"Heal!"
And like many times before, I watch with fascination as Jessica's mana flows through her body, quickly entering her hands. But it is when it gets to her hands does the spell which she is about to release change. The spell, though complicated on its own, starts to form and shift, changing the already extensive matrix to something similar to my own spell, [Raise Undead].
Which is another way of saying that the spell is too complicated for me to even think about reproducing on my own.
Yup, as much as I hate to admit it, the way the mana works in this world is several times more complicated than the other worlds I have been summoned to. Most of those worlds allowed me to just use my imagination and understanding of physics to use and create magic.
But here, everything is pretty much a program, similar to a computer one. When people cast a spell, they create something I have termed a 'spell matrix'. A spell matrix is pretty much a program that is made of mana and uses mana to make things happen. Simple enough, right? So with my experience and understanding, it should have been a breeze to figure out the coding.
But there is a big problem. The coding is massive and extremely complicated, making it close to impossible for me to get a good understanding of a spell that's not my own. And even then, my own spells are so complicated that they confuse even myself at times, making learning them a very slow and agonizing process.
"Ughhhh."
I blink, stopping my mental train of thought as my eyes turn to Thorous, her back to a log, watching the purplish wound on her side start to recede, a groan escaping her lips.
She was lucky, extraordinarily lucky that the wound didn't puncture organs or sever arteries. Instead, it broke quite a few ribs. The fight, at least from what I had gotten from Tessa, was apparently utterly amazing. Thorous had danced around the minotaur [Chieftain], slowly bleeding him to death.
Which is surprising, because that style of combat was literally created to kill slowly. Dancing is merely the best way to teach someone the proper footing, a technique that utilizes the environment around them to move. The fact that she actually danced is something which confuses me to no end.
"Done," exclaims Jessica as her hands stop glowing, the healing completed.
Thorous sits up slowly, feeling her smooth side and missing scales.
"Will your scales grow back?" Jessica asks.
Thorous smiles, "They will, but it will take some time."
I wonder why Zorren's scales aren't growing back...
"Commander," Thorous says, her hand moving to her forehead, saluting me professionally.
I stand up, getting off a log I am sitting on, "At ease. Give me an update on the situation since I had been away."
Her hand moves away from her forehead, "Several minotaurs had been spotted coming from the forest, including a leader which was a level 43 [Chieftain]. I had used the 'Spartan Phalanx' formation that you have trained the [Soldiers] in, but the minotaurs seemed to not have wanted to attack. The [Chieftain] had requested to see the leader of our kind. Since you were absent, I figured that would be me."
"So you went and confronted him?" I ask.
She nods, "I did and stated that I was the one currently in charge."
"And let me guess, he laughed."
Thorous tail stops swishing, her eyes widen, "He did. I'm guessing they told you?"
I shake my head, "Nope, Just a guess. It's something I would expect from them considering their culture and low intelligence. The leader probably didn't believe that you were that strong considering your size compared to him."
Thorous pauses, tasting the air before continuing her story.
"After he laughed, the [Chieftain] stated that my people were his."
"And then you attacked."
"Yes, I attacked. I figured I could quickly take his head off before his tribe could join in… but I failed. His body was very resistant to my blades. I was barely able to even make a cut."
She frowns, turning towards her swords laying on the ground, no longer sharp.
"He got angry and attacked me. I fought him and only won once I started dancing. After I won, the other minotaurs started cheering and calling me [Chieftain]."
*Chuckle*
"So now they think you are their new [Chieftain]?"
She shakes her head, her scales turning a lighter shade of red, "I told them that I was the mate of the [Chieftain]."
...well, I didn't expect that...
"I see. Hmmm. So they will listen to me and take my orders?"
She nods, her tail whipping side to side quickly.
"The entire 'Hard Rock' tribe is yours. All two hundred of them."
Oh shit!
"Damn, this is very bad. Very very bad."
"Isn't this what you want? A big army?" Jessica voices from Thorous' side, confused.
I look at her, "That's fine and all, but two hundred minotaurs are going to take up a lot of space… we're going to need to get bigger walls… and a lot more walls."
Fuck. how did I not expect this?
I turn to the blushing Gajen, "Did you save the [Chieftain]'s corpse?"
She nods, "Yes, it is with all of the other dead bodies."
Good. I can do this.
I take a deep breath, looking towards the glowing crystal which mimics a sun.
I should have maybe six hours of light left. Hopefully, that will be enough time.
"Here's the plan. I'm going to go and pick up the rest of that tribe I just obtained. In the meantime, I want you to get even more wood cut down. Use the minotaurs for the larger trees. Tell Marcia to expand the wall. If all goes well, I should return with more workers. Try not to get anyone killed in the meantime."
"Yes commander," she exclaims, saluting.
I turn towards the location of the corpses, gesturing for Jessica to follow.
I start heading towards the corpses but stop.
"Oh, and the sooner we finish building the walls, the sooner we can start building homes," I say aloud
I turn my head, my eyes making contact with the blushing Gejan.
"I prefer to do my duties as a mate in privacy."
