You know, it's funny really. My life that is. At least for me.
See, I have lived several different lives, all through being summoned by gods from earth. The exact number is 28, though I guess it's 29 now. Anyhow, I think it started after my 17th summon that I started getting… well, bored with the summons.
I mean, don't get me wrong, they are fun and I do meet interesting people still, but by then I have lived over 6 thousand total years. Eventually, you gain so much life experience that many things don't surprise you anymore.
Magic, monsters, gods, eventually it all becomes very… predictable. It all meshes together.
But, and a big but, I can safely say that this summoning is utterly amazing. A world modeled after a gaming system… or is our gaming systems modeled after this world?
Which, surprisingly, is a possibility considering there is so much mythology of monsters and gods that are actually present in this world that is also present on earth.
Makes you really wonder what the connection is.
But enough about that, it's this world that is so much more interesting. Gaining classes, levels, diving into an actual dungeon, and that type of stuff.
I mean come on! It's such a new experience. And my situation right now, well, it's funny when you think about it, especially as I hadn't expected to be in this situation.
I straighten my legs over my mount, relaxing to the sound of my monsters wing beats.
Yup, I'm flying on a monster. But not just any monster, instead it is a giant bat-like undead with glowing purple eyes, all escorted by another thirty of them. But that's not the weirdest part.
I lean over, looking down.
And on the bottom, I have an army of giant lizard people walking in an organized march.
Granted, 300 ish is not that big of an army really, but that's merely the start. I'll need much more, especially since my task of destroying the world will require a truly formidable force.
Luckily, I'm currently in an extremely dangerous dungeon heading deeper into an even more dangerous part of the dungeon. A perfect place to raise an army and get stronger.
And at just this moment, the entrance to the next level of the dungeon finally comes into view.
It's a small hole in the wall going down, a hole that I so fervently wish was bigger. Many a night I have lost sleep because of its small size. I have even been forced to dismantle a new friend I had created for this very reason… It was a terrible time indeed.
But that's the thing about life. It may offer you lemons, but those lemons could be the size of minivans with poisonous internal acid spraying from its orifices...
"What kind of fucking analogy am I thinking off." I say to no one in particular, scratching the side of my neck.
"Uhhg, whatever. Damn you Anathema and your voluptuous ass… and surprising stamina."
I wish I slept more. Damn woman can last forever… and that ass, I never knew scales can feel so smooth.
"Nothing I can do now," I say, getting up, mentally ordering my mount to land me next to the entrance.
____________
"Alright, here's the plan," Quasi starts, standing before everyone as the commander, "Me and Zorren," he points at himself and then at a large lizard man with a missing tail, several scars, and an unmoving arm, "will be heading down first," he then points at me, "while Jessica here will be following behind with my minions."
I move my head, looking at Mule, a very useful and loyal undead which dwarfs my size by almost two feet, and then I look at the others, 30 giant bat-like undead monsters Quasi had beaten down, killed, and raised into his undead minions.
"And you all will come after with your squads," he says, waving at the organized line of [Soldiers] standing behind the [Lieutenant]s.
At his orders, five of the Gejan Leaders salute, their hands moving to their forehead before moving away.
Quasi turns around, gives me a quick smile and starts heading down into the tunnel with Zorren.
I quickly follow behind, all the undead immediately start to follow me, the giant bat-like undead called Desbats barely able to fit through, even with their wings folded.
As I walk down the long tunnel I order mule to stay closer to me, allowing the glowing fungi on his body to light the way before me. As the only person with a lack of night vision seeing anything more than ten feet is close to impossible.
Though, surprisingly, it doesn't take longer than maybe a couple hours before the light becomes unneeded. The exit to the tunnel can be seen, and from it, bright light is pouring through, a confusing sight considering we are actually deep inside a cave.
As I follow Quasi through the opening, my eyes quickly water as they attempt to adjust to the unbelievably bright scenery before me.
__________
"Holy fucking hell, it's a jungle… in a goddam cave."
Trees. Massive trees can be seen for miles… several hundred miles considering I can barely see the other end of the dungeon.
Because, we are actually still in a dungeon, mostly due to the fact that there is no sky, instead there is a rock ceiling… possibly a hundred miles up.
The place is an absurdly massive dome, and at the center, hanging from the ceiling is a massive glowing crystal, bursting with a warm light that strikes my skin.
And don't get me started on the fact that it's exceptionally humid. I got pretty comfortable with the constant cave temperature, but this is going to really change things.
I turn to Zorren, who is looking forward, blinking rapidly as his eyes attempt to adjust.
"Why didn't you tell me this next part of the dungeon is a literal jungle? I could have prepared better!"
Zorren, moves his head to me, away from the light shining on his cracked scales.
"You never asked," he says, his tone bored and relaxed.
