Surviving The Myriad Worlds (A Multiplanar LitRPG)

Dante stood in front of a large double door — likely the grandest on the ship. It was excessively large, over a story tall, and was inlaid with gold which depicted a scene that he found uncomfortable. A nearly life-like roiling mass of Ahsmati lay at the bottom. The foundation of a city was crushing them and they were in obvious discomfort — many having wounds like broken bones. Despair was clear on all of their faces. Despite being clearly medieval, the buildings of the city were proportioned like skyscrapers. Joyous and reverent citizens filled these towers, looking up towards the five tallest spires. Four of the towers were the exact same height and bore nobles of rich and distinct dress, but that was not what he had eyes for. On that tallest tower, looking down on everything else benevolently was an Empress wearing a crown with a familiar three-eyed symbol.

She looked almost identical to Ahzi.

The Empress looked to be a bit older and almost matronly, but she had a cast to her features that gave him pause. There was something cold and distant in her eyes, almost as if she was looking down at insects. The entire scene turned his stomach.

When Pauwna told me about the history of the Empire, I had some doubt if it was true. She would be a little biased after all. But after seeing this … They aren't even ashamed of it, what they have done. No, they must be proud of their atrocities if they display it like this. And the look on the Empress's face … I just hope that's an artistic interpretation.

Dante spared a look at the two guards who were standing on either side of the door. They were as richly dressed as the door and had not spared a look for him. When Dante arrived, he hadn't been sure what to do. The letter had not said anything about this.

It had caught him off guard, that letter. Dantee had asked Ren to read it to him as soon as he had woken up. The letter had been rather short, asking him to come to this location at sunrise. The important part was that it had been signed by First Princess Ahzi.

Sunrise was closer than he would liked. It was fortunate that he had returned early on account of his exhaustion. Dante nearly rushed straight there before Ren scolded him. "You are not going before the First Princess like that", she had told him and then made him wash up in a hot tub of water that had been brought up for the purpose. It seemed like Ahzi's staff didn't want him near her in his current uncouth state. Dante would have liked to enjoy it, as the last time he consciously bathed had been before his stranding, but he had to rush. After Dante washed, he was provided with a new uniform. Ren had fussed over him a little bit more, messing with his hair and dabbing him with a nicely smelling oil before sending him up.

Dante was glad that he had grown close enough to Ren that she would help him so. He had been afraid for a while that Pauwna would be his only friend in this world, but Ren might get there. Which had surprised him, given their mutual first impressions.

He had barely made it to Ahzi's office as the first rays of sunshine came through the window. Where Dante had been told to wait, in no uncertain terms, by the guards. And he had. For quite some time.

I suppose when you are a princess, the world waits on you.

Just as Dante had formed that thought, the doors opened and out strode the male attendant. His name was … Moe something or other? They had only met twice and all he remembered was that the man didn't like him. Ahzi was quick on his heels.

"I must object to this course of action," said the man. He turned around, his gaze sliding over Dante as if he didn't exist. "It shames the memory of our nation's fallen, much less our current brave soldiers."

Ahzi sighed, weariness passing over her fine features — likely the first genuine emotion he had seen from her. "What would you suggest Moeris? That we let more join their racks? We are facing an unprecedented crisis and we need all the allies we can get. Even if we have to ally with the great enemy." She held up a hand to withstand an interjection from Moeris. Dante began to get the feeling that they have had this discussion many times before. "My decision is final."

Moeris's face hardened and he gave a stiff bow. Suddenly, an uncanny sensation fell over Dante. He was certain that someone was looking at him. He didn't dare look away from the pair in front of him, but the feeling persisted.

"Are you going to meet with this … foreigner alone, Princess?"

Ahzi smiled, perhaps a little condescendingly. "I think I can handle him myself."

Moeris said nothing to that, repeated his bow, then left. As he disappeared around the corner, the sensation abated. In its absence, Dante realized that it had been coming from his aura.

