Rowan Black: Binding Contract?
Gabby LeMort: Later. Gotta get moving. I’ll let ya handle it. Just play on their light sides or something.
Gabrielle puffed away to do whatever she needed to corrupt this place and extend the shields to cover every harvesting crystal. Over four hundred harvesting crystals by his estimate.
Ambiguous Pain: Me too. You don’t have the right professions.
She disappeared in a purple flash.
Rowan resigned to that. He was still a new player after all.
“What’s happening?” Cecilia asked, a tinge of concern leaking into her tone.
Rowan tilted his head as a strategy fermented. “Well…” He chuckled twice. “We’re kind of limited in time. I think this city belonged to that Paladin who attacked you but over a hundred dark children will die if that spire behind us isn’t corrupted to produce dark mana."
That dealt the intended effect, Cecilia most startled, her jaw dropped an inch. Seth remained bored but his eyes tightened in concern by a minuscule fraction, betraying his mask. That light side of theirs really came in handy, an easy weakness to exploit. Though it could be difficult to convince them of a militaristic conquest.
No matter, he will inevitably think of something when he had a genius like Gabrielle at his side. They’d just need to feed their dark sides and draw it out.
Yes, these will make the perfect minions. He’d lucked for the umpteenth time with that unpredictable summoning.
Rowan put on a sad face and explained the situation, glancing at the sleeping king every now and then. Manipulating these three was far easier than tangoing with his beautiful Gabrielle.
Chapter 42
Aftermath
Ambiguous Pain (Raid Chat): Oh my, the forums are exploding.
Gabby LeMort: Yuppers, this is the start. It’s been a decade long coming!
Those two messages caught Rowan’s attention as he finished explaining the situation to the three Nihils in a overly noble voice and cringe-worthy eloquent gestures, “And so, Gabrielle and I have been chosen by the gods to restore the natural balance between light and dark, between destruction and creation. Destruction and creation are inseparable. Neither can take place without the other following to an extent. The old stagnates and rots while the new must wash away the old before it can take root. We have been given the power of creation and destruction—”
Oron huffed. “You don’t have to coat it with false righteousness. You’re here to scorch the world and rule over your own civilization built from the remains.”
“That’s exactly what he’s saying,” Seth said, “They’re planning to unleash their demonic and Unhead legions on this world.” He didn’t seem to care, really, only that he was content that he had escaped hell.
“Yes, but I meant it,” Rowan said, “Our coming new world and inhabitants will be far superior to the current one. Join us in the creation of our dark empire. Agree to a binding contract and your place is secured.”
“Hmmm.” Cecilia tucked strands of hair behind her ear. “How do you know you’re some kind of chosen? Are you sure it’s not just your adventurer madness?” Her brows shrugged and her wings flexed once.
Rowan anticipated this half-way through his explanation. He opened his quest interface and found The Frozen Calamity at the top of the list—his first quest. He focused on it and showed it to the Nihils like similar to when he’d shared it with Gabrielle after meeting her. “I received this quest from the dark gods when I was born as an adventurer.” He held up his right palm. “This dark mark is proof of my chosen role.”
Gabrielle didn’t bear one and he made sure to leave that part out. If knowledge spread that he could turn characters into World Bosses, he’d be even more wanted. And her ascension could’ve been a unique, one-time thing. His black mark was dubious as they came.
The trio eyed his mark for a half-minute, taking in the quest, then exchanged looks and inched closer to the far edge of the roof.
Seth waved his hand and renewed the king’s sleep debuff before joining in. There’d need to be a discussion on what to do with the guy if a Divine Blessing did what Rowan thought. A prison would need to be constructed. But it could lead to either great leverage or disaster, likely the latter. Taking strong prisoners was usually a bad move.
Oron and Cecilia murmured while Seth contributed a word here and there. Rowan watched with growing apprehension of their sentience and free will. Though they were indeed dark, they were Ambiguous’ brand of dark. It’d take time and a lot of cajoling to win over the three—through choice and not forced servitude.
Manipulation of free will trumped servitude by force, always. Rowan knew that too well, his studies during his stay in the psychiatric institution paying off. It was too bad that none of it had included how to deal with girls like Gabrielle. None of the textbooks he read indicated someone like Gabrielle could exist. She was something special.
And though this plan deviated from simply becoming the villain of the final game, it still fell within the bounds of the contract Rowan signed with Roth. The good players definitely wouldn’t respond well to this. The vast majority were far too short-sighted and sympathetic towards the AI characters and each other.
After exchanging a few quiet words with each other, Cecilia stepped forward and jerked her chin at him. “Get us each a divine blessing and you have a an agreement.” He smirked. “But I’m not going to be your concubine like those two.”
A scowl jerked at Rowan’s face. “They’re not my concubines.”
“So you say.” She crossed her arms.
“I do.” He let it drop, shrugging, not taking the bait. This was likely a manipulation attempt.
