Nick walked through the well-lit underground mall, finding the place packed with all sorts of people. Various races in casual wear and people in armor walked side-by-side, enjoying the many shops and activities contained within.

  He had to get out of the house. Construction on their Crown Sanctum was taking place to prepare it for future emissaries and visitors, and his wives were all busy working on preparing themselves for the Third Stratum. Unfortunately, Nick could only help them so much until it was time to ascend. Jasmine and Lumos had become their assistants, leaving him with little to do.

  And the invitations had been sent out. Nick’s conquering of the 20th floor meant that he was now a true king of Orion, and he would have a coronation ceremony. Ambassadors and likely even a few nearby lords may make the trip. At the very least, he expected Lord Silver would attempt to be there himself.

  Which meant that Nick’s next expenditures were to get Frosthaven ready to host such dignitaries. Thankfully, reaching the Third Stratum meant that such things were nearing the trivial levels for the bare minimum in essence cost and reasonable for something fitting. They just needed to fill in the gaps, especially decorations, as the defaults from the essence-created areas were rather bland.

  Within the many stores and thoroughfares, he saw some quilboarfolk, ratfolk, and dwarves occasionally, as some had become his Followers. It was important for him to keep those he protected with Soul Pacts to a limited number. He needed the Pacts for those working with sensitive information and those who faced danger regularly in the Ordeal or outside the city…and perhaps most essential of all, it was for monsterfolk.

  Because Nick’s number of followers had grown, and he knew that very soon they were going to grow yet again. Several monsterfolk tribes that the slave traders had difficulty dealing with or finding buyers for were going to arrive soon, and he knew it would be within the next several days or weeks.

  These people would require his Soul Pacts the most, because it was necessary to prevent undesirable behaviors and conflict, reducing the risk they bring to the citizens of Frosthaven. Some monsterfolk could become violent easily, which was not conducive to living with civilization and society.

  It wasn’t that Soul Pacts eliminated the chance of a monsterfolk harming someone just because of Archaen Law. Through it, the monsterfolk knew instinctually when something they intended on doing was wrong, curbing their behavior–much like the feeling Nick got when he attempted to lie or deceive.

  A growl becomes a true warning, rather than a prelude to death. Monsterfolk still snarl, posture, and fight–but tavern brawls, territorial infringements, and perceived wronging ended in bruises, not corpses, thanks to the Pact.

  The truth was that Nick’s status as their Alpha, their Chief, was just as important at curbing their behavior as the Soul Pact itself. It just influenced them even while he wasn’t around, which was significant. Nick certainly couldn’t be with them at all times to make sure they were behaving correctly, but their desire to meet his expectations and the fact that the Pact was associated with him really made the changes meaningful.

  Continuing to walk through the mall, he saw more of his beloved citizens enjoying it. Some orcs ate some burgers at the burger and shake joint, dancing to music at the jukebox. A large group of beastfolk and monsterfolk enjoyed the various foods in the food court. Grilled meats, special fruit drinks and coffee, and tons of fried deliciousness lined their tables, the people trying various items that reminded Nick of Earth. There were a lot of wagging tails of all kinds, Nick noticed, bringing a smile to his lips.

  Many smiled and waved at him or saluted from their seats. It felt good to be well-liked and known, even as he moved through the place alone while wearing his typical martial robes.

  “Lord Noblefrost! Fancy seeing you here.” A dwarf wearing fancy clothing, along with several of his subordinates, was trying items in the food court. It seemed the former noble wanted to have a taste of nearly everything, as his table was just packed with items with a few bites taken out of them.

  “Bronzebeard! How goes it?”

  “I’m really liking this place, but I have to wonder. Just what are you thinking, keeping this place a secret or for the privileged few only? This is a tremendous opportunity to make money hand over fist!”

  Nick grimaced. He had considered opening the underground mall to more than just his Followers. Even children could enjoy themselves within; many of the entertainment locations were perfect for them. Why shouldn’t he open it? Wouldn’t it be a draw for others to come to his kingdom?

