Chapter 23

The next day, Siwang felt really, really, really great. He loved his monster girls, but there was something special about Anji. She loved him because she chose to. His monster girls were all versions of them who could love him. That was how Leo explained it.

Siwang’s real mother was back in the other world grieving his death. She would never have sucked his dick or rode his cock. She would never have crossed that taboo line, but somewhere in the vast possibilities of the multiverse, there was a version of Xiongbu who could cross that line.

Who could have an incestuous relationship with her son? And it was the same for Lei and Guang.

But the Anji that he had spent the night with was the only version of Anji there was. And she loved Siwang. That made her special. Siwang’s heart sang as he entered his Vault. The Soul of the Void Crystal perked up at the sight of him.

She was like a dusky-skinned version of Siwang’s mother. The Soul didn’t have the same face, but the same figure. A sexy MILF. She quivered atop the black gem humming as it swallowed the power from the one Mana Vein Siwang possessed.

He needed more.

He had to find Mthunzi’s dungeon. Leo didn’t know where his first enemy’s dungeon lay other than a vague direction. Siwang would find it. He would search even farther away into the hills than he had. He gripped the gem and closed his eyes.

With Anji’s love and his monster girls’ support, Siwang felt invincible.

There was nothing the young builder couldn’t do.

So he started extending his tunnels. He didn’t have the power to lay out a large grid, so he was constantly extending tunnels, waiting to feel the mana, then destroying the few he made and shifting them. It was tedious work, but he kept at it.

With his mind sunk into the mental interface of the Void Crystal, he hardly felt the ache in his feet and lower back from standing in one place for so long. He just kept a hold of the gem and moved in a methodical pattern.

He concentrated on finding it. He had to get more powerful to help Leo. He had to find the— Power flooded through him. He gasped as he himself grew stronger. He had just hit Level 2. He could make even stronger monster girls. The words to new spells, ones he’d seen Leo cast, now rose in his soul.

“Lord Siwang, you are amazing,” the Soul said, her voice full of motherly warmth.

“I did do it,” Siwang said, a large grin spreading on his lips.

It was an incredible rush to find it. The tingle of power rushed through him. He clutched the crystal, his mind razing with the possibilities. He felt the rush. He could make new monster girls to roam his dungeon and guard it against...

What? He released his Void Crystal. What does my dungeon need to be guarded against?

Siwang had long since moved his dungeon’s entrance within Astovin’s walls. Yes, that death dragon had come straight for him, but he didn’t have to worry about adventurers. Anyone who could attack him wouldn’t be slowed down by traps.

He could streamline his dungeon. Just have his living area and Vault hidden using illusions. It was simple. Where his dungeon intersected with Leo’s, if he concealed the paths that led into his dungeon, intruders would flow into Leo’s dungeon and have to face his far, far, far stronger defenses.

Then Siwang could have the power to extend his dungeon even farther. He could keep going past where he found the Mana Vein in Mthunzi’s old dungeon and just drive his dungeon southeast toward the next Shrine.

Help Leo out. If they were both reaching out for shrines, they could combine efforts. So he reached toward the Shrine that was next after the Light one that Led had found. He drove his dungeon and he got maybe halfway there.

It was a start.

He smiled. “Well, let’s make some new monster girls.”

“Yes, Lord Siwang,” the Soul said, all bright and cheerful.

I watched the preparations of King Thanitis’s army. They would be marching in a few days. The king had reassembled his men, many of who had fled into the nearby hills in terror. A lot had been injured. He was letting them recuperate before marching south.

Our treaty was signed. I was his ally officially. That felt good to have the support of a king. Myreman was a large kingdom, too. A powerful one from what I was learning. There were parts of the world where the land wasn’t even claimed. Just left abandoned save for clusters of city-states who just controlled enough land around their cities to keep them fed.

That was such a shame that the world was in this state. I wanted to fix it. So much work to do. I needed to reach toward the Water Shrine. Siwang had told me his plan. I liked it, and it made sense. I hoped he could reach what Fara thought might be the Life Shrine.

It was important to get the Shrines. Siwang could make Level 2 Monster Girls, and I wanted him to get more glyphs. Soon, I would support him in attacking rogue dungeon builders. It was the best way for him to gain in power.

A stronger Siwang would only help us all.

I trusted him.

And I was glad that he had Anji. She was cute, and he looked so happy with her.

“Hey, Leo,” Usiku sent to me.

I blinked at being contacted by my fomorian. “Yeah? Is there something wrong?”

“Why else am I calling,” she said with wry amusement. “A new dungeon builder has appeared near Sharithin. Raided a few of the farms. The halflings are a tad spooked. They’re just getting over Sulanga’s raid, getting back to normal, and now this.”

“I’ll be right there,” I told her, letting my scrying sensor go.

I made the arrangements.

“Wow, haven’t seen these in a while,” said Kassie as she stood in the Teleport Hub staring at the three zombified horses I had. I’d made these to travel over long distances in my tunnels before Kassie figured out how the teleportation circles worked.

“Yeah, they’re not the most comfortable,” I said.

“I can handle this, Lord Leo,” Halia said. She had joined us with her new sword on her hip.

“I’m sure you can,” I said. “But this isn’t about killing a rogue dungeon builder. He just appeared. He hasn’t killed any of the farmers, just raided their grains. I want to talk to him. When your adventurers are a tad more capable, we’ll start sending you out into the world.” I didn’t like Halia going out. “So keep training them. If we start implementing the Watchtower Plan, then we’ll start encountering more of these rogue builders for you and your adventurers to kill.”

“Okay, Lord Leo,” Halia said. She didn’t sound happy.

“I’ll be right back,” Kassie said. She stood on the teleport circle to Sharithin with all my werewolves and phoenixes around her. The six monster girls crowded the circle. There wasn’t room to fit the three horses on there. “Asud Gu.”