Ateia crossed her arms.

“So what now? Should we start searching for the cult?”

Taog grinned as Dark Mana appeared and shifted across his hands.

“I’d like to.”

Ateia looked at her own hand, a pulse of Holy Mana passing through it. Then she looked up, her eyes narrowing as the events of that fateful night played through her mind once again. She sighed and turned to NSLICE-00P.

“What do you think we should do, Seero?”

NSLICE-00P might have been little more than a child when it came to free will, organic sensations, and emotional experience. But there was no one Ateia trusted more when it came to destruction of enemies.

“Analyzing…”

NSLICE-00P’s robotic eye flickered as she ran through several combat simulations. She pitted Ateia and Taog with their newfound powers against observed members of the Heralds of the New Dawn, such as the knights of Consul Noxisius NSLICE-00P had encountered.

The results…were inconclusive.

The warrior with Overgrowth mana had impressive defenses and regeneration ability. Holy Mana would help against it, but the attributes still mattered. NSLICE-00P had determined that Dark Mana like Taog used had little interaction with Overgrowth mana, performing no better or worse than unattributed mana. So Taog’s Dark and Holy mix would give him a slight advantage…but not enough to overcome the knight's impressive defenses and regeneration. Taog…was not predicted to win the fight.

Ateia performed even worse in a one on one scenario, given her proclivity for Light Mana, which was easily absorbed by anything Nature related, including Overgrowth. Her non-standard capabilities were an uncertain factor, but comparing their relative energy signatures and predicted energy reserves painted an unfavorable scenario.

The Inferno Mage, on the other hand, could burn mana structures themselves. NSLICE-00P was actually uncertain how different mana types, such as Holy, or different applications of mana such as skills instead of spells might interact with it. She didn’t have access to Holy the first time she encountered Inferno mana, after all, and had simply used the Equalizer against the mage. She did catch some interactions between Holy and Inferno when she closed the Rift, which did imply Holy might be capable of resisting Inferno, but she did not have enough data to confidently predict how that would apply to specific tactical settings. All she could do is compare their relative energy signatures, which again, proved unfavorable for the teens.

Finally, there was the Eternal Night Sniper. Ateia’s natural ability to manipulate Light and Holy mana would likely prove an advantage should they confront each other directly. Taog might have had a chance as well, seeing as he mixed his own Dark Mana with Holy. However, said sniper didn’t fight directly at all, but instead used the concealing effects of Eternal Night mana to conduct ambushes. Said concealing effects worked on all sensors available to NSLICE-00P including her dungeon field, so it was unlikely Taog would be able to locate the sniper…or her hidden bolts. Ateia, on the other hand, had some sort of Divination sight which she could focus more directly than NSLICE-00P’s own variant of the spell. However, NSLICE-00P didn’t know how said ability would interact with Eternal Night mana. And at present, Ateia required a lot of focus to utilize the ability, which would present a weakness if she attempted it in a tactical setting.

All these analyses were for a one on one engagement, however, which would not be likely. Ateia and Taog had access to the NSLICE network, and so had access to capabilities beyond their own. They could cast a combination of Fire and Holy mana that NSLICE-00P had used, for example. But their own mana reserves would restrict which spells they could cast and how long they could keep it up, with their own skill in the particular spell affecting the cost and power. NSLICE-00P also conducted some analyses of group engagements with different combinations of her various subordinates and the various enemies.

Ultimately, while it was not impossible that her subordinates could prove victorious under the correct circumstances, the majority of scenarios turned against them, or resulted in Pyrrhic victories at best.

“Analysis complete. Results: This unit predicts combat with the Heralds of the New Dawn to present undesirable risks for the majority of subordinate units. This unit has also not concluded research and development on autonomous scout units that would enable efficient scouting. This unit therefore calculates that the optimal course of action is continued upgrade routines, intended to increase the maximum level and power reserves of subordinate units.”

Taog frowned at that.

“Even with how strong we’ve become?”

“Affirmative.”

Ateia nodded.

“So…you think we should hunt monsters, or something?”

“Answer: This unit predicts the most efficient upgrade procedure to be dungeon termination/subjugation missions. Additionally, subordinating additional dungeons will create a highly efficient transportation network for the NSLICE network.”The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Ateia nodded, and then hummed.

“Um, should we return to the Dobhar, and then maybe Castra Turannia? We should probably link up with Estrith and Agedia first if we’re going to leave the area, right?”

“Affirmative.”

Estrith strolled through the Imperial settlement on top of the cliff, glancing around. The former Imperials quietly walked the streets. They were largely subdued, and focused on their own tasks, though conversations had started to pick up here and there. A few simply slouched against their hastily constructed shelters, bottles in hand or on the ground around them.

Once upon a time, Estrith would have refused to leave Her…Steward’s side, save by his direct command. Now…now she had watched him work with the Mother of the Waves and the other representatives of Her Queen’s people…and found she had little to contribute. So…she took it upon herself to explore instead, and to see what he was building with her own eyes.

