Book 5: Chapter 24

“Hey mate, how's it going?” Aaron asked as he strolled into the workshop.

Ernest turned, spotted him, and his eyes widened. “What are you wearing?"

"It's a long story," Aaron sighed. "How are your guns doing?"

"I'll bet," Ernest said, giving him an unsure look. "The hat's alright at least. Anyway, the guns are... getting there. He’s good at what he does, but my imbued anchors got stronger again while we were training. I thought he was having a stroke when I told him I blew open another barrel. He thought he’d finally made one strong enough. He thought wrong. That said, it should be good when he’s made the alterations. Well, eventually it will be.”

“Sounds like you’re really giving him a run for his money.”

“Eh, he’s getting levels out of it. And I keep the credits flowing. If anything, he should be thanking me. Can’t have ascension without adversity, right?”

“I suppose you’re right,” Aaron agreed. “Well, good to hear it’s coming along. I have to say, the crafters here are surprisingly good. I’m going to have to head back soon, though. Got a few things to wrap up back home before we finish off Darius.”

“Figured as much. I’ll be in contact if I need anything, now that we’ve linked our relay stones. All I ask is that you call me before doing anything crazy. I ain’t missing out on putting a bullet through that asshole’s face, you got me? Otherwise,” Ernest puffed smoke. “I can deal with the last pockets of undead. And once the Alliance has some gear to keep the corruption out, things should start moving quicker.”

“Yeah, I just saw Mork and Gork as well. The armor is coming along nicely. It won’t completely block out corruption. But it’ll be enough to turn the tide in our favor.”

“Oh, it already is. Darius just doesn’t know it yet.”

Aaron said his goodbyes and headed over to the academy. He promised to settle their debts before leaving.

“That would be appreciated,” the headmaster said. “And if you ever want to train here again, you’re more than welcome.”

Aaron agreed to stop by and headed to collect his completed gauntlets.

Host-Bound Knife-Spiked Gauntlets of the Spectral Bloke [ Mythical - C-grade [ Adaptive ] ]

These magnificent gauntlets have been crafted of vampire iron and upgraded with Aethrodite. These gauntlets are at one with the person who provided their blood for their creation. At the heart of each gauntlet is a shining and shimmering white gem, known as shimmer stone, that works as a conduit for spiritual energy and has been greatly empowered by weaving its energy through high-quality Aethrodite. These alterations have enhanced the gauntlet’s ability to channel spectral energy as well as traditional energy types. The gauntlets are also lined with tungsten knives folded into Aethroite, and are capable of penetrating the hardest armors, hides, and naturally dealing soul damage.

[ Adaptive ] This Trait, when applied to an item, indicates that with proper care, attention, and resources, the item can continue to grow alongside its user.

Provides: Deals soul damage, Improved Aether Conductivity, +10000 AP, +50% Armor Piercing, chance to induce fear on hit, 5% Energy Leech on hit, and +500 physical attraction

“These are… damn, I can’t believe I ever doubted you. These are amazing. And direct soul damage? That sounds more than a little useful.”

“What? You’s doubted us?!” Mork huffed.

“And you proved me wrong. If only I had crafters as talented as you two amongst the goblins at my camp. Now that would be useful,” Aaron mused as he fitted the gauntlets on. “The look will take some getting used to. But with this much extra firepower, I can’t really complain.”

“You got goblins at your camp?” Gork raised a brow. “What kind? Any… breeders?”

“Are all goblins this perverted? No wonder you’ve got such a booming population. And I dunno. You’d probably get along with Sooty, though.”

“Sooty?” Gork straightened himself. “Is this lady—”

“Not a lady,” Aaron interrupted.

“Why you mention then?”

Aaron sighed. “Anyway, yes, there’s a few dozen goblins living amongst my camp. I seem to be attracting more of them by the minute.”

“Mork, talk time!” Gork waved his brother over, and the two of them huddled in the opposite corner of the room, whispering to each other.

“We’d like to come,” Mork announced.

“Yes, to Dober!”

“This had better not be about breeders.”

“No. Of course not. We’s just want to check it out. Been working so many hours. Need break. Dober sounds interesting!”

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Aaron groaned. They were obviously lying. On the other hand, having two extremely talented smiths in his camp would be a significant boon. And if he needed any more work done by them, he wouldn’t have to travel to visit them.

“Fine. But at least try to keep all your pervy shit to a minimum.”

The two goblins smiled and nodded.

Aaron had been a little worried about how he’d get the goblins back to Dober. He certainly wasn’t going to walk such a long distance. But apparently, they had a full-blown steampunk airship that they’d had built for them a little while back.

Aaron watched as they loaded up the airship. It was taking a while as they were essentially packing up their entire workshop. But the goblins had barely any Class levels, and wouldn’t have wasted Profession Skill slots on travel abilities, even if the System for whatever reason decided to offer one, and so there was little choice unless he wanted to carry them. And while Aaron could stuff a couple goblins under his arms, the workshop was a bit much, and they had already filled up several spatial storages with all kinds of materials.

