~ Chapter 7: Midnight massacre ~

For the first time since I was reincarnated, I moved out of the small room that became my home, or rather the final boss room in the dungeon. Looking up at the sky, I could see two bright moons waving back at this world. One was yellow and filled with craters, while the other was smaller and looked like an uncut ruby: Lunaris and Lunoria, the two sisters of the Sun God.

Well, that was how I called them at least. I had yet to find any sort of book in that old man’s library to tell me anything about the creation of the current world from any point of view. Even so, admiring the stars wasn’t the reason I walked out of my room. Somewhere on my territory, there were 25 Assassins ready to attack a certain target. Who exactly that person was, I had no idea, but if it was a student, and they got hurt because I didn’t act, the old man was surely going to kill me.

“Sigh… and here I thought I had it easy.”

Looking around, I wondered where exactly they were hiding. The controls of a dungeon’s specific skills were rather hard for me to grasp. I was born as a normal healthy human, not a Dungeon Core.

“Where are they?” I asked myself.

Suddenly, I saw a couple of shadows leaping through the trees.

The advantage of being a Dungeon Core with a big Dungeon Territory was that I could easily detect any intruders and instinctively know their exact locations, but until I saw those shadows, I didn't knew I had this sort of passive ability.

I flew above them, hiding through the branches of the trees and watched them as they ran through the forest. Judging strictly by the size of their chest and ass, I deduced I was up against 14 men and 11 women out of which one was either a flat plank or a trap. They were all dressed up in the same black clothes like some sort of ninjas from an anime.

The 25 red dots moved quite fast towards the Dormitory. They were agile too, seeing as how the small forest between them and their target was traversed without a cinch. Still, this wasn’t the time to be admiring them. Once they arrived at the dormitory, one of the students or teachers inside would be in danger if not all of them.

This is a bit strange though… You would normally send one or two assassins to stealthily kill a target, not 25. Who are they hunting with such high numbers? A dragon? was what I was asking myself as I moved ahead of them.

After picking a spot on an intersect course with them, I began to formulate a plan while looking at my skills. I only had a few moments before the enemies arrived. For the time being, I decided against summoning a monster because there was a chance that I wasn’t able to control them. I had to practice a lot more before I tried that and even so, if I spawned a lvl 1 Slime or Goblin, then the attackers would easily take care of it. The other option was to use large-scale attacks, but the only one capable of that was [Fireball]. I had no idea how strong the ability was, but judging by what the principal told me earlier, it was probably weak.

Why didn’t I gain some useful magic skills? Like the skill to summon a god? I asked myself with a sigh.

My current Magic Attack Skills were:

[Fireball] <Cast a ball made completely out of Magic Energy fueled fire. The more Magic Energy one puts into this spell, the more powerful it becomes. Voice Command: Ashur Nav Es>

[Ice Spear] <Cast a sharp spear made out of Enchanted Ice at the targeted Enemy. The more Magic Energy one puts into this spell, the more powerful it becomes. Magic Energy cost: 25 Magic Energy Points. Doubling the Magic Energy will create a second Spear. Voice Command: Eret Elf Es>

And those were it…

Technically speaking, I had quite the amount of magic energy, so if I spammed it fast enough, I could probably annihilate them with [Ice Spear]. The problem was [Fireball]. Unlike the other skill, this one didn’t mention anything about targeting the enemy. If I were to guess, I had to focus my magic on the point of conjugation and then aim it at the target. It was the type of Skill I could use with a weapon as well.

I just noticed… but in the description, it mentions it as a Spell. Hm… I guess I can’t use it with a weapon? I told myself after taking another quick glance at it.

Leaving aside this minor detail, I had another problem to solve. I was still technically a Level 1 Dungeon, and I didn't know if the damage done by a Skill was dependent on this factor or not.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t any time to field test anything. I charged up Magic Energy into a [Fireball], 20 points were what I thought it would be enough, seeing as it didn’t mention anything about it, then I aimed it at the general direction of my enemies. I wasn’t planning on hitting any of them, just scatter them and stop them in their tracks. Once I did that, I was going to use [Ice Spear] to pick them up one by one.

“Ashur Nav Es!” I chanted and then released the spell.

