"How do you feel?" the faery asked.
Like a new man.
The two laughed together.
Chapter 10
The Puppeteer
Markos returned to the surface in Sibalt's body. Accompanied by Jessica, he slowly walked out of the cavern which connected to his dungeon below. As he walked, Markos used his ability to detect life energy via the second core embedded within the body of Sibalt. He checked for any dangerous beasts or monsters in his vicinity but found none. Markos DID detect some vultures circling over the body of the ogress but there were no other animals nearby.
The dungeon core took some time to acclimate to his newly assimilated body. He was dying to check his UI and see how his status had changed due to this event. But he didn't want to waste precious time on something he could do later when he returned underground.
Markos walked through the forest and returned to the ogress, whose body had been spiked and was still dangling in the air. He had sensed no life energy from her, meaning that the female ogre was dead already. He took this opportunity to examine her body. She had fine white fur covering her entire body. Her powerful arms and legs were as thick as his neck. She stood at least seven feet tall. Yet, the signs of womanhood were apparent with her ripe, watermelon-sized breasts, a thin waist, and broad hips.
Markos couldn't help but shudder at the memory of this enormous, powerful creature raping the poor, young Sibalt. The memory had made him so angry that he was tempted to use Fire Work to burn this filthy body to ash! Yet, he could not surrender to his emotions. There was something he needed to do first. "Jessica, can I assimilate this monster?" he asked.
Markos was surprised by the question. He had been so accustomed to using telepathy to communicate with his dungeon helper that Markos didn't think he remembered how to talk using a borrowed mouth. Yet, he asked a question without thinking about it. His borrowed heart began to beat rapidly. A smile crept across his face.
Jessica did not notice this. The faery had fluttered in front of the body of the ogress. She stared for a moment and then shook her head. "I'm sorry, master. Currently, your Assimilate ability only works on living things. This ogress has lost her spark of life already."
"You just said, 'currently.' Does this mean that I can assimilate dead creatures in the future?"
"It's possible that as your core evolves to higher stages, your abilities will evolve too. If you had the Dark affinity, you would have been able to assimilate a dead body. It's possible you may unlock this affinity someday just like you had unlocked all four elemental affinities," she explained.
The dungeon core decided to set aside the discussion of evolution and returned his focus to the dead ogress. "What should I do with this body?" he asked while pointing at it.
Jessica folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not sure, master. You can pull the body back into your domain. But it will definitely attract other creatures. You could feed it to the Queen Ant and help her strengthen her Colony. You can burn it to ashes and remove the earth spikes to erase this scene. Or you can leave it as-is as a warning to others. It really depends on whether you're ready to announce your presence to the surface world," she observed.
Markos shook his head. "The Queen seems to prefer to keep me at a distance. I cannot simply dump the body into her tunnels and expect gratitude from her. So that's out. Even if I burn the body and remove the spikes, there is still the matter of her scent and her blood, which has seeped into the ground. It'll be pointless for me to hide evidence of the fight. In doing so, I may even raise suspicions. I think leaving the body as a warning would be the best choice. And that's my decision," he finalized.
"Okay, master. If you're certain," Jessica nodded. "Let's return to the underground." She started flying toward the opening of the cave.
"No," the dungeon core replied.
The helper immediately braked. She slowly turned around. A puzzled expression was on her face. "Master?" she asked hesitantly.
"Since I'm here already, I want to take this opportunity to learn more about the surface world," Markos said.
"Um," the helper looked at him. Or more specifically--what was hanging between his legs.
The dungeon core saw what she was looking at. "Oh!" he blushed. He had to admit that Sibalt's penis was bigger than his own. Small wonder the ogress wanted a piece of the young man.
"Let's see if I can change that." The avatar of Markos closed his eyes and reached for the energy from the heat vent. It took a bit longer than he expected to create the link. Once the link was established, Markos used his Create minor item ability to create a suit of steel armor around his body. He then created a steel sword and shield.