Did I discover a new side to [Force Paragon]? I wonder what it was exactly? Maybe his aura?

"You may enter."

Dante nearly flinched at the statement and was about to apologize but Ahzi had already flowed back into her office. It was something that he had been noticing more and more with the ranks higher then him. They simply moved around their day to day lives faster.

It must be like adding more hours to the day. I have to say, looking forward to that.

Dante followed her in.

The interior of the office was just as luxurious as the exterior had been. The entire back half was taken up by wall to wall windows and the entire room could easily fit a dozen of his cabin. It was not the end of the space either, two doors on either sides presumably led to more personal quarters. The walls were taken up by bookcases, equipment stands, and beautiful paintings. Not that Dante had much time to gawk, for he kept his eyes glued on Ahzi.

She was different from the other times he had seen her. Rather then her impractical suit of armor, she wore a more reasonable uniform of pants and shirt like the rest of the soldiery. Though this uniform was made of higher quality materials and she wore a silver crown with other jewelry that never would have flyed on the battlefield.

Guess you can't take the flashiness from a princess.

"I was uncertain if I needed to hear your testimony after I heard your compatriots, but your story last night at dinner changed matters." Ahzi tapped a bundle of papers in front of her. "The others spoke of the humanoid monsters dismissively, but your words contained here indicate that you think otherwise. Care to explain why?"

So someone was watching me. Pauwna warned me, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but it is startling to see evidence of it. I wasn't expecting those words to have such far-reaching consequences. I should choose my next words carefully.

"Of course First Princess. Did my companions tell of their ability to communicate?"

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"They did, although they likened it to the ability of pack animals to coordinate."

"I apologize if this seems obvious to you, I still know little of these lands, but can animals use magic like that?"

"It is rare for their capacity to be that high, but it is not uncommon."

"Even still, I would argue that they are dangerous. They used tools, which elevates their intelligence level above animals. When paired with their ability to communicate complicated concepts such as location, that makes them near Sūnsian levels at the very least. They demonstrated a twisted form of agriculture for crying out loud. That fulfills all of the hallmarks of an intelligent species by any measure. I think it would be dangerous to give them the advantage of underestimating them."

Dante hoped that would be enough. For this next part, he was glad that he had taken a small interest in military theory for a few weeks. He was just quoting what a few of the books Dante had read agreed on. Maybe modern military theory would impress her?

Why wasn't Ahzi saying anything? Now that he had said it, it felt like very flimsy logic. His nervousness was not helped when Ahzi did not immediately say anything, staring into the distance and tapping two fingers on the stack of papers. She appeared deep in thought.

Maybe she wants more?

Dante cleared his throat and when she made no sign to stop him, he continued. "However, I don't think that is the primary thing we should be worried about."

A slightly intrigued expression passed over the princess's face. "Go on."

"If you would bear with me for a moment, First Princess, but what would you say is the most important factor in winning a war?"

The answer was instantaneous.

"Who has the superior number of upper ranks."

That answer threw Dante off. The worst part was that he had no way of disputing it. For all that he knew, this could be true. For what he had seen of Ahzi and the Elemental Dragons, it was very believable.

"That could very well be true, but it is different in my homeland. There, we would say that it is logistics. Disease, starvation, and lack of equipment will bring an army to its knees before blood is even spilled. Especially when it is as long-lasting as this one."

"I suppose I can see the logic to that answer. Magic components are critical to the war effort and difficult to acquire. Is there a point to all of this?"

"The Chausus do not have to worry about it."

The words had left his mouth before he had thought much about it and he cursed internally. Of course I made that mistake again. It doesn't seem like deception is helping much with it. Fortunately, Ahzi's next words relieved him of some of that tension.

"Chausus? Ah, I recall Ren mentioning that in her report. It's as good a name for them as any. What does it mean?"

"Devourers," Dante said while cursing internally. At least Ahzi had already known about that slip up. He would just have to make sure not to do it again. That meaning had the first thing to come to mind. Speed mattered when it came to things like this.