At this point, I can't really blame him. I was under the impression everything was going to be very… cave-like as I got deeper with just minimal changes to the fauna. And my arrogance kept me from asking…
"Fuck," I say, moving forward, giving more space for the others to come through.
The bright side at the very least is that the entrance to this floor is actually a pretty large clearing of stone and the jungle is about a mile away, which means I can make a base of operations.
I look towards the Gejan as they enter the floor, their eyes moving quickly in wonder, pointing at everything as though they have never seen it before.
And now that I think about it, only Zorren and probably Anathema have even left the first floor.
Well, I guess it would be best to let everyone get a feel for the area first. In the meantime, I can scout.
With a mental command, I order twenty of my Desbat undead to take flight, the magic coursing through them allowing them to see without actually needing eyes, which I think they would be utterly blind without.
And with my skill, I can see through their eyes as my undead flies over the treetops, looking down.
And what I see puts a smile to my face, something to most people would actually be a frown.
Huge dinosaur-like monsters, similar to raptors are running around, hunting an even larger more dangerous-seeming prey. The Raptors quickly run, surrounding it while my Desbat floats in the air, giving me a good view.
The massive beast, something similar to a bull except with spikes of bones jutting out of the sides of its body, raises its tail, a massive ball being at the end. A ball which, in less than a second, has spikes burst out, turning into a spiked ball.
The beast roars, its eyes looking around, seemingly waiting for the raptor-like monsters to make the first move.
And that they did, quickly rushing forward in perfect timing. They accelerate, all of about twenty raptors as they rush the larger monster, who flicks its tail towards an incoming raptor, which fails as the raptors dodge by jumping back, their speed far superior. But the others did not, they jump, landing atop the big monsters back, scratching and biting, opening up skin and flesh.
But some of the raptors were not so lucky, having been impaled by the spikes due to the monsters erratic movement. But it seems their mobility and sheer numbers make up for their smaller size as they quickly mount the beast, uprooting its skin. The beast seems to not be able to protect its back, nor does it seem it is able to roll over due to the spikes sticking out from its side. A couple of minutes pass before the massive beast falls, covered in its own blood while the living raptors swarm for their meal.
Three raptors died for killing one monster, something that I would find rare In the animal kingdom, but it could just mean that the raptors reproduce quickly and efficiently.
Coming back to myself, I find that the Leaders are staring at me, waiting for orders. Apparently, I had been watching that fight for much longer than I thought.
I scratch, my head, calling back my scouts, finding that only seventeen answer back… three had died without me even knowing.
Crud.
I turn to Zorren.
"So, where are we headed? What is our destination? Where is the entrance to the third floor?"
Zorren's good arm moves up, pointing far into the distance, the opposite of where we are. "It is at the other end of this floor."
I look and squint.
"Oh… that's nice. So its located hundreds of mile away through a killer jungle… this just gets better and better." I rub my head, failing to hide a smile, secretly enjoying the challenge.
"Well, the first order of business is to make a base of operation."
I turn to the upper ranks of my army. Four [Lieutenant]s and a [Quartermaster], all who had gained over twenty levels in the [Soldier] class and had been found to be good leaders.
Four of which are women… while the last one, one of the largest Gejan, a [Gejan Guard], looks to me respectfully, the same one which I had beaten down in front of his peers. Funny how their culture works. Apparently, strength is respected, while overwhelming strength is worshiped.
Or in the sense of female Gejan, sexually attractive. Which is why I find that the females of my army can't seem to keep their eyes off of me. Some even seemingly breathing hard just from staring at me.
It doesn't help that I have an abnormally huge libido and find the females very attractive. Yup, humanoid lizard females with scales covering most of their skin is actually quite sexy. Especially the tail, that is just a huge plus.
"What we need is a place to rest. So I want Darrow's team," I point at the male Gejan [Lieutenant], "to head towards the forest and start cutting down trees and bringing them here." I explain getting a nod from the guy.
Darrow is the de facto leader of what I call the heavy Infantry, all of which are [Gejan Guards] holding massive shields and weapons with skills that allow the improvement of their defenses.
I turn to the next person in line, Tessa, the de facto princess of the group. I had boned her about three times. Twice alone and once with her mother Anathema. She is extremely perverted, possibly more than her mother. Luckily, she is also quite capable, which is why she is the leader of my scouts, comprising of classes that can move fast and silently with abilities focused on evasion. Granted, the fact she is now a level 51 [Scout] herself helps quite a bit.
"Tessa, take your team and traverse the forest. Your job will be to warn the others if any threats are incoming. I don't want any surprises."
She nods in reply and I then turn to the next [Lieutenant], and probably the third most powerful individual in this whole group. "Thorous, I want you and your group to be close to Darrow's team so that you can support them if they need the help."
She nods as well, her tongue flicking out, tasting the air while her eyes are focused on my crotch.
