Mantle of the Gods [LitRPG / Slow Burn / FTB Harem]

Short answer was no.

But there was no way that I was going to say that out loud. This was someone who had already kidnapped me once, and I had no doubt that he'd resort to such measures again if he thought he needed to. The whole friendly sales pitch was just a mask and a very poor one if I could see through it.

Kara started to speak, but I held up my hand, which I knew would irritate her, but eight years of being trained to take orders had conditioned her to follow the lead of a superior, and right now that was me. While I knew I could cut her off, I also knew that it wouldn't take long for her to remember that she didn't care if I gave her an order she didn't like.

"How did you get this core?" I didn't want to explain how they had essentially just made an artificial Mantle of the Gods. I had my suspicions, but I wanted him to confirm if I was right.

"How doesn't matter." Hogo brushed his hand through the air. "All that matters is what I can do with it! Think about it! A Dungeon that is connected to every city in the Ward! One that isn't tainted by the Temple or the Dispatchers! A Dungeon that people can live in and don't have to answer to a God!"

I shook my head. "Exactly. Once people find out about this, you're going to make enemies of the Gods, the Temple, the Dispatchers, and probably the Authority, the AG, and the Mappers." I looked over at Trok. The same choker that I'd seen was not only around his neck but also Ella's. "My father would become an outcast just by helping you."

I motioned at the entire room. "We both know that you didn't create this; someone else made it, which means you're either in league with someone powerful or you have a very powerful person you stole this from, and you need my father to protect you." The look on his face told me that I was right. "There's no way my father is going to blindly make an enemy."

The silver man sighed and sat in one of the rolling chairs, then buried his face in his hands. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, he looked up.

"I stole it from the Cult of Wurn." His tone carried a heavy sigh. "I was supposed to be smuggling some of them into Harror so that they could set the gate. When I realized what they were doing, I killed them and took control." He nodded at the monitors. "Most of the Mundane that are living here have no idea that this is a big experiment by the Cult and that they're lab rats." He swallowed. "As soon as most of the people came in, I shut down the gates and gave keys to the bigger outfits. My plan was to use this auction to make enough All to keep this place running after the supply the Cult left ran out as well as to show how easily we could move stuff between cities."

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The man was a genius and a fool. "Please tell me that this isn't the first auction."

"Of course not!" Hogo sat back in the chair. "The first one was a small one in the market to kick things off. This is going to be the grand opening in a bit!" He looked at his CB. "Speaking of, I need to get on stage!"

"WAIT!" I did the stupid thing of walking in front of someone who could squash me like a bug. "Do you know who all is here?"

Hogo looked irritated. "Ella knows all that stuff." He put his hand on my shoulder to move me out of the way. "Ask her your questions. I'll be back once the opening ceremony is over!"

I wanted to stop him, but he was a man on a mission, and I wasn't strong enough to stand in his way. It would take too long to confirm my suspicion, so I watched him hurry through the door, leaving Kara and myself locked in the core room with Ella and Trok.

"What do you know?" Kara whispered in my ear.

I glanced over at the other two and saw that I had their complete attention. Explaining what I was thinking would share some things that the general public wasn't supposed to know.

"The Cult of Wurn may be radical, but they are not stupid. This is a huge project for them, and they aren't just going to let Hogo steal it without trying to take it back." I nodded at the screen that was showing the people seated in the auction house. "This is the first time the public has been allowed in this building?"

Ella nodded.

Kara swore under her breath.

"How many Tier Fives are above us?" I braced myself for the answer I didn't want to hear.

"Six. Therus of the Bronze Cobras, Naka of the Ruby Falcons, Nocri of the Azure Wolves, Melyl of the Thundering Legion, Quavae of the Fangs of Menit, and Uluin of the Blades of Lagu." Ella turned from her screen. "Hogo claims that he's worked with all of them before and that they would never work with a Cult."

"But would they kill him to take over this place for themselves?" I held up my hand to stop her from denying it. I'd seen Therus' list of crimes. He was a violent man that had actually been suppressed by Sipher. "While the Cult tries to take it back and call it an accident?"

The green woman looked over at the core with horror on her face.

Before she could answer, the Cult made their move.