  He was now able to defend what made his kingdom special, so that was not the issue. And his family had already painstakingly done what they could to ensure the Ravagers could not find them from items within the mall.

  Aside from some minor informational books in his study and some available in his Ancestral Archives, these should be the only things that people could link directly to his race–on its own. That–and everything else within The Barrows in the Archaen Caches–should someone else unearth them through all the protections.

  While this was true, however, he didn’t doubt that a combination of details might somehow reveal the truth. Seraphara had sensed their ancient wisdom through resonance, for example. What if someone had some powerful hint that, when combined with everything else…?

  Nick sighed. “It might be time. Part of it was I didn’t want nearby kingdoms to covet it without me being able to defend it. We should be at that point soon enough. From there, it’s just, I think I need to do a little more to…hide just how advanced my Heritage is.” He leaned in, speaking lower so only Bronzebeard could hear him. “My people had enemies in the past. Powerful ones, to the point where I cannot even speak my people’s ancient, magical language outside of where it can be shielded, or I might be found by them. It won’t matter until the Open Relay is open, but a little prevention…”

  Bronzebeard was thoughtful as Nick pulled back to stand straight, stroking his bronze-colored beard. “Truly? Hmm… I see. Your family surely has an unfathomable history. We cannot put too big a price on safety. When greed writes the numbers, ruin balances the books. But… a fortune never risked is a soul never tested. Surely, we can take some precautions? It is worthwhile! This attraction can bring people from thousands of miles away.”

  “We’ll make it a priority after the Trade District is put into place. You’re going to have your hands busy for long enough with that. Plenty of money to be made there with Lumos, you know.”

  Bronzebeard chuckled. “Too true, too true. And I suppose for now the privilege of being able to come down here reserved for Followers is…not bad. But it’s an opportunity missed!”

  He said goodbye to Bronzebeard and continued on his way. Thankfully, the wing containing the recurring challenges was a separated area, and Nick was sure he could just close that area off.

  Just as Frosthaven had grown into a bustling city, so too did the underground mall. Nick had accepted plenty of Followers that weren’t necessarily climbers, that were advancing in the wilderness, and that were mixing their time here in the city. He saw many of those around, him, perusing the valuable stalls like the Condensary or the various dismantling and item-building locations. As good as Lumos was in crafting, she was often busy, and the items produced within were decent enough.

  Seeing the people enjoying themselves so much, it was difficult to imagine that his people were at war just a few hundred miles away. They were unworried, though this was the reason why the wing with the weekly challenges was packed to the brim. There was an electricity in the air, the essence stirring in a way that Nick felt difficult to put into words.

  He walked over to the challenge wing, spotting various adventurers and warriors waiting their turns to enter their challenges. The essence expenditure for this area was somewhat significant, but Nick knew it was worth it. Even the Second Stratum challenges were safer and easier to escape if they were failing than the insides of the Ordeal, and people could benefit from the potential to earn essence and experience in facing different enemies.

  Many frogloks could be seen bouncing from foot to foot, their spears waving in the air. Thava, his potential Maiden and beast tamer, guided the frogloks to enter the different challenges after ensuring they understood what was going on along with the other scalefolk and naga allies.

  Nick smiled at her, waving in greeting. “What do you think so far, Thava? They’re fighting well, aren’t they?”

  “It’s good to see you, Chief! They’re doing well, even without their prized diregator mounts. They have a talent for taming even beyond those creatures, so I hope to spend some time learning their secrets and teaching some of mine to those who excel. But for now, they do excellent in the team challenges, fighting well together with their own style of pack fighting.”

  “Nice. What about potential for evolution? Many of them were near or in the Second Stratum already, and yet they haven’t.”

