Going back

Kael smirks, satisfaction evident as he watches the orchestrated chaos before him. "Good, good, this is turning out great~ Ah, I should show her." He navigates the system map, pressing a few buttons deftly. Suddenly, a scream pierces the air next to him.

"Ahhh! What the hell just happened to me!?" Eira exclaims, materializing abruptly next to him, dressed in nothing but a long oversized hoodie. Kael attempts a smirk, starting to explain, "Yo, I just teleport—" but his words are abruptly cut short. Eira's fist connects squarely with his gut, sending him crashing to his knees. The onslaught continues with a series of kicks. "You fucking bastard! You can't just teleport someone when they're in the middle of changing! You wanna fucking die!?" Her face, crimson with fury, finally relaxes as she catches her breath. "Next time, tell me before you do anything stupid," she warns.

Groaning, Kael slowly rises to his feet, clutching his aching stomach. "T-that's my bad... I won't do it again," he manages to say, his voice strained.

Eira's attention shifts to the floating cube. "I thought Zeke sealed it," she observes, confusion knitting her brows. Still nursing his stomach, Kael responds, "I signed a contract with it. It's a dungeon core, you know."

Scratching her head, Eira looks perplexed. "Huh? What the fuck? How did you do that? I swear humans aren't able to sign contracts with Dungeon cores. And at that, even other species would struggle to do that."

Kael nods, a hint of smugness in his expression. "Hmhmhm, it's obviously 'cause I'm the best." He notes her skepticism and thinks to himself, 'It's not that I'm the best, but this isn't a normal dungeon core. Most dungeon cores aren't as intelligent as this one.'

Pointing down at the industrious zombies, he continues, "Look, they're building factories. Teaching them to follow schematics is much easier than I thought. This whole forest is under my control. We're going to build a base here we can teleport to whenever we want. You'll be able to do whatever you want without worrying about security. Every zombie in this forest will listen to me, and if I say so, they can listen to you too."

Eira observes the thousands of zombies building; the vast number makes the construction of large factories efficient and swift. Her smirk transforms into a mischievous grin. "Hey, Kael, did I ever tell you we're best friends? All this forest? For ourselves? Does that make me queen of the Forest?"

Ilka yawns atop Kael's head, her small fists thumping against his forehead insistently. "Hey, hurry it up, you have to train," she commands, her voice drowsy but demanding. Kael, unfazed by the miniature commotion, turns to Eira. "Eira, I'll give you control of 20,000 zombies, but you have to use them to build the base. I already have the place in mind," he says as he taps on the system window. The cube interjects,

[Are you planning on using the old ruins?]

Kael nods affirmatively, and in a blink, they are all teleported into a hidden area in the forest. The location is subterranean, yet there's no roof overhead, leaving the clear sky visible. Trees encircle the area, creating an illusion of a dense forest. Ancient structures lie in ruins around them, yet despite their decay, the site exudes beauty, with a crystal clear river meandering through, herbs, flowers, and colorful trees adding splashes of color.

Eira's eyes widen in awe. "This place is perfect~ But I would prefer to have high ground..." Kael smirks, a hint of pride in his voice. "Don't worry about it. Although it looks like we're underground, this is actually one of the highest peaks. We just have to dig in a straight direction, and you'll be able to see below, or you could set up crystals outside the area."

With a few clicks on the screen, thousands of zombies materialize in the area. "I won't be staying here for much longer; the academy will move me to a different location," Kael explains as he takes out his TSI and starts typing. "I'll leave you in charge here. I've let Zeke know the details and the coordinates. He'll bring Ash and Des. Once you're done here, you need to meet me. I'll need a lot of guns, got it?" He stops typing and looks at her earnestly. "I know this will be fun for you, but you need to build a portal to the capital. Ash and Des are still kids, and we still need someone to look after the store."

Eira rolls her eyes, her impatience tangible. "Yes, yes, yes, I get it. Just give me control already~" she groans, her gaze fixed on the zombies.

