Buku smirked, looking at the five wide-eyed children staring at the sky in the sixth floor's arena.
"Miss Buku, you said we are going to the sixth floor, but why is there a sky?" Chloe said, pointing up.
"We are on the sixth floor of Nazarick. The sky is artificial. A good friend of mine made it." Buku said with a certain amount of reverence. The floor itself once was the pride and joy of a player named Blue Planet.
While the children stared at the blue sky above, a loud shout "Mom!" made them turn their heads. A moment later, a figure that moved so fast they could only see a light blur collided with Buku.
Once the dust settled, the children could see Buku holding a blonde elf child about their age. Another elf child ran up to her moments later, eagerly accepting Buku's embrace.
Buku let go of both of them and turned her attention to the five children. "This is my daughter Aura and my son Mare." She introduced both. While Mare was at least dressed in more boyish clothing Aura was in her usual white suit and Buku didn't want any misunderstandings.
Above all, it was crucial that all seven got along, especially considering the enormous difference in their power levels. "This is Kenya, Alice, Ryota, Chloe, and Gale. They are in my care now, so be nice to them, especially you, Aura."
"Mom!" the girl protested, puffing her cheeks in anger.
"I'm just saying you need to be careful to not hurt anyone while playing, that's all."
"Like a girl could hurt me." Keyna said, crossing his hands with a confident smirk.
"Looks like I just need to show it. Aura, how about you throw a ball at me?"
"Sure." Aura happily responded and quickly ran a distance away, taking a baseball out of her inventory.
Mare knowingly stepped away from his mother. Gale and Chloe looked at each other and then quickly dragged the rest of their friends some distance away.
"You better close your ears." Mare said in a timid voice.
"Why?" Kenya asked, still not understanding what the big deal was.
"The ball will break the sound barrier. It's very loud." Mare explained and covered his own ears. The boy's warning had the needed effect and everyone save for Kenya followed his example.
Aura smirked and threw the ball as hard as she could. Almost instantly, a loud boom reached Kenya's unprepared ears. Before he could cover them, the ball reached Buku's hand and another boom reached him, followed by a dust cloud.
"Told you." Mare said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"What just happened?" Gale asked with a cough as the dust settled.
"Here, throw the ball back at her, so both Aura and Mare know how careful they have to be." Buku tossed the ball into Gale's hands.
To say he felt enormous stage fright was an understatement. With slightly shaking hands, he threw the ball as hard as he could at the elven girl who caught it with a disappointed expression, damaging the boy's pride.
"Now I get it. Sure, mom, I will be careful." Aura said and ran up to her.
{ I hope both of you are okay with this? If you do not want to interact with them, I won't be angry. } Buku sent a message to both of her children.
{ I have no problems playing with them, even if they are humans. } Aura responded.
{ I'm fine with it. } Mare said.
With all children quickly finding common ground in playing games, Buku could start to work on the main problem.
{ Hey Momo, we are on the sixth floor. Did anyone find a solution for the children? }
{ Demiurge believes regular mana drain would keep their bodies stable for now, but without any testing, we didn't have anything to go off. }
{ I would prefer it if you do the mana drain. I hope you don't mind. Demiurge is… you know… not that he would do anything bad… but…} She really didn't want to admit that she was afraid Demiurge would do something bad in a misguided attempt at quickly solving the problem.
{ I understand. } Momonga said and appeared next to her.
Both Aura and Mare turned their heads instantly and ran up to him and bowed with big smiles on their faces, while the five children stared from a distance.
Buku motioned for the five to come closer. "Come, I will introduce you to my friend."
Since no one moved, Momonga walked towards them, taking slow and careful steps. Obviously, they would be afraid of his skeletal form. Buku walked past him to calm them down, but before she could reach them Kenya exclaimed. "He looks so freaking badass."
"Kenya, language!" Buku said in her deep tone.
"Sorry, teacher, I mean Miss Buku." the boy apologized.
"Hello, children. I hope you like our home?" Momonga said in a calm voice.
"It is awesome here mister Momonga, and we don't have to do school work!" Alice said, as Buku raised an eyebrow at her statement.
Momonga chuckled at his friend's frustrated expression.
"It's Lord Momonga!" Aura shouted at them.
"It is fine. Aura. They are guests." Momonga said.
"Sorry, Lord Momonga." Alice quickly corrected herself.
{ Aura, Mare. you can call me just Momonga as well if it's just us and Buku. }
To avoid an argument about honorifics, Buku quickly addressed the main issue. "Momonga will try to help you, but I need a brave volunteer who will be the first." She already knew who would take the burden. As predicted, Gale stepped forward with a gulp.
Momonga walked closer to him, made absolutely sure no negative passive effects were turned on, and then carefully touched the boy's head to analyze his body with the help of |Dark Sage|.
'It looks like a boiling kettle that would spill over any minute.' The magical energy raged within the boy, not finding any release. Carefully, Momonga activated the mana drain, quickly absorbing the excess magicules into his own body.
Gale took a deep breath and staggered a bit. The moment Momonga saw that boy's magicule reserves had dropped significantly, and the young body didn't feel like exploding any moment, he stopped the spell and just observed the results. By |Dark Sage's| estimate, the previous magicule level would be reached within a week.
'It's at least something.'
"Am I cured, sir, I mean, Lord?" Gale asked, sounding tired.
