“What if I walked away instead?” Luke asked the lord, trying to feel out just how desperate the elf was. “If I’m not on Kalibutan, no one will find out about my core and kill me for it. That would be easier than whatever your task is, I’m sure.”

  Lord Edobar gave him jazz hands and said, “Yes, that would work. I doubt that’s a realistic option for you though. Anyone that earns a platinum class is driven and motivated. You wouldn't like a boring life on Earth.”

  “Maybe, but your portal isn’t the only one on Earth.”

  “As far as you are concerned, it is. If you refuse me, I will talk to your government and get you banned from all portals.”

  Luke tsked, pretending to be upset. The elf clearly didn’t know how governments worked on Earth. “Alright, what’s your task you want to blackmail me into?”

  “Blackmail is such a beautiful word. Succinct and clear, much better than the Thenubian phrase. The task I require of you is to assist my estate during the second phase of the Malamon in eighteen days. My advisors don’t see it coming, but our faction will lose. We don’t have the talent required. I am frustrated that my inner runewright has failed to keep up with demand, but she is right, the warriors of the Shrine of Might are subpar.

  “When they fail, there will be a second round to determine whose estate staff will die. That competition will be between Bona Urbo, Monta Hejmo, and Fekundaj Kampoj, which are the three estate villages surrounding the portal you use. I ask that you level up quickly and participate in that competition. When you win, I will elevate you to a member of my aristocracy.”

  “Wait, back up a step. An estate’s staff is going to die? As in, everyone that works for a lord is going to die? That’s barbaric.”

  “No, the practice of Malamon is far more civilized than what it replaced. Many divine rituals, including the one that powers the portals connecting our two worlds, require souls to operate. In the past, they have waged wars and sacrificed the children of the losing side to their rituals. Now we only sacrifice the adults that lose the Malamon. The people whose lives are at risk have a chance to prove their competence and avoid that fate. It’s only the incompetent that are sacrificed to the gods.”

  “Ritual sacrifice? That’s even worse. I’m not going to participate in anything like that.”

  “People are going to die no matter what. Your only role will be in saving the people working on my estate,” Lord Edobar said calmly. “Regardless of your cultural hangups, I expect you to save me the embarrassment of losing my staff. Otherwise I will feel no guilt in broadcasting the details of your class far and wide.”

  Luke leaned back. “A perfectly clear threat.”

  “Indeed. Prepare yourself for the Malamon. In the meantime, the others will wonder what we discussed. I will tell them you asked for a great many things, but we settled on my runewright teaching you three runes of your choosing.”

  “The inner runewright? I would love it if she taught me some runes.”

  “It’s settled then,” Lord Edobar said.

  Luke held up his hand. “No. It isn’t settled.”

  “What?” Lord Edobar said, startled that someone disagreed with him.

  “You want to blackmail me, but I have a feeling you are the one in a tenuous situation here. There is something wrong with this estate. You are selling healing potions, one of the most valuable things Kalibutan has to offer Earth, you should be swimming in riches. But you aren’t. You are suspiciously poor. You gave me knowledge and a healing potion, gifts that didn’t cost you anything. You should be paying Chosen to cull monsters on your estate, but you are having humans do it for free. The inner runewright isn’t producing enough enchanted armaments, probably because you can’t afford to have weapons made by her. The Shrine of Might has subpar warriors, probably because you haven’t been investing in their training enough,” Luke said, slowly stepping closer as he listed each point.

  Lord Edobar’s eye grew wider and he leaned backward. He sputtered out, “You dare? You can’t... I am your LORD! You will stop these baseless accusations this instant! Your oath compels you!”

  Luke smiled, but didn’t bother mentioning that he never swore an oath to this fop. “Fine, no more accusations. Just a question. What are you willing to give me to ensure your little secret doesn’t get out?”

  The elf sputtered out more denials, but Luke stared him down without responding. Eventually, the lord said, “I command you not to spread the lies about my fortunes. But I wish that all in my employ are content with their position. Is there something that would make you happier to serve?”

  “Now we are getting somewhere,” Luke said. “I obviously can’t ask for artifacts or riches, because you have none. I suppose I’ll ask for the next best thing. I’ll need a few dozen healing potions for when my people get hurt. I want a monopoly on monster hunting from this portal. No other humans can kill monsters here. I want all the cores we collect. If we kill something big, I’m keeping that core too. Also, I’ll need you to give me introductions to the other two lords when I have enough employees to expand into their territories. And, I want you to fire Captain Zuki. No way he gets off humiliating me like that.”

  “There is no way I can give you that many healing potions. One a week, at most. Most of our production is spoken for already. The monster culling provisions are easy to agree to. I can even agree to release Captain Zuki from my employ, provided you also swear on your oath that you will fight in the Malamon for me when the time comes.”

  “I swear on my oath that if you uphold your end of the bargain, I will uphold mine.” Luke said calmly. He hadn’t sworn an oath to the elf, so it was easy to make an empty promise.

