[Location: Deck of the HMS Death-rattle]
[Status: Parked on the Rose Garden.]
The adrenaline was fading. The dopamine hit from the explosion was settling into a nice, warm hum of victory.
I stood at the helm of my new battleship.
It was magnificent. Four hundred feet of black steel, bone, and menacing spikes. It had enough firepower to level a city block.
"System," I commanded, patting the bone-wheel. "Set course for the Northern Empire. Full speed."
[Command Acknowledged.]
[Engine Start Sequence Initiated.]
Whirrr...
Clunk.
Sputter.
The purple lights on the dashboard flickered. Then died.
[System Error.]
[Fuel Critical: 0.5%.]
[Aether Drive: Damaged.]
[Soul-Lock Protocol: Active. Biometric Scan Required (Director Nibras).]
I stared at the screen.
"You have got to be kidding me."
I kicked the console.
"I looted a brick. A 50-million-gold brick."
Sylvia walked up, shivering in the cold wind. She looked at the dead console.
"It runs on Refined Aether," she said quietly. "The Necromancers distill it from tortured souls. You... you can't buy it at a gas station."
She pointed to the flashing red 'Soul-Lock' icon.
"And even if you fueled it, the ignition is coded to Nibras's DNA. You killed him."
"I have his skull," I offered, reaching into my inventory.
"It needs his living bio-signature, Master. Retinal scan. Pulse."
I looked at the skull of Director Nibras in my hand. It was very dry. And very dead.
"Inefficient design," I muttered, tossing the skull overboard.
I sighed.
So, the Draconia Invasion was postponed.
I couldn't fly there. Walking would take three months.
I needed to Fix the ship.
[Quest Generated: Pimp My Ride.]
[Objective 1: Repair the Aether Drive.]
[Objective 2: Bypass the Soul-Lock (Requires Hacking or High-Tier Technomancy).]
[Objective 3: Obtain 500 Barrels of Aether Fuel.]
I looked at Sylvia.
"You're the Princess of the North. You know their tech."
"I... I know the theory," she admitted. "But to bypass the lock, we need a Master Arcanist. And the only one in the city is..."
She pointed toward the Academy tower.
"Vice-Principal Hemlock."
"Hemlock," I repeated. "The guy who handles the budget?"
"Yes. He specializes in Magical Security. But... he hates you. He hates everyone."
I grinned.
"Perfect."
"I love people who hate me. It makes the negotiation so much simpler."
——————————————————————————————————————————
[The Captain's Quarters (Loot Sorting Room)]
Before I dealt with Hemlock, I needed to process the haul.
I sat on the Director's chair (which was made of human ribs; uncomfortable, but stylish).
"Empty the bags," I ordered.
My Shadow Slaves dumped the sacks on the table.
CLATTER. CLATTER.
Thousands of glowing green stones spilled out. Soul Stones.
[Item: Soul Stone (Small)]
[Value: 100 XP or 1,000 Gold.]
[Count: 4,500.]
Seraphina stared at the pile. She looked sick.
"Those are... people," she whispered. "Souls trapped in crystal."
"They are batteries," I corrected.
I picked one up. It was warm.
"If we release them, they dissipate. If we keep them, we get stronger."
I looked at her.
"Seraphina."
"Y-Yes, Boss?"
"You're Level 18. That's pathetic for a Healer."
I tossed a handful of stones at her.
"Eat them."
Seraphina flinched. "What? No! That's cannibalism! That's—"
"That's an order."
I leaned forward.
"The Necromancers are coming back. Next time, they won't bring one ship. They'll bring a fleet. If your healing output isn't higher, we die."
"Do you want to die, Saintess?"
"No..."
"Do you want me to die?"
She hesitated. The "Fallen Saintess" trait flickered in her eyes.
"No."
"Then eat."
Seraphina picked up a stone. Her hands trembled. She closed her eyes.
She crushed it.
Green mist swirled into her nose.
[System: Companion 'Seraphina' Absorbed XP.]
[Level Up: 18 -> 19.]
Her skin flushed. A moan escaped her lips.
"It feels... warm."
"It's power," I said. "It's addictive."
"Sylvia. You too."
I pushed a pile toward the Ice Princess.
Sylvia didn't hesitate. She was desperate to regain the power I stole. She grabbed a fistful and crushed them.
[Level Up: 25 -> 26.]
I watched them. Two broken, beautiful women consuming the souls of the dead to serve me better.
[Dopamine Spike: Corruption.]
I took the rest. About 4,000 stones.
I fed them to the Void Ring.
[Gluttony Active.]
[Ring EXP: +400,000.]
[Tier 2 Progress: 50%.]
"Good," I said, standing up.
"Now that we're buffed..."
I checked the time.
"Let's go to the Faculty Meeting."
——————————————————————————————————————————
[Location: The Academy Boardroom]
[Time: 10:00 AM]
The Boardroom was fancy. Mahogany table. Portraits of dead wizards.