"I'm afraid not, but if we drain magicules regularly, you should be fine. We will look for a permanent solution, but meanwhile, you will not have to worry about dying."
"Thank you, Lord Momonga." Gale said.
Buku motioned for the next one to step forward. One by one Momonga drained their magicule reserves, stabilizing their bodies. What surprised both Momonga and Buku was how quickly each of them went back to being energetic and playing with the elven twins.
{ Any ideas? } Buku asked.
{ We can continue keeping their magicules in check, but other than that I have no ideas. Maybe Demiurge… }
{ No! I know the guy is smart, but his methods are not child-friendly. }
{ Huh, even if Ulbert was the one who created him, he would not do anything bad. }
Buku let out a sigh. { I know, but let's not involve him just yet. He might get too eager with experimentation. }
{ Sure. } Momonga replied. It was weird to be so indifferent about the lives of children and only care about what his friend wanted, but then again, even as a human, he was not that attached to the lives of strangers.
Seeing a dead child laying on the street was not that uncommon during his old life. He'd passed by dead and dying people on a daily basis. Being undead just amplified this apathy.
{ Momo, I wanted to ask a solid from you. } Buku shifted around nervously. { Can you connect them to |Nazarick|? }
'Should I? Everyone connected holds loyalty to Nazarick as a whole, but what if that is not the case with humans? I could do it as an experiment, but if something goes wrong, Buku will be so mad.'
{ Momo, do you think it is a bad idea? } she asked after not getting a response.
{ No, I guess I can connect them. } There always was the option to disconnect them after all.
Momonga quickly assigned each child |Friend of Nazarick|. At first glance, there was no difference in their behavior.
However, after both had watched the children play ball for a minute Buku remarked. "They got less stiff, both Aura and Mare, and the ones I brought here got friendlier with one another."
'They still look the same to me, but she would know better.' Momonga mused. At least he now could drain their magicules from a distance and keep them on a constant level, leaving the automatic process to |Dark Sage|.
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With the ogre fortress being the seat of his new empire, Gelmud had ordered the former council room to be redecorated to fit his needs as the sole ruler. With a casual stride, he walked into the throne room, followed by his right-hand man, Mundro.
A throne made out of wood and decorated with carvings and golden accents waited for him.
'If there is one thing those pigs are good at, it is crafting. An adequate seat for someone like me.' Gelmud quickly sat down, put his feet on the small cushion in front of the throne, and handed his walking stick to Mundro who took his place beside the throne.
"You can call the first one in." Gelmud said and leaned back into a casual position. It surely felt good to boss everyone around for once.
"As you command, my Lord."
A moment later, a gigantic orc walked in and dropped on one knee in front of Gelmud. "My lord, you called?"
"Yes. Report."
"The armor and weapon production is ahead of schedule now that my people are properly fed. The first army will be prepared within a month." Geld said.
"That is good news. Prepare the next set of clan leaders. I am ready to name the next ones."
"I will send for them immediately." Geld said. If nothing else, his new lord at least had the decency to give his people basic necessities. Geld was the one who had to plan all the details, but that was for the best. Lord Gelmud was not particularly interested in details as long as his ambitions could be realized. He knew one day they would march into war with the other species of the forest, but it was a better fate than starvation.
"You can leave." Gelmud said with a dismissive hand motion.
Once Geld left the throne room, Gelmud turned to Mundro. "Are the ogre forces prepared?"
"We are ready, my lord. If I may ask, what is your next step?"
"Expanding my empire of course. The forest of Jura will soon be mine." Gelmud said with glee in his voice.
"I apologize for my forwardness but I would advise caution. There are forces there that could pose a threat even to you."
"Haven't you sensed the power you have gained through me? With each one I name, all grow stronger! I didn't think an ogre could be such a coward."
"I did not mean to insult you, my lord, but both the dryads and Tempest are not easy targets." Mundro said with a deep bow.
Gelmud took off his hat and scratched his head. The ogre was right, caution was needed. Only a fool would ignore his advisors and blindly charge into the unknown territories.
"What do you know about them?"
"From what those few who encountered Tempest forces said they have majins strong enough to kill ogres instantly. As for the dryads. They are few in number, but each is powerful and they are the guardians of the forest. Sooner or later they could come and talk with you."
"For now we will not touch Tempest. Send spies to see what is happening around their borders. As for dryads, prepare a few thousand soldiers. We will overwhelm them with numbers and force them to ally with me!"
"A wise plan my Lord. Should I pick a named ogre to lead the subjugation of the dryads, or do you prefer to get directly involved?"
"Give the leader's position to Gurda. I will prepare observation crystals to watch from here. I do not need to lower myself to be on the battlefield, do I?"
"Of course not. Some of your great wisdom was granted to us when you generously bestowed names upon us. I have no doubt Gurda will carry out your will just as you intended."
He knew his servant was appealing to his pride but either way, he wasn't opposed to flattery. With a satisfied chuckle, he replied.
"Now you are getting it. The Jura Forest will be mine soon enough, and you as my second in command will reach power you had not dreamt of possessing."
'With each named monster I grow in power. Once Jura is mine I'm coming for your head Clayman, and you will regret dismissing me!'
Edited by Edgy
Proofreading by placid_void, I AM THE STRING CUTTER, and kamijazz