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The group of four men walked along the rocky, black surface of the dungeon’s ground, making their way to the pyramid structure Kerry had spotted. “I see it,” James said. “It definitely doesn’t look natural.”
The pyramid must’ve been massive because the structure wasn’t in the range of Sam’s All-Seeing Gaze. If he weren’t blinded by Werchbite, he assumed he would’ve seen the structure on the horizon like a faraway mountain.
“Are we sure we want to go there?” Tom asked. “A structure like that is bound to be occupied, and we’re not supposed to mess around with the enlightened native; it must’ve been the one to order this construction.”
“Yeah,” James said. “We’re going, and we’re going to do more than mess with the enlightened one. We have to capture it or make it spit out something worth our time.”
“But the rules,” Tom said, his brow furrowing. “If the natives of Oterra find out”—
“They won’t,” James said, “as long as none of us are stupid enough to tell anyone. Even if this plane was destined to ascend and become a part of Oterra, it would take thousands of years, maybe even millions. If by some lucky chance the natives of this plane remember what happened, which they won’t, and snitched on us to the blue avians, it won’t matter because we’ll be long gone by then.”
“I suppose,” Tom said and frowned. He looked at Sam. “Well, I’m just a dog, so if our boss decides that’s what we’re going to do, then that’s what we’re going to do.”
The illusion of Sam nodded its head. “I’ll take full responsibility for anything that happens,” Vercedei said, much to Sam’s dismay. “That being said, I’d rather not anyone know what we did, so keep quiet about it.”
Kerry stared at Sam before shrugging. “It’s only human to pick short-term personal gains,” the red-haired man said, “can’t say I blame you.” He stared up at the sky, which was covered in an orange haze. “I just think it’s a shame this civilization’s course of history is going to be altered by us.”
James snorted. “As if human civilization hasn’t been altered by outsiders,” he said. “Earth managed to ascend to Oterra just fine even with said interference, so these guys can do it too.”
Sam’s All-Seeing Gaze detected a colorful smear up ahead, and he readied his shovel as he walked over. After securing the ore and feeding it to Vercedei, he took in a deep breath through his nose. He was getting a lot better at breathing with his nostrils; even when he was exerting himself, he didn’t have to—read couldn’t—pant with his mouth. Sweat ran down his face and the sides of his torso from his armpits, his body perhaps compensating for the inability to regulate his temperature through his breaths.
“It’s almost ready,” Werchbite’s voice said inside of Sam’s head. “A few more ores will do the trick.”
Sam wasn’t quite sure what Werchbite was planning on creating for him, but he was glad he didn’t have to dig much more. It wasn’t difficult, but it was awkward being the only one doing anything while three other people stared at him. After walking a bit further, the pyramid came into Sam’s detection range. Dozens of living creatures were moving about around it, and they resembled the beasts he had seen swimming in the lava earlier. They were diving into a nearby source of lava—Sam’s All-Seeing Gaze couldn’t see the end of the molten rock—and bringing back materials to the structure. There was one lava beast not doing any physical labor; it was overseeing all the other beasts while standing on a pile of ores to elevate it above the rest.
“I think I see something moving,” James said, squinting at the pyramid in the distance.
“Yeah,” Kerry said, nodding his head. “One of those beasts carrying a block up to the top of the pyramid. Why do you think they’re building it?”
“Maybe the leader of the beasts is going to die and wants a tomb?” Tom asked, causing James and Kerry to look at the blue-haired man. He shrugged. “What? Isn’t that why the pharaohs had the pyramids built on Earth?”
“Of course,” Kerry said and pointed at the lava beast in the distance. “That looks like an Egyptian to me.”
Tom’s expression darkened. “Alright,” he said, “fine. Maybe they’re building an altar to sacrifice things to the gods.”
“That’s more like it,” James said. “Should we be those gods?” A smile appeared on his face. “Let’s go introduce ourselves to it.”
Sam wasn’t sure where James’ confidence was coming from. How many grenades could he have packed? There was an extremely large number of lava beasts working on the pyramid, and their bodies were even larger than reptilians’. Seeing as they were made of slag and other inorganic matter, their defensive properties were definitely stronger than the reptilians’ too.
“Yeah,” Tom said and rolled his eyes. “Let’s go up to those beasts and say hello. I’m sure they’ll understand and worship the heck out of us.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Kerry said. “The one we met seemed pretty keen on killing us until James chucked grenades at it.” The red-haired man turned towards James. “How many grenades do you have left anyway?”
“It was sarcasm,” Tom said and snorted. “Look at the size of that pyramid. There are definitely hundreds of those beasts working on it. I can’t slow them all down with my talent, and how will you blast them apart if I don’t do that? Provoking this group is suicide.” The blue-haired man turned towards Sam. “You can dig up ores and eat them, and you’ll benefit plenty from this dungeon. Do you really want to risk your life? You don’t even know what you can get from there.”
