NSLICE-00P walked out of the keep, heading back towards the inn. After terminating the dungeon, the local authority designated ‘Magister Exploratores per Turannia Tiberius’ requested verification of her status, on the grounds that the sudden appearance of a dungeon in an Imperial settlement was a serious issue and they needed to confirm the termination. NSLICE-00P thought to question him on the legality of her own core but said information was classified and so she couldn't reveal it to him, especially since friendlies Excellion Formantus Rattingtale the Third and Lilussees strongly advised her against allowing her own dungeon to come to light.

She would adhere to local laws as best she could but that did not pertain to the potential destruction of her core, after all. And the Geo-Oscillator Engine was sensitive technology that was not to fall into unaffiliated hands.

But from contextual clues, she determined Imperial status checks only ever read the human part of her information and only from the foreign system, and so it was safe for her to cooperate.

Or so she predicted.

There had been a bit of commotion among Legion personnel after the status check this time. They seemed particularly sensitive to the latest feat, the one named ‘Hero’. As far as NSLICE-00P was concerned, ‘hero’ had been a colloquial designation for non-standard beings judged as non-hostile by society at one point. The wider populace had since ceased to use it, but it was still utilized among the Resistance on occasion. Judging by the reactions of the Legion personnel, NSLICE-00P predicted that this society might have similar connotations for the term.

Well, that was incidental to NSLICE-00P. She had paused her previous non-standard reaction protocols, pending review by a commander familiar with local conditions and demographics, and so had no required response to the designation. Even if it was applied to herself.

Assuming it didn’t interfere with her primary objective, that is.

The soldiers running around in a panic and keeping her in the Legion Headquarters…just might be interfering.

Fortunately, Magister Tiberius had taken charge of the situation and declared her status classified, which NSLICE-00P approved of. He asked her to stop by at a later date when they had settled down on their end, but otherwise she was free to go, as they had confirmation of the dungeon’s termination. And so NSLICE-00P made her way back to the inn, actually staying in the rented room for once.

After all, tonight she had a lot of decisions to make.

“Status Update: This unit is conducting an independent upgrade routine. All friendlies may initiate upgrade routines as well.”

The monsters in her hangar all jumped at that. 01R trembled.

“Wise-Powerful-Gracious Boss-Queen, you are…leaving the decision to us? On how to spend the sacred boons you have given us?”

“Affirmative. Observation: No command or maintenance personnel exist to manage upgrades, so independent upgrades are necessary until contact with a commander is established. This unit can attempt to provide combat footage analysis if friendly units deem personal processing capabilities as insufficient.”

R trembled and bowed his head.

“Wise-Powerful-Gracious Boss-Queen, this lowly servant once again swears he will live up to your trust!”

It, of course, did not cross NSLICE-00P’s mind that she could manage her subordinates' upgrades as well. Why would it? NSLICE-00P considered it a compromise to even conduct her own upgrades without input from command or maintenance personnel, so the idea of her managing other units’ upgrades never occurred to her, and would not have been considered if it had. She still considered herself an enforcer for a currently unspecified commander, and nothing more. Her command over the subordinate units was purely tactical.

And, of course, her two former dungeon master companions did not feel the need to change her mind on this subject. Even Lilussees preferred to keep control of her own status, or something. And the Great-High King of all the land would not surrender authority to anyone…provided said anyone did not present an immediate threat to his life that is.

So with the necessary authorizations for independent upgrades given, NSLICE-00P activated her own upgrade routine.

Terminating the latest dungeon and the resulting mana-phenomena had greatly increased several of her skills, and provided a great many new perk points to spend on additional upgrades.

First of all, Arcane Magic and Fire Magic had new spell choices, and Mana Barrier (Minor) had an upgrade available. So NSLICE-00P took a look and analyzed the choices.

Available Spell Choices for Arcane Magic:

Name

Description

Detect Magic (minor)

Locate spells and sense mana.

Mana Transfer (minor)

Transfer mana to a target

Spell Shield (minor)

Boost target's RES

Telekinesis (minor)

Utilize mana to grasp and move objects

Drain Mana

Forcibly drain mana from a target.

Antispell

Attempt to forcibly disrupt a magic circle or spell structure. May cancel a spell if successful. Use with caution, a spell may explode or act unpredictably if improperly disrupted.

Mana Blade

Form mana into a blade to attack.

Mana Bind

Form mana into restraints that attempt to bind the target.