The three of us were sitting in the car driving towards our destination. After the incident with the merchandise, little was said between us until Olivia broke the silence. "To be honest, I’ve always been interested in you Alexander. As a demon myself, I find it fascinating that you can use cursed magic despite being human.” Olivia spoke with a smile. "If you don’t mind me asking, what type of magic can you use Miss Olivia?” I asked. “Dream magic, mind control, and arousal magic” She answered. 

If there had been a drink in my mouth, I would have spit it out. “Oh, did I forget to mention. I’m a succubus” She continued while winking, sticking out her tongue, and knocking a fist on her head. What's with that pose, how Immature are you? Also you're a what? My brain slowly melted as her actions over the past few hours replayed in my mind 

“What are you interested in?” I asked cautiously. “I guess I’m curious how you’re a necromancer. What’s your secret?” She responded. I looked out the window and admired the passing scenery as we continued to drive. “To be honest” I said, “I’m not really sure how I’m a necromancer. I guess it all started when I was 6. My father's mother, my grandmother, had passed away and we were on our way to her funeral. My old man was pretty upset and had been crying during the drive there. 

When we arrived, I was confused by the somber atmosphere. I wanted more than anything for my father to cheer up so when he went to say his goodbyes over the open casket, I guess I just wished that grandma wasn’t dead. The rest was a blur but I remember a lot of screaming and a few people fainting. Apparently, my Grandma had sat up in the casket and given my father a hug. I think that was the first time I used my magic even though I had done it unconsciously.”

Grace had heard the story before but Olivia seemed enthralled. Hopefully she was still keeping her eyes on the road. Regardless, I continued my story. “After my parents discovered that I was the one who casted the magic, They immediately took me to see a magic specialist. Apparently, Magic is genetically tied to physical traits so the child of two parents from separate races would always have the magic and physical traits of the more dominant race. What’s even stranger though is that both my parents were fully human and all the DNA testing we did afterwards proved I was really their son. As far as every specialist I’ve talked to is concerned, I shouldn’t exist. 

After that I tried becoming a hero but was turned down by every party. A little over a year ago, Grace scouted me and helped me craft the Image and persona of Judas. Also, I never get invited to family reunions or parties anymore.” Oliva chuckled after I finished my story “How fascinating, you’re just like her.” I tilted my head in confusion but she refused to elaborate on who she was talking about. The rest of the trip flew by as we grew closer to Chathel, the sister city of Avalon and the city where the portal appeared. 

Our tentative plan was to go through the portal and find a suitable castle or dungeon in Fantasia, the name given to the world where Grace and Olivia came from. The portal connecting Fantasia and Earth was massive, standing nearly 75 feet high. It was fairly circular with splinters and cracks branching off of it. Travel through the portal was heavily regulated but both Grace and Olivia had the ability to use it by appointment since they were both in the raid industry and originally from Fantasia.

As we entered the city, Olivia suddenly took a turn and began heading down sideroads twordes a more wooded region. We followed the path for sometime before reaching a wooded lodge. “Since it’s so late, I  took the liberty of bringing us to one of my favorite bathhouses. We can rest here tonight and head to Fantasia tomorrow to find a suitable dungeon.” 

While a bathhouse on the edge of such a city may seem odd, it was actually quite a common occurrence for special designation zones like these. Cities like Chathel where otherworlders were allowed to live and mingle with humans often had buildings and businesses from every culture. It wasn’t odd to find American burger joints, Japanese arcades, and fantasy taverns sitting side by side on the same block in such cities. 

We all got out of the car and headed inside where we were greeted by a young lady sporting teal patches of scales. Olivia greeted the woman who she seemed to be familiar with and asked if there were two rooms available. “My apologies, we only have one room available tonight.” she responded. Olivia didn’t seem to mind as she responded “That’s fine we’ll take it.” The scaled demi-human led us to a room near the back of the inn. We thanked her as she left and continued our discussion from the car ride.

“So do you have any places in mind for a dungeon.” I asked the two women in front of me. “There are a few castles near Old Chalm that I think could work as well as several abandoned fortresses near the northwestern demon territories” Olivia said. Grace nodded in agreement and added on. “Most of them haven't been used because of their size but the field in the academy is one of the largest so it should be able to replicate even the largest fortresses.

I smiled as I wondered what new dungeon I should choose. To a dungeon master, a dungeon wasn’t just an arena where you fought heroes or a base you defended, but an expression of your personality. Many of the most successful dungeon masters could attribute a lot of their success to the uniqueness of their dungeons. 

“So do you want to go first?” Grace asked, snapping me from my thoughts. I realized she was referring to the private open air bath and responded. “Sure if you don’t mind.” I grabbed a robe and headed to the sliding door on the far end of the room that connected the room to the outdoor bath. Sliding the door aside, I took in the sight of the bath. Steam was rising from the warm water and the surrounding foliage and rocks gave the spring-fed bath an exotic appearance. 

“Do you want me to join you?” Olivia asked seductively. God you have no idea, I thought to myself. “No,” I responded curtly as I stepped into the bath and slammed the door shut behind me. I took off my clothes and set them by the edge of the bath alongside the robe I had grabbed. There was a small shower like area near the bath that I used to wash my body and rinse the black dye from my hair. 

After I had finished rinsing off, I slowly sunk into the bath and enjoyed the heat. It had been a long day and the match in the morning against the silver dragon party had left me tired. Not because of my fight with them but because I had to sit in that uncomfortable throne and wait for them to reach the throne room. Of course, I wasn’t doing nothing the whole time. Dungeon masters, while waiting for the hero’s to arrive, would often react to their progress or command troops. 

We would also often ad lib cheesy lines whenever the hero’s were resting and the cameras cut back to us. Our secondary goal was to defend against hero’s. Our primary goal is to entertain audiences. As I relaxed in the bath, I suddenly remembered what Grace had told me earlier. That I had ranked 82nd in Celebrities Weekly. 

Celebrities Weekly was a popular magazine that had featured articles on celebrities in addition to a ranking of the 100 most popular. It featured everything from actors to idols but the majority of people in the rankings were raiders. Both Heroes and Dungeon Masters were becoming increasingly popular and currently dominated the media. 82nd might not sound all that high up but most heroes and dungeon masters couldn’t even dream of making the list.

I had also never expected to make the rankings, namely because as Judas, I was far from likable. Maybe people just like a good villain, someone they can root against I thought as I waded through the water and reached the lip of the bath. Pulling myself out, I began drying off with a towel as the cool night air made me shiver.

 I slid into my robe and began to gather my clothes when I suddenly felt a presence behind me. “I told you I would bathe alone Miss Olivia” I said as I prayed she hadn’t seen me before I finished putting on my robe. I was about to turn when an intense chill struck my spine. I dropped the clothes I was holding and ducked while spinning around. A gleaming object whizzed over my head as I crouched to face my attacker. 

The figure in front of me was not Olivia like I had assumed but a slender person dressed all in black. They had a hood that shrouded their face in shadow and several pieces of leather armor strapped to their body. Their getup looked to be a mix of a ninja's robes and samurai's armor. regardless of what it was, I didn’t recognize the armor or its wearer. “I’m guessing you’re not here for an autograph” I said as I began gathering mana in my palm

A small throwing dagger slid from his sleeve into his palm. He channeled mana into it, causing it to glow red. I finished preparing my spell and glanced at the man's obscured face.“I’ll take that as a no."

BlackObelisk

Back from break and back to writing. I'll try to add the Celebrities' Weekly ranking table to every chapter. More characters will be added to the table as they are introduced.