  “I think they don’t have too long before they evolve. I mean, many of them already got a cold Trait from inside the Ordeal, did they not? They just need the will and the essence, and it wouldn’t hurt if they learned some more of the language first. We’re all spending time with them, doing our best to teach them. They…may not be able to speak it, but it is clear they are listening and learning.”

  It was true that the… Ordeal within the Ordeal somehow trained them and granted them a cold Trait just like his own personal Ordeal. He half-wondered if the reason they did not evolve inside was because they weren’t yet his and not Soul Pacted. Fang, Luna, and Kaya spent plenty of time with them. Perhaps it wouldn’t be too much longer. It had only been a week since he had gotten out.

  “Thanks for working with them. Fang, Sable, and Luna are busy lately and don’t really have the time as they push for ascension.”

  Thava smiled. “Of course! We’re trying to find more taming opportunities aside from the drakes. For now, we’re definitely well-equipped to help nurture the monsterfolk to evolve.”

  “We’ve got a lot more coming soon–I heard that there will be nearly a thousand monsterfolk arriving in total. We’ll need your help for sure.”

  Her tail lashed behind her. “It’s going to be busy. We have a lot of our manpower at the western fort right now, but we’ll do our best. I do think things might work a little better if we had an Ordeal more fitting for monsterfolk specifically…but I know that’s asking a lot.”

  Nick nodded. “I’m still thinking on it. I think I might have found two that I want to switch out, which might work quite well and may be great for monsterfolk too. At any rate, I appreciate you and your girls here.”

  He hugged Thava, and she preened as his larger form engulfed her, with part of her tail wrapping around his leg. She said, “I do hope you’ll stop by the spirit lodge when it’s done soon. Thelisse is champing at the bit to get you and your wives in there; she just had to wait for a few more items to arrive from Silverbrook! ”

  That was curious to him; what could she need from the merchants? “I’m excited to give it a try too. And of course, to make you girls mine as I promised.”

  Thava shivered at that. “Mmm…we are already yours! But we all can’t wait for you to make us mommies too. But at the same time, we’re all so busy, busy! You can take your time…we mostly just want to make sure you’re well rested.”

  Nick spent a bit of time talking to the other scalefolk and naga Maidens, but it appeared most of them were with Thelisse, helping with getting the Spirit Lodge ready. He gave out plenty of high-fives to his frogloks and words of encouragement, as well as trying to hear more about them for a while. On some level, he thought he was understanding them better, and them understanding him better.

  He said goodbye to Thava and his Maidens before he headed to his planned destination: the gaming area.

  There was a number of high-end prizes worth winning beyond the Faith Conduit, including another Ordeal Cornerstone. There was also a number of bottled Concepts and other cultivation-enhancing items, which were perfect for his people. So it was in Nick’s best interest to spend a bit of time here and there to continue trying to earn as much as he could, for his wives and for his Followers.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The place was also packed with many of Nick’s Followers. Many of the nuns giggled and waved at him, and he saw many of the monsterfolk playing on the various machines, a few saluting him with their fists to their chests. The sounds and lights of games and laughter filled the large area. Music from various games, chimes, and excitement were heard throughout the room, making Nick smile in remembrance of visiting arcades and more on Earth in his first life.

  Near the entrance along the side, he found a surprising sight: four of his pregnant Maidens playing the slot machines. They were wearing their more scholarly robes, but their baby bumps could still be seen with how they leaned back in the low-backed stools.

  Nick chuckled. “Hey, babes. This is a sight I never thought I’d see, but it is a beautiful one.”

  The four pretty, blond, blue-eyed women all turned to him and smiled, and Irene laughed, put a coin in, and cranked the slot machine’s lever as her angel wings fluttered. “Just converting this money into chips. We learned that with the VIP card, we get a decent chance of getting slightly more on average–to a lot more than average–when we use the machines if we’re lucky. It just takes time.”

