In a small town between Castra Turannia and the coast, a pair of limitanei lazed around in an empty barracks, playing a dice game with one another. Most of the limitanei were off-duty at the moment, tending to their farms at this time of year. Still, the barracks needed at least one person present at all times, so the limitanei would rotate in and out as they could. These two had kicked off most of their armor and left their spears by the door, got a pair of drinks, and then proceeded with the hard work of defending the Empire.

But this was all to be expected. Two limitanei were not expected to handle much of anything by themselves. That was not the reason they were here.

No, the reason they were there was the device in the center of the barracks, built into a stone pedestal rising from the floor. It had engraved metal fittings holding a softly glowing magic core.

The device was an enchanted communication artifact, designed to be usable by anyone with even the tiniest bit of mana and without a speck of arcane knowledge. The true symbol of the Empire’s prosperity, arcane prowess, and extensive reach. Every Legion barracks, from the elites stationed at the Imperial Palace to the limitanei in the smallest village on the poorest frontier, had one of these artifacts.

Not that this town had ever used said artifact. This was just about the calmest part of the province, tucked in between Castra Turannia, the base of the Legion’s power in the province, and the port cities that connected Turannia to the Empire proper. The roads here were regularly patrolled by the comitatenses, no bandits or savage tribes stalked the nearby hills. Any incursions from the Forest of Beasts would have to get through the northern borders and Castra Turannia to reach this place. Any incursions from the sea would have to get past the coastal forts.

Nothing this town normally experienced was worth reporting. And likewise, they were just about the last to be contacted should something occur elsewhere.

So the two limitanei actually fell out of their seats when the artifact suddenly turned red and began blaring.

The limitanei swore and picked themselves up, rushing over to the device. One of them channeled a jolt of mana to activate the device, and then words magically appeared on the parchment stored inside of it.

He froze. HIs comrade tried to look over his shoulder.

“What is it, Decius?”

He froze as well as he saw the words. Decius trembled as he spoke.

“The coastal fort…fell?”

The two limitanei glanced at each other with quivering eyes.

A moment later, two limitanei burst out the door of the barracks, struggling to put on their outer armor as they ran through the town, shouting at the top of their lungs. They ran to every house, banging on the doors.

Bells started ringing throughout the town. Townsfolk began to run and scream. Farmers and craftsmen scrambled to dig out their weapons and assemble into their limitanei platoons.

A scene that repeated itself in different towns and forts over and over as Legion communication artifacts lit up across the province.

An incursion was coming, and Dux Dio was already retreating from the coast. All hands were called to Castra Turannia.

Which meant anyone left between there and the coast would be at the mercy of the Dobhar.

Lilussees trembled, twitching with every movement as she crawled through the forest. Her mandibles clattered together as she spun her web.

This was the longest she had ever remained awake and it showed.

She was going to kill him.

If it was the last thing she did, she was going to kill that stupid snack.

These stupid ‘cybernetic implants’ or whatever they were wouldn’t let her sleep unless her body specifically required it.

And that was a problem.

As it turned out…spiders didn't actually fully sleep in the same way that mammals do. They had periods of low activity and periods of high activity but they generally remained conscious. Monster spiders took it a step further: as they were able to sustain their bodies through pure mana they could maintain high activity for long periods of time. Spiders could go into hibernation, but this was generally done in response to long-term environmental conditions. And monsters were simply more resistant to environmental conditions than their mundane counterparts.

In fact…if a monster spider wasn’t injured, had sufficient mana, and didn’t overexert themselves, they rarely needed to reduce their activity levels at all. Lilussees’s ‘sleeping’ had been her specifically activating a hibernation instinct, even when it was not necessitated by her environment. It was something she could do as an intelligent dungeon master.

So a monster spider who was no longer a dungeon master and was contracted to a dungeon that would ALWAYS provide them with enough mana to remain in optimal shape?

Well…it turns out her body was ALWAYS in peak condition.

And so never specifically required sleep.

So…

These stupid implants would never let her sleep.

Once again, Lilussees swore that she would rip that stupid snack to shreds.

Just then, Lilussees heard some commotion up ahead.

The stupid snacks came rushing out of the bush, along with the latest addition to the boss’s army. 00B charged after them…crying as it ran.