In front of me, a fireball of 10 centimeters in diameter formed and then was released at the general direction I aimed it at. Like a shooting firework, it flew through the air and sluggishly hit the first tree. It went poof and smudged the bark a bit.

“That was… pathetic.” I told myself after looking at the failed first shot.

At the very least, it did the job, and the 25 assassins stopped in their tracks. Four of them went to the left, five to the right, and the others stood still. I guess, they were trying to detect me and kill me before I had a chance to strike again. Unfortunately for them, I was just a humble floating thingamabob.

Round two. I thought and then focused on the assassins to my left.

This time, I went for [Ice Spear]. Targeting all of them, I focused about 500 points in the spell and then released it with a chant.

“Eret Elf Es!”

Twenty ice spears formed around me and flew through the air at staggering speeds. They weren’t faster than sound, but impossible to dodge by a normal human. I couldn’t control their direction, so I hoped I at least scratched my opponents.

“AARGH!” the screams of a man echoed through the forest together with the sounds of shattering branches and ice.

The four signs of life faded from my perception. They were defeated.

[You have gained a level!]

The sound of a small pop-up message announced me of my new achievement. I was glad about it, but I had to ignore it for now. Basic rule in any video game: never assign skill points, attribute points, or any points of any kind during a battle. Also, never check your inventory or change gear during battle. Do that after the battle, and you’ll have fewer chances of suffering a pathetic death.

The other assassins were probably surprised by this sudden attack because they all stopped in their tracks and tried to hide behind the trees, but I already knew where each and every one of them was. Thus, without losing any momentum, I targeted all the assassins on my right and focused my Magic Energy in the [Ice Spear] spell.

“Eret Elf Es!” I shouted again, and 500 points went poof from my pool.

Twenty spears made of enchanted ice formed around me and then flew through the air at the appointed targets. Just like before, they shattered the wood branches they came in contact with, destroyed the bark of the trees, and mercilessly impaled the assassins.

Their number was reduced by another five after that attack. Only the 16 in front of me were left.

That was rather easy… Hm, should I try the [Fireball] now? I thought as I looked ahead.

So far, they had yet to make a move, probably thinking that I wasn’t aware of their current location, or they were waiting for me to approach them.

“Ashur Nav Es!” I shouted.

This time around, I focused a full 1000 points of Magic Energy into the spell. Judging from my experience so far, I guessed that my [Fireball] attack would be somewhat destructive, but not at all powerful to kill even half of them. It was probably going to stop at the first tree and destroy a couple of others, maybe even start a small fire, however, what actually happened was beyond my expectations.

As soon as I cast it, I was left speechless by the sheer size of the spell. It was three meters in diameter and flew at the area with such a speed, I thought it was going to break the sound barrier. It crushed through the first three trees and then exploded with a loud BOOM!

The sound was ear-shattering loud, the heat emanated turned all the surrounding trees to charcoal, it would be no lie to say that it looked like an image straight out of Hell. The screams of the assassins as they were burned alive sent shivers down my spine, but I was at least glad I couldn’t feel the scent of burning flesh.

What have I done? was all I could think in that moment as the signs of life vanished one after another.

Just like that, the assassins were killed.

A magic energy of 20 points was what you would call a rather powerful firecracker, still dangerous, but nothing life threatening. A 1000 points one, however, left behind an area of disaster, upturned soil, scorched trees, walls of fire, and the dark bones of any creature it touched. If I had known, I wouldn’t have dared to cast such a thing, but no one warned me against it either.

I had to wonder Is this Hell the result of me being a Godlike?

As I looked at the scorching flames, I realized there was still one more life sign there, a survivor.

Can it really be? I asked myself surprised, but nonetheless, a chill of fear rushed down through me.

If there was something capable of surviving that thing, then there was a chance I couldn’t defeat it.

With a gulp, I flew above the scorched ground and approached the survivor. Right there, behind a huge, half melted boulder, I found an unconscious assassin. It was a woman. By the looks of things, she took cover behind the boulder at the very last moment. It was the only one in the area, but it ended up saving her life, however, the fast burning flames around the area quickly robbed her of her oxygen.

What should I do? What can I do? I asked myself and looked around helplessly.

