Fractured World 002 (Patreon)

“They’re attacking,” Samira cried out as the lead goblin staggered toward them. Dal stared at the creature and then back at Samira, who was already stepping forward with the crowbar at the ready.

Dal followed suit; hefting the bolt cutters and scampering to her side.

The lead goblin let out a warbling cry and charged, the spear dipