Dungeon Builder's Harem Book 01 Ch. 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"What makes you different?" asked Halia as we followed the river south.

"Different?" I asked, glancing at the warrior. Her big boobs jiggled in her metal bikini.

"Yes. From the other dungeon builders. They all are evil."

"Are they?" I considered that. Fuegin hadn't attacked me. He had come and introduced himself and asked some big questions. Like why were we brought here? I really didn't know.

"Of course."

"It makes me wonder what being a dungeon builder does to a person. We're not from this world. We come from a completely different place. A lot of us probably never had any real power. We're young men, barely with any responsibilities, and we're thrust into this place where we get magic. Sexy monster girls that want to fuck us."

"And sexy succubus-sisters," Garnet added.

"That goes under monster girls," I said, grinning at her. "It's a rush. You're playing god when you build your dungeon. What does that do to a person?"

"What did it do to you?" Halia asked.

I blinked. "It made me feel... responsible. I was suddenly thrust with these monster girls to protect. Lana Fulmine and my will o' wisps. Plus Souleen, the heart of the Void Crystal. I had to protect her. I was barely even figuring things out when I was attacked by Mthunzi. He battered through my defenses and reached my room. I had to fight for the first time.

"I won. Barely."

"Yes, you dungeon builders are aggressive like that. Look at you. You're about to attack one."

"True." I glanced down the trail. "The one we're about to face has two elements. Water or Life was his original. He killed another dungeon builder to advance. That's the thing, isn't it? The ones who are willing to be aggressive are the ones who gain power. How many dungeon builders were like me? Who didn't want to fight? Didn't want to do anything but exist and were killed. And what does that do to the ones who survive? Who don't want to die? It has to warp you. There's a part of me that will do anything to protect what I got." I swallowed. "Part of me wonders if I'm doing this not to rescue those girls but to destroy a rival who could hurt me."

Halia stared at me for some time. "You do seem to want to help. You tried to capture me."

"I felt bad." I sighed. "Adventurers died in my dungeon before your party. You all are just trying to protect your world, and here I am a threat to it. Somehow. I don't even really know how."

"You devour mana," she said. "It's bad."

"Why?"

Halia opened her mouth and then frowned. "I really don't know. They say it causes problems, but it's always vague. That's why we have to put you down. There are places in this world ruled by powerful dungeon builders. Men who have most if not all the runes. Who rule entire kingdoms. Places of fear where words hold sway. Like the tyrant who killed my father!"

I sighed. "And that's the real thing. Power corrupts. How many sent here even consider the harm they're doing. What if they don't think this is real. It almost feels like a video game. Some base builder RPG or RTS game or something."

"Ar tee ess? Video game? Ar pee gee? What are these?"

"Things from my world."

"Things Leo spent too much time playing, and not enough time showering me in attention," Garnet said.

"I'm just saying. What if they don't even think of this place as real. As this being anything more than a game. What does that do to your outlook? Your view on what you can or can't do in this world? It has to skew it. So, no, I don't think dungeon builders are inherently evil. There's just a lot of pressures that select them towards doing bad things.

"It's why I have to make a stand. Show people I'm different. I want to make something peaceful. I want people to be happy and live their lives and don't have to worry about oozes or satyrs or other monster girls raiding their villages."

Halia nodded. She seemed convinced. "I'll help you with this, Leo. You are not the man I thought you were."

I smiled at her. "Thanks. That actually means a lot."

"He is a good man," Lana said. "I know. I spent my life in the cesspit that is Hollywood. I'm glad Leo brought me into this world."

"Me, too. I'm my big bro's number one fan," Garnet said. "It would be so boring without him."

"I'm still alive in the other world," I pointed out.

"Yeah, in a boring coma." She puffed out her cheeks. "Here I get to make love to you. It's so wonderful." She paused. "I wonder if I'm in a coma."

"Am I?" asked Lana Fulmine. "Did you hear any news about me?"

"Um... maybe that you were back in rehab or something." Garnet shrugged. "I really don't remember. That stuff is all super boring. I'm more a YouTuber girl. I love Fancy Franny and Charelz."

"Who are they?" Lana asked. I wondered the same thing.

"They're makeup YouTubers!" Her wings fluttered. "Fancy Franny does the best makeup. She's got 15 million subscribers."

"Jesus," I gasped.

"And Charelz is this fun gay guy who knows all the makeup tricks. He's sassy." Garnet snapped her fingers before her while whipping her arm back and forth. "And fierce! He has 20 million. How do you not know who they are?"

I glanced at Lana.

She shrugged.

"What a strange world you come from," said Halia. "What sort of nation is YouTuber to have so many people? Is Charelz a king?"

"It's a long story," I said. "And--"

"Lord Leo, we've left the stream," Cysgo reported. "I made markings. It's by the willow with a funny face in the bark. We're heading west. It looks like towards some hills."

"Thanks," I said. We were getting closer.

We found the willow with the face about fifteen minutes later. Cysgo left markings showing which way she went. We headed in that direction, moving down what looked like a simple trail. The woods rose around us. The terrain became more and more wooded.

"This is the edge of Lord Shorvin's estate," said Halia, looking around. "We're heading for the Copper Scale Hills."

"Neat," said Garnet. "Why are they called that?"

"It's said a great dragon with copper scales died there and then was buried. People dig up copper scales from time to time. Big ones. They use them to make shields. They're good at protecting from lightning."

Lana Fulmine shifted. "Great. Do you think he's prepared for us?"

"If he even knows about us," pointed out Garnet.

I nodded. "Not all our powers are lightning. I have Dark magic, too."

We kept going down the trail. Cysgo kept leaving marks to let us know we were still following her. She would scratch arrows into tree bark or overturned rocks, leaving the ground freshly disturbed. We followed her trail further and further towards the hills.

About twenty minutes in that direction, the brush rustled. We all tensed and then Sviesos popped out. My will o' wisp had a big grin on her face, her boobs jiggling. The various hues of blue swirled like vapor through her flesh.

"Lord Leo!" she squealed and hugged me, planting a big kiss on my mouth.

She wasn't alone. She had Zaibas, Hela, and Ci with her. I left the rest of the monster girls with Usiku to guard the Void Crystal. Mthunzi had only brought his companion and lost. I didn't want to take that chance.

I would bring a few of my monster girls and hope I wasn't dooming us all.

Halia glanced at me in shock. "You weakened your defenses."

"Let's hope no one realizes that," I said. "Come on, let's go. We have a villain to overthrow."