Markos tried to move while wearing the armor but discovered that it was too heavy for his borrowed body. He quickly dropped the shield and then changed the armor into a thin layer of chain mail. He also used mana to strengthen his body. It was an instinctual process rather than spell-based.
When Markos tried to lift the sword, it was no longer heavy in his hand. He decided to change the sword into a rapier. He tested the new weapon with a few thrusts but the movement felt unnatural. Markos changed the rapier back into a sword but made it a short sword instead. A few test swings showed greatly improved suitability to his body and thus, he kept the weapon. Finally, he created a scabbard and a belt for his waist.
When he was finished creating his new outfit, Markos saw that Jessica had been staring at him. "How do I look?"
"Like a mighty warrior, master," she smiled with open admiration.
"Let's go!" Markos ordered. Accessing the memories of Sibalt, he headed for the home of Yozka the witch. He had many questions for her.
* * *
As the two trampled nosily through the forest, they suddenly heard a war cry!
Goblins appeared out of the bushes and trees and quickly surrounded Markos.
He took a moment to study their appearances. The goblins stood some four feet tall. Their skins were of a dull green-gray color. Their irises, though, were black. Their bodies were scrawny. They wore straps of cloth, mainly loincloth. Most of the goblins held sticks and rocks but a handful had knives and one held an actual sword! Their mouths were open and they were gibbering excitedly amongst themselves.
"Man-man-man!" they chanted while pointing at the human.
Markos had no idea why they kept calling him, "man." But suddenly, he noticed that ALL the goblins had breasts--they were female! The avatar tried his Befriend ability on one of them.
The target had a glazed look for a moment but she shook her head and the attempt failed. Suddenly, the goblin became enraged at the attempt to charm her and she charged at Markos!
The other goblins followed and charged, too!
The human avatar took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He reached out for the ground with his Earth Work and spent 100 mana to create a wall around him.
The goblins couldn't stop their advance in time and slammed, face first, into the stone wall.
Markos then created stone spikes and skewered all 17 goblins. He waited for a moment to see if he had missed any of them. But no, he got all of them.
He commanded the dungeon to expand its domain outward until the land he stood upon became part of his domain. Then the human avatar tapped into the heat vent to replenish his mana pool. He felt relieved when he reconnected to the heat energy because, without it, he felt naked.
Markos decided to claim the goblin bodies for further research. The spikes lowered and pulled the bodies through the earth. Once the bodies were underground, he created a storage room for them and expelled the air from the room to make it airtight. His hope was that the vacuum will help preserve the bodies a bit longer. Until he attained the Dark affinity at least.
Jessica finally appeared in front of him. As a spirit, she had no ability to intervene in the melee. She hid in order to allow her master to fight without distraction. She looked at him with concern. "How do you feel, master?"
The assimilated h
uman pondered her question. "You mean after surviving this ambush?" He laughed haughtily. "Those were merely goblins. I barely broke a sweat killing them all." Markos didn't notice that he had fought alone. Nor did he care.
The dungeon helper smiled. "I just want to make sure you didn't lose your nerve."
He laughed again. "Did you see me turn tail and run back to my dungeon? No. And I don't plan to do so either. I came up to the surface to learn more about this world. And I won't be deterred by goblins. Now, let's roll!" The avatar dismissed the stone wall and continued walking through the forest.
Chapter 11
A Visit to Yozka
Markos shifted through the memories of Sibalt and followed the forest trail. His destination? Yozka's home. It took a good half-hour but he finally arrived at the base of a giant tree. The home was carved into its trunk. In front of the home were several flower beds, each of which had flowers, such as Blood Root, Carnation, and Foxglove, that were used as ingredients for the witch's potions. Mushrooms grew on the tree and they, too, were utilized as ingredients.
The door opened and Yozka stepped out. White strands of hair mixed liberally with her long raven hair. Her cheeks were puffy and pockmarked. There were big warts were on her nose and above her right eye. Her posture was stooped and she needed her staff to walk. She was dressed in a black robe and a pointed witch's hat which was tilted to the left; she wore a black cape as well. "Where were you?" she asked in a husky voice. Suddenly, Yozka's dark brown eyes took note of his armor. "What's this? Why are you wearing armor?"
