~ Chapter 8: A slight suspicion ~
[Tuberculus’ point of view]
Two weeks had passed since I discovered those suspicious ornaks and heard of the name Azur’Kar. I have had plenty of chances to explore around the ornak settlement, and as Yandrea’s husband, as long as these monsters were bound to her through a summon or a spell, I had nothing to worry about. According to my knowledge as a former teacher and expert on Dungeons, I knew that there was a definite difference between a spouse contract and a slave one. The latter was limited to both the area of action and interaction with the Dungeon’s traps and monsters, while the first was the equivalent of having the actual Dungeon Core there. A spouse could move with unlimited freedom and no trap or monster would act out against them unless the Dungeon himself or herself wanted to.
I tried out this limited control by ordering a random automaton to do a specific action; to draw something on the ground. They followed my order to the letter and then they acted as if they did not know what happened to them.
Automatons were neither monsters nor traps, they were something in between. At least, according to my observations so far.
While it would have been fun to abuse this newfound ability of mine... unfortunately, I had no delicious targets around. The ornak females were not exactly attractive to me, as for the ellyarian ones, not even close. I missed the moments when I could sneak around and gaze through the bathroom window of the academy at the well-developed students. They were all adults, so it was alright! Maybe? Probably not... Anyway, if I were to have spied on them with my current face and body, I probably would have received less buckets thrown at me once they found me, as for the punishment by being tied upside down from the second floor, it would have been lessened to a mere two hours or less!
As unfortunate as this was, I did, however, discover something… well, interesting.
Azur’Kar was apparently the leader of an underground rebellion who wanted to change the rules and laws made by my wife Yandrea. Well, I could honestly understand where he was coming from with his arguments in regard to having the right to choose your own job and mate, but considering the environment and everything else, having a Dungeon capable of looking at your information in detail and knowing where you excel in and what you are bad in can be of great help. I looked into these ‘unfair’ situations, but from my point of view, I only saw a balanced society that could even self-sustain itself properly.
Actually, this was the weird part. There was balance and everyone literally received everything they wanted according to their own strengths and weaknesses. It was closer to a meritocratic system than a tyranny, but even so there were those who voiced out their opinions on wanting more, or rather they wanted to be the ones who controlled and choose everything for everyone else. These thoughts and ideas they were speaking out were normal in a free country, but this was a Dungeon. If they wanted to go by them, then they had to make sure that security and safety of the land was assured. With their numbers and strength, I doubted it could be done. While they were powerful intelligent monsters, this did not mean that Yandrea was left without cards to play.
During the last two weeks, I worked hard on making a map of this entire floor. It was huge, enormous actually. It was big enough to fit a small country and made my own Fellyore Magic Academy look like a laughable small farm on the border. It was 100km by 100km with 1km in height. The ceiling was lit up by a powerful magic crystal that acted as a sun. Yandrea’s Crystal Body was located at the top of a pyramid located in the very center of this place, which was surrounded by a 60 meters wide moat. Initially, I thought it was a lake, but I was very wrong. Four bridges activated by hidden power crystals allowed for a safe crossing. Dropping in the moat was NOT recommended. While there were some top surface creatures that lurked in plain sight, there were hidden dangers underneath it. When I asked Yandrea about them, she told me that the moat is a little over 40 meters in depth with dangerous underwater snakes and ambush monsters that will not attack if you get close to the moat or even dip your feet in the water, but which will strike if you leave the shore by falling in. The water is clear and the monsters are hidden, so it is inviting for wary adventurers to relax and take a dip before proceeding further.
It was an ingenious trap if I had to say so myself, but I felt like she was lacking when compared to what Illsyore conceived in his “Beginner” dungeon. I mean, seriously? Lava on the first floor? What sort of maniac would even do that?!
Anyway, there were three big civilizations living on this floor: the Automatons, the Ornaks, and the Ellyarian, each of them placed in a corner of the map with a suitable environment for them. The territory of the Automatons made the transition between the two, being the only one covered in metal plates and gave off a more technological field, while the Ornaks were prospering in a mountainous area and the Ellyarian in an arid desert location with many pools of lava nearby. All of them also had a specific way to contribute to the growth of the dungeon. Thus, the Automatons made weapons and armor as well as built contraptions of various uses; the Ornaks were in charge of spiritual items as well as bone and leather items; leaving the Ellyarian with making jewelry and magic items. All of the things they made were then used to increase their own strength and as a lure for the adventurers on the floors above. In the corner where there was no village, buildings that resembled barracks and temples were built. It was the strangest part of the floor, which I had not found a meaning for even now except that it might have been a simple whim or hobby of Yandrea.
The most interesting thing I found about this floor was that between the villages, while there were a lot of vast forest, woods, or fields for farming, there were no dangerous monsters, only critters and animals that could be found on the surface and were often used as farm animals. The entire floor was surprisingly well balanced in a way that allowed all the different species here to both prosper and develop. They were not missing anything. They had land to build and farm upon, they had animals to raise and hunt, they had a good infrastructure the like of which a city lord would have paid a good coin to have built in their own cities. Everything was done in a meticulous way that made me think that Yandrea had extensive experience in how other sapient civilizations developed and lived, similar to how Illsyore knew how to build complex machinery unlike I had ever seen before or apply strange new theories to the known magic theories.