I stop looking and continue forward, towards the corpses, a blushing human following beside me, having heard my words.
________________
Finding my way to the large pile of corpses, I find a rather interesting sight next to it.
"You weak. You die. Groknak strong. Father weak. You say I weak. No. You weak. You die."
Groknak is kicking the [Chieftain]'s corpse while yelling and insulting it… or at least trying to.
I activate my [Advanced Analyze] skill on the corpse.
Dorkoon
Level 43 [Chieftain]
Dorkoon is the former chieftain of tribe HARD ROCK. Having noticed smoke rising into the sky the night before, thinking that it was another tribe of minotaur's like his own, he had taken his best warriors the next morning with the intention of fighting the [Chieftain] and taking the tribe.
What he found was a completely different species to his own. A species of lizard people known as the Gejan.
But Dorkoon had told his mates, before leaving, that he will come back with a new tribe. Thus, to not disappoint his mates, he had attempted to subjugate the Gejan.
But the Gejan had sent out their strongest, a female by the name of Thorous. After a long and grueling battle, she had ended Dorkoon's life and had taken his [Warriors] as her own.
Strength
147
Dexterity
28
Stamina
105
Perception
17
Endurance
61
Vitality
95
Mana
61
M/regen
.1
Affinity
0
Intelligence
6
Willpower
190
Soul
160
Minotaur's might: Increase strength by class level. Increase Endurance by half class level.
I never actually noticed this, but when I [Advanced Analyze] a sentient corpse, I get a lot of information, even a story about the person's death… I should have used this ability on the mage corpses I had killed. It would have been interesting to see into their backstories.
"Is he ok? I think that was his father," Jessica points, watching Groknak kick his father's dead body.
I grunt.
"Seems like it. I believe minotaur culture is based on strength, where leadership is chosen through combat. From what I can understand, Groknak tried to fight his father to become the tribe's leader but failed miserably. He probably failed so badly that he was even kicked out of the tribe, which is why we found him alone."
Jessica nods to my explanation, still staring at the corpse.
"Jessica, want to see something funny?"
She turns to me and lifts an eyebrow.
I don't wait for her to answer and instead extend my hand, pointing at the corpse.
[Raise Undead]
My mana released from my hand, traveling the distance quickly and entering Dorkoon's body, its eyes starting to glow a slight purple.
To my slight surprise, I find that the mana cost was quite negligible considering my level of [Necromancer] is 49 now, having gained a level from my earlier fight today.
Which is only a surprise because I have been focused on reanimating undead far above my level.
With a mental command, my undead lashes out, grabbing Groknak by the leg, stopping the kick.
Groknak's eyes widen as his father's glowing purple eyes turn to his son.
And then Groknak screams in utter fear, jumping away from his father's grip and running the opposite direction. Unfortunately, bipedal hoofed feet are not very good for sprinting.
Groknak trips and falls, his face slamming into the stone floor with a loud thud.
Frantically, Groknak stands up and looks back, noticing me and Jessica laughing our asses off. She's on the ground, holding her stomach, unable to stand while I am laughing loudly, pointing at my undead, ordering him to wave towards his son.
________________
"You know Quasi, I have to admit it, I never thought I would find myself in this situation."
He looks at me, raising an eyebrow, "You never expected to find yourself walking towards a tribe of minotaur inside a forest that is inside a dungeon?"
"Um…"
"Or is it you never expected yourself to be walking alongside a minotaur and his undead father?"
"Ahhh..."
His smile widens, "or maybe you never expected yourself to be walking next to a [Hero] [Necromancer] who plans on ruling the world alongside swarms of horny monster women."
I giggle and shake my head.
Idiot
"Everything," I say, smiling. "I never expected that I would do anything grand. I always thought that I would just be another person lost in history. That I wouldn't do anything truly amazing. I thought I would die as a simple [Priestess]."
I extend my hands, pointing around me, at the trees, plants, insects, everything.
"But now, I feel like I actually have a purpose. That I am finally doing something grand in my life. That I can help accomplish something amazing."
He lifts an eyebrow, "You know I plan to wage war against the whole world, right?"
I shrug my shoulders, "Wars always happen. It is unavoidable. But I believe a war led by a [Hero] will have a much better ending than one without." I say, giving him a smile.
He shakes his head, a smile forming on his face as he looks to his side, "What do you think Groknak, do you think I can rule the world?"
The minotaur turns away from staring at his undead father, his eyes meeting Quasi's.
"What…" moments pass and he looks at Quasi with a blank look, expecting something.
*Sigh* Quasi looks away from the minotaur and turns to me, "Your dream of me leading an unstoppable army is going to need a lot of work."
*giggle*
"You'll make it work. You're a [Hero] after all."
He chuckles and goes silent.
"We're very close." he whispers with a smile.
______________
The home of the Hard Rock tribe is situated, quite literally, next to a dungeon stone, a stone designed and enhanced by both the dungeon and the system to be extremely resilient. Which is how the tribe gets its name. A minotaur had attempted to destroy the rock but had found it very very hard. So he named his tribe after something he cannot defeat.
