Chapter 19

Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

“Lady Lamashtu’s burning cunt,” gasped Kassie as she stared at the teleportation circle. It was one of the few parts of the First Dungeon that had been preserved. I had destroyed the rest searching for mana veins. They had long gone dry save for one.

“So you recognize it?” I asked.

“This is truly a teleportation circle?” she asked, shaking her head. She bent down and read the glyphs on the edge. “This is ... impressive. It uses Light and Wind to work. I can’t believe it. This is brilliant. This is magic that is rarely ever attempted. Magic circles inscribed in the ground to perform such a complex act. And ... It uses them both at the same time. Two glyphs at once.”

“So, that’s a big deal,” I said, bending down and staring at the glyphs. “You can read it.”

She nodded. “It’s the arcane script. The style’s a little archaic, but it hasn’t changed much. We do it the same way that our mentors teach us as theirs did. It works. If you mess with the symbols too much, it doesn’t.”

“Interesting,” I said. “Your medallion has the Fire and Ice glyphs on it. But there’s also arcane script on the edges.” It looked a lot like the cuneiform writings that we found.

She raised her copper disc. She stroked it. “This lets me use Ice and Fire magic. It’s a shortcut. You see, all magic spells require a magic circle, but that’s slow to draw. This lets me cast Basic and Intermediary Fire and Ice spells without having to spend the time to make a circle. Those are what we call natural spells.”

“Natural?”

“They are spells that are woven into the fabric of this world. There are Laws that underlie the Twelve Elements. In those laws are the natural spells. The ones that don’t take any special research to create. Like this teleportation circle. The natural spells just ... work.”

“Are they the same Basic and Intermediary spells that I can cast?” I asked then stood up. “Incarnation of flames, let the passion of Lady Lamashtu embrace!”

My body became fire. The Flamebody spell engulfed me in flames but I didn’t burn.

“Flamebody,” she said. “Yes, a natural Intermediary Spell. I don’t have to steal the power from the Gods like you do. My seal is the shortcut. I just have to say one quick phrase. Izi Su!”

Her body burst into fire. She crackled just like I did. The light dancing from us played over the glyphs of the teleportation circle and the stone walls around us. Hers had erupted so fast. She became a bright torch in moments.

“Damn,” said Maya. “That was neat.”

“Yeah, big bro,” Garnet said.

“Color me impressed,” said Nina Naughty.

“I can do it, too,” I muttered, glancing at the three monster girls who had accompanied us down here, too. “I’m doing it right now.”

“But you have to say that long incantation,” said Nina. “She just speaks that quick phrase and ... poof. She’s engulfed in fire.”

The flames around Kassie vanished.

I dismissed mine and asked, “So if I steal the power from the gods, then where does your power come from?”

“From my own life,” she said. “Or this.” From within her robe, she produced a small, black crystal. I heard a faint whooshing sound as it drew in power just like my Void Crystal did.

“That’s a fragment of a dungeon builder’s Void Crystal,” I said, swallowing. “It works just like one, right? I had heard they were valuable.”

“Nothing better for a mana battery,” she said. “My reward for conquering my first dungeon. A Light builder. Two of my companions died.” She thrust the crystal back into her pocket. “We caught him young. Before he could grow dangerous.”

My stomach churned. Before he could be turned dangerous, I thought. That had almost been me.

“Do you understand this circle?” I asked, pointing to it. “Could you replicate it? I would love to have this so I could move around my dungeon faster.”

“Maybe,” she said. “I’ll study it. I think I get the principal. It’s a standard magic circle, just one not formulated the way I’ve ever seen. That makes sense since it’s using two glyphs at once to do a single act, teleportation.”

The way she grinned. She was a cute thing. Dimples shone in her dark-brown cheeks.

“Thank you,” I said. “You need something, just ask me or one of my monster girls. Fara, Hagane, and Nina are the best at the research stuff.”

“Yep,” said Nina. “This porn star loves all that ancient shit.”

Kassie glanced at the three monster girls with us. “You have quite the harem of interesting girls, Lord Leo. They’re all quite different in temperament and personality.”

“But we’re all sexy,” Garnet said. “Kweh, heh, heh!”

“They are delicious,” I said. “Don’t feel like you have to join the harem.”

“Though you want to try a halfling, don’t you?” she asked, arching an eyebrow at me. “You’re thinking about what it would be like to have a small and sexy halfling riding your cock. Humans always do.”