There was no one around whom I could ask for help. I was alone and even if I tried to head back and drag Nanya here by her tail, the place was pretty dangerous even for her. There was only me there, but thinking about it, she was an enemy, right?

She’s an enemy… I have to kill her, but… I thought and prepared to cast an [Ice Spear].

Right in that moment, I realized something horrible, something terrible.

Since when am I like this? Since when can I kill… so easily? I asked myself and pulled back from the unconscious woman.

In my past life, I had the police. I could always drop the villain at their doorstep and let the law handle the rest, but here, I was the law. Killing one or two individuals was nothing, and I could even level up as a result. Even so, this wasn’t a game where I could happily grind for mobs, this was real life. Killing someone brought consequences.

No, it’s not good… Killing is not good! It will be a last resort, but still… can I? No! I mustn’t… but all these people. Urk! I feel like I’m going to throw up, but there’s no way to do that without a stomach… Ugh. I groaned and thought, looking left and right, trying to find some peace of mind, but I was surrounded by the corpses and bones of what were once 24 living sentient beings. The only survivor was the unconscious elf before me.

What should I do? I asked myself as I got closer to her.

“Absorb.” I said thinking about storing her inside my body like I did with the books back at the academy.

[Cannot Absorb. The target identity must be either a spouse, a slave, a pet, or a minion.]

Crud… I thought, but then I remembered I could use the [Make Slave] spell.

Excited about the possibility, I checked the skill menu for more information on it.

-[Make Slave] <By casting this spell on a WILLING individual, one can change their status to that of a Slave. The slave will receive the master’s <Protection>. The slave may not harm the caster. The slave may not harm the one selected as MASTER. The slave must obey the MASTER’s orders. Failure to do so may result in the PUNISHMENT or DEATH of the slave. Casting this spell again on the Slave will remove the Slave status from them. Voice Command: Thon Or Non>

Willing individual… those words struck me hard.

The woman was unconscious and probably injured as well.

What can I do? Damn! I cursed and as I looked at my skills, my eyes fell on the elementary ones from the magic section.

Two spells caught my attention:

[Temperature Control] <For a constant use of Magic Energy Points, one can increase or lower the temperature in a certain area. Voice Command: Erst Nan Ork>

[Gas Flow Control] <For a constant use of Magic Energy Points, one can freely control the direction and speed of any specified gas. Voice Command: Ayu Nan Ork>

Using the temperature one, I can reduce the heat around her, then I can use [Gas Flow Control] and pour oxygen while pulling carbon dioxide and monoxide out of there! Breathable air! Ah! But this spell can only control one gas at a time... urk. Well, maybe double or triple cast works like it did with [Ice Spear]. Yeah, that should do it! Perfect! Then I’ll just shout and hope she’ll wake up… if not, more or less I’m screwed. I thought as I came up with a plan I could only describe as genius.

“Erst Nan Ork! Ayu Nan Ork! Ayu Nan Ork! Ayu Nan Ork!” I shouted and poured my Magic Energy Points inside the two spells while thinking about the desired effects.

Just as I imagined, the temperature went down to twenty something degrees and the air became breathable again. The area where I focused my spells was a circle of 10 meters in diameter around her. Thus, for now she was safe, but I couldn’t let my guard down. Magic energy kept pouring into those two spells, but only the Gas Flow Control required a bit more. It was a tricky one since I didn’t simply move a big volume of air, just some particular gases from its composition.

“Oi! Can you hear me?! Wake up!” I shouted at her.

No response, but I didn’t give up and continued to shout closer to her ear.

“OOOI! HELLO! WAKE UP!”

She flinched and moved a bit on the ground. It appeared as though the temperature was just right for her to take a cozy nap.

Is that so? I thought and lowered the temperature to 10 degrees Celsius.

She started to turn and tremble a bit, but finally, she opened her eyes.

What she saw was most likely the fire inferno around us. What she could smell was the scent of burning flesh, bones, and wood all around her. What she could hear was a concert of flames.

“Can you hear me?” I asked again.

My voice made her jolt and jump back by a meter, touching with her hand the rock she used as a cover. Unfortunately, it was very hot. She opened her mouth in pain, but didn’t scream.