Dean Merlin sat at the head of the table. He looked like he had aged ten years in the last hour.
Around him sat the Board of Directors. Twelve old, wrinkly, bureaucratic nightmares.
And to his right sat Vice-Principal Hemlock.
Hemlock was thin, pale, and looked like a praying mantis wearing a suit. He was polishing his glasses.
[Target: Hemlock]
[Class: Arcanist / Bureaucrat.]
[Level: 42.]
[Trait: Rules Lawyer.]
I kicked the door open.
BAM.
"Sorry I'm late," I announced, walking in. "Traffic was murder. Literally."
I pulled up a chair. I didn't sit in it. I put my feet on it.
The Board members gasped.
"You!" Hemlock stood up, pointing a bony finger. "Cain Cross! The unauthorized combatant!"
"Professor Cross," I corrected. "I have tenure."
"You have nothing!" Hemlock slammed a stack of papers on the table. "You destroyed the Courtyard! You landed an illegal vessel on the Dean's roses! You endangered the student body!"
"I saved the student body," I said, picking at my ear. "And I charged a reasonable service fee."
"You stole the Airship!" Hemlock shrieked. "By Academy Law, any salvage recovered on campus grounds belongs to the Administration! That ship is ours!"
Ah. There it is.
Greed.
Hemlock didn't care about the rules. He wanted the battleship.
I looked at Dean Merlin.
"Dean? Your dog is barking."
Merlin coughed. "Hemlock, please. He did defeat the raid leader..."
"Irrelevant!" Hemlock sneered. "The law is the law! Surrender the ship keys, Mr. Cross. Or we will expel you and have you arrested."
I smiled.
I took my feet off the chair.
I stood up slowly.
"Hemlock," I said. "Do you know what 'Salvage Law' actually says?"
"I wrote the book on Salvage Law!" Hemlock bragged. "Section 4, Paragraph 2: 'Property claimed without a registered claim ticket is void'."
I walked around the table.
The Board members shrank back. They smelled the blood on me.
I stopped behind Hemlock's chair.
"Actually, I prefer the Ancient Law."
"What Ancient Law?" Hemlock sneered.
I leaned down.
"Keepers Creepers."
I grabbed the back of his head.
[Trait: The Usurper (Touch).]
"You're a Master Arcanist, right?" I asked pleasantly. "You know how to hack Soul-Locks?"
Hemlock froze. "Unhand me! This is assault!"
"No," I whispered. "This is a Knowledge Transfer."
[Skill: Mind Ransack.]
This wasn't a copy. This was a raid.
I dove into his brain.
I saw his memories. I saw him embezzling funds. I saw him collaborating with the Necromancers to lower the barrier (Wait, really? Jackpot.).
And I found the Arcane Hacking skill.
[Skill Copied: 'Magical Cryptography' (A-Rank).]
"AAAAHHH!" Hemlock screamed as I rifled through his cortex like a filing cabinet.
I let go.
He slumped onto the table, drooling.
"He... he attacked the Vice-Principal!" a Board member shouted. "Guards!"
"Sit down," I said.
My voice carried the weight of the Void King.
The room went silent.
"Hemlock was a traitor," I lied. (Well, partly lied. He was just corrupt, but who checks the facts?)
I pulled a piece of paper from Hemlock's pocket (I planted it with sleight of hand).
"Look here. Evidence he lowered the barrier."
Dean Merlin picked up the paper. It was a receipt for a sandwich, but Merlin was smart enough to know what I wanted.
"My god," Merlin gasped. "Hemlock... how could you?"
"Good catch, Dean," I winked.
I looked at the Board.
"Now. About my ship."
"It needs repairs. It needs fuel."
I pointed at the Board members.
"You. The fat one. You own the Alchemy supply."
"You. With the monocle. You own the Steel Mills."
"I want 500 barrels of Aether and 10 tons of Star-Metal delivered to the courtyard by noon."
"If you don't..."
I tapped the hilt of my Soul-Eater's Fang.
"I might find 'evidence' in your pockets too."
The Board members looked at Hemlock's twitching body.
They looked at me.
"We... we will arrange it immediately!" the fat one stammered.
"Excellent."
I walked to the door.
"Oh, and Dean?"
"Yes... Professor?"
"I'm taking the rest of the day off. I have a date."
"A date?"
I grinned.
"With a Dungeon."
[Quest Update: Pimp My Ride.]
[Objective 1: Repair the Aether Drive.] (Materials secured. Time to craft.)
[Objective 2: Bypass the Soul-Lock.] (Skill Acquired. Hacking in progress.)
[New Quest: The Dungeon Beneath.]
I lied to the Dean. I'm not taking a day off.
The Academy is built on a "Dormant" Dungeon.
The fight awakened it.
And I need to kill the landlord before he evicts us.