A small horde of goblins emerged a bit later, chasing after the monsters with simple clubs and spears in hand.

And all of these ran straight towards Lilussees and the spiderlings, where several webs had been spun.

Lilussees hoped the stupid snack would run into one but all of them managed to duck and weave past the webs. Another annoying part of these stupid implants, all the monsters with them were now connected to one another and automatically sharing tactical information. The boss had just gotten the last of the monsters to level 10, so now the snacks knew exactly where she had set up the webs.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Well, except for 00B, who managed to get himself caught. He too, knew where the webs were…but he tripped over a branch and rolled right into one anyways. Lilussees slapped her face with a leg and ordered one of the spiderlings to go help.

“Like, go and help him, or something.”

That was one of the few decent things about these implants. She didn’t even need to speak aloud to give orders, like when she was a dungeon master. She just had to indicate she wanted to send a message and could make it appear right in the relevant person’s vision, much like how the sacred records functioned.

A function she used to make sure the stupid snack knew exactly what her opinion of and ultimate plan for him was, each and every extra moment she was forced to spend awake.

The goblins charged forward…and started to get caught in the webs. However, there was now a gap in the net thanks to 00B’s bumbling, and the goblins quickly noticed. 01R gave a cry and dashed forward, appearing just in front of 00B and the spiderling untangling him.

R was a bit too enthusiastic to become a snack, in Lilussees’ opinion. An opinion she had been forced to develop due to the sheer amount of time her brain was awake recently. She wouldn’t even know his name if it weren’t for these stupid implants!

R extended metallic claws from his fingers and began slashing at the goblins as they approached. Lilussees didn’t particularly want to get involved but the boss was monitoring the situation, and indicated that all ‘units’ should go and help.

So she helped.

A magic circle formed in front of her and began firing poison bolts down at the goblins.

The moment these stupid implants hooked up to her, Lilussees had gone and purchased some magic skill. If she wasn’t getting out of the work, she was at least going to be one of those stupid mages. She would die before someone forced her to work with her…body, of all things.

And then the boss had shared some 'protocols' or something with her, so that these stupid implants could help her cast her spells with a fraction of the focus. That was one of the few useful things about them.

The other snacks joined in, including that horrid enemy of hers. She wished she could ‘accidentally’ hit him with a bolt but the boss had commanded her not to kill him, sadly. And these stupid implants were also showing everyone where she was aiming, so the stupid snack would have a chance to dodge even if she could target him.

Just another reason to hate this situation.

Finally the spiderling freed 00B and he stood up, shaking his head. He then turned and joined the fight, starting to bat at the goblins with his paws.

Well, he may be clumsy…but he was still the physically strongest among them. Much to 01R’s dismay, but the suicidal snack took it as a challenge.

With 00B, the fight was quickly mopped up. The goblins weapons couldn’t penetrate 00B’s armor, and the snacks could now dart in and out, using the bear cub as a shield. Throw in some reluctant covering fire from above and the situation was completely under control.

And so another ‘subordinate upgrade and cooperation protocols refining routine’ was completed successfully.

Lilussees trembled as the boss ordered them back to the monster hangar. Under normal circumstances, she would be overjoyed to return to her room.

But now?

Now she couldn’t get comfortable there, not one bit. Every one of her cushions and hammocks was a stark reminder of her current hell. The only thing she would find there was rage.

And so, forced to remain awake and alert against her will, Lilussees continued to plot her arch-nemesis’s demise, searching for a loophole that would let her give him that which he deserved.

And so NSLICE-00P wrapped up another round of monster hunting and requests from the local authorities and moved back towards town. But as she approached, she noticed something different.

Horns were blowing in the distance, brightly colored flags were being waved at the top of watchtowers and walls. Huge crowds of people were streaming towards the gates, with wagons full of possessions behind them. Guards were shouting and trying to manage the flow when they saw her. They waved to her and brought her past the line, ignoring the shouting crowds as they ushered her into the city.

Inside Castra Turannia, squads of limitanei stood along the streets, directing huge crowds of people. All the residents of the city, along with the groups coming in from outside, were marching up the streets, heading towards the Legion Keep.

NSLICE-00P didn’t know what was going on, but the scene before her was clearly reminiscent of an evacuation. The soldiers seemed to be guiding the civilians along previously planned routes and acted with a calm and coordination that spoke to practice.