"I've set multiple groups of zombies, and they all have their own roles. I'm sending you the data. Although you can't communicate with the cube directly, you can ask it to order any zombies outside of here. Just don't try to boss it around too much," Kael instructs, his tone leaving no room for argument.

He then looks around and spots a picturesque area filled with pink cherry trees. "I want that spot to be mine. I'm going to use it for training whenever I can," he declares. Eira nods in agreement. "Okay! I got it. I'm not a child. Let me control the zombies now!" she demands eagerly.

Kael smirks, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "I gave you control the second I teleported you here."

Eira's eyes widen, glowing with a majesty that seems almost supernatural. She turns around, her smile devious, making the devil's grin pale in comparison. She points at a zombie. "You! Stop!" she commands, and it halts instantly. "You! Slap that one in the face!" The ordered zombie strides over to its companion and delivers a forceful slap. Eira then commands, "Are you just going to let him slap you? Go and suplex him!" The slapped zombie stands up, grabs its assailant, and suplexes it to the ground. Eira's quiet giggle breaks the tense atmosphere. "Hehehehehehehehehe this is so fun~"

Kael sighs, rubbing his temples. "You can ask the cube to teleport you back to your room so you can grab all the stuff before Darius leaves and explodes that place. Make sure to give it a time limit so it knows when to teleport you back," he advises. Eira waves him away dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll do it in a bit. See you in a couple of weeks~" she replies, her attention fixed on her newfound entertainment.

Kael turns to the Cube. "I'll come by in a couple of days to see the progress. I showed you the plan. If we want to prepare accordingly, we need to make a proper dungeon."

[I already started the construction, although I think that's a lot of floors. I'll make it work.]

Kael nods appreciatively. "Take care of her, please. She's stupid but she's a genius, and we need her for this to work." Eira, overhearing the conversation, turns around. "I can hear you talking to the magic cuber, you know," she calls out. Kael retorts, "Go play with your zombies."

[Don't worry, she's part dwarf and I can see you value her, given that you let her beat you.]

Kael smiles faintly. "Yeah..." he thinks, 'It's not like I can fight back, she's a damn monster. It's impossible to beat her.' He sighs, bidding farewell. "Bye Eira," he says as he teleports back to the same place the mages teleported him from.

Back at the gate, he's about to be teleported back to the capital city when Mike greets him with a smirk. "Well well well, look who it is." They exchange a casual fist bump. Kael inquires, "I thought today was your day off." Mike sighs, "My kids went to a party, so I decided to change my schedule."

Kael nods in understanding. "See ya, Mike. I'll be in the Elven kingdom for a while. If you're ever there, hit me up." Mike waves him off with a knowing smile. "Sure thing. I'm everywhere, so I'll likely see you."

-

Des's voice rings through the store, a mix of frustration and determination. "Aaaasssssshhhhhhh!!!!! Give me back my hairbrush!" she yells, chasing after the agile boy. Ash dodges effortlessly, his laughter echoing around them. "Pfff, is that all you can do?" he taunts, dodging her attempts to catch him. "Ha ha, you can't catch me~" he teases, sticking his tongue out.

Des's cheeks puff up, her eyebrows knitting together in anger. She's had enough. 'Just like Kael taught me...' she thinks, her grip tightening on a broom. Ash laughs, mistaking her silence for surrender. "Hahahaha, giving up already?" But with a swift motion, Des slashes the broom like a sword, striking Ash's foot and sending him tumbling to the ground. "Ouch! What the heck! That's cheating!" he protests.

Des smirks triumphantly, grabbing him by the hair. "He gave you a tecconneqe, it's your fault you didn't practice it," she declares confidently, oblivious to her mispronunciation of the word 'technique.' "Time for payback," she adds in a cold voice.

However, their sibling rivalry is interrupted as the store door opens. Des hastily throws Ash to the side. "Welcome in, customer~" she greets cheerily, but her expression quickly shifts to delight when she recognizes the visitor. "Kael!" she exclaims, running up to him and enveloping him in a tight hug.

