《Soulmage》Entitlement is Towering
Advertisement
Meloai disarmed the spike trap with a single thrust of her clockwork arm. Normal human flesh would have been shredded to bits by the saferoom's defenses, but Meloai was a mimic that had learned to be human—she was made of tougher stuff. Of the two of us, she was certainly the more qualified in our little ragtag adventuring party.
"And you said there're rations in this cave?" I asked. I'd been wandering around this damn dungeon for nearly two days without food or water now, and it was hard to think about something that wasn't where I'd get my next drink of water. The only liquid down here was the strangely omnipresent oil that covered the walls and floor, and even though I'd considered trying it in desperation, Meloai had warned me that it wasn't safe for human consumption.
"Oh, yeah. Rations for days. All kinds of stuff, too. Gold bars, statues, paintings—"
I spluttered. "Gold bars?"
Meloai gave me a frown. "Yeah. So what? I've been stuck in this dungeon since the day I was born, and I'll be here until I die. There isn't exactly any use for human currency down here."
...Right. Meloai was a person like any other, but her experiences weren't the same as mine. Still, I had hopes of getting out of this damn dungeon some day, and doing so with a backpack full of loot sounded good. Or maybe just a small sock full of loot; presumably, gold was as heavy as any other metal, and even though I had a Redlander's stocky frame, I wouldn't be able to lug a whole backpack of the stuff around. "Fair enough," I said.
I winced as Meloai forcibly reset the spike trap with a squeal of metal—those arms of hers were terrifyingly strong when she wanted them to be. She beckoned me through a hole in the wall that looked... more recent than the rest of the dungeon, and I ducked inside. A sturdy door made of wood—real wood, not whatever bizarre material most of the dungeon's fake doors were made of—blocked my path.
"Alright. Home sweet home. Should be more than enough rations for two, at least for now," she said.
Advertisement
I blinked. "For two? Meloai, you don't eat."
She winked. "I don't, but my sister does."
And then she opened the door.
The cave was definitely artificial, made of solid bricks inlaid with currents of invisible power that somehow reminded me of a living soul. And yes, crates of gold bullion were stacked to the left, and yes, a massive marble statue of some naked woman that looked very expensive was on the right, and yes, there was a gloriously tall wall stocked to the brim with dried rations and clean water.
But what took me aback the most was the living, human girl in the center of the room. Not a mimic—I could see her soul—but another, biological human being. Incongruously, she was somehow garbed in opulent, sparkling-clean purple robes.
"What..." I stared around the cave as Meloai grinned. "What... is this place?"
"Dunno!" Meloai cheerfully chirped. "But this is Tanryn, and this is my treasure room!"
"My father's treasure room," Tanryn snapped. "And my title is Lady Tanryn, thank you very much."
"Oh, you." Meloai waved a hand at Tanryn, and she sighed, rubbing her forehead. Huh. Huh. I looked back and forth between the mimic who had learned to be human and the human who lived amongst mimics. I had wondered how Meloai had taught herself human behaviors; I guess it made sense that she'd simply had a living companion to talk to over all these years. "Anyway, I hope you don't mind if I break out some of the rations? We've got a guest for the first time in... uh, two decades, so... feels like a reasonable occasion."
"My father appointed me here to safeguard the treasures of House Tanryn, and I will not allow some commoner to—"
"Wait, did you say House Tanryn?" I asked.
Lady Tanryn turned to me, one eyebrow upraised. "I did indeed invoke our noble name. Presumably, you've heard of us?"
"Yeah, you're the house whose head got executed for tax evasion twenty years back," I said. There was probably a more diplomatic way to phrase that, but I was starving and dying of thirst and this 'Lady' Tanryn was trying to prevent me from getting to her ceiling-high mountain of food. I was in no mood to be polite. "No wonder they couldn't find his riches—he had them squirreled away in some cave in another damn dimension."
Advertisement
The last living Tanryn spluttered with indignation. "Why, you—how dare you slander House Tanryn with these lies! Meloai!"
"Hm?"
"Execute him!"
"No, he's cool. Here, have a snack." Meloai walked past Tanryn; the lady tried to stop her, but pitting her muscles against the clockwork of the mimic was like shoving against an oncoming avalanche. Meloai handed me a water flask and a container of jerky, which I greedily tore into.
"Those are the treasures of House Tanryn! Put that back right now!"
I swallowed and said, "Dude. House Tanryn's been dead for longer than I've been alive, and I've been wandering around down here for days without food or water. It is impossible to overstate how little I care about your demands right now."
"But—I—but—" Tanryn's rage swelled up to a crescendo, and I prepared myself for the inevitable eruption.
What I didn't expect was for her to deflate.
"He said he wouldn't leave me here," she finally whispered.
Meloai winced, and to be honest, I wouldn't have cared less about what Tanryn's sob story was, but... Meloai clearly cared about the girl, for all her bluster and anger. So I swallowed my jerky and said, "Well, he clearly did."
Lady Tanryn shot me a glare. "Thank you, peasant. I can see that. I just... can't see... why."
I tilted my head. "Wait. Did he... did he not tell you?"
Lady Tanryn frowned. "Tell me what? You can't possibly expect me to believe that a commoner would be able to glean the inner workings of a noble's mind."