  As he said the words, he felt something tighten around his heart. He recognized the feeling of a magical oath. He hadn’t sworn an oath to Lord Edobar, but Luke had sworn an oath to SPEAR to defend America. If he didn’t fight in the Malamon, the government agency would see his oath was broken and assume he had betrayed them. Shit. Well, he would just have to get out of his oath to them sooner rather than later.

  Lord Edobar sighed in relief and gestured towards the magic privacy wall. It disappeared in a shower of silver sparks.

  Captain Zuki stalked across the floor and stopped just shy of the dais. “Lord Edobar. I have mentioned it before, and I will reiterate again. It is my duty to protect you, and I can’t do that if you lock me out,” he spat out in Elvish.

  Lord Edobar nodded in agreement and replied in Elvish, “You are right. Perhaps it is time for me to seek the services of someone who can protect me while not listening in to my private conversations. Someone that doesn't fight with my staff and gossip with my rivals. You are relieved of duty, effective immediately. Guards, escort him out and ensure he leaves my estate before sundown.”

  Zuki stood there sputtering in surprise. Three guards stepped from their places near the wall and walked towards the former captain of the guard. They stood there awkwardly, waiting for their former boss to move. Eventually one of them reached out to touch his shoulder. Zuki jerked out of the way and stomped out of the room. He gave Luke an evil look, correctly guessing that he had been behind this. Luke gave him a beatific smile in return.

  Lord Edobar ignored the exchange and said, “Seneschal Cormac, I am satisfied that your humans have a chance to divert the Titan. You can back them up if they fail. Send letters to the capitol that I am interviewing for a new Captain of my Guard. Someone over level twenty-four would be best.”

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  Cormac put his fists together and said, “As you command, Lord Edobar. We all work for your Honor.”

  The lord nodded and turned to someone new. “Gardner Reparate, how did the harvest go yesterday?”

  One of the dwarves stepped forward and gave him a breakdown of harvested grains and vegetables. Luke took the opportunity to step back to the corner of the room. The court business continued on for a while, but he couldn’t pay attention.

  He was still reeling from that high stress negotiation and the revelations before that. He had heard about the Malamon before, but this was the first he was hearing about ritual sacrifice. They always said it was important to respect other cultures, but he couldn’t respect that.

  Luke had always suspected that his platinum class should be kept secret, but had no idea that it would put a target on his back like that. Thankfully, he had something on Lord Edobar, so that secret was unlikely to get out. It would be nice if he also knew why the elf was strapped for cash. Maybe he could ask Cormac about it later.

  At the moment, his oath was telling him he had to fight in the Malamon. He could probably get out of it if he found the right wizard. Luke was unsure if he wanted to go to the trouble. The ritual competition would certainly be dangerous, probably more dangerous than fighting a random monster. But he did like fighting, and he liked some of the people in this estate, it would be a shame to see them sacrificed.

  The court proceedings wrapped up a half hour later. The aristocracy might have been backstabbing bastards, but they were good at their jobs and the meeting didn’t drag on. As they started to file out, Lord Edobar had some parting words.

  “By the way, Runewright Izekor, I promised Luke of Machines you would teach him three new runes,” he said casually. “And don’t give me that scowl. I happen to know he is a runic genius. It will not take you long.”

  Izekor growled but stopped herself. She put her fists together and said, “We all work for your honor.”

  Then she turned to Luke and swore at him. He was impressed that the translation app had so many slurs loaded in. Eventually she took a breath and said, “Be at my office at the hour of the crow tomorrow.”

  She didn’t wait for a response and swept out of the room. Luke was nonplussed and didn’t let the insults get to him. He had bigger things to deal with than a speciesist elf.

  Luke headed down the spiral stairs, his long legs making good time. He didn’t pass anyone on the way down, only belatedly realizing the aristocracy could use the elevator. It was only the plebeians like himself that had to use the stairs to get to the top of the skyscraper tree.

  He collected Jinx from Kruro’s place and picked up a mech suit she had made. She warned him that it was the last one she could make because she was out of materials. He promised to do something about it, but his head was elsewhere. He had several big decisions to make. The first of which was to decide what to do with the greater healing potion in his storage compartment.

  As soon as the potions had hit the market, Luke had been saving up for one. He had used those funds to start up Monster Jaegers Inc. Now he didn’t have to save any money, he could drink the potion and be whole again.

  Unfortunately, that decision was dependent on his other decision. If he was going to give up on this portal, he should drink the potion. If he was going to fight in Lord Edobar’s war, he should sell the potion and figure out how to bond to his prosthetic leg.

  ???

  “Well, I don’t think I can give you useful advice,” Vanessa said and shrugged her armored shoulders.

  “Why’s that?” Luke said as he finished buttoning up in the Mark II.

  He had gotten to work early this morning along with Vanessa and explained his situation to her while he did some crafting. It was just the two of them for now because Allen was selling monster cores at KaliBay right now.

  She replied, “Because it’s too complicated. I don’t want you to risk your life like that. Lord Edobar tried to blackmail you because he knew you wouldn’t agree to it otherwise. But at the same time, if you don’t go, you’ll lose access to this portal, and I would lose you.”