“If we befriend the enlightened native, we can have it convince its underlings to gather stuff from the lava for us,” James said. “Who knows what kind of treasures lie down there?”
“Because you can speak to beasts,” Tom said.
“I can,” James said. “It’s a recent development, but I’ve made substantial progress in unlocking my throat chakra. I can convey my intent to any sentient creature.”
As someone whose Vishudda was completely mastered thanks to his natural talent, Sam could transmit his intent to anything he could establish a connection with; he had learned how to do it from a tutor before entering the dungeon. As for why he didn’t try to speak with the beasts in the lava lake earlier, well, he was more comfortable with using Toughen to rob them of their mobility; either way, the problem was solved.
“Alright,” Tom said, gesturing towards the pyramid with his head, “go on and speak with them. We’ll wait right here.”
James snorted. “You know what?” he asked. “I will. The three of you can wait here, and if I convince them into believing I’m a god, I’ll be hogging all the benefits for myself.”
“You should ask for permission first before doing something like that,” Kerry said. “We were hired as guards, so we shouldn’t be looting the dungeon off on our own.”
“He doesn’t mind,” James said, looking towards Sam for confirmation. “Do you want to come with me?”
Sam weighed the options in his mind, seeing if the risk was worth the reward. However, he didn’t have time to finish thinking before Vercedei chose for him. “Yes,” the snake’s blue head said. “I’m going.” The illusion of Sam looked at Tom and Kerry. “The two of you can stay back if you’re scared; I won’t hold it against you.”
“Great,” Kerry said, giving Sam two thumbs-up. “I’ll wait right here then; please, don’t get yourself killed. If it really seems like you’re going to die, use James as a decoy to save yourself.”
Tom stared at Sam. “I’m sticking with my position,” he said. “If things go south, you’ll die. How are you going to survive if you get swarmed by those things?”
Well, Raindu could touch the beasts, and they’d die … if they had hearts or organs similar to hearts. Werchbite could make an illusion of Sam running in another direction while he himself cut off his connections to the beasts, rendering himself invisible to them. After thinking about it some more, Sam realized the risks weren’t actually as high as he thought.
“He’s unlocked his crown chakra,” James said. “I’m sure he can pull a Wendy and vanish when he needs to.”
“Right,” Tom said and nodded at Sam. “It’s great that you have an escape technique; since your safety is practically assured, I, the one lacking escape techniques, will sit my ass right here and wait for your triumphant return.”
“It’s settled then,” James said. “We’ll fool the natives into believing we’re gods, and the two of you will wait here wishing you were us.” He grinned at Sam. “Let’s go.”
Sam followed after James, leaving the red-haired and blue-haired men behind. “If shit hits the fan, how are you getting out?” Vercedei asked.
“Rocket boots,” James said.
“What now?” Vercedei asked.
“Rocket boots,” James said again and pointed at his shoes. “Thanks to my talent, I can survive impacts normal people can’t, so I’m not afraid of blasting myself through the air.”
“Interesting,” Vercedei said. “How far can you fly? Can you reach the top of the pyramid?”
“From here?” James asked, raising as eyebrow as he eyed the pyramid in the distance. “No, but I should be able to make it to the top if I jump from the base.”
If the boots could be used repeatedly, Sam could see how James would escape from a swarm of lava-and-landbound creatures. Would Toughen be enough to survive the boots’ impact? If so, perhaps Sam should get a pair of his own.
“Why didn’t you rocket boots your way across that lava lake?” Vercedei asked.
“Landing hurts like hell,” James said, “and the less I use them, the more fuel I conserve.” He raised his finger to his lips. “Let me do all the talking from now on, alright? You might agitate those beasts if they can’t understand you.”
The illusion of Sam nodded in acknowledgement. It didn’t’ take long for the two of them to be spotted by a lava beast, not when they were walking out in the open without trying to conceal themselves. The beast roared, and like a chain reaction of explosions, more roars rang through the air, shaking the ground as the rest of the beasts responded in kind. The lava beast charged at James and Sam as the roars continued to resound. James raised his hand and shouted, “Stop! I come in peace!” but it was either too loud for the beast to hear, or it simply didn’t care because it didn’t stop.
James gritted his teeth and stepped forward while holding his arms out. He leaned forward and braced himself for impact a moment before the beast’s leg collided against him. It was like watching a man attempt to stop an out-of-control truck, and the results went just as expected. James grunted as the leg collided against him, and he was flung away like a pebble kicked by a kid. As for Sam, he leapt to the side and cut off his connection to the lava beast with his Sahasrara, rendering himself invisible to the creature.