Thorous' group is comprised of my hitters. Of classes whose main job it is to fight. In essence, she has a lot of [Warriors], [Bruisers], [Fist fighters], and various other classes focused on combat.
Moving from her, I stop and look at a rather tall female Gejan, a woman who, to my surprise, did not gain the [Lieutenant] class. She instead gained the [Quartermaster] class, which, combined with her [Organizer] class, allowed me to quite easily place her in charge of the non-combat personnel like the [Skinners], [Carvers], [Crafters], [Builders], etc.
"Marcia, I'll teach you and your people how to work with wood. It shouldn't take long and I'm sure we will have what looks like a base built very quickly." she smiles and nods respectfully to me, "I will prepare," she says, moving towards the back of my army, her waist swishing side to side as I stare fiercely at her long legs and probably firm ass.
Stupid… Fuckin'… Libido!
Finally, after a long and arduous struggle with my eyes, I turn to the last member of my leaders, a very short Gejan female with crystal white scales. Very cute and rather attractive, she leads the smallest group. A group comprised of Gejan who have a very unique repertoire of skills. For example, Lilly here is seemingly a rather normal Gejan, albeit extremely short. But when I activate my [Advanced Analyse] skill, then it reveals that things are actually quite different.
Lilly
Level 71 [Breaker]
Level 27 [Lieutenant]
The smallest of the Gejada, Lilly is found to be both a great worker and loyal individual. Unfortunately, her short stature had made it impossible for her to attract the eye of any male.
Strength
65
Dexterity
21
Stamina
68
Perception
31
Endurance
18
Vitality
357
Mana
50
M/regen
0.5
Affinity
0
Intelligence
41
Willpower
193
Soul
120
Major Strength Bloodline: This individual gains three times as much strength per class bonus.
Restricted Growth Bloodline: This individual cannot grow any larger. Vitality is significantly increased.
Compressed Muscles: Due to [Restricted Growth], weight is increased significantly.
As you can see, Lilly is a very confusing and interesting individual who was born with a curious status effect. Talking to Jessica, I found out that bloodlines aren't that uncommon. That certain clans or people will cultivate them.
Unfortunately, the fact that nobody else shares her bloodline, while some people in her team have completely different ones is extremely confusing and doesn't make sense to her.
Regardless, her bloodline makes her a very powerful individual, especially considering she carries a giant bone whip on her back.
"Lilly, I want you and your team to stand by. Your team will stay here and protect Marcia if a threat somehow finds itself past."
She tilts her head but ultimately nods. Her group is unfortunately not very good at working with the other teams.
I take a deep breath and clap my hands, "Get going and try not to get crushed by falling trees."
At once, the group move and I quickly find myself alone with Jessica and Zorren, who just stands silent, deep in thought as he stares into the abundant greenery.
______________________
The whole situation to Jessica just seems so... surreal. Never in her life did she expect to find herself serving a [Hero], let alone in a dungeon that does not act like a dungeon at all. Never would she expect a massive forest in a dungeon. The sight is both surreal and… exhilarating. She probably would actually be scared of the whole situation, of monsters that can kill her easily.
But these several weeks have hardened her. She had adapted quickly, something she has always done very well. Whether it be becoming a [Priestess], watching [Soldier]s die in her arms, or even living a slave's life. She had learned and quickly adapted.
Which is why, when a monstrous caw is heard in the distance, she all but barely flinches, watching as a massive bird flies over the tree, heading towards the slowly building camp.
Massive sums up the bird in one word, probably twice the size of a Desbat, glides over the trees before quickly turning around in panic as an army of Desbats launch from the trees, intercepting and ramming the monstrous beast, latching onto it and shredding feathers.
Screams of pain are heard from the forest before quickly being silenced as the monster's corpse is lifted into the air by the Desbats and carried to camp, its eye having been gouged out.
She turns to her [Hero], who looks at the approaching corpse and licks his lips before turning and yelling for a 'Fire', his hands waving amicably as the Gejan give him a confused look.
Chuckling, she remembers that the Gejan have no need for fire, nor do they have a fire source. So it is not surprising that they have little to no idea what fire actually is.
Which is a problem for her and Quasi. Neither can eat meat without cooking it first. Which is also why Quasi chose today to head towards the next level of the dungeon.
We had run out of salted meat the day before. It was either continue on or starve to death.
A smile crosses Jessica's lips as she listens to Quasi attempting to explain fire, telling them it's hot and it can burn.
And then a blush crosses her face as he explains the concept of hot as a women's pussy.
Idiot!
Sighing out loud, Jessica shakes her head and position's her body towards the light, allowing the warmth to touch her exposed skin. It had been a while since she had been able to open her robe, forced to have it constantly on due to the rather chilling air of the floor before.
Eventually, moments start to pass by, the warm light caressing her skin, soothing her, allowing sleep to quickly take its hold.