[Deception] has advanced to Level 4

It seemed like the world agreed with him.

What an opportunity to advance that skill. I couldn't ask for a more suitable opponent. Ahzi is high leveled and there are real consequences to failing this.

"The Chausus do not need complicated things such as spell components. Only the flesh of the fallen. Also, I may be paranoid but … My Lady, have you seen the condition of the land taken by the Chausus?"

Ahzi blinked, obviously caught off guard by the sudden change in topic. "It is utterly transformed. Crystallized much like the Chausus themselves. If what the other two told me is correct, the land beyond is even more transformed."

"And how long has it been since they took that land?"

"About a week."

"Precisely. They managed to change the land to that extent in only a week. Which speaks volumes about how fast they propagate. This problem will only get worse over time as they grow in number."

"But they are only able to do that because of our fallen," countered Ahzi. "Ever since we have established the uneasy ceasefire with Ahsmati, their rate of expansion has slowed down. They are hemmed in by the sea on all other side, so they have nowhere else to spread."

"That is true, First Princess, but I believe that you are missing something."

"And what is that exactly?"

Luckily for him, she seemed amused by that question. On the whole, Dante thought she seemed a lot more relaxed one-on-one. He had gotten hints of that before, but that male attendant had always made things tense. Hopefully, the Empress would be similar.

"Have you noticed any of the dead wheat fields around the camp lately?"

Comprehension dawned on Ahzi's face. "You think that they can eat the plant life as well?"

"I could be wrong, the fighting could be responsible, but I think it's worth considering. Because the nutrition they could receive from soldiers pales in comparison to that they could receive from the vegetation. This is not even considering if they spread into the sea. I noticed that the small ones at least do not have to breathe. I have done some preliminary analysis and it does not look good."

For the first time since Dante entered the room, Ahzi looked at him. Her iris was pure white and shown with a faint light, creating a slightly uncanny effect. The border was constantly rippling, as if her iris were alight with the same purifying flame she used on the battlefield. It was only for a moment and she hadn't looked into his eyes, but Dante knew that he had been acknowledged.

"You have a good head on your shoulders. I came to a similar conclusion after hearing the other's reports, though I hadn't judged it to be as serious until speaking with you. If it weren't for your unknown background, I would take you as an advisor."

If I had known that was a possibility, I might have been less helpful. With everything I have going on, I want to keep away from the royals as much as possible. At least I narrowly avoided that bullet.

"I am flattered, First Princess."

"What you have confirmed is my certainty to have you participate in the diplomatic expedition."

That what now?

"I am afraid I don't follow, First Princess."

"You wouldn't, it's not public knowledge yet. I have determined that we need to ascertain the magnitude of the threat and Lightbringer agrees. They are also nervous about the extent of the Chausus. Thus, I plan to bring a proposal before the Empress and have her approve a joint expedition. Your testimony will be critical in my arguing my case. Moreover, I hear that you have an effective passive ability against them."

Shit, that is exactly what I don't want.

"While I am glad that Your Highness values my ability so highly, I am afraid that I might disappoint. My current ability is only able to defend a handful of people, much less an Ahsmati. It also completely incapacitates me under that much stress. I am afraid that I would be nothing but a burden."

"I see. If I recall, you are a low rank, correct?"

Dante did not like where this was going.

"This is correct."

"It is a simple solution then. We will be staying in the capital for about a week. During that time, I will have the palace trainers prepare you. Under their tutelage, I do not doubt that you will improve to a usable state."

It looks like she is determined to have me participate in this. I don't think I can argue my way out. At least I got a concession.

"I thank you, First Princess, for this boon. With that, I will endeavor to serve you faithfully."

Bleh, it feels nasty to say that. This woman continues to lay responsibilities I never wanted for a place that I hate more and more.

"Excellent. Before that, however, there is the issue of your past. It was not critical enough for my direct attention before, especially in these times. However large my curiosity was, it was not enough to justify it. But since you are already here and will be working under me, we need to discuss it."