I shrugged. “It might have crossed my mind.”

“Big perv, it definitely crossed your mind,” said Maya, shaking her head. “You can’t turn your back on him. He’s just a letch.”

“Lord Leo!” Du yipped. “Siwang’s with me. He wants to talk to you.”

I turned and found Siwang, his wraith mother, and Du heading towards us. “You used the Glyph without a problem.”

“I have,” said Siwang. He held out his hand. “Thank you for sharing that with me. I know it’s a big gesture. I won’t let your faith in me down.”

“You better not,” muttered Nina.

I shot her a warning glance then shook my friend’s hand. “I made a promise.”

“Well, I have to get back to my dungeon. I have some new monster girls to make.”

I released his hand and said, “I’ll let you know when we’re ready. Keep you in on the plan.”

Siwang shifted. “I don’t know how much help I can be.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I mean, I have my own dungeon to defend, and I don’t have the army of monster girls that you do, Leo.”

I thought about that. “Why don’t you drive a tunnel to Astovin. You can put your entrance there. If you have the mana to reach that far.”

“Not sure that I do, but I don’t see what that would do,” he said.

“If you put it up inside the walls, then any adventurers would have to get past my defenders,” I said. “It’ll be safer for you anyways than having to walk through the fields to get there. A secure supply line.”

He stared at me for a moment. “You trust me that much?”

“Yeah, I do,” I said.

Siwang glanced at his mother. “Okay, I’ll go back, make my new monster girls, and see if I can drive my tunnel that far. Where should I pop it out?”

“Village green,” I said. “Right in the middle. Nice and safe.”

“Okay,” he said. “We’ll be in touch.”

He turned and headed back down the tunnel, his mother clinging to him. Mist trailed after her curvy figure. Du paced them, her tail wagging. I watched them leave, hoping this wasn’t a mistake. I could feel Nina judging me.

“I trust him, Nina,” I sent to her.

“I didn’t say anything, Director,” she answered me. “But this gives him a conduit to attack Astovin Village.”

“Why would he? I have enough forces to annihilate him. Besides, he’s not that sort of person.” He better not be. I was putting a lot of faith in him. This had to work. There had to be someone that I could trust.

“Do you have this?” I asked Kassie. “The magic circle.”

“I do,” she said. “You’re going to leave me alone?”

“If Nina wants to stay and hang out with you, that’s fine,” I said. “I have some new spells to test out. I have to know what they do before we go into battle with Sulanga.”

“Yeah, sure,” said Nina. She squatted down. “Sounds interesting.”

“So,” Nina Naughty said after Director Leo, Maya, and Garnet had left, “how does this work.” The devil glanced at the circle. It was large. “The Light and Wind Glyphs are repeated at each of the eight points on the circle.”

“Just like on this disc,” said Kassie. The halfling held out her magical circle. “It’s the principle of how a magic circle works. How it directs the energy.”

“May I?” Nina nodded to the disc the halfling wore.

She took it off and worked the chain down the long braid of red hair she had. She held it in her hand and said, “Each magic circle has eight points on it. The words in between channel the spell. Each of the eight points represents something, and the words written after it are very important. It starts here at the top. The North Point.”

“I see,” said Nina.

“This is the point that roots the circle with the caster.” Kassie slid her slender finger to the Northeast Point. “Here, the magic is connected with the caster. The East Point is the Point of Communication. It is where the magic flows into the circle.”

“Got it,” said Nina, frowning. “The Southeast Point holds the command that directs the magic. The South Point energizes the power. Swelling it. Then it moves to the Southwest Point where it magnifies the power with a purpose. From there it moves to the West Point. This point directs the power. Channels it. Last, it reaches the Northwest Point. It is from here that a spell is unleashed.”

“And the writing around it?” asked Nina.

“That is ... the spell.” Kassie pointed to the script of the larger teleportation circle. “See, they are different. My magic circle is to let me cast natural spells with ease. It has a generic circle.”

“What does it say?” An eagerness shot through Nina. “This is very fascinating.”

“Starting from the North Point, it reads, ‘The will reaches out to the universe!” She slid to the Northeast Point. “‘The universe responds with energy!’” To the East. “‘The intent is realized!’ ‘The spell is created!’ ‘The power builds!’” She reached the Southwest Point. “‘Purpose shapes the spell.’ ‘The spell flows to the universe!’” She reached the final point. The Northwest Point. “‘My will is carried out!’”