My Dungeon Life: Rise of the Slave Harem

Chapter 1289

“What do you think?” I asked.

Miki frowned slightly before taking her hand off the guild master’s head. “I’m not sure we should do anything.”

A few days had passed since I had spent a night with Miki. I was trying to get several things set up before I did the dimensional jump. Since I would be trapped on Earth for a week, I wanted to make sure nothing was being left behind that would cause any problems. The problem that wore on my mind the most was the karmic infection that had invaded all of the people. I had managed to make it so they could function normally by karmic manipulation, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still there.

Most of the citizens didn’t know about such a karmic issue, so to keep things under wraps, I visited Ruby and the guild master. After spending a few minutes checking him with her spiritualist powers, Miki ended up giving an answer that was just a bit disappointing.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

In my mind, it seemed like a rather simple thing to repair their contaminated souls. Well, not simple enough for me to manage on my own, but with Miki’s help, I was thinking we’d have a chance.

Miki raised her hands. “It’s not that I’m saying it isn’t possible, I’m just suggesting it isn’t necessary.

The guild master frowned slightly. “From what I understand, this Karmic control is like some kind of mind washing, right? Someone could program me to act against my character? I don’t want to turn into a mindless zombie again. This town has dealt with enough zombies.”

I had to nod in agreement. When I first arrived in Chalm, they were under attack from an overflow of zombies coming from an aggressive but new dungeon. That’s what had ended up starting me on this strange path I was on. Then, only a few months later, upon freeing the city of ghosts and rebuilding, the equivalent of a rage virus broke out, turning the city once again into one filled with a zombie menace. I knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing there was a switch in my head that could turn me into a violent monster.

However, Miki was shaking her head in disagreement. “It’s not like that. This karmic infection came from Deek, and only Deek can control it completely. Even Elaya, for all of her knowledge, could only broadly influence your emotions, as the source of the miasma all came from Master. Only Master would have the ability to influence you, and no offense, if Master wanted to do this, he could forcibly infect the city at any time using his dungeon.

“Ah… that’s true…” The guild master scratched the back of his head. “It’s just a lot to ask…”

“All we have to do is trust in Deek,” Ruby spoke up, and then shot the guild master a hard glare. “Don’t you?”

The guild master stiffened and then laughed. “Of course, I trust him! Most of the people in town consider him a savior! It’s just… what’s the point in keeping it?”

Miki shrugged. “Having Deek’s karmic infection will protect everyone from miasmic attacks. You won’t be influenced by the negative effects of dungeons, and you will have a high resistance to curses. In a way, it’s like having a pseudo-god soul. Furthermore, it will mean that Deek can trust you guys.”

“Trust us?”

“Take Demon Lord Aberis, for example. He wouldn’t have been able to invade the soul of someone who had already been infected by Deek.”

“I mean… there won’t be another Aberis, will there?” the guild master looked worried.

“You never know. At the very least, citizens of Chalm won’t be able to be turned into spies or otherwise be influenced by dark forces.”

“So, it’s like that…” Ruby sighed. “Then, I suppose I have no problem leaving things as is.”

The guild master still didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure there aren’t some other potential problems with it?”

Miki stiffened lightly, but when I gave her a nod to continue, she spoke up. “There may be one. Since Master’s miasma is in direct contact with your souls, people who are infected by Master’s miasma may find themselves more… susceptible… to Master’s…advances…”

“Huh?” I jerked up.

“I mean, people will like Master more!”

“Why did you word it the other way?”

“Isn’t it because Master keeps finding women to seduce?”

“This is hardly the same thing! Name a single woman in town who is infected that has come to desire me more?” I declared.

After a few moments of silence, all of our heads turned to a certain person.

“Why are you looking at me?” Ruby cried out.

Chapter 1290

Whether Ruby would confirm or deny Miki’s speculation, an answer never came. That’s because the door burst open a few moments later, and a scout from the adventuring guild popped his head in.

“The Osterians identified a group of several hundred animalkin approaching Chalm!” He declared.

“Another attack?” the guild master cursed.

“Deek, you should resolve this immediately!” Ruby declared, and when we all looked at her, she blushed. “What? It’s important!”