That said, Aaron wasn’t complaining. He was kind of looking forward to lounging on a deck chair as they floated through the sky. And he had mana anchors he could train throughout the trip, so it wasn’t really a waste of time anyway.

Mork and Gork weren’t alone, either. There were about a dozen weaker goblins who worked there, including the shop assistant. The goblins rushed around, operating and packing the crude machinery.

Well, it could be worse. Though I’m certainly not excited to see what an accumulation of goblins around my camp is going to lead to…

Aaron just wanted to have a nice, peaceful farmstead, not that he had much time to enjoy it. And the crude, and perverted machinations of goblins didn’t suit his vision.

Why do I keep letting myself get dragged into this stuff?

He looked to the sky. As soon as they were done packing, they could get moving again.

The Last Great Beast King

Matted, golden locks draped down across the regal beast’s face as he sat upon his throne.

Ever since he could remember, he had been a king. The leader of the pride and king of the jungle, even before the Integration, the humanoids had shown him respect and marveled at his beauty.

And when the System came, none of that changed all too much. Beasts took over the dormant world, and he claimed his rightful spot at the top, challenged by only a handful.

During the early days, before he gained intelligence, he had thought that those changes would last. That a new chapter had turned. One that saw the beasts reclaim their world.

Then it all got turned upside down. The humanoids returned, bringing other strange species along with them. But kings do not bow, and he was no different.

He clung to his territory, and slaughtered any who would dare to challenge his reign. And that had worked all too well. But all good things came to an end eventually.

From his throne, he had watched as one great beast lord after another fell. As the humanoids endlessly expanded their territories. As their hunters and warriors used beasts to power their own ascension, getting stronger and stronger.

Their growth had been exponential, even before the dungeon, and he was not too arrogant to see the threat that they posed. Like a virus spreading across their world, if something wasn’t done soon, the outcome would be fatal.

And yet, that foolish ant had refused to work with him. Pure hubris had been its undoing. A belief that it could subjugate all, both beast and humanoid alike, and claim their world for itself.

And now it was dead.

He wished he could mock it. But no solace would come. He knew what he was up against, and laughing at fools gave him no comfort.

And for those reasons, he had declined the dungeon. After all, the beasts had already lost their edge, and their advantage. And he would have been outnumbered had he entered.

The golden king growled. It infuriated him so dearly. They had gained more levels on average, and were the stronger warriors. They should have been able to win. To conquer their world. But they hadn’t, and now any chance of undoing the mistakes of their past was quickly slipping past their grasp.

Even now, as a C-grade monarch amongst beasts, he could not be sure they stood a chance.

Could he beat the greatest humanoids should they fight one against one? Of course. He had all the confidence in himself. But so had the ant, and he was not so foolish as to follow in their footsteps.

The reality was, no matter how strong he had become, the humanoids had more top warriors. And his pride was short in number, and the other beasts were too paranoid to join his cause in numbers significant enough to make a difference.

Why did beasts have to be like that? Could they not see what would happen should the humanoids claim their world? They would return to their former status, seen as little more than mindless creatures to be slaughtered for food and levels.

The System was the great equalizer. An opportunity to turn everything on its head, and claim something better than subjugation.

And yet, most beasts seemed entirely oblivious to this obvious fact. Ready to be herded back into the same shameful existence they had endured before the Integration.

But not the king. He loathed such a thought. He loathed the condescending concept of being called a king whilst being kept in a cage for the humanoids to gawk at.

He wasn’t a pet, or a slave for that matter. He was a regal warrior, and soon he would show those arrogant humanoids the errors of their ways and teach them a lesson for thinking that they belonged at the top.

“Our time is fast approaching,” he muttered to himself as he watched the map markers.

It seemed that the same System that had given them a chance to turn society upside down, hadn’t yet entirely given up on them. For it had granted him a quest.

A quest to claim their world. And thanks to that quest, he could see the objective plainly on his map.

“The world core…”

The beast king’s lips curled up to expose his fangs. Thanks to his quest, he didn’t need to conquer all of the obelisks. He just needed that world core. However, he had to move with caution.

He had paid dearly for missives on his enemies, but thanks to that, he already knew that several humanoid champions were moving to claim the core for themselves. And he just had to pick the right moment to act.

It was a simple strategy. Divide and conquer. Have the humanoids fight each other, and then, once weakened, swoop in at the final minute to claim the prize.

If he played his cards right, then he could claim it all for himself and cement his and beastkind’s rule over this world.

All he had to do now was be patient and move his pieces into position. He would not end like that greedy ant, or the other foolish beast kings who could not see reason, and were now all dead.

“Soon, soon you shall all see the cunning that a beast is capable of,” he growled.

The king had one great advantage over the other fallen kings. He had always had strength, far more than the humanoids could ever dream of. And he had known how powerless he was despite it. It had given him insight, and it had taught him a powerful lesson.

Strength alone would win no thrones.