Chapter 8: Deeper
---D-Day+71, Daroine 10th---
Nothing happened today. Nope. Just, uh, team building exercises. Yeah, let's call it that instead of a sixteen eight-hour fuckfest. That will look better on the expense report.
Or, instead of training, I could put it down as medical. You know, since there were times I thought I was going to fucking die. “Death by isekai harem” though? Doesn’t seem all that bad a way to go.
What do isekai expense reports look like?
---D-Day+72, Daroine 11th---
Damnit. Wasted a whole day with harem plus one. At least Frankie and Hitomi seem cheered up now. Great sex really is the best stress reliever.
“We beg you Lich King. Please have mercy on our village. We would never dream of…”
On his knees, in front of me, is a dwarf. A fallen dwarf. Pretty well armored. Decently dressed. An older fellow. Definitely doesn’t look comfortable grovelling.
So why is he?
Like to say I am that badass. Or my harem is that intimidating. Not the butler and maids either. Nope. If I were to guess it might be the hundreds of undead I have with me.
A fallen dwarf kneeling in front of me in front of his fallen town.
This shitty world has a dividing line. “The Mandate.” Basically, the “gods” promise to take care of this world in exchange for ending the war with the dragons.
Personally? I suspect it's at least half bullshit like Earth’s religions. Misunderstandings and misinterpretations of events that probably have much more reasonable explanations.
Of course, in this world, the whole god thing seems to be much more “real.” Though they seem weaker than the omnipotent omniscient variety popular back home.
Now after the Mandate? The gods had a difference of opinion too and one of their strongest turned against the promise. The “First Fallen.” Who decided the world should be broken. That the dragons should return for one last battle.
The whole apocalypse ragnarok kind of scenario. With a Lucifer type figure I guess?
Supposedly this bastard is the one who came up with goblins as a way of spoiling the world. Gotta admit. The little green shits do seem to be naturals at it.
His servants are also claimed to be the ones who created the first monsters and demons. The translation is a bit funny but basically “angels” serve the Mandate gods while they turn into “devils” if their god turns against the Mandate.
Well the First Fallen’s devils were horny little bastards who did anything and anyone. Just like an NTR’d housewife.
If the offspring that followed were mostly humanoid? They were branded demons. If they mostly weren’t? They were branded monsters.
Now goblins and orcs aren’t counted as demons because it's said they were created as a race. Instead of coming from one night stands or fast food restroom quickies.
This was also thousands of years ago and the offspring weren’t sterile. So, over time, these demons and monsters developed into their own species and sub-species.
Why bother with that bit of lore? Because the “fallen” dwarf now kowtowing isn’t any of those. Nope, great-great-grand-whatever didn’t have horns or wings or a tail.
Well, unless they were of the strap-on or butt-plug variety.
Nope. This fellow or his parents or his grandparents, etc... Simply got sick of this shitty world.
Society can be pretty oppressive in this world. Those who say “fuck you guys, I’m going home.” Are the really brave ones. Most just pretend to give a shit and keep their heads down.
If you don’t? If you stand up and say, “I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore?” Congratulations. You just taped a giant “kick me” sign to your own back.
Persecutions galore are lining up at your door. Now according to Frankie, most recant and return to the fold, so to speak. But the really brave, or really stupid, ones don’t give up or give in?
They split. Leave town. Head west. Whatever you want to call it. Some? Even end up in dungeons. If they are tough enough? Strong enough? They can end up finding a quiet corner and making a new life.
Most adventurers are practical folks. They face death every day. So a fallen’s village after days sleeping on the floor? Can be like heaven.
Also great places for easy lays as, surprisingly, it's common knowledge that too much inbreeding is bad. So these villages are plenty happy to get fresh seed.
Was there an isekai Doogie Howser, M.D.?
Of course this doesn’t help the really scary shit of living for generations in a dungeon. Besides all the monsters.
Mutation.
Remember all that mana and miasma crap which can make material more valuable in dungeons? Well it can have the opposite effect too.
Not a big deal if you’re a plant or a rock. Very big deal if you’re something more complex. Like a dwarf.
Woohoo. You have tougher thicker skin. You also have a tougher time getting out of your mother to be born. That’s if your mother’s baby making parts even work right anymore.
[Super Senses] and [Eyes of Ouroboros] reveal most of the poor bastards in this village have mutations. Only about half of them, visibly. Even in a “low mana” dungeon like this one, your body still gets fucked up.
It just takes longer.
Yeah, so living in a dungeon may preserve their ideals? But it also kills them. Most fallen tribes only last a few generations before the newborns are just too weak or crippled to survive.
Of course those goblin cockroaches are somehow very resistant to mutation.
Sticking with the dwarf stereotype. This “village” is well built. Solid. Showing excellent craftsmanship. They are also not dead.
My skellies will use any excuse to kill the living. But if they can’t find one? You don’t die. In fact, they would have even left Mila’s village to be raped and pillaged if the orcs hadn’t picked a fight.
These dwarves were smart. As soon as they saw the skellies they closed the gate and stayed inside. So my agents of death passed them by.
Still. A chance to trade shouldn’t be passed up. Would take a tumble with the local girls too but I’m in too much a hurry after spending yesterday screwing around. Literally.
Wow. He’s still talking.
“...for a mighty one such as you with your vast-”
“Are you an autonomous collective?”
Dwarf lifts his head.
“Eh?”
Caught him so off guard he forgot to grovel.
“An anarcho-syndicalist commune?”
“M-my lord?”
“Any moistened bints lobbing scimitars?”
Here Hitomi laughing in the back. At least she gets some of my material.
“M-moist bin?”
Does he know the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Before I can throw out another movie quote, I hear something. Mila hears it too because she’s in front of me with her greatsword drawn almost instantly. This girl is, just, wow.
Not sure how good she’ll be with that sword though. She’s right handed and doesn’t even have a right arm anymore.
Something big is coming. And my skellies are already fighting it.
*ROARRR*
See its some six legged big lizard thing. And its hauling ass. Skellies can’t do enough damage to it so it's broken thru their lines.
Why is it coming my way though?
We are in a decently sized cavern with the dwarven village and fortifications taking up one side. Several passages enter the chamber.
Can hear it now. The tunnel it's coming down isn’t quite big enough so it's making quite the racket as it pushes through.
Ugh. Don’t have time for this.
~Fetch.~
~You can’t be serious.~
~...~
~Fine.~
*CRASH*
The six legged wizard is big and rock goes flying as it breaks through the tunnel.
*ROA-*
*GNASH*
Lizard king meets winged tyrant and the lizard king loses its head. As soon as the giant lizards neck clears the tunnel. Frazur ambushes it from above. Biting clean through its neck.
*boom* *boom* *boom* *boom*
Like a giant hound, Frazur carries the lizard corpse by its neck and drops it in front of me. Splashing quite a bit of its blood all over me and mister fallen dwarf.
~Bark. Bark.~
Smart ass dragon.
It's our third day in the labyrinth. We’ve hauled ass and reached the twenty-first level.