  The slot machines were one of the few games that could be played with chips from the gaming area or coinage. It seemed they were only putting coins in and accumulating the chips on their cards, rather than playing until bankrupt or blowing a bunch of their hard-earned chips. They could then take those chips and play other games of chance, but it seemed the girls had already come up with a system to do well on the monthly poker tournaments.

  Marissa had an information crystal in her offhand, and after pulling the lever, she put her hand back on her belly. “I’m keeping up on my reading while we do it.”

  Veronica added, “And it’s kind of fun! I think the baby likes the sounds and the music.”

  Nick chuckled. “Ah. So you get your studying in with the information crystals, relax a bit, and enjoy playing a bit, huh? You girls are efficient as always.”

  Irene nodded. “That’s right. Sometimes, we get really lucky and get more than double the chips we get from straight converting them, like at the entrance. It’s rare to end up with much less.”

  Nick went from girl to girl, hugging them from behind the low-backed stool and only lightly touching their belly. They were in public, so he wasn’t about to do much more than that.

  “Lookin’ good, Rissa. How are you feeling?”

  Marissa giggled, enjoying his embrace. “Thanks. I feel great! Lumos got us the multivitamins now, and I’ve been following the diet to make sure I get everything the baby needs in me. And of course, for me too!” He kissed her cheek and moved on to Veronica.

  “How’s it going, Veronica? You’re keeping the exercise light?”

  The paladin of Seraphara smiled. “Of course, my love. Winny gave me all sorts of workouts that are perfect, plus I am spending more time meditating now. I’m blessed to be at the peak of the Second Stratum–my muscles won’t deteriorate from just a few months of lower intensity.”

  He repeated the same with the other Maiden, checking in on her and making sure she was still doing well. The blushing girl enjoyed the attention just as the others did, and Nick’s heart swelled with pride seeing the four out of the six current future mothers were all in one place.

  Nick wondered, “Where’s Chas?”

  Veronica replied, “She’s doing the weekly challenge for the magic control. You might be able to catch it if you hurry!”

  “I see. You girls have fun. I’m going to go check that out and see if I can earn half a mill myself.”

  In the weekly challenge, he had been routinely hitting level 10 prior to hitting the Third Stratum. Level 8 was 40,000, and it continued to double until level 11, where it became 250,000 instead of the expected 320,000. From there, it seemed each level would only grant that same amount more. Nick had reached level 11 and barely failed to finish at level 12 on his previous runs.

  Contrary to his expectation, entering the Third Stratum did not help him go all that much further. It helped with his overall endurance, but there was a weight on him preventing him from fully taking advantage of the strength and speed increase. It was truly a challenge of skill, reflexes, and focus.

  And there was one more snag that made earning a ton of chips from mastering the game more difficult. It would prompt you to continue or not, and if you failed, you would receive the reward for the 10th stage only.

  When he arrived at the weekly skill-based challenge simulator, Chastity was sitting in the corner of the small arena. The game looked a bit like Tetris mixed with a Rubix cube of sorts, a mental puzzle, skill-based test, and game all rolled into one.

  Using her mana aura, she would manipulate the cube in the center of the arena as pieces approached it through the air, needing to stack them into shapes and eliminate them. Using her mana aura, she could manipulate or slow the incoming pieces as well, the only limit being her capability in accomplishing it against so many objects at once.

  It was a bit chaotic with how many pieces were moving from different directions, and Chastity was running out of space to even swivel her cube.

  Nick wasn’t bad at it. But there was a bit too much left to chance, with what pieces one received, for him to want to focus on getting as good at it as the other girls–he could only play once per week, after all. Plus, it was hard.

  As good as his scholarly Ladies and Maidens were with their mana control, none of them had managed to crack the 10th level yet. And often, they would fail much sooner than that. It was not reliable.

  He reasoned because even someone right at level 1 could play it to high levels, it was made more difficult. The archery simulator was similar in this, requiring skill only to proceed.