From what I spoke with Nanya about Illsyore, I assumed that this sort of knowledge might be readily available to any new Dungeon that appeared in the world, although how they were born still remained a mystery to me.
“Ah! The elf with rounded ears!” called out Bartung, an ornak craftsman who was kind enough to show me around his workshop three weeks back.
“I am called a human being not an elf or a hairless monkey or a pale bottom Merion, thank you!” I retorted and then gave him a handshake.
The ornak laughed loud and then patted my right shoulder “Ah! The ellyarians do know how to joke, don’t they Pale Bottom!”
“Ahem, well leaving that aside, why did you wanted to speak with me?” I asked raising an eyebrow.
Yesterday, while I was researching the flora around the Ornak Village, a little boy came over and then whispered me secretly that Bartung wanted to speak with me in private, without an automaton staring over my shoulder. I found his request to be curious; this was the reason why I visited the ornak now. As for the automaton that usually escorted me, I ordered him to stand guard outside.
“Follow me.” Bartung told me as he motioned towards the room in the back of his workshop.
As a carpenter and wood sculptor who often provided figurines for the women in the village to use in their spiritual practices or to create spiritual items, his place was filled with items that were in the making or already completed and waiting for a buyer. The room he was guiding me towards acted as a storehouse for them and had reinforced walls covered in a moist-absorbing enchanted planks, with the purpose of keeping this place as dry as possible.
“This one apologizes for asking you to come here when this one knows how busy you may be.” Bartung started off with an apology and lowered his head, which made for a funny scene, considering the fact that he was taller and better built than I was.
Well, if I had my trusty beard, I probably would look like an esteemed individual, a wise man who took time out of his busy schedule to listen to the dolts below him. Alas, the glory of the past was long gone, and I looked more like a bratty teen now. A bratty teen with a beautiful jaw-dropping wife that doubled as a powerful Godlike Dungeon, but still a bratty teen.
Letting out a sigh because I was lamenting the loss of my facial pride, Bartung took it as me being displeased with him and shrunk his shoulders while lowering his head. Anymore, and I would fear that he would fall on top of me!
“Do not fret about it, my friend. Just tell me what this is about and why are you being so secretive? Are you trying to confess to the pretty ornak lady across the street you told me about last time and don’t know how? Don’t worry! I have extensive knowledge about getting rejected by women! To the point where I develop a secret technique of making it seem as though I do not care about the heart-stabbing words they tossed at me!” I spoke with pride.
“Huh? This one is not afraid of confession. My mate will be chosen and approved by mistress Yandrea either way. What me wants is something else. But how many times were you rejected to develop such a weird technique?” he asked raising an eyebrow.
“Too many to count, enough for me to bleed tears of blood... Although, Nanya’s refusals were the most painful of them all! Agh! My heart!” I said grabbing my chest.
“Ah! Are you alright?! Should this one call a shaman to clonk you on the head to fix your spirit? He recently got a new bat that puts ornak to sleep right away!” he declared with pride.
“What?! NO! I’ll die! Or worse, I’ll be transformed into a dwarf! It’s enough that I lost my beard, and with all of my respect to the lovely dwarf women out there who look absolutely stunning in a one-piece dress, but I don’t want to lose my height too!” I retorted immediately and took a step back from him.
“You don’t sound right, maybe I should call the shaman?” Bartung did not believe me.
“DON’T! Just tell me why you called me over... Let’s forget the rest, please.” I told him as I let out a sigh and held my head with my palm.
“Very well, master Tuberculus. You see, I recently received an offer to join... a rebellion.”
“What?” I immediately changed my expression to a serious one.
“Erm...” the ornak felt a bit intimidated by me.
He’s probably afraid that I will snitch him out... I thought and the placed my hand on his shoulder to reassure him “Please continue and don’t worry about me telling Yandrea about this.”
He nodded and then continued.
The story he told went like this. One day, he received an order for an unusual number of spiritual totems. While the order itself was nothing new, the one who placed it was not one of his regulars but rather a man named Azur’Kar. He also instructed him to bring the items to a remote location all alone. He did it since that was his job, but once he got there, he was greeted by a strange group. There were Ornaks and Ellyarians there who were discussing things that were forbidden, things like freedom of choice, freedom of choosing a mate, freedom of choosing a job, and most of all, rebellion against their absolute master Yandrea. The more he listened, the more he became afraid of getting involved with them, so as soon as he delivered the order, he made himself scarce and fled the scene. After he got back, however, the ornaks he saw back there kept dropping by from time to time to check up on him as a ‘friend’ or to put on order for more wooden amulets or batches of practice weapons. Since then, he felt pressured into joining them, but he did not feel it was right.