But well, she determined she would be informed of the situation shortly. The guards ran with her, taking her straight towards the keep. Once there, they ushered her into the Exploratores Headquarters, where Magister Tiberius was waiting for her. She detected signs of intoxication in the authority, but he seemed to hold it in well.

“NSLICE-00P! I’m glad you’re here!”

“Mission Report: All mission objectives have been achieved. Would Magister Tiberius like a detailed report at this time?”

The Magister shook his head, tossing her a pouch full of coins.

“We’re a bit busy at the moment, as you can see.”

“Acknowledged. Query: Is there a situation this unit should be aware of?”

Magister Tiberius nodded.

“We have a massive Dobhar incursion en route. Everyone in the province is evacuating here, or else leaving the province.”

“Requesting Elaboration: Please define entity ‘Dobhar’.”

Magister Tiberius raised an eyebrow before slapping his forehead.

“Right, I forgot you’re not from around here. The Dobhar are a tribe of Otterkin from across the sea. Vicious, deadly, and have been a thorn in the side of the Legion ever since we reached the seas they prowl.”

“Requesting Confirmation: So an army of sapients hostile to the Empire is en route to this location?”

Magister Tiberius frowned and nodded.

“And from what I’ve gathered, the Empire isn’t sending reinforcements. It’s…not looking good.”

“Acknowledge, situation determined. Gratitude: This unit thanks Magister Tiberius for the forewarning.”

With that, NSLICE-00P turned to leave. Magister Tiberius jumped.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“Answer: This unit will vacate this military facility while combat preparations are underway, and make her own preparations to evacuate.”

He quickly walked over to her.

“Evacuate? Wait! You can’t leave, we need your help!”

“Negative Response: This unit is not affiliated with the nation-state ‘Empire’ and has no ongoing hostility with the entity 'Dobhar'. This unit's protocols state she cannot get involved in a third-party conflict.”

This was the one area where her original protocols, later reprogramming, and most recent experiences all agreed with each other. Her original creators strictly forbade engaging neutral targets without their express permission. The Resistance afterwards also emphasized that she should not engage third parties if at all possible. And her own calculations indicated getting involved in a third party conflict would hinder her primary objective, both due to the risk of being terminated and the difficulty of searching through a nation that had turned hostile. So until she acquired a commander and determined her overall affiliations, she could not get entangled in the wars of an unaligned nation.

Magister Tiberius opened his mouth, and then frowned.

“Is there anything I can do to change your mind? You could work as a mercenary, and remain unaffiliated?”

“Negative Response: By this unit's calculations, the risk to this unit's safety and the consequences of initiating hostility with a currently unaligned nation-state could threaten this unit’s primary objective. This unit cannot permit that.”

He bit his lip and looked down.

“What if…you weren’t unaligned? If I speak to the Governor…I’m sure we could get you some sort of position in the Empire? Something that would grant you a lot of resources and authority within the Empire. You’re looking for humans, right? You won’t find any humans with the Dobhar, so the exchange should be in your favor.”

“Negative Response: This unit cannot join the military hierarchy of an unaligned nation prior to establishing contact with the persons of interest. This unit’s protocols forbid that without appropriate authorization.”

Magister Tiberius looked down on the ground, dropping his shoulders. He heaved a slow sigh as he looked back up at her.

“...I see. I suppose…it would be boorish of me to ask any more of you. You already saved us once, after all.”

He slowly lifted his hand.

“If that’s how it is, take care then, NSLICE-00P. Thank you for your help until now. I wish you the best on your mission.”

She shook his hand.

“Acknowledged. Gratitude: This unit thanks Magister Tiberius for cooperation with primary and secondary directives.”

He heaved another sigh as he let go of her hand.

“Will you be leaving now? I thought you were waiting for someone?”

“Answer: This unit will wait as long as she can to reestablish contact with friendlies, and evacuate either after reestablishing contact or upon arrival of third party forces in the operational area.”

Magister Tiberius nodded.

“I see. Well, just let me know when you're leaving, and I can try to pass them a message.”

“Affirmative.”

And with that, she walked out the door.

And then Magister Tiberius collapsed into the nearest seat, holding his head.