Oron grunted. “In the meantime, we’ll stay in the security of this city. You’re lucky he was weak when we came. A T8 World Boss. Divinely blessed too.” He whistled. “We’ll have to watch him and keep him snoozing.”
Well, at least he volunteered to be a prisoner guard. Rowan gave him an appraising look. “Sounds good.”
“I’d rather not go return back… there,” Seth said, his eyes hard. “Yes, I will pledge my allegiance in exchange for a Divine Blessing.”
Rowan agreed after a second, an obvious decision. He would’ve granted the three Divine Blessings anyway. NPCs that could respawn like players was a monumental boon. “I’ll get you your blessings. You have my word.”
A dinged into the center of Rowan’s view, blocking out their faces.
New Quest: The Summoned Nihils
You either have the worst or best luck. Your summoned minions are far from just minions. They demand a Divine Blessing each for their loyalty pledges.
Difficulty: ?
Length: ?
Success Conditions: Grant a Divine Blessing to each Nihil
Failure Conditions: The Nihils die or turn against you
Rewards: Three Nihil (Fallen Angels) followers, ?
He dismissed the alert as Cecilia said, “Accepted. I’ll be waiting.” She looked left and right. “I assume the other two are working to fortify the city at the moment?”
The chatbox vibrated before Rowan could respond.
Gabby LeMort: Ooooo that quest is perfect. I was gonna build a Dark Oculus here anyway.
What?! She had a recipe for building Dark Oculus’ this whole time! And they could make NPCs immortal like adventurers. A spike of annoyance tore up Rowan’s throat. His chilled amulet bumped against his chest.
Rowan Black: Why didn’t you tell me you could build them?!
Gabby LeMort: I was gonna in the temple but ya cut me off… :(
Bloody hell. This communication problem needed to be fixed—and fixed soon.
And that sad face better not be genuine.
Rowan Black: My bad. But say the important things first from now on.
Rowan Black: But why didn’t you build one before? We could’ve given Zaine a blessing.
Seconds ticked away at the top-right. Rowan resisted an urged to pulled at his
hair.
Gabby LeMort: They require a whole bunch of super duper rare materials. We’d have to raid the dwarves’ fortress to get em and I doubt they’d have enough for more than one or two.
Ambiguous Pain: Yes, and that place is almost as secure as the Draco Capital.
Gabby LeMort: Yup! ^_^ This city had really terrible security.
Rowan’s brain broiled in the revelations. They’d barely gotten through the city shield and walls and that was with the help of Zaine’s ultimate. If that counted as terrible… he couldn’t imagine what counted as good defenses. The girls were busy securing the city so he didn’t query them. Enemies could show any moment.
Ambiguous Pain: BTW, don’t mention Gabby can build one. It’d draw every faction, light and dark, to this place within the hour.
That was much was obvious. If the NPCs were anything human-like then they’d go crazy at the prospect of attaining immortally.
Pale fingers clicked in front of his face, drawing his eyes away from the chatbox.
“Hey, what’s happening?” Cecilia ask, irate, “I know you’re talking to them.”
Ideas whirled. Rowan said in an upbeat tone, “I think I know where a Dark Oculus might be. There’s either one hidden in the dwarves’ fortress in the north.”
A good approach.
“Fortress?” Seth’s head inclined. “That sounds risky. It doesn’t look like this outpost had many inhabitants. Maybe four or five thousand at most. And you’ve lost your demon summoner”
Perhaps fortress wasn’t the best word. The three were so, so afraid of going back to the afterlife—going back to hell.
“I’ll think about it,” Oron said, “For now, I’ll just keep a watch on this guy.”
Cecilia’s smooth lips puckered. “We’ll see. Get us our blessings first.”
Oron thumbed at him. “Unless it helps us get blessings safely, I ain’t taking orders or helping…” He glanced at the king. “Apart from keeping this guy asleep. I don’t think you’re strong enough to keep him down. And I don’t trust you with the job either.”
“Seconded.” Cecilia put a hand on her hip. “So are your concubines securing the city? I expect some shields and turrets and many Undead guards at least.”
Fine. Rowan swallowed a sigh and strengthened his neutral mask. If they wanted to go on prison-guard duty then so be it. “Yeah, they’re working on it. Shield and corrupting the area.” A temptation to issue an order through the mental links rose but he couldn’t try that—yet. “There should be a jail or cells in a town of this size. Can you find it and hold him there?”
Seth spread his wings and windy dark mana buffered Rowan’s face. He reached down, grabbing the king by the arm, and took flight without another word. He flew at an astonishing speed, spiraling high above the city, dark mana fluttering off his wings like moth dust.
“Cross us and you’ll know the tortures of hell.” Oron shot him a sneering grin and blasted off.
“We haven’t pledged to you or your cause yet.” Cecilia floated into the air in a dark spiral. “Remember that, Necromancer. Only call on us if we’re about to be under attack.”