The avatar of Markos drew closer to her.
The witch sensed an unusually strong magic aura from him and gasped. This man wore the face of her lovely but lazy, good-for-nothing apprentice. However, he was NOT Sibalt! The innocent presence of the young man had been replaced by a dark, foreboding presence. "Who are you and what did you do to my apprentice?" she demanded to know. The witch pointed her magic staff at the foreigner and prepared to unleash a bolt of lightning!
The assimilated human bowed politely. "My name is Markos Turloch. Unfortunately, I came across this young man being attacked by an ogress in the forest. I came to his aid but he was severely injured and near death. I decided to merge with him in order to save his life and he has now become a part of me."
Yozka's eyes narrowed. While there was a clan of ogresses living in the forest, she doubted that Sibalt was foolish enough to wander off and encounter them. Yet, her apprentice DID have a poor sense of direction. Her heart began to sink as the truth of the stranger's words became clear. "I'm going to cast a spell to read your mind and confirm that you're telling the truth. Will you permit this?"
"Yes," Markos nodded. He felt the strong magic aura from Yozka and he desperately wanted her to become his ally. The thoughts of Sibalt flowed in the Hivemind and the young man also wanted to bring Yozka into the fold.
The dungeon core was not concerned about being attacked by Yozka through her mind magic. If she tried to double-cross him and somehow wrestled control of the assimilated human, he still had a primary core to exact his vengeance against her.
The witch closed her eyes and held up her hands. "By the Moonlight of Weryota, the Patron Goddess of Witches, I seek to examine Markos Turloch and learn the Truth within his mind." A mental link soon formed between the caster and her target. Yozka slowly shifted through his recent memories until she saw what happened to Sibalt. Once the scene was played out in her mind, the witch severed the link and opened her eyes.
The memory she saw of her beloved apprentice's death shook her badly. Her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground. Tears dripped down her face and she started wailing like a banshee.
Markos slowly approached her and hugged the heartbroken witch. Her crying had brought back his memories of comforting his own mother when his dad had passed away suddenly in a traffic accident. He understood that the witch had loved Sibalt in her own way and she didn't blame Markos for taking over the young man's body.
She cried for a long time and several hours passed until she finally stopped crying. Yozka pulled back and reluctantly broke free of his sympathetic embrace. She stared into his eyes and said, "I want revenge against the Yellow Sky Clan. Please help me." Despite the pain in her hips, the witch lowered her head until she touched the ground.
"Okay."
With his help, the angry witch returned to her feet. Yozka looked him in the eyes. She saw Sibalt's green eyes but also something more. Something foreign. As a witch, she was attuned to those with strong magic. And this Markos was far stronger in magic than anyone she had ever met. She opened the door and invited him to enter.
When Markos stepped inside, he was surprised to discover a living space far more spacious than it appeared on the outside.
Yozka chuckled at his reaction. "There are wards of displacement to make my home look small on the outside," she explained. "Come and sit," she gestured at the wooden chairs in the kitchen. "I will bring you tea." The witch walked over to the cupboard and opened a jar; she took out a pinch of chrysanthemum tea leaves. She put the leaves in a cup and poured hot water into it. She waited patiently for the tea leaves to steep into the water, which slowly turned yellow in color. Once the hostess was satisfied with the color of the tea, Yozka returned with the cup and placed it on the table before her former apprentice.
When Markos made no move to take it, she smiled and took a sip of the tea. "It's not poisoned," she assured him.
The avatar nodded politely and took a tiny sip. The tea had a nice aroma.
When the witch took her seat next to him, she started asking questions. "From our brief mind link, I saw that you came from another place. Where are you from? How did you get here?"
