Manmon Chapter 3
By Glarryg
Quietly now. Cant let that fool soldier find you in here. He might want to take you to a prison if he thinks youre up to something. Funny; the doors open. Lock must have rusted after all those years. No matter; Lumina has to be in here. Youd have seen her leaving, shes so bright. How could somebody sneak her out, anyway? Nobody even knows shes here, except for those idiot chemists. Make a new lock to keep them out later. Hope Plonus-- Ploto, or whatever-- doesnt hear the door close; hell bring the rest to come get me.
Fools, all of them. Thinking I cant get my gold back. Theyre jealous, thats their problem; they dont want me to have my gold. It makes them look like lesser beings. Too bad for them. Maybe they are, maybe they are.
Dammit, its eerie in here. It used to be so pleasant, so much brighter. Im too used to the outside light; itll get brighter soon enough. Empty treasure chest; how did that get in here? Who put it there? It is empty, right? Yes, nothing left inside. Youre here to find Lumina; thats how to regain your fortune, and your island. Twisting palace; I should redesign it so it has more staircases, or put the staircases in better spots. Later; get the gold now. Get the Spirit now. Get Lumina. Shell help me. She must know how to make gold without Mana.
Colder in here than outside; good thing I brought my best cloak. Best outfit, to mark my triumph. Ill be the most famous king in the world again, and my island will show that.
Stairs slip. Too slick, and cold. Cold? Why is it so cold? Better tie up the cloak. Careful, the banister for this fell off. Old, rickety building.
Big room on this floor-- what in the name of the gods is that? A tiger? Some sort of animal corpse; looks like its head was cut off. No, two heads. One neck, but there are two skulls here. Odd. Looks like its almost totally decayed, but the smell isnt that bad. Like a steak, raw. Raw steak. Not much left but the hide, though. Disgusting. Move on; shes not here.
Careful; dont slip on the stairs. Like ice, its so cold in here. Like winter. My gold will fix that; my island will be warm again, and I wont have to come in here ever again. Island. Kingdom. My kingdom will be warm again.
Must hurry. Protus might notice youre gone. Get up the stairs. Dont slip; hurry. Lumina must be nearby; she has to be. This tower cant be that tall. Is it taller than my mansion? Ill make sure its not; maybe Ill take a few floors off when Im done here. No, make my own house taller. Add floors. Add security, too; my own security. Make sure nobody else can send their armies over here. Keep Plots and all the rest out of my kingdom. My own army.
Ill do it right this time. Keep everything to myself, only let people in when I want them in. My own security, my own rules. Thats why I have to remake my golden island; so I can redo everything and fix the problems. Of course. Thats why I have to find Lumina again. Thats why I have to remake my golden island. Golden kingdom. My Golden Kingdom.
Gold City; Ill name it after myself this time. Manmon City, on the Island of Manmon. Manmons security, Manmons gold. My gold. Once I find Lumina. Shell restore my gold. Shell help me.
She must want me to do this; she thinks I should have done better. Shes giving me a second chance; a chance to rebuild, redo things and make them better than they were. Must improve on my kingdom if Im to have the title of Most Famous King of the World. Shell help me fix everything. This is a test, to see if I can do better. Ill do it without Mana, and itll be better this time. She wants me to become better than I was, better than all the rest. The rest, who think Im a fool. Theyre the fools.
Dont slip on the stairs!
They think Im some stupid old man; thats why theyre telling me to give up. They want me to give up my kingdom, and my gold. If Im going to own the world, I cant let them tell me what to do. Ill make it right on my own. I did it on my own before; now Ill do it better. Lumina has shown me what to do.
Fix the security, fix the gold, fix my home. Make it better, in my name. Theyll all praise me, the great Manmon, King of the World. Then Ill show them all what fools they are. The chemists and the family and Plotos and all of them.
Wow; another big room. Another corpse. What was this? Like a bull or something. Clothing? Odd. Decayed, just like the other one. Somebody gutted this thing. Putrid; smells rotten and filthy. Body odor. Horrid beast.
Lumina must be close; this tower cant be that much taller. Cant be that much taller than my home. My mansion. Make the new one ten stories tall. No, thirty. Taller than anything ever built by the Empire. Make them all shameful; theyll think twice before laughing at me again. Never laugh at the King of the World again. After I make my gold come back, Ill show them all. Lumina will show me how to prove my worth to the world. Ill do it without Mana this time, and Ill make them sorry they laughed at me and my gold. Fools.
This is it; the Seed. Lumina cant be far from it. She lives here; she cant leave. Ill go up to the stage and make her come and show me how to get my gold back. So dark here. Where is she? It used to be so bright in this room. Its a test; she wants me to prove my courage. Ill go right up to that seed and shell appear and help me. I have to do this on my own.
Watch the stairs; these feel like theyre angled down. Like they dont want me to climb them. Ill prove myself. Then Lumina will help me. Watch it; here we are. Now touch the Seed.
Wow; cold. Colder than anything Ive ever touched. Hand hurts, its so cold. Wait for it. Wait. Nothings happening. How long does it take? Maybe I have to show her my patience. I can be very patient. Ill wait for you, Lumina. Ill wait.