Odd… I told myself when I saw her reaction.

At the very least, she understood that she wasn’t alone there. Reaching for the dagger on her belt, she pulled it out and tried to determine my exact location. For a moment, I was worried about her jumping to attack me, but then I noticed her eyes searching for me left and right even though I was standing right in front of her.

Am I invisible? I asked myself.

Thinking logically, my crystal body was back with Nanya in that room. She had no way of seeing me. Actually, I had no idea how I even looked like when my vision was focused out of my body.

“Listen up. If I cancel my spells around you, the fires are going to eat you up and burn you alive. You don’t want that do you?” I warned her.

She flinched when she heard me. With a slow nod, she confirmed that she still wanted to live.

“You can’t speak?” I asked just to make sure.

Looking down at the scorched ground in front of her and clenching her hand around the hilt of her dagger, she appeared troubled as to whether answer me or not. A mute assassin didn’t do anyone any good, so if I were to think about it that way, if she confirmed it, then there was no reason for me to keep her alive.

Fortunately for her, I wasn’t like that. If she could speak or not, I didn’t care.

“I’m going to take your silence as a no.” I said.

When she heard me, she looked up with a worried look in her eyes. Thanks to her mask, I couldn't see the rest of her face. Thinking that I would abandon her now, she lowered her dagger and resigned to her fate.

“Listen. I can take you out of here, but only on one condition. I’m going to cast a spell on you to make you into my slave. If you accept it, I will save you, if not, I’ll cancel my spells and let the fires consume you.” I told her.

My words brought up a bit of hope to her eyes, but the condition was terrible. To become the slave of someone unknown was terrible, but there was no choice. It was either this or being burned alive. Somehow, I had the feeling I was playing the villain there, but then again, she was an assassin who invaded my territory. My job was to protect the academy, the students, and the teachers. She was an enemy, therefore, I had to show no mercy.

Come one… don’t make me kill you… I said in my mind, vying for the slave option rather than the other one.

I may have mercilessly slaughtered all the others, but right now, if I had the chance to save just one life, I wanted to take it. Killing was bad no matter the world and if you had the power to do it, you had the power to defend as well. Besides, the aftertaste of taking someone’s life was bitter and unpleasant. Maybe I was weird, but I didn’t like senseless murder.

In my previous life, I sort of didn’t care when it happened to others, but looking at it now, after taking someone’s life and threatening to take another, maybe that was just a selfish way of thinking, or that of a powerless individual. If back then, I had the power to choose, then certainly I wouldn’t have cared either way, but now, for some reason, it was different. Maybe reincarnation changed something in my soul?

The assassin thought about it for almost a minute, but then, with a determined look in her eyes, she clenched her dagger and nodded. She agreed to become a slave rather than suffer a futile death like all of her other colleagues.

“Thank you…” I said as I let out a sigh of relief.

It confused her, but I didn’t let it bother me.

“Thon Or Non!” I shouted and poured all the Magic Energy necessary in my spell.

She was enveloped in a white light, and a weird tattoo collar started to form around her neck. It was made out of strange runes engraved on her skin, which glowed yellow through the black cloth she wore. Judging by her clenched eyes and fists, it seemed like it hurt. I hoped it wasn’t too bad. When it was over, the light vanished.

[Spell Cast Successfully]

[New Slave Acquired]

[New Unique Skills Unlocked]

[Warning: Slave’s Condition Poor] <Curse Detected> <Severe Injury Detected> <Death Oath Detected>

Bah! Later! I said to myself as I closed the windows without caring and quickly cast Absorb on her.

Her body was covered in a bright light just like everything else when successfully absorbed and then she vanished, well… her clothes remained.

Well now… I didn’t expect that! I told myself and quickly absorbed all of her stuff.

With that done, all I had to do now was put out the fire and check the damages if there were any. I had no idea if there was a spell I could use to replant the forest, but while pondering about it, I came to realize something.

I have the Telekinezy Spell. If I used that, I could have safely taken her out of the fire, get Tuberculus to tie her up and that was that… Why didn’t I think of that and went through the trouble of making her my slave? I asked myself.

Even Godlike Dungeon Lords have an occasional brain lag.