WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom

Under the cover of shadow, Taleth moved. He didn't need maps, he had already memorized the layout from the ants.

Every corridor. Every guard rotation. Every spot where he can hide.

It doesn't took him long to reach his destination. The coliseum loomed ahead, an enormous blackstone structure carved into the spine of a volcanic ridge.

Smoke constantly drifted from its upper tiers, and sound of cheers and screams still echoed in the vents even after the last match had ended.

Because here, the fighting never truly stopped.

Most assumed the coliseum's glory matches were the only events. They were wrong.

Every hour, in the lower pits, slaves were thrown into blood-stained arenas, forced to fight for survival, to train the favored, or simply to entertain bored handlers and nobility with nothing better to do.

Taleth approached the outer gate from the maintenance side. There were fewer patrols here, just handlers dragging bloodied corpses into carts, too tired to care about another shape in the dark.

He slipped in behind one, ducking low, mimicking the stagger of a tired laborer. A handler grunted at him, "You're late. The lower pit stinks like hell."

Taleth gave a nod and kept moving, never breaking stride.

Inside the service halls, it was colder. No firelight reached here, just damp stone, and the soft drip of water. He passed slave pens, iron-barred rooms with straw beds and filth-covered walls. Most were empty now, cleaned out for the next batch of gladiators.

At a fork in the passage, two guards leaned against the wall, talking in low voices.

"Hahaha… You see how that Velmora looked at him? Like she wanted to bite his face off."

"She'll be dead in two matches. Boss says she's just a distraction prize. Something to get craze more invested."

"Still. I'd pay to see her break someone's jaw before she goes."

They laughed. Taleth moved past them unseen, clinging to the shadow.

He descended a narrow stairwell. A single crystal flickered in a wall, barely lighting the path ahead.

Then he stopped. The door was ahead, heavy door reinforced with special magic.

Taleth stepped closer, crouching beside the frame. His fingers moved silently, drawing a simple magical tool. The glyph sputtered and dimmed.

He placed his hand against the door, ear pressing close.

Inside, he could hear the faint rasp of breath. She was still awake.

Eyes sharp, he reached for the small lockpicking tool at his belt. One twist, two twist, a few second later, it clicked.

Taleth took a slow breath, then reached for the handle. The door creaked open into darkness.

He stepped inside. Then, a presence come from the right.

The woman jumped, chain in hand, wrapping it tight around his neck. Her weight drove him backward, slamming him into the wall. Taleth grunted, his fingers shooting up to wedge between the links and his throat.

The chain tightened. Her breath hissed near his ear, filled with hate and desperation.

He twisted, using his weight to spin them both. She crashed into the floor, but didn't let go. Her legs kicked, grappling around his waist like a snake, trying to hold position.

Taleth gritted his teeth. "Damn it, calm down, !"

She only snarled and pulled tighter. He couldn't hit her, Ben's orders were clear.

He need her information. And even without his order Taleth don't want to hurt her.

So he changed tactics. With a sudden shift, he dropped his full weight backward, slamming her into the stone beneath. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs, and the chain slackened.

Taleth didn't wait. He rolled, twisted her arm behind her back, and pinned her with one knee.

She spat again, struggling. Her eyes glared up at him, fierce and burning, no fear in them.

Taleth let out a slow breath, heart still hammering.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he said quietly. "I just want to talk."

But She didn't believe him. With a sharp twist of her hips, she bucked upward, nearly throwing him off.

The chain in her hand whipped around again, this time aimed for his eye. Taleth barely jerked his head aside, he felt the links scrape past his cheek, drawing a line of stinging pain.

She twisted her arm free with sheer force, surprising even him. Her other leg came up, catching him in the side. He grunted, reeling, and she scrambled out from under him, dragging the chain like a whip.

Taleth dropped low to avoid the next strike. The links hissed over his head, slamming into the wall behind him with enough force to chip stone.

"Damn it," he muttered. "You're not making this easy." If he want he could easily overpower her, but in that case what if he accidentally cause fatal damage.

But She didn't answer, only rushed again, wrapping the chain toward his throat once more. He caught it this time, wrenching hard, but she didn't let go, she spun with the momentum, twisting herself behind him like a shadow.

Her goal was clear: choke, break, kill, and probably escape afterward.

Taleth shoved backward, slamming her into the door. For a moment, the impact stunned her, and he used the chance to grab her wrists, forcing them down. Her breath came fast and furious, eyes burning, teeth clenched.

She tried to bite him.

He jerked his face back just in time.

"Enough!" he snapped.

She didn't stop. Her knee came up again, this time aiming between his legs. Taleth shifted with an instinctive wince, letting go of one wrist to block.

That was a mistake. Her fist slammed into his jaw with enough force to rattle his vision.

His patience snapped. He slammed her back into the wall with both arms, pinning her completely. "I said stop! I'm not your enemy!"

She thrashed, once, twice, but her strength was waning. Her breathing was ragged now, wild with fury and fear, but finally… it slowed.

She stared at him, defiant even in exhaustion. And Taleth, bruised and panting, stared back.

"Screw this!"

For the first time, neither moved.

Only the soft rattling of the chain between them remained.

Taleth couldn't afford to waste any more time. Every second they struggled increased the risk, someone would hear. And if anyone came looking, the mission was over.

Without hesitation, he reached for the ring on his finger. It pulsed faintly with stored magic.

In an instant, his form shimmered and twisted. Muscles softened. His features reshaped until he no longer resembled a Nephirid at all.

Now, before her, stood what looked like another Velmora, slim, handsome, and familiar. He met her stunned gaze and whispered, "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to listen."

"You… How could you…" her gaze than narrowed, "A mixed breed… Impossible!"

Taleth cracked his neck, then shut the door quietly behind him. From his belt, he pulled out a small crystal and crushed it between his fingers.

A soft pulse of light shimmered through the air.

It was a single-use talisman, rare, expensive, and precisely tuned. Within moments, a veil of silence wrapped around the room, masking both voice and presence.

More importantly, it was sophisticated enough to use aether instead of raw mana. That alone made it high-level enough to avoid triggering the arena's detection wards.

Casting standard magic here would've set off half a dozen alarms by now.

The woman studied Taleth, her gaze sharp, filled with questions, the kind he knew all too well.

"I know you have a lot on your mind," he said quietly, "but we don't have much time.

So I'll get straight to the point. I overheard you were offered as a reward for some kind of match involving a Nephirid prince. Is that true?"

Her eyes narrowed. She let out a long, heavy sigh and slowly sank down onto the floor. The fire from before faded from her posture, replaced by something quieter. Something bitter.

"Everyone's corrupt," she murmured. "The Velmora. The Ashking. All of them. And the rot runs deeper than you think."

Taleth frowned. "What do you mean? What does that have to do with the match?"

"If you want to understand that, I'll have to explain everything."

Miles away, Ben watched through Taleth's eyes, one brow lifting. 'Finally. Something useful.'

Taleth gave a small nod and sat down across from her, keeping his voice calm. "Alright. Then start from the beginning."

She studied him again. "Have you heard of the High Halls?"

"You mean the White Petal insignia?" Taleth tilted his head. "I've heard the name in passing. A few rumors. But aren't all Velmora enslaved by now?"

A faint, almost mocking smirk tugged at her lips. "Not all of us. Believe it or not… our kingdom still exists. Hidden, somewhere on this layer."

"What…?" Taleth's voice rose. A flicker of fury crossed his face. "You're telling me the Velmora still have a kingdom? And they just let this happen? Let their people be bought and sold like toys?!"

"Yes, and believe it or not this is allowed by the ashking as part of our treaty."