James rolled along the ground before coming to a halt. He pushed himself up and glared at the beast. Although he slid across the rocky surface like a crayon made of meat, there wasn’t a single scrape on his body. The beast galloped towards James again, and the man’s expression darkened as he braced himself once more while shouting, “Stop!”
Surprisingly, the beast came to a halt in front of James. It was hard to identify where the creature’s eyes were, but James was sure the beast was examining him somehow. The beast might’ve come to a halt, but the ground continued to rumble as the roars in the distance continued to resound. James’ expression darkened as dozens of beasts appeared on the horizon, running towards him. “Tell your friends to stop,” James said. “Let me talk to your leader.”
The beast stood on its backmost legs and roared at the sky, causing James’ ears to ring from the sound. The incoming beasts roared in reply, slowing down as they did so. Eventually, all the beasts came to a halt, and James waited as the sea of beasts parted. The slacking beast Sam had picked out earlier proceeded through the corridor created by the beasts, coming to a halt in front of James. The leader of the lava beasts was a different color than the rest of them, its slag-like body orange with metallic, red highlights.
“Hello,” James said to the beast.
In response, the leader of the lava beasts let out a low rumble, its intent clear in Sam’s mind. It was greeting James while questioning what he was at the same time.
“I am an angel,” James said, placing his hand on his chest. “Do you know what an angel is?”
The beast rumbled, indicating for James to explain himself.
“An angel is a messenger of God,” James said. “God is the one who created you.” He gestured towards the beasts in the surroundings. “Who created all of you. Without him, you would not exist; you owe everything to God.”
Sam wondered how many times James had swindled an enlightened native because the man seemed awfully familiar with the process. Perhaps Monarch created a guidebook on tricking dungeon natives; the company already showed it had a penchant for breaking the law with their artificial-awakener program.
The enlightened lava beast rumbled once more, asking James for proof.
“How dare you!” James shouted and pointed at the beast. “My lord has no reason to show himself to you. If he had to prove his existence to everyone who didn’t believe in him, he’d have no time to do anything else. You have to have faith!”
The enlightened lava beast’s body made a series of clacking sounds as it asked what faith was.
“Faith is blind belief, belief without proof,” James said. “Only if you have faith will the lord empower you.”
The enlightened lava beast clacked some more. The beast thought James was spouting nonsense, and Sam couldn’t help but nod his head because James was indeed spouting nonsense.
“Are you sure you want to deny the existence of God?” James asked, puffing his chest out. It didn’t make him look any bigger considering the lava beast towered over him. “Aren’t you curious as to what happens after you die? If you don’t believe in God, and you die, you go to hell, a place of … cold weather.” James cleared his throat. “But if you believe in God, when you die, you’ll go to heaven, a place filled with lava of the perfect temperature and thousands of lava beasts for you to command.”
The enlightened lava beast rumbled and took a step towards James, demanding proof once again for his outlandish claims.
James heaved an exaggerated sigh. “I can show you, but you can’t show it to anyone else,” he said. “If God catches wind of me delivering proof to all of you, he won’t accept any of you into heaven, but if it’s just you, he won’t mind.” James reached into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone. Then, he took a picture of the enlightened beast and turned the phone around, showing it the image on the screen. “See? This is one of God’s people in heaven.”
The enlightened lava beast rumbled, this time, the quakes leaving its body were subdued. It was asking if heaven was located on the sun.
James looked up at the sky, eyeing the red sun in the distance. “Yeah,” he said and nodded. “Heaven is on the sun.”
The enlightened lava beast stood on its hindlegs and roared, causing the other lava beasts to roar as well. James grimaced as the ground shook. The beasts rushed in the direction they had come from, leaving the enlightened lava beast behind.
“Why did you order them to build the pyramid?” James asked.
The enlightened lava beast stomped its feet and roared once more. The pyramid was being built for one purpose: to reach the sun, the great source of lava in the sky. Rather than dying and going to heaven, wasn’t it better to build a path to heaven for everyone to use freely?
“You can’t,” James said. “The sun is extremely far away, impossible for you to reach with your physical body. Between here and the sun, there lies a vast expanse, a freezing one, basically hell. Right, this pyramid isn’t a path to heaven; it’s a path to hell. Rather than having your people waste their time on building it, you should have them gather the riches of the land. By offering tributes to God, you’ll be given a better status in heaven once you die.”
The enlightened lava beast rumbled, asking what was the point of having a better status in heaven.
“Let me explain heaven to you,” James said and smiled. “It’s a wondrous place where you can live forever without hardship, but that’s just the default package. The more you offer up to God, by giving me, his angel, your riches, the better the treatment in heaven you’ll get: delicious foods, top-tier entertainment, better living quarters.”
Sam remained invisible as James tempted the enlightened lava beast with false promises. If he ever managed to free himself from Monarch, Sam had a feeling James would make a killing as a missionary.