She had explored the Dobhar settlements on the beaches below. They still lived much as they had before, only with the growing confidence that the Home Fleet (or fortress, as it now was) was now truly safe. The Steward had brought change as well, Imperial soldiers could be seen training young hunters while a dwarf was consulting the crafters on their harpoons. But it was a slow process overall, from what Estrith could see.

Now she began to explore Her Queen’s other people. They were Imperials, much like she had seen. And yet…they were not. There were no ships flying in the skies. There were no towering stone walls, visibly glowing with the countless enchantments placed upon them. There were no vast farms as far as her eyes could see. It was but a humble village, little different from the ones Estrith had raided upon these shores in the past.

Estrith blinked as she looked around. It seemed…the Empire’s strength had not been built in a day. And now that these Imperials had to start over…it would take them more than a day to recover.

Just then she heard a commotion. She grabbed her spear and rushed ahead.

A group of Dobhar warriors marched through the town. They were shouting at a farmer, demanding food. The farmer pleaded with them, and the lead Dobhar struck his face, knocking the human to the ground.

Before, Estrith would simply have nodded. It was the way of things that the strong should take from the weak. Anything that made the Dobhar stronger and the Imperials weaker was to be celebrated.

Now?

Estrith rushed forward just as the Dobhar was about to strike the farmer with the back of his harpoon. She caught the weapon in her paw.

“What is going on here?”

The Dobhar snarled at her before he realized who she was. He took a step back and saluted.

“First Warrior, it is good to see you. We are foraging for supplies. Why don’t you take command, and we will bring a mighty harvest to Our King!”

Estrith’s eyes narrowed.

Then she socked the Dobhar’s stomach with her paw, stomping on his head as he fell to the ground. She glared at the other Dobhar.

“I’ll ask again, what’s going on here?”

One of the other Dobhar jumped and trembled.

“W-We were just returning from a hunt on land! W-We couldn’t keep up with the Wulver, and didn’t want to return empty handed!”

Estrith growled.

“So you chose to steal from our own people because of your failure?”

The Dobhar under her foot growled.

“These are not our people! They’re the Imperials! They are weak and cruel! What’s wrong with asserting our strength upon them?”

Estrith removed her foot and grabbed the Dobhar by the back of the neck, hauling him to his feet. She glared right into his eyes.

“These are not Imperials. These are the people of Our Queen, and the charges of Steward Uscfrea. What would Steward Uscfrea say if he saw this?”

The Dobhar growled but did not speak. Estrith scoffed and glanced around at each of the Dobhar…and then at the Imperials. She took a deep breath.

“The Dread Orca are individually stronger than all but the most powerful of the Dobhar warriors. Yet, they never attack us alone, but always in a pack. Do you know why?”

She made eye contact with the first Dobhar again.

“Even the monsters know there is strength in joining together. These humans have joined with Our Queen, and submitted to Steward Uscfrea, and that makes them our people now. These ones may be weak, but that is because they are not hunters. They have a different role to play, but one that is important to the plans of Steward Uscfrea. You would not steal from the nursery ships and call it a glorious hunt, now would you?”

The Dobhar scowled.

“I would never!”

Estrith nodded and pointed to the farmer’s wife. She was staring at her fallen husband, but keeping her distance and shielding a young child in her arms.

“Then don’t.”

The Dobhar growled…but then hung his head.

“…I will report our hunt has failed.”

Estrith glared at him and crossed her arms.

“And?”

The Dobhar’s face scrunched up, and then he sighed.

“…and my own deeds here.”

Estrith nodded, and then the Dobhar led his band away. She sighed and then turned, crouching down to the farmer and extending her paw. He glanced at warily, but then reached out and grabbed it gingerly. Estrith pulled him to his feet. He blinked at her, then hung his head.

“I suppose I should thank you.”

Estrith sighed and shook her head.

“…no. Rather, I should apologize for the others.”

“Indeed.”

Estrith spun around at the voice behind her. She found Uscfrea marching up to her. He turned to the farmer and inclined his head.

“I apologize for the actions of my warriors. They shall be disciplined as appropriate for this.”

The farmer’s eyes widened and he saluted.

“Ah…Steward. I-It’s quite all right, we don’t want any trouble here.”

Uscfrea nodded to the farmer then turned to Estrith.

“Our Queen has returned, and requested your presence.”

Estrith saluted to Uscfrea then turned to follow him. Uscfrea heaved a sigh.

“Unfortunately, not an uncommon occurrence. I discipline them as I can, but still it happens.”

Estrith nodded.

“A great deal has changed for us, very quickly. I imagine our warriors might…struggle to adapt.”

Uscfrea sighed again.

“Indeed they are.”

But then a smile broke out on his face.

“But thank you for putting a stop to it. It seems you have adapted well yourself. It makes me happy to see.”

Estrith jumped…and then looked away.

“I-I just…t-those are your people, My…Steward, only you have the right to take from them!”

Uscfrea chuckled and patted her shoulder.

“Don’t be shy, Estrith. I believed you would be able to adapt well, and you did so better than most. That is why you’re the one I entrusted with Our Queen.”

It took a bit before Estrith could speak coherently again.