  “You wouldn't come with me? I’m sure we could kill monsters in Europe or Australia just as easily as here.”

  Vanessa took a moment to respond. “I like you, I really do. I want to stay your girlfriend for as long as you’ll have me. But my family is here. I know you’ve got a complicated relationship with your family, but mine means a lot to me. I wouldn’t leave them.”

  Luke nodded. “Yeah. Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. We haven’t been dating that long, I can’t expect you to want to uproot your life just because I have to.”

  “Maybe there’s an option B, something that doesn’t involve gladiator combat and ritual sacrifice. We just have to find it.”

  “Sounds like a plan. We need to keep an ear to the ground and ask around to find a better solution. Thanks for the talk. I feel better about killing monsters now.”

  She laughed and they got back to prep. Today was the first day they would have more than one squad. He had called Sandwich in now that they had enough mech suits, so they would be going into the field with two teams of four.

  Shepard and his shadows arrived then and Luke walked over to their mechs as they suited up. He said, “Good news, boys. I added some ordinance to your power armor. Each of you now has a spell slinger. It’s that small handle on the forearm. When you pull it back, it cocks the spring and loads a round. Let go and it fires a spell. Davis and Barrow, you have ice bolts, Green you got sawblades, and Shepard, I gave you lightning.”

  They hurriedly got into their suit and examined the lever Luke had mentioned. The majority of the spring powered magnet launcher was internal so there wasn’t much to see.

  “I can’t help but notice our weapons are not as impressive as your own,” Shepard said pointedly.

  Luke cocked his head, “That’s a funny way to say 'Thank you for giving me a ranged weapon, something that I have sorely needed.'”

  Shepard rolled his eyes. “Thanks, boss.”

  Luke laughed. “I’m just messing with you. Yes, your spell slingers aren’t as long range as my own. But they are dependable. I won’t be around for repairs during the day since I am going to lead my own squad. Sandwich and Bumblebee are coming with me, and Vanessa of course.”

  Shepard nodded slowly. “I suppose I can get behind that. As long as you aren’t cheaping out on us.”

  “You got your bonus from the last shift, right? We definitely aren't cheaping out on you.”

  Shepard rocked his hand back and forth. “Ehh. I looked up the prices for the orbs you have been taking from us. You are making bank from us. I would appreciate a little more of that flowing our way.”

  Luke frowned. “I am paying you what we agreed on, triple your previous salary with insane bonuses. You are right that mana cores are valuable, but this business has costs. This small warehouse cost more than half a million. The suits you are wearing are probably worth double that, each. Allen repairs your runes at the end of every day, which costs thousands in mana dust. Trust me, you are being paid well.”

  Shepard grunted and looked down at his new weapon. “This thing have a safety?”

  Luke nodded and showed him how it worked. He insisted they wait to test it out until after they arrived on Kalibutan. Sandwich and Bumblebee walked in then, and Luke gave Sandwich the same rundown about his new addition. Vanessa listened to the spiel and looked down at her own armor.

  “When are you going to give me my own spell guns? I think I would like fire and ice. I’m leaning towards an elemental mage class,” Vannessa said.

  “Well, first off, we need to give you proper gun safety training. These might not be Earth style weapons, but they are just as deadly,” Luke said as he packed their lunch.

  “They didn’t have to have safety lectures, you just gave them all guns,” Vanessa said and pointed to Shepard and his team.

  “They have all had years of weapons safety courses. Years. I’m not going to give you a weapon until I am sure you won’t hurt anyone with it,” Luke said firmly.

  Vanessa’s shoulders slumped and she made an exaggerated awww. Luke laughed and gestured for everyone to head out.

  Getting through security was a bit of a hassle because the Norfolk Complex still only gave their company six portal passes. Allen had arranged for Luke to get an owner’s pass, but that still left Vanessa without a pass. Luke had to fill out a long form to take her along with a day pass, something he could do because he was a buisness owner.

  Once they arrived in Kalibutan, most of the team hurried to the forest and started firing spells into the bushes. The spell slingers sent their spell about fifty feet, far less than the air rifles Luke had used in the other mechs. But they were still a ranged option that they didn’t have before. They jogged to the estate village and collected the elemental swords so they were fully armed.

  Luke cleared his throat and said, “We are splitting up into two squads today, Shepard will take his crew and I’ll lead the rest. We still need to track down the hive wolves and eliminate them. They have been multiplying and getting smarter for too long. At this point I expect we’ll have a battle on our hands when we find them. We've searched just about everywhere by now. There’s only two places on Lord Edobar’s peninsula they could be hiding. I’ll take my crew to check out the Fingers on the northwestern edge of the peninsula, and Shepard, you take the northeastern edge. Check out the sea caves there, but pull out at the first sign of monsters. Don’t engage the Hive Wolves if you see them, we need to have all of us together to take them on. We’ll meet back here at the end of our shift and compare notes.”

  Barrow gave him a sarcastic salute and the rest of his squad followed suit. Luke shook his head and waved them off. He had a feeling he was going to fire those guys as soon as the newbies were trained up.