In half an hour all Smartians had been tackled.

The merry monsters tore apart the corpses of the Smartians that they killed. The individual body parts though soaked in blood, looked comparatively less grotesque.

Only one task remained now– getting back to the trap door.

In the chamber where Kiara had been kept, we found a big rectangular table with a large map on it. It depicted the entire underground tunnel system. Even the dimension of the prisoners was marked.

“Look,” I said, indicating the dimension. A miniature hologram of the dead Lady Spell was inside it. The smartians knew all that had transpired in the dimension. They would have never opened the door. It confirmed the pivotal role that Kiara had played in freeing us today.

“Can we move these lines?” Kiara said.

The lines of ink that the map was composed of were not on the paper but were actually hovering a millimeter above the surface. Kiara touched a part of the map that represented a part of the tunnel. The sticky ink moved with her finger, such that a line was drawn across one part of the tunnel.

Kiara looked at me with wide eyes, as the two of us realized that the map could actually be used to manipulate and tweak the entire tunnel system. This was further verified when I made a small line on the part of the map showing the chamber we were currently in. Immediately a new wall formed out of nowhere in front of us much to our awe. But this came at the expense of the other nearby walls losing thickness.

“So that’s how they trapped us in the tunnel,” Kiara said. “They were changing the tunnel as we were moving along it.”

Small dots of light were scattered all over the map, and it was easy to guess that these dots represented us. You couldn’t play with these dots like you could with the lines.

I reckoned yesterday when I had come down to the tunnel the smaritans had detected my presence much before my encountering them. But then they could have trapped me easily by changing the tunnel. Why didn’t they do that?

“Maybe no one was observing this map when you came down,” Kiara said, “Or maybe they don’t lay fingers on this map unless they really need to, since it influences the whole place. Or,” Kiara winced at an unpleasant memory, “maybe they were just in the toilet.”

Maybe. We could never know for certain now.

There was one section of the map, where the ink couldn’t be moved. We realized that this was the trap door leading up to the castle. After this it was just a matter of us playing with the lines, until we had drawn a straight passage that connected us to the trap door.

I took the map with me, someday it might come handy. We had spent no less than ten hours underground. Ten hours filled with twists and turns, and I had been tested to the limit. As I was about to proceed up the steps, I took one final glance at the dark tunnel.

“Will you miss it?” Kiara asked me, observant.

I exhaled.

“Nah,” I shook my head. Mental torture was hardly something to be missed. The Lady Spell had really fried my mind and soul today. “But I am glad I brought you here.”

“Who is Vicky, without Kiara?” Kiara said, slapping my back.

“Who is Vicky, indeed,” I said.

A notification emerged in my vision. It was accompanied by a feeling of euphoria. I let out a cry of surprise and joy.

Congratulations!

You have successfully completed the quest despite all its dangers.

You were promised to be handsomely rewarded, and you shall be. The large amounts of evilese you have been able to generate from your farms has also contributed in making you deserving of the following reward–

You receive Neutrality.

Change of Affinity is a Crucial achievement!

You get Luck!

A mini rocket whistled as it encircled me a couple of times and burst atop my head, showering magical glitter. I giggled, shrugging at Kiara. Okay, that was a pleasant surprise. An L icon appeared in my peripheral vision, signifying luck.

Everyone of your followers too receive neutrality, but you can give them the choice to accept or deny it.

(Do note that you need to keep taking evilese to maintain your neutrality. Small doses are sufficient. As long as this is maintained on a regular basis, no monster and no player will be your enemy)

***

So all’s well that ends well.

When I offered Neutrality to my monsters, the vast majority of them accepted it. A small percentage retained their evilun status. Many of these left the town, though they still remained my friends. I was the neutral king now, so they needn’t follow me.

I couldn’t comprehend that after so much time and effort I had actually achieved what I wanted. It felt surreal.

The next time Sam came along, he was customarily astounded at my latest achievements.

Sam threw his chest out and theatrically pointed at himself.

“I took you to the zombies and you saw their farms and it sparked something in you. You ought to give me credit.”

Sam was right. Without him, I would not even have taken a break to go exploring the forest, after I had newly become a king and my new responsibilities were bearing down on me.

I had achieved everything I could in the game world. I was at a pinnacle. Had I not made the sacrifice I would have been in the real world now, enjoying a new pair of legs.

But then I doubted if I would have reached here at all without the sacrifice.

The days passed with ease. Life was peaceful. Though there were always days of boredom every now and then.

What are you supposed to do when you have achieved all your goals? Set some more?

A mildly unsettling observation I made was of the Luck icon swelling up and acquiring a veiny texture as the days progressed, almost like it was going to burst. The icon eerily resembled a bloodshot reptilian eye.

It is said that life gives you whatever you want in some form or the other. This philosophy eventually was to backfire on me. I wanted to get rid of the occasional boredom, but not in the way life conspired to do it.

Never.

It happened a few weeks after I had attained neutrality.

Well, my life turned upside down. Once again.

***

General Information:

Name: Vicky

Affinity/Inclination: Neutral One

Honors: celebrated king of numerous neutral monster clans

Level: 6

2(Health/Strength): 200/6000

Stamina:532/600

Mana: 541/600

Spells/Abilities: Merge, Transform, Change

Average Trust and Faith of Fellows: 143