Azaria Chapter 25

Nothing much to report today!

Chapter 25: Explosions and Star-gazing

Azaria

‘She just couldn’t help making a mess, could she?’ Lance had gone off the deep end with the girl she captured earlier today. I was actually becoming quite worried about the girl. She had already broken most of her fingers and was using her cleaver to slice off pieces of skin along her arms.

“I’ve told… you everything… I know,” the woman named Erica said for the tenth time. I’d been keeping count so I was sure. I wasn’t into the torture, and was only keeping tads for the safety of my dungeon. The last thing I needed was for something to happen and one of the explode or something.

“I don’t believe you, but that won’t matter much longer,” Lance said before he placed her hand on the woman’s chest. I blushed as I didn’t think Lance would go that far, but it turned out she was using a skill of some type. “Chaos!”

The woman screamed as her body started to expand grotesquely. Lance backed away with a look of bewilderment. She obviously didn’t expect that to happen. I felt the amount of Aether building inside the woman was going to be quite powerful.

“Lance get out of there!” 

She heeded me and ran for the secret entrance just as the woman exploded. There was enough energy that the blast managed to take out half my east wall. Even the dungeon magic couldn’t withstand the damage and the upper half of the floor collapsed into rubble. 

“Girl! What happened!?” Starburst shouted as he came running.

“Lance denotanted a bomb inside me!” I replied my anger leaking out.

“That’s not what happened last time I used the skill!” She retorted from her place where she kneeled looking at the damage. People outside were starting to gather to inspect what was going on. I poured Aether into the walls and had them repair before anyone had the bright idea to use that instead of the main entrance.

“What do you expect from a skill named Chaos!? I should be happy you didn’t blow more than a few rooms of my dungeon apart.”

“I’m sorry Azaria. I didn’t expect that to happen, I swear.” 

“Whatever. Did you get what you wanted from her?” 

Lance had changed her form again. She was the correct gender but was a bit older than her actual form by a few years. With the appearance of a foxy woman in her late twenties, she would probably be attracting new kinds of trouble her way. 

“I hope so. I might be able to get my revenge in a few days!” Lance said with her eye taking on a crazed tremble. 

“Good for you. Try not to blow up my walls for a few days.”

“No guarantee. I plan on getting myself in that monster’s party and convincing them to come here,” Lance said as she started gingerly making her way through the debris as she gathered up her stuff from the still damaged room. 

“At least warn me next time.”

“Will do!” 

After a few minutes, Lance took a limping state and made her way out of the dungeon from the main entrance. The gathered crowd rushed to her aid. I noticed that my parents were outside observing the situation. A haze of Aether washed over them making it where I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I was glad just to see them alive and well. 

They took Lance to a separate section of the tent and seemed to question her. I wanted so bad to rush to them, but I was bound to this spot. For all I knew, I would never get to leave again. That would be sad as I had always wanted to see the world. I watched until they eventually left, my ethereal arm reaching out for them but unsee by everyone.

“I’m sorry, girl.”

I jerked as I realized that Starburst was standing next to me. “What’s done is done. All that remains in the future and how we move on from here,” I said then moved away. I made my way to the roof of the mansion and sat down to watch the sunset and the stars start to roll in. Since there was a few minutes until the stars really came out, I pulled up my status.

Azaria Highlock

Age:18

Level: 3

Race: Dungeon

Type: Doll 

Sub-type: Goddess’s Chosen

Aether: 3,479/3,700

Floors: 3/3

Skills: Creation

Deconstruction

Summon (7/123)

Teleport Matrix (1/1) 

Enchanter’s Melody

Uncontrollable Proliferation 

Random Ability

Achievements:

God Killer – Killed a God, albeit a weak one.

Reigning Power – Permanently enhances abilities by five percent. 

The Surface – When a dungeon reaches the surface the world opens up to them. Aether hourly gain (+1)

I wasn’t sure when, but I had leveled up again. I suppose I had defeated quite a few parties recently. The biggest change since I lasted looked at my status was my Undefeated became Reigning Power. I had hoped that I could continue to build it even higher, but it was capped at fiver percent. Not bad considering it was moving up at tenths of a percent every time. 

“Lovely night don’t you think?”

I jumped as I found a boy sitting next to me. He was looking up into the night sky and I wasn’t sure he was actually talking to me. At least until he turned and looked directly at me. I moved to the side and his eyes followed me.

“You can see me?” I asked carefully. I was still not sure what could truly harm me in this changed world.

“I sure can. But that is about it.”

I looked him over and I did think he looked a bit sickly. I could barely feel any Aether coming from him as well. Only bit I could detect was from his eyes. He had black hair and I felt he was around my age at seventeen or eighteen. I wouldn’t call him a looker but he had a sort of handsomeness to him. 

“How did you get up here?”

He smiled mischievously. “I have my ways.” He fell back and laid on the roof watching the sky. “I saw you a few days ago and thought you looked incredibly lonely up here. So, I decided to pay you a visit when I managed to work up the strength.”

“I see. I’m sorry if I don’t trust you on that alone.”

“I would call you a fool if you did. Personally. I wouldn’t trust anyone in this world. Not anymore.”

“That seems a bit harsh. Surely there are still a few good people in the world?”

He gave me a sad smile like he felt sorry for me. “Oh, I don’t doubt it. I just haven’t had the privilege of meeting them.”

“I guess you’ve had a rough lot in life?” I said landing on the roof but keeping some distance between us. 

“You could say that.”

“I suppose I’m sorry to hear that,” I said and truly meant it. I felt like this guy should have been in a hospital not on top of a roof in the middle of the night. 

“You are cute. I thought so the first time I saw you, but I really think so now that I’ve gotten a closer look at you,” he said, and I backed away a few more inches. But I knew I was probably blushing. The only people that called me cute before were my parents. This was the first time hearing it from someone of the opposite sex. Even if I wasn’t sure I technically qualified as being a girl anymore.

“I bet you tell all the girls that,” I said.

“Maybe, maybe not. Doesn’t change the fact it is true.”

I laughed despite myself. “I can’t tell if you’re a player or just awkward.”

“Probably the latter. I don’t get out much, to be honest.”

“Girl! We need to work on your dungeon!” I heard Starburst shouting from inside the dungeon.

“I guess…” I started to say as I looked over to the boy, but he was gone. “That sucks. I didn’t get his name.” It was the first person outside of the dungeon that I had talked to since Lance. I wanted to talk more. 

I sank through the roof and found Starburst in the destroyed section that Lance had wrecked earlier. I sighed and got to work. Thankfully, since it already existed, it didn’t cost much Aether to repair. Though, next time I might bill Lance if she was going to repeat this.