The assimilated human took a moment to formulate his answer. How truthful should he be with her? Markos frowned internally. Sibalt's will urged him to be completely honest with her. After some consideration, the dungeon core decided to follow his advice. Not because Markos trusted her but because he felt that she could easily detect a lie from him with her magic anyway. Thus, she would learn the truth either way.
"I came from a place called Earth. Magic no longer existed in that world. Instead, my homeworld was dominated by science and technology. As for how I came to this world, I believe that I was reincarnated."
"Reincarnated?" Yozka's thick gray brows furrowed.
"Yes," he nodded. "I died when I was 31 years of age. When I woke up, I found my essence trapped inside a dungeon core."
"A dungeon core!" the witch's eyes lit up with disbelief. "No wonder your magic is so strong!" When she noticed a murderous aura emanating from him, Yozka immediately held up her palms to placate him. "I have no intention of taking your core for myself. As I said before, I want to avenge Sibalt's death and I need your help to accomplish this task."
Markos' mind turned back to the scene where the ogress was literally fucking the poor Sibalt to death. "Is it common for ogresses to fuck humans?"
Yozka cackled at the silly question. She took a moment to regain her composure. "Yes, you know nothing of our world, Enwald. I'll explain to you now."
Chapter 12
Explanations
The witch took a sip of tea from his cup and took a deep breath. "What is the ratio of boys and girls born in your world?"
"You mean the sex ratio? It's almost 1 to 1," Markos answered.
Yozka's jaw dropped. She shook her head in disbelief. "On Enwald, the sex ratio is anywhere from 4 to 1 to 100 to 1, depending on the species." The witch tried to imagine what the world would be like if there were as many men in the world as women. Would women stop fighting and committing atrocities against one another over men? Would men be seen as anything more than the weaker sex suitable only as breeding partners? Yozka quickly realized that if there was parity in the sex ratio, then the world as she knew it would no longer be the same.
It was Markos' turn to be shocked. What would happen if there weren't enough men to go around? He immediately understood the
population growth issues resulting from such a skewed ratio. "How do you maintain your population?"
"We don't," she answered grimly. "It has become a free-for-all to find males to mate with. Even the monsters are willing to cross-breed due to the severe shortage of men. Did you see Sibalt's memories when you merged with him?"
The dungeon core nodded.
"I suspect that his village was raided because they learned of his existence and they wanted him. The village protected him to the last female defender. Somehow, Sibalt escaped into the forest and that was where I found him. Unfortunately, my physical ailments make it difficult for me to gather mushrooms and herbs in the forest. Or else, I would never send him out into the woods," she said with a sad and pained expression.
"What about the governance? Who rules this land?" Markos asked.
"We are in the Kingdom of Vessar. It is a small kingdom which is focused primarily on commerce. The ruler is Queen Auriola Tyffany Levioda."
"The kingdom is a matriarchy?"
"Of course! Since women are the dominant gender on Enwald, it is only natural that women rule the world."
"Hahahahaha!" Markos laughed. "Back on Earth, where I came from, men rule. Now that I have an understanding of what's going on, it is my intention to force Enwald to submit to my rule." The avatar pounded a fist against his chest.
Yozka shook her head in disbelief. The dungeon core had said something outrageous! "You want Enwald to be ruled by a man? You must be crazy! The women ruling the kingdoms will never permit this!"
"Crazy or not, I think this is the purpose of my reincarnation in this world as a dungeon core. The Gods see that this world has become off-balanced and I am their solution." Markos was convinced of his words. This was a risky gambit with his new life as a dungeon core but he didn't care. He didn't want to live his life cowering in fear of women. Not after what happened to him in his previous life.
The witch took another sip of the tea and considered his words carefully. She lived an idyllic life as a witch until Sibalt entered her life. Now that Sibalt has miraculously returned, albeit changed into a new man, Yozka wanted to accompany Sibalt. She knew that his place was no longer in the forest. With the new life granted to Sibalt, he had to obey the dungeon core.
CONQUEST: The Dungeon Core Gambit Book One Page 5