Fair enough. Rowan said as she turned, “Wait. Do you the right professions to help corrupt or build?”
She looked over her shoulder, her maroon hair fluttering in the wind, her blazing amber eyes like liquid fire. “No. We weren’t crafters.” Her voice was sad. “But we’re open to learning if your vision is as great as you claim.” She sighed and followed the other two in a burst of mana.
And it will. Rowan’s glorious dark empire will be nothing like this olden, blatantly cliche world which had been done a hundred times before. It was shameful that Synaptic’s revolutionary virtual reality tech had been wasted on a world like this. Granted, Rowan saw the appeal but it could be so, so much better. He will make it into something better—under his rule by all means. Gabrielle’s too. Her class was the key.
The chatbox vibrated that hum which was treading on his nerves.
Gabby LeMort: Negotiations over?
Yes, and it could’ve been better, Rowan almost typed out. Giving the girls more teasing material wasn’t an option. He had to be the dominant one here, not Gabrielle. This was his empire, dammit, even if he’d stupidly promised her equal rule in his mad lust and rage.
He focused and inputed words with a stream of thoughts.
Rowan Black: They’ll just keep the king asleep and weak for now and stay in the city. Getting a blessing is their hard line. They’re afraid of joining an attack and dying. Cecilia seems to be interested in learning crafting though. We should treat them with kindness rather than threats. It’ll be more effective.
Ambiguous Pain: Yes, it will. It’s basic psychology.
Gabby LeMort: Whaa? None of them have professions leveled?
Rowan Black: No.
Gabby LeMort: Aww… Ambiguous will have to train my pretties!
Ambiguous Pain: Fine but I want space and resources for another mansion here.
Gabby LeMort: Another one? Ya have over thirty rooms in your existing one.
Rowan deadpanned as the chat descended into a schoolgirl-like bicker that lasted over twenty messages, ending in Ambiguous agreeing to use her allocations of land to build something more useful than just another mansion. She could build a house, yes, but also had to help design blueprints for functional Arcane-Dark buildings and devices. Like a portal building.
Ambiguous had a positive effect on his Gabrielle. The older girl’s presence matured her somewhat without killing that jovial, cutesy personality which he had grown to...
Love, he realized. That fuzzy warmth wrapped around him as he blinked back to the corpses. Did he even know what love is after all his brain has went through?
He raised the intact corpses, prioritizing the Priests and Paladins with minimal focus, contemplating on what he felt for her.
No, he didn’t know and didn’t care. He merely wanted Gabrielle in his possession to dance with and fuck forever, to stare at those big, blue eyes and pretty face and perfect body. More than anything else, he wanted her at his side in battle and death and rule over his dark empire, happy and cracking quirky comments. Rowan needed her more than she’d ever know.
And what was even love? It wasn’t a question he could answer and he doubted Gabrielle knew either.
It was a wonder why he was still considered dark but he knew: beneath that fleeting happiness and care, there slumbered something deeply mutilated and inhumane, infinitely evil. It was always there, snoring, threatening to wake at any moment if something happened to his only happiness—to his beautiful Gabrielle. She was his anchor and last remaining tether to sanity. He did not dare think of what he’d become if he lost her.
Rowan stowed that particular train of thought in a mental safe, then checked on the remaining army, flicking open his minion interface. A useful distraction.
The three Nihils caught his eye in their own list at the right, labeled as Zaine’s Elite Minions. However, they were grayed out. Rowan focused on the little question mark next to the header. A description tooltip faded in.
Elite minions are sentient, intelligent, and extremely powerful. Every elite minion is unique. The most powerful elite minions may posses free will and may grow and learn. Minions with free will are not commandable through the mental link till they pledge their loyalty to you in a sufficient binding oath or contract, at which point your will is able to override the minion’s with an irresistible compulsion.
The Nihils fell into the most powerful, free-willed category, Rowan decided without too much consideration. Cecilia could learn and they all had free will. Both a boon and curse, but at least they had agreed to protect the city.
The demons summoned by Zaine still stacked in their own column. They did not count toward Rowan’s minion cap—handy. Stiff concern clasped him for a moment there. He glanced over his own and Zaine’s list, tallying up demons and undead.
Less than three hundred Imps remained, every sc
out alive ironically. Most of the Owlish Oversees had survived along with many Undead Priests, Paladins, Rangers, Rogues, and Blademasters. Every Stalker had perished plus one Colossus Enforcer. He brushed against their mental leashes and found Gabrielle had sent them all to patrol the city boundaries by the outer harvesting crystals—a problem.
The harvesters dotted the surrounding landscape and sea up to three or four miles. They tapped into whatever caused water mana to concentrate in this location. Maybe something deep underground. Maybe a dungeon or reservoir.
Zaine’s Lair also needed to be protected but not as much. That shield was Tier 9 and the crystal core acted as a Tier 9 battery. The constantly spawning fire and lava elementals were also a natural, effective buffer.
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