And to Quasi, the realization that the tribe was named literally after a rock, was actually quite funny. Funny enough for him to laugh and attract the attention of the tribe he had so very easily walked into the direct center of.
Which is another surprise to him, because the tribe's home is actually very well placed and organized around the dungeon stone. Apparently, from what he can see, the dungeon stone, which is twenty feet high and fifteen meters wide, doesn't allow any vegetation to grow around it, making the land seemingly desolate. Or it would be if that land wasn't covered in makeshift huts and homes.
Hearing Quasi's laughter, a young minotaur exits a hut, his eyes landing on Quasi, and then on the [Chieftain]. Which is then followed by screaming and yelling.
"CHIEFTAIN BACK. CHIEFTAIN BACK."
Immediately the yelling starts to get louder as the rest of the tribe starts to join in, yelling and exiting the huts and homes. It is here that Quasi gets his first view of a minotaur female, and it is quite ugly. The females, though slightly shorter than the males and lacking horns, are just as hairy as the males. But the most defining feature that Quasi realizes that they are females are the massive breasts.
Breasts which are uncovered, have little hair, huge nipples, and swing while they walk.
One such female, slightly bigger than the others, with a noticeable bulge in her stomach, walks forward, her smile fading as she gets a proper view of the [Chieftain].
She is now fully frowning. Her gaze moves from the [Chieftain], turning towards Groknak, "How is the [Chieftain] moving but dead?" she asks, her tone similar to a mother scolding a child.
Groknak's eyes widen, his ears flatten to his face as he speaks.
"Mum, he die."
She growls, causing Groknak to step away, "I know he is dead Groknak. I want to know how he still moves!"
Groknak's eyes widen as he flicks his hand towards Quasi, who has been standing alongside Jessica snickering the entire time.
Her eyes follow Groknak's hand, finally settling on the two humans which she had initially missed.
"A pleasure, Gilda. It is rather nice to know that the females of the minotaur species are actually quite smart."
Gilda ignores the fact that her name was called as well as his comment, instead, she focuses on the human.
"You are not a minotaur," she voices aloud.
"What are you?" she asks right after, her voice gaining an edge to it, a sharp edge which promises violence.
Quasi steps forward, his posture confident, perfect, eyes seemingly glowing a deep purple as his hand goes to his waist before he bends forward.
"I am Quasi Eludo, a master of death."
At his words, several of his flying minions land upon the trees, their eyes glowing an unearthly purple as they look down.
All eyes quickly move up, looking at the trees and the monsters now sitting atop them. All of the minotaurs look up, both young and female, murmurs of 'death' rising out of their mouths, but Gilda gives them a passing look, her hands turning into knuckles as she bares her teeth.
"Why have you come here?" she asks with a slight bit of fear, which is quickly starting to change into anger.
Quasi lifts his arm with a cocky grin on his face and activates his [Loud Voice] skill.
His middle finger and thumb flick one another.
To most, the [Loud Voice] skill is used to increase the sound of speech, but in actuality, the skill is designed to increase any form of sound the user desires.
So that flick of his thumb was the equivalent of a gunshot.
Every minotaur's eyes turn to Quasi, their ears lifting up, but those eyes turn to the [Chieftain], who falls forward and smacks the ground.
"My tribe has defeated your [Chieftain] in combat. And as is my right, you are all mine," he says confidently, mana moving through his body, ready to call up his bone discs floating above the trees, and ready to make a demonstration of anyone who refuses.
Of course, his expectations seem to be completely off as usual.
Gilda's eyes quickly relax, her posture changes back to normal as a smile forms on her cowlike face.
"We accept. You are now our new [Chieftain]," she says, nodding happily.
__________
Oh, come on. What the fuck is wrong with this dungeon! You're not supposed to just accept me like that.
"That's it? I'm the leader?"
"Yes, you are stronger than Dorkoon, thus we will follow you," she explains, apparently speaking for her entire tribe.
I activate [Advanced Analyze], just to make sure.
Gilda
Level 53 [Matriarch]
Gilda, a very old minotaur, was the former mate of [Chieftain] Dorkoon. But now, with her mate dead, and her mateless, the tribe's leadership falls onto her shoulders.
Strength
84
Dexterity
21
Stamina
92
Perception
11
Endurance
36
Vitality
153
Mana
160
M/regen
.2
Affinity
1
Intelligence
13
Willpower
270
Soul
305
Minor minotaur's might: Increase Strength by 1/2 class level. Increase Vitality by half class level.
Matriarch: This entity has reproduction speed increased by 800%
Ohhhh, so that's why Groknak told me that I will need to speak with his mother Gilda… his mother birthed the whole fucking tribe!
I take a look around and spam my [Advanced Analyze] skill, finding that the women are actually smarter than the men, but I quickly notice that there aren't any combat classes… and very few males other than children. Which can only mean that they are out hunting.
"So, since I have defeated Dorkoon, the tribe will listen to me?" I ask, just to make sure.
"Yes," she explains, taking a step forward. She pauses and sniffs. Her eyes squint at me, confused.
She tilts her head and asks a question which causes Jessica to drop down laughing.
"You want to mate with me now?"