Well, she wasn’t wrong. Did the animalkin decide to invade? A group of several hundred, were they underestimating us? In all honesty, if those few hundred were all knights or something of equal ability and power, there was a time not too long ago where it would have been enough to wipe out Chalm. My army could only grow so fast, and besides the Osterians, they were only a few hundred strong and only had been training a few months. To be honest, our strongest had always been my slaves and the generals, most of which were absent right now.

I supposed I could pull on the power of the dungeon, or depend on Elaya and Astria, to wipe out the threat, but first I needed to confirm it. I pulled up my Map, and immediately located the group that was entering the edge of my territory. Since I had soul-linked with the dungeon, the dungeon’s mana was now my mana. In short, around Chalm, I was extremely powerful.

The farther from Chalm I got, the weaker that connection became, but there were exceptions, such as in a dungeon battle, where I could call forth that power like it was right next to me. It was an interesting experience, and one of the most interesting things about it was an extremely long Mapping ability, which also simultaneously carried out a sense life. I could see every life form in the city, and for those, I bothered to remember their mana signatures, I could locate them at any time. My only blind spots happened to be near the god spouts. There was such a rich degree of mana and miasma spurting from them that it would be difficult to detect life.

My sense extended outward, the dungeon acting much like a magical satellite dish, and the reach of my sense even covered Chalm’s crossing, although it didn’t reach as far as Deeksville… yet. As the dungeon grew, so would my range. There might be a time where my senses crossed all of the wilderness. Furthermore, this was my center of power. I truly began to understand the depths of power a man like the demon king would possess.

I had already predicted that the dual dungeon that people often spoke about, The Demon Castle and Hell, were a god dungeon just like mine! Hell must be the soul dungeon that resided in the demon king, while the Demon Castle was the physical manifestation. That was my prediction, although I had no one to confirm if my theory was right.

Since I could see these enemies, and I was at my seat of power, I might as well greet them head-on. Miki grabbed my arm, and I raised an eyebrow.

“You’re coming?”

“Mm!” She nodded.

I could see a look of worry in her eyes. She felt responsible for this group coming to us. If it didn’t have anything to do with Lady Death, then I’d be completely surprised. I lifted my hand and opened a portal that was a few hundred yards in front of these enemies, and then with Miki on my arm, I stepped through.

When I reached the other side, I did not see what I expected. The thing I saw was far worse than I would have predicted. It was a group of people I had hoped to never see again in my life. These were a rag-tag group, dirty, sick, and dying. They looked like they had been on a pretty bad journey the last few days, and had crossed the wilderness on foot, braving many potential attacks. I didn’t know why they had bothered though.

A man stepped forward, taking off his hat and pressing it to his chest, his fox ears lowered, his tail slouched. “Lord Deek…”

I didn’t say anything, but Miki took a step forward in front of me. “Hello, Father.”

Chapter 1291

“Why have you come?” I asked rudely. “What made you think you’d have a place here?”

Miki glanced back at me. “Master…”

“We…” He cleared his throat as his wife gabbed his coat from behind. “We don’t have anywhere else to go. After you left, we realized that the catkin would likely send someone to wipe us out to keep their secrets. Our people are sick and dying. We were barely able to make this journey.”

I looked at Miki’s Mother, who was holding her Father’s shirt in a way that wasn’t much different than how Miki clung to me. However, just because they were her parents didn’t mean they were her family. My expression stiffened.

“How is it my problem?” I demanded, causing him to flinch.

“A-are the children alright?” Miki asked.

I didn’t mind her cutting in, but her voice that was still filled with concern only caused my heart to ache. These people weren’t deserving of any of her kindness or sympathy.

“T-they still live.” He responded after a moment when he was sure I was allowing her to speak. “The rest of us carried them… but many died on the way. We resurrected those we still could, but we’ve reached a point where the able-bodied were fewer than the immobile. If we turn back… I’m afraid no one will reach Dioshin alive.”

I crossed my arms. “Oh, I’m sure some of you will survive. You’ll just abandon the weak so those better off survive. It’s what you do.”