  As the cube grew larger from her failure to eliminate and slow the pieces quickly enough, it made it impossible to swivel without stacking more blocks incorrectly. The cube eventually exploded, Chastity getting eliminated on the 8th level. As far as he knew, only Rebecca and Irene could beat the 10th level relatively reliably.

  “Aw, I got so close.” Chastity pouted. “It was fun though!”

  “Nice work, Chas.” He helped her up and hugged his pregnant Maiden, kissing her on the cheek. He looked at the darkness stored within her, finding it to be not that much higher than the other girls, surprisingly. “Are you going to be a good girl for me this time?”

  “Mmm… Always! But…isn’t being a little bad what makes me so good? You did enjoy the other day, didn’t you?” She grinned.

  Nick’s last trip to his private cabaret club was something special. Irene and Chastity both had a lot of darkness to get out of them, so that meant the special time was both long and enjoyable. “I did. But I just worry about you. Be careful while I’m gone next time.”

  She smiled at that. “Of course, my king. If you had taken much longer to return, then we have our own ways of dealing with it. Just like our priests are doing…just minus the fasting, and I’ll take proper breaks, of course.”

  Nick couldn’t help but make a sour face at that. Thankfully, the priests weren’t doing anything so crazy as self-flagellation to reduce the darkness within them, but they were definitely pushing the boundaries of what he’d want his pregnant wives to be doing.

  They would transcribe copies of Seraphara’s wisdom all day long while fasting and praying from uncomfortable positions. Sitting against the wall without a chair, squatting with a stack of books on their heads, planking, and more. They would improve their purity through their selfless prayer and minor suffering while focusing on improving themselves in various ways.

  Of course, they would also alternate between doing charity, spending time in the soup kitchen or in the clinic, or doing the Helping Hands tasks. This focus, over time, would raise their soul’s purity and help them find fulfillment.

  Nick knew most of the priests, with a few exceptions, were now almost back to acceptable levels after several months. But they would need to continue for at least double the amount of time before they would be confident in their purity to re-enter the Ordeal and Test themselves.

  “Hm. I guess I should trust that you girls have good self-discipline, but after seeing how you were when I returned…”

  “Of course we all ache for you, but all we do is for you, my king. Fear not, for aiding you is what truly drives our desire to the next level. If it is not serving you and is a burden instead, then… we’ll do what it takes to make it serve you.” She pouted, whispering into his ear. “But it’ll make me sad. The other night was just so good. I can still feel you in me, stretching all my holes so perfectly…” Chastity shivered. “Serving you is such a pleasure; I wish I could just live in that room with you.”

  Nick grunted, his desire rising at the mention of that. “I’m sure I’ll visit you girls again soon enough. I’ve got a bit of…free time.”

  Chastity’s smile was wide. “Mmm, and we all cannot wait for that. I know you wish to visit the monsterfolk girls soon. Take your time; we will just be fantasizing about your return.”

  He checked on the baby and gave her a kiss and said goodbye for now, Chastity planning to join the other Maidens in converting more coinage into chips. Nick then entered the event, the spheres swirling around him.

  Nick twisted and dodged the angry spheres that shot tennis ball-shaped lights at him, leaping around the stage. Now he could use Double Jump and Air Walk at will, so he had additional means of avoiding the attacks.

  His control over light and dark essence allowed him to move more quickly and even run around on the wall of the cylindrical arena. And he needed to, because the number of the spheres shooting at him just kept on increasing. While it felt like there was a timing to dodge their shots, they would often predict his predictions and send shots scattering all over.

  It required twitch reflexes to dodge, all while maintaining balance and maneuverability in spite of rapid movements. And when he reached the 10th stage, a new depth was added–the balls of light would bounce twice before disappearing. It was like he had to dodge everything they shot at least twice.

  He managed to reach the 12th stage and ended his run, earning the half-million. Overall, it was excellent training for his reflexes and ability to dodge and keep track of so many moving targets at once. He wished he could play a lot more than once per week, but he supposed this was also a means of limiting the rate people mastered them. If not for this, he had no doubt in his mind Irene would have blown through some crazy level on the other game by now.

