Dungeon Miner Slave

Flinx expected Count Menard to summon servants or craftsmen to copy every detail of Paul’s Galder’s Tower. Instead, the vampire simply instructed a servant to bring him his writing materials.

Apparently, the count intended to copy the design himself.

”You know architecture?” Flinx asked.

”Although I appear young, I am already fifty-two years old,” the count replied. ”Over the years, I have studied many forms of art, and I personally designed most of this manor.”

Since Flinx had informed him that the tower would disappear after twenty-four hours, Count Menard had no intention of wasting time. He wanted to document every detail—not because he intended to build an exact replica, but because he wished to draw inspiration from its architecture.

Seeing how focused the vampire had become, Flinx decided not to linger.

Before leaving, however, he asked one final question.

”Where may I retire for the night?”

Count Menard summoned his butler, who politely escorted Flinx to one of the manor’s guest rooms.

The room was spacious and luxuriously furnished, yet every decoration was tasteful. The elegance of an old noble family could be seen and felt throughout the room without ever appearing excessive.

Flinx was so impressed that he took photographs and videos of the guest room.

Perhaps, he thought, he could decorate his own room in his tower at Ilioven in a similar fashion.

If he were being honest, the room in his own tower had no personality whatsoever. It was functional, comfortable, and little else.

Since he possessed such an enormous fourth-tab storage space, Flinx decided that whenever he traveled through prosperous kingdoms, he would purchase tasteful furniture, artwork, and decorative pieces to furnish the interior of his tower.

As he thought more about it, another realization came to mind.

Galder’s Tower was relatively small.

Most wealthy nobles would probably find it too cramped for their tastes.

Perhaps it was finally time to replace it with a larger magical dwelling.

He opened his spell list to see what alternatives were available.

Before examining his spells, however, he instructed Pip and his wind elemental to stand guard while he remained inside the room or slept. Although Count Menard had treated him with nothing but courtesy, he was still an undead vampire.

It was better to be safe than sorry.

Once he was satisfied that both Pip and the wind elemental were keeping watch, Flinx turned his attention back to his spell list.

Two possibilities immediately caught his attention.

The first was the seventh-level Wizard spell, Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion.

The second was the eighth-level spell, Mighty Fortress.

According to the description of Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion, it created a luxurious and incredibly secure residence.

Unfortunately, the mansion itself remained invisible.

Flinx wanted a home he could actually admire, much like the beautifully designed versions of Galder’s Tower he and his friends had created.

Mighty Fortress seemed more suitable if he truly wanted a massive residence.

The problem was that it was almost too large.

With a sigh, Flinx decided that Galder’s Tower remained the better choice.

Now that he and his friends owned a much larger piece of land, he could simply conjure additional towers whenever more space was needed.

The greatest advantage was that any tower cast using a spell slot above the seventh level became permanent after a week of daily recasting.

Besides, neither he nor his friends had fully explored the capabilities of Galder’s Tower when cast using their highest-level spell slots.

In Flinx’s case, that meant his thirteenth-level spell slot.

He decided that during his travels, once he reached an uninhabited area, he would experiment with casting the spell at its maximum level.

The following morning, Count Menard invited Flinx to breakfast.

Flinx was somewhat surprised.

He had expected the count to either be resting or continuing to document the tower Flinx had conjured in the garden the previous evening.

By now, Flinx had learned that vampires of Menard’s bloodline could remain active during the daytime. Although prolonged exposure to sunlight was still harmful, they could tolerate it for brief periods. Indoors, sunlight posed no problem at all.

Menard had also explained that vampires of his lineage could still eat ordinary human food.

It simply provided them with no nourishment.

Meals were little more than a social courtesy.

Over the course of his stay, Flinx had learned a tremendous amount about the various Dark Species, and he genuinely appreciated the count’s openness.

Still, he believed he had already repaid that generosity.

Allowing Menard to copy Paul’s Galder’s Tower and sharing stories of his experiences since arriving in this world felt like fair compensation for everything the vampire had taught him.

”Thank you for your hospitality, Count Menard,” Flinx said. ”But I think it’s time for me to continue my journey.”

”You’re leaving already?” Menard asked. ”You are welcome to stay here for as long as you wish. I believe we still have many things to discuss, particularly the magic each of us practices.”

Flinx would have enjoyed continuing their conversations.

The problem was that his own magic system differed fundamentally from the world’s conventional magic.

It was knowledge he had no intention of revealing.

Despite everything, he still could not completely trust the vampire.

Part of that distrust came simply from the fact that Menard belonged to the undead.

Years of dungeon exploration, combined with a lifetime of consuming Earth’s vampire fiction, had left Flinx unable to separate vampires from their dark reputation.

Perhaps if he had been someone who enjoyed romantic vampire stories, he might have found it easier to trust Count Menard, especially considering how handsome the vampire was.

If he had been a woman—or attracted to men—he might even have fallen for the tall, blond, blue-eyed noble.

Before the Torbal slavers had kidnapped him, Flinx had been completely straight.

Now...

He had not experienced genuine sexual attraction for a very long time.

Sometimes he even wondered whether he had become asexual.

More likely, it was simply another consequence of the trauma he had endured as a dungeon miner slave.

One particularly depraved wizard had forced the slaves to watch him violate women.

The things that man had done to one unfortunate girl still haunted Flinx’s nightmares.

It would probably be a very long time before he could look at a woman with feelings of physical desire again.

”Thank you for the invitation,” Flinx said with a polite smile, ”but I truly wish to continue my travels. Please enjoy the tower while it remains. It won’t disappear until tonight.”

After bidding the count farewell, Flinx left the beautifully decorated manor without further delay.

He longed to resume his solitary journey through the wilderness.

Traveling alone had become surprisingly therapeutic.

Each day on the road seemed to ease a little more of the emotional burden he still carried.

The morning was bright and sunny, though the crisp chill of autumn still lingered across the countryside.

Once he reached the main road, Flinx released a quiet sigh of relief.

He was alone once more.

Am I becoming an extreme introvert? he wondered.

More likely, he simply cherished the freedom that solitary travel provided.

The vastness of the world, combined with the endless roads stretching toward unknown destinations, made him feel as though the invisible chains that had bound him for so long were breaking apart one by one.

He took a deep breath of the cool autumn air before putting on the earphones he had purchased from his System Shopping Site.

Soon, the music of Skyrim filled his ears as he continued down the road.

Not knowing where the path would eventually lead filled him with quiet excitement.

And there wasn’t the slightest trace of worry.

If he ever truly became lost—or simply wished to return home—he only needed to cast a teleportation spell and return to his tower in Ilioven.