He bit his lip, and the others were either too tired or knew their place too well to muster any rebuttal. Every eye was looking down at the floor. They had lost what little part of their home they had left. Without knowing what they would find, they braved the wilderness and came to their enemy in the hopes of mercy. It was a bit like the time that Chalm was upset by ghosts and fled to Dioshin for shelter. Then again, when that happened, Dioshin had closed their doors on them, denying the animalkin a home. I saw no reason to offer one either.

“We… won’t abandon others anymore. We’ve lived our entire lives suppressed by Dioshin, treated as outcasts because of the fear of souls and spirits. We… won’t make the same mistake again.”

“Good for you.” I sneered. “Now, go away.”

He shook but didn’t respond. “I will leave…”

Miki reached out her hand, but I grabbed her arm, stopping her from stepping toward them, and then spun her so she faced away from him. She looked up at me, her eyes filled with unshed tears, her body shaking. It was filled with fear, confusion, and regret.

Her father hadn’t turned away yet, opening his mouth once again as he glanced at Miki’s back. “I know I no longer have the right to call you my daughter.”

“That’s one thing we can both agree on!” I responded, looking at Miki, not him.

“I can only ask, no… beg…The children… they have done nothing. Can you… can you please take the children? Can you cure… no… can you raise them, to be strong like you? We were… all too weak.”

My eyes continued to stare at Miki unblinking while her eyes grew red and her lips trembled. After a few moments of silence, I sighed, still not looking in their direction.

“If you must.”

I heard a small exhale of breath, and the foxkin slowly moved forward. They only walked halfway to us, dragging behind small, bundled forms on makeshift carts. For a village of a couple hundred, there were only about twenty children in all remaining. They were left in front of us. The mothers and fathers who had to abandon their children let out wails and cries. The children weren’t even conscious at this point. After a few moments to say their farewells, they slowly got back up and started heading into the forest.

Throughout this time, my eyes were still on Miki. She didn’t tell them to stop. Even with the tears running down her cheeks, she smiled at me and nodded. She was telling me this was the right thing to do.

It’s too bad I knew Miki better than that. I had been inside Miki’s mind. I had seen the real person. She had worn a mask of acceptance her entire life. She always accepted what came to her. She masked some of it behind a mischievous and teasing demeanor, but at the end of it all, Miki was infinitely kind and generous. She wouldn’t say anything, because this was too hard for her to decide. She wanted me to make the decision, and she’d stand beside that decision.

However, I knew my Miki. I knew that deep down; she would be in pain. I knew she would suffer every day in silence and regret. She would never resent me, but she would blame herself forever. I reached out and scratched the back of my neck.

“Ahhh… god, what a bother!” Her eyes widened at my words, and the people who had just reached the forest slowed slightly. “I don’t want to have to deal with a bunch of stinking children. I guess I’ll just sell them into slavery. That’ll make some gold, I bet.”

My words were loud, and they were heard by the foxkin. The Father spun around, just a bit of heat in his eyes.

“Slavery… n-now see here! These are our children. We didn’t leave them to you to sell as slaves?”

“Eh?” I picked my ear. “Are you still here? Aren’t you the guys just telling me you wouldn’t leave your kind behind, all while leaving all of your children behind? That’s real rich coming from you guys.”

Several of the foxkin looked up with an offended expression.

“It’s not like that! It’s just, our lives don’t matter. We will gladly give them to save our children. Why can’t you see that?”

“All I see is you all taking the easy way out. Again.” I responded. “If I’m going to deal with these kids, I need to be properly compensated.”

“C-compensated?” He sputtered. “We don’t have anything left? All we have is ourselves!”

I raised an eyebrow. “A bunch of spirit foxkin, huh?”

He stiffened as the realization started to cross his face.

“I need some slaves to take care of these foxkin children, and for the rest, I’ll find a way to put you all to work.”

I didn’t have a church in Chalm. Franky, I found the church’s I had encountered to this date a bit too wonky to want them around. We had gained a few priests who had remained in town, but it wasn’t enough for a growing population. However, priests weren’t the only ones that could resurrect people. Spiritualists seemed to have the best resurrection, especially if they were a multi-tailed foxkin! This wasn’t a matter of altruism, this was just good business.