Kael smiles awkwardly, allowing Des to hug him without moving. Ash stands up, rubbing his leg. "Kael! She slashed me with a sword and nearly killed me! Punish her!" he exclaims, hoping to garner some sympathy.

Kael raises an eyebrow, wondering, 'What the hell are these kids doing?' Des glares at Ash, her arms akimbo as she points at him. Her crimson hair gleams as she retorts, "Stop lying, Ash! I hit you with a broom because you're messing around."

After locking up the store, Kael tries to calm the storm. "Okay, okay, both of you calm down. I have something important to tell you. Lysandra, Sera, and I will be gone for a couple of months." Before Des can protest, Kael quickly adds, "Don't worry, Eira will take you to visit me. Zeke will come by tomorrow to take you two somewhere amazing. Because of your awesome boss, you get to visit an amazing forest. And you can also see some scary zombies. Don't worry, those zombies can't hurt you whatsoever."

Ash's dark eyes sparkle with excitement. "Zombies!? That's so cool!" he exclaims, his imagination already running wild with the adventures that await.

Des, however, frowns, her thoughts more somber. "You're never here... when are you going to stay with me?" she asks, her voice tinged with longing.

Kael's smile turns awkward, sensing the depth of Des's feelings. "I promise I'll take you on a vacation when the school year is over. We can go anywhere you want," he assures her, hoping to lighten her mood and offer her something to look forward to.

Des's face lights up with childlike excitement. "Oh oh! I want to go to the beach!" she exclaims, bouncing around energetically. Ash, however, scoffs at her choice. "Not the beach! Let's go to the snow!" he protests vehemently.

Des turns around, her glare icy and her cheeks puffed in defiance. "No! You don't get to choose. He said I can choose, and you don't get to come! I want to go with Kael and his school friends!" Kael raises an eyebrow, a bit puzzled. 'Huh? What is she talking about? Friends?' He looks down at Des, seeking clarification. "Who are you talking about?" he inquires.

Des's cloudy eyes sparkle with excitement as she dashes to the counter, grabbing a book. "Look, look!" she urges, handing it to Kael. He opens the book and finds pictures from the midterm exam, each image accompanied by Des's imaginative descriptions. The first image is of Isabella casting a massive explosion, the description reading, [Big boom girl! Magic is so cool. I want to meet her and ask her to teach me!]. Kael scratches his head, slightly amused and bewildered by Des's interpretation.

The next images feature Liam and Aira together, with the description [Awesome! Kael is friends with the prince and princess! I want to ask for their autograph!]. Kael scratches his head again, not quite sure what to make of Des's excitement. The following image is of Flora, [So cool, she is the plant girl! She must be an elf!]. Kael rubs his neck, contemplating whether to correct her misconception. 'She's not an elf... I wonder how she'll react if I tell her... Nah, I won't do that,' he decides.

The next image, of Rai, is labeled [Fly swatter boy], causing Kael to suppress a laugh. Arin's description reads [Scardy cat boy], further amusing Kael. Kaida's picture is accompanied by [Very pritty, I want her to teach me how to do the face]. 'It's pretty... whatever,' Kael thinks, slightly perplexed by the descriptions.

Isadora's image follows, with Des's enthusiastic words [Kael's best friend. Super super super strong! She's so cool and pritty! She cares so much about Kael; she was looking for him when the monster exploded.]. Kael smirks, 'I guess this one is her favorite—' However, his amusement is abruptly interrupted when he sees Biana's description [Kael's pritty girlfriend! I want to meet her—]. He nearly chokes on his own breath. "U-um, Des... why would you say that?" he stammers.

Des beams, utterly convinced. "She's your girlfriend! I saw how you carried her like a princess. It's so cute," she declares, her smile radiating pure happiness.

Kael's smile turns awkward, realizing Des's conviction isn't easily swayed. "It's not like that..." he starts, but seeing her unwavering expression, he decides it's best to drop the subject. "Forget about it," he concludes, resigning himself to the whims of a child's imagination.