  Upon finishing, he spotted a familiar face. The dark-skinned Wolfen girl looked a lot like Sable, her dark blue hair having a metallic sheen. Short yet lithe and with large hips, the girl was wearing some tight jeans and a black halter top to show off her sexy body.

  He left the arena out the gate, and she leaped into his arms, nearly bowling him over, with her tail wagging all the while.

  “Boss! That was great. Fancy seeing you here.” She sniffed him heavily, absorbing his scent.

  Nick chuckled, returned her hug, and put the smaller girl down, granting her a scratch of the ears as she preened at his attention. “Zara. You come here often?”

  Zara grinned, looking around at everything and spreading her arms wide and pointing out the other Wolfen Maidens, who were here too, their tails wagging as they watched their interaction. “Heck yeah, Boss. I’m here at least once a week with some of the gals. This place is great.”

  He wondered, “Are you working toward any prize in particular?”

  “Everyone’s trying to get those bottled Concepts before they run out–they’re in limited quantities. Aside from that, this place is just a ton of fun, a great place to unwind. I’d play even with no chance of winning anything.”

  “That so? What’s your favorite multiplayer game? Let’s play–I got time to kill.”

  “You mean it?” Zara’s tail picked up speed, and she grabbed his hand and began dragging him away. “We love playing this game over here, the Street Battler–Tag edition. We can all play!”

  The other wolfen girls’ tails all blurred behind them as Nick was crowded onto a stool and they picked their joysticks. He was amused by their excitement, chuckling at their wide smiles and eagerness to join.

  Zara had, of course, chosen his lap despite it being awkward for her smaller body to reach her stick and buttons. She selected a character with a mask and claws, who, for some reason, was a woman in this version.

  Nick chuckled. “The girl with claws, really?”

  Zara grinned. “It helps when you fight how you know!”

  Each of the girls was happy to take turns in Nick’s lap, and their smiles and excitement were infectious. He handed out headpats and ear scratches to the victors, the girls rubbing themselves against him to get even more of his scent on them.

  They continued to play for a time, and he had a great time playing the Street Battler–Tag edition. He and his wolfen Ladies had played plenty of times, and he’d challenged Kaya as well, so he was familiar.

  “That was fun–us girls are going to have to practice for next time. What do you wanna play next, Boss? Throwing the ball into those hoops is pretty fun, and then they got the weird game with the helmet, which is pretty good–but it’s weird.”

  Nick realized she was talking about the odd VR RPG game. “What’s weird about it?”

  “It’s just…what’s the point? You fight and you level up in the game, but I can just do that in real life. If I wanted to fight monsters in a dungeon, I could just go into the Ordeal.”

  He laughed. “I suppose that’s true. I think the appeal is going on an adventure only for fun with no danger and also doing something you can’t normally. You can’t just enter an Ordeal as a wizard, now can you? You and your claws might be pretty great, but healing and wizardry are not your things.”

  Zara snorted. “No thanks, Boss. I like to stick at what I’m best at and be the best. That’s the most fun to me.”

  Nick enjoyed his time with the Maidens, playing a few more games and getting to know all of them better. There was an underlying need or desire for him to do something with the threats on the horizon, but he did his best to put it out of his mind for the moment.

  He had already done his normal routine of Soul Forging, Ideal, demon core eating, and work as a king before he went to relax a little. As of now, he really needed to kill about a week or more before his wives finished ascending, before he thought about going anywhere potentially dangerous.

  Nick was excited to see all of his wives ascend, because he knew that it would be a major milestone, just like his was. He wasn’t sure who was going to be first, but none were rushing it and taking it seriously. A week or two of preparation could save months in the Third Stratum, so they weren’t taking any chances.

  And neither was Nick. Because he had a whole lot of enemies to take down.