"I can in this case, because I took a history class on the damn thing. The Silent Crusade was twenty years back, and the tax on the nobles was... sending a firstborn child to war." From the expression on Lady Tanryn's face, I could tell that this was news to her. Great. I was no good at comforting people who were abrasive assholes, but as one of those abrasive assholes myself, I figured I'd give it a shot. I sat down next to her and said, "Your father didn't send you here to get rid of you. He kept you here, with all his greatest treasures, to keep you safe."
Lady Tanryn closed her eyes.
Then she opened them, expression set in stone.
"Then I gather that I am the last living heir to House Tanryn?"
"That I know of," I cautiously said.
"Then as the lady of this house, I have done you a grave disservice in my hospitality." She stood aside from the shelf of food and water. "Though I will preserve the treasures of House Tanryn, as I have been commanded to by my father, you are welcome to resupply yourself on your journey, adventurer."
I gave her a surprised look, but didn't look the gift horse in the mouth, popping open a second water flask and slowly rehydrating my parched body. Tanryn and Meloai traded glances before breaking off into conversation, and I sat down, waiting for my body to recover from the stress of the past few days.
Then I chuckled to myself, looking around the room. Tanryn and Meloai turned to me.
"What is it now, commoner?" Tanryn asked.
I snorted. "Nothing. Nothing. Just..." I gestured around the room, at the bullion and the statues, and how small they were in comparison to the massive, redundant tower of supplies, all to feed Tanryn in her long isolation. "Seems like your father was true to tradition when designing his little hoard."
Tanryn raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yeah. The real treasure was the friends we made along the way."
Tanryn's exasperated sigh and Meloai's giggling laughter filled the room, and for the first time since Odin had tricked me into the plane of falsehood, I felt like I was almost at home.
Advertisement
- In Serial261 Chapters
Above Your Head
Kwan Dae-ha.A second-year high school student who looks ordinary but is not ordinary.He had a secret he couldn’t tell anyone…And it was that he was able to see the ‘Affiliation’ and ‘State’ above the heads of the people.Is this world where people's titles are visible real?It was already tough as it was, but he keeps getting entangled with his ability and extraterrestrial beings!Today, the boy dreams of peace....Although it will be hard.
8 1550 - In Serial577 Chapters
Guild Wars
Draco had risen to the top of the world through his exploits in the legendary FIVR game, Boundless.
8 12750 - In Serial1978 Chapters
The Great Thief
He had never invested in shares or bought a lottery ticket, and neither did he have any experience in the general business industry. Lu Li found that the only thing he could do was play games. Luckily he had experienced rebirth, and was one step ahead of everyone else. Luckily, games had been developing extremely quickly, and there were many people who had become rich through playing games. In his ‘past life’, he had spent countless nights awake, in grief and anguish. However, although all of this had been washed away, so what…? This life, he was determined to make a fierce counterattack against fate and stand at the very top!
8 5621 - In Serial231 Chapters
Breaker of Horizons
-- A System Apocalypse from the invader's perspective. A monster evo story with cultivation. --Nic has been Selected. Chosen to adventure out to a new world, and help the System break the natives into submission. To become an Invader of worlds fighting for the Integration of a planet called 'Earth.'Selected to leave his body behind and become a monster. Selected to live or die on his own wits, his own strengths.
8 967 - In Serial121 Chapters
I Didn't Even Want to Live, But God Forced Me to Reincarnate!
A duke’s daughter wanted nothing in her life but the sweet nothingness of death, as she felt like her life served no purpose. Her wish was granted when she was killed in an unfortunate accident, yet in a sudden turn of events, she was forced to reincarnate. As fate has it, she was reborn in her original world, but not directly after her death. As she is living her new life, she tries to forget the pain of her old life. But, what exactly is behind her reincarnation? Will she be able to live her new life to the fullest? This is a slow-paced life journey of a reincarnated girl who's trying to find the meaning behind her past life and reincarnation. This novel is heavily influenced with Japanese LN/WNs, so there will be the use of Japanese suffix (-sama, -san) and terms! Note : - This novel is originally posted in my site, and can also be accessed in CreativeNovels. If you're not sure you're reading the most up-to-date chapter, feel free to check there. If you want to support this series, gain access to rewards such as advanced chapters, and help in increasing this series' update rate, please check my Patreon page~. - Thanks for reading! Please don't hesitate to leave a comment and review, especially if you enjoy it, as it will boost my motivation ^^
8 330 - In Serial25 Chapters
I was Bored So I Became The Antagonist In a VR Game
its the year 2042 and Virtual reality has reached new hights. The human race is addictaed to the new game " Expanding stars online" (ESO). Xiler is a 17year old hardcore gammer, who after 3 years of farming and gaming has finally secretly become the strongest force in the game. What will he do next? NOTE FROM ARTHUR Hey I wanted to give writing another try. the last time i wrote one this site I was in school so I had to drop the story, but im hoping I can get through this story. Not very long chapters, maybe give something people can read between while waiting for other books. lol my native language is english but my spelling sucks. so I am very sorry for spelling mistakes, grammer, or a missing word. the last book I did was " lord fear" here on the site. lol I can show you better then i can tell you.
8 195