“This one would be happy to have more freedom in this one’s life, but this one is happy as he is. This one has a prosperous shop, a good skill, and the promise of a good mate. Mistress Yandrea never went back on her words... This one feels safe and fulfilled and knows that this one is not as smart as Mistress Yandrea to think about self-governing or building a new country. This one is just this one, Bartung the Carpenter. Master Tuberculus, what do you make of this?” he asked as he started to fiddle his thumbs.
“What you are saying is worrying...” he flinched upon hearing my words “But this doesn’t mean that you did anything wrong from my point of view.” he let out a sigh of relief. “Next time they drop by tell them the same thing you told me, that you are just Bartung the Carpenter and that you are happy with your current life.” I advised him.
“I understand, Master Tuberculus. This rebellion thing is dangerous stuff. This one doesn’t want to get involved with that. Come what may come, but all this one desires is a roof above this one’s head, meal on the table, and a beauty to make my life even better. This being said, can Master Tuberculus put a good word for me with Mistress Yandrea, this one wishes to marry soon, but this one understand if it is not this one’s time yet, this one is just very excited, that is all!” he showed me a foolish smile.
“Like I said, don’t worry about it! I’ll let Yandrea know as well.” I reassured him.
After I left the Bartung’s workshop, I went to visit the Ellyarian village. It was located in the other corner of the map but using the automaton as a horse proved to be very efficient. Needless to say, we took the shortcut that cut straight through the middle of the map. On the way there, I greeted everyone I knew, the guards, the villagers, the craftsmen and the traveling traders.
Once again, I found myself wondering why was this rebellion happening at all. Most of those who lived here were content with their lives, and unlike the humans I knew, they were not that eager to rise in power or gain authority through which to rule those who were weaker and fewer than them. I was also growing very suspicious of the fact that until now Yandrea had yet to act against some of the more out in the open actions or declarations of the ornaks and ellyarian. After all, it was not once or twice that I had seen them carrying out propaganda for their cause. There was even one who was trying to recruit the automatons, who as far as I knew acted more like machines than they did like me or the other organic creatures.
In general, I had the feeling that there was something wrong with this rebellion, yet there were active movement happening behind the scenes with more and more ornaks and ellyarians joining Azur’Kar’s cause with each passing day.
Speaking of which, in the Ellyarian Village I only wanted to go and pick up a few items I ordered for the purpose of experimenting with, some jewels and materials that I could play around with. Yandrea could have easily provided them to me, but I wanted to test out their trading system, which, by all means, was fair and remarkably easy to use, transforming skills and items into copper, silver, and gold yand coins. I believed it was a system built over time through an extenuating process of trial and error.
The raw materials were worth only 1 yand gold coin and 7 silver yand coins, which I exchanged for my own skills and items I made.
After grabbing my stuff, I went out to explore and asked the automaton to stay at a distance from me. My current destination was the forest around the northern exit, which led to the upper floors, however, not even halfway through the forest, I was met with a startling scene.
In front of me was an injured monster... no, it was one of those giant humanoid rodents called Reiss. It had a hairless tail, now cut in half and singed at the end to stop the bleeding, four large fangs protruding from its mouth, out of which two of them were broken in half, and it was wearing a stainless-steel armor enchanted with some magic of some sort, judging by the glow it was giving off. The armor was pierced near the lower torso, a little above the stomach. He was losing blood fast from his gaping wound.
“Are you alright?” I asked as I approached him carefully.
Just in case, I had a spell prepared for him.
“Huh? Who are you? Are you one of that shik’ak’s slaves? Good! Tell that unfaithful loser to rush here to help me! I’m sort of an important adventurer up there! If you don’t help me, there will be another raid to beat her into place!” he shouted at me, spitting blood through his teeth.
I simply froze when I heard him.
I could not believe what my own ears were hearing, but although he did not use that specific slur word, the translator did its job to reflect just how bad and dishonorable it was. Although, the first question that came to my mind when hearing him was another...
Is this how those who live above actually think of her? As... someone like that? A shikak? But from what she told me... I thought and in that very moment, I remembered some of the stuff that I was told and saw which did not seem to make sense.
Like a giant castle of cards, the story Yandrea told me began to fall to pieces... The first and most evident one was the Temple of Heroes... why would it be called a ‘temple’ and why would it be devoted to ‘heroes’... when those who rushed in a dungeon were usually adventurers?
As I looked at this Reiss who was starting to curse at me, I felt myself at a loss of words. Soon enough, however, he bled out and died on the spot. I knelt down next to him and thought about searching his body for any relevant information, but I stopped myself from proceeding.
Maybe it would be best if I pretended I didn’t find him. I still don’t know what the truth is, but it’s clear that there’s something wrong... and right now, I can only be Yandrea’s ally and never her enemy. She is, after all, my one and only wife. I thought and then got back up on my feet and continued on my way.
If before, I only had the slight suspicion that something was amiss, now I had received my first proof. There was something Yandrea was not telling me... but maybe it was one of those secrets for which I had to gain her thrust first?