getting one of them killed. I don’t want them to die attacking your dungeon out of fear.”

“Allies?” he asked.

“There are two ways this can go,” I said. “That’s why I’m here.”

“I don’t want to be your enemy,” he said and glanced at Macka. He smiled at the catgirl. “I have the girl I always wanted to date in school. She never gave me the time of day back then, but here…”

“I love you here,” she said and she crawled onto his lap. She snuggled up, looking so cute.

“I have her here,” said Munjan. “That’s so amazing. I don’t want to give her up. I don’t want to die, either. What do I have to do to be your ally? I mean, I have to eat. You can’t ask me not to feed myself.”

“I’ll make sure you have food,” I said, smiling. “I just need you to swear to be one of my vassals. A baron under me. Like Siwang. He’s another dungeon builder that is my ally.”

“A… baron.”

“Like Game of Thrones,” I said. “It’s a little feudal, but if you swear to serve me, there’s power in that for us builders. You’ll be bound to me. I can use my powers to help protect you. I can get you two more Glyphs, as well. Glyphs you won’t have to kill another builder to get.”

“I never did watch that show,” said Munjan.

“Once you’ve sworn, I’ll have you extend your dungeon entrance to come out inside the city of Sharithin’s walls right next to my embassy. That will help defend you.” I smiled. “They’d have to get through a city and my defenders are nearby. You’ll be able to get food. Have friends. You’ll like Siwang. And, like I said, you’ll have the Thunder and Light Glyphs by the end of the day.”

Munjan stared at me. “And if I don’t swear.”

I hardened my heart. I hated doing this, but… “I can’t have a hostile dungeon builder so near to the people of Sharithin.” I closed my eyes, not wanting to say it. “I know this feels like an ultimatum, but…” I opened my eyes. “The moment I leave here, I’ll attack. My monster girls will kill you. I’m sorry. That’s just the way this has to be.”

“Submit or die,” said Munjan.

Macka stared at me with such hatred in her eyes.

He stroked her thigh. His eyes flicked to Zvaigzde. I knew he had other will o’ wisps he cared about. “It’s fine,” said Munjan. “I’ve never been much of a leader. I always followed. You don’t get bullied if you befriend the bullies.”

It hurt. A bully? I didn’t like that, but… I was bullying him. Serve me or die. It wasn’t the best, but what was my alternative? This world wasn’t ours. I couldn’t afford to let him stay and grow stronger. I swore to protect Sharithin.

“Then just swear to serve me,” I said.

Munjan nodded to Macka. She sighed and slid off his lap. He rose from his throne and knelt. I tried to stop him as he said, “I, Munjan, swear to serve as your, er, vassal, Leo. You’re my lord now.”

He gasped as the magic fell into place. I closed my eyes and gained my second builder. I hoped I could be friends with Munjan. Siwang had seen that I wasn’t a bully. I didn’t like it at all. But it was better than…

Mom put her hand supportively on my shoulder.

She was amazing.

To be continued…

Click here for Part 12.

You can read my schedule!

Connect with me on MeWe (Facebook but you can post porn)!

Join my discord server!

If you enjoyed the story, support me on Patreon!

I have released a part 43 of the revamped Devil’s Pact on Smashwords. Read this post for more information if you’re interested!