Nothings happening. Where is she? Seed looks dead; too cold. Shouldnt there be a seal on it? Looks like it was thrown into a fire and burnt, but its so cold. Did Lumina escape? Is the Seed dead? Did she leave it behind? Shake it. Still nothing. Chemist said Mana was gone. Does the Seed die when that happens? Lumina should know what to do; she should know. Why isnt she here? This is the top of the tower; where could she go? Search the place. Maybe she wants to test my intelligence, too.
Ill find you yet, Spirit. Ill make you show me how to make my kingdom better. Without Mana. Well show them all how to do things better, and theyll never laugh again.
Torches used to be lit; must have gone out when it got so cold. Leave them; nobody will ever be back here after you fix your kingdom. Worry about finding Lumina. Finish your test. Shell be here. Waiting to help out. To make things better.
Maybe I passed her; maybe she was hiding on a lower floor. Maybe she wants me to be thorough; make sure I think of everything. Thats what it takes to fix a kingdom. Fix it all and take my place as the King. King Manmon. King of the World.
Fools; its not a great army that make a great kingdom, but a great ruler. Thats why Vandole died. He thought his army could make him great. It takes a smart man, a wise man, to make a perfect kingdom. The Kingdom of Manmon.
Okay, shes not here; go back. Check everything; the stairs, the rooms. The corpses. The monsters; Lumina wants me to be thorough, and not leave anything overlooked. Check the hides of the monsters; a king must not be afraid to get his hands dirty.
There it is: the bull monster. Check the inside. Disgusting. Filthy beast. Must be all kinds of filth in here. Meat, organs. No, nothing. But its so close to the Seed. Too close. Maybe that other thing has Lumina. Maybe shes hiding there. Go check it, and the rest of this place.
Careful with the stairs. Take your time; be patient. Didnt come all this way to slip and break a leg. Nothing around here; why would somebody hide in a flight of stairs? Luminas not here.
Too many floors here. What a test. Climb up the building, climb down the building. Id better not have to climb up it again. Im patient, but Ive proven myself already. I came in, and I know what to do. Ive learned so much. Lumina has to accept me as the true ruler of this island. Of the World. King Manmon, who conquered the disappearance of Mana and made the worlds greatest-- richest-- kingdom. The Kingdom of Manmon.
Nothing. All this way, and theres nothing here. Cant just leave this place; must find Lumina. Check that other corpse. The tiger.
Cold; why is it so cold in here? Its warmer outside. Must be part of the test. Lumina only wants the best man to be King. Shell let me know when its time to claim my golden kingdom, and my place as King of the World. Theyll stop laughing when Ive found her. Ruler of Light. Goddess of Light. My Light Goddess.
There it is; dont slip on the steps. Tiger corpse; not quite as smelly, this one. Just as filthy, but a little more bearable. Mostly hide left over. Crusted blood. Check the whole thing; this has to be part of the test. Lumina must be here. Ive climbed this tower and come back down to prove myself. Where is she?
Nothing; theres nothing here. Nothing. Lumina isnt in here. Where, then? The treasure chest. Its the last place to hide. Luminas the treasure at the end of my test. She has to be there; where else can she be?
Now the whole floor feels slippery. Too polished; my mansion must be the most polished floor in the world. Ill see to that once Im done with the rest. They think Im too old and stupid to do this; theyre all wrong. Ill show them. There it is. Careful; slippery. Dammit, dont slip--
Oh, Hell, my ankle. Oh, Hell, oh, Hell. Damn thing twisted under me. Hurts. Man alive. Keep walking; youre almost there. The treasure chest. Must be where Lumina is. You didnt check it well enough the first time. Must be smarter than this if you want to take your kingdom back. Lumina wants you to be smarter.
Ouch. Lean on the chest. Look closer this time. Shes here; its the only place she can be. Look at it. Every corner. Everything. Nothing. Nothing at all. Ive proved it all: my courage, my patience, my intelligence. What else is there? What else do you want me to do, Lumina?
She has to be here. She cant escape. I need my gold back. I cant rule this island without it. Theyll laugh at me again, and theyll never know that Im fit to be King. I have to show them. All of them.
No; this isnt right. Shes suppose to show up now. I did everything. I did everything I could. Im the rightful King. Where is my Light Goddess?
Maybe I have to show how much I want this. Ill prove my dedication. There must be a way. The door. The door is still open. Somebody else could come in and try to claim my throne. Ill keep them all out. Then shell come to me. Shell appear.
Push the chest. Forget your ankle; push it into the door. Block them. They wont get in. Ouch; hurts. Forget it. The chest isnt that heavy. Isnt that heavy. Must find something else. Something to lock the door. A new lock.
Ouch; keep walking. Grinding bones? Find something, quickly. Jam the door closed. Jam it. Old banister. That old fallen banister. Bar the door with it. There it is. Must hurry. Plotor might know Im gone already, and hell bring the other to take me away and laugh at me. Hurry.
If I can keep them away, then I can show my dedication to Lumina. Ill wait as long as it takes, and shell show up and restore my kingdom even without Mana. Shell help me. Must keep the rest out of here. Theyll see what a great King I am. King Manmon.
There we go; right across the handles. That should hold. Theyll never get in. Now just have to sit and wait for Lumina. Shell come when she sees how dedicated I am. King Manmon. King of the World.
Tired. Got to sit down. Right here, by the door; Ill be ready when she comes. My Light Goddess. Well show them all. All of them. There we go; foot doesnt hurt so much now. Thats better. A seat fit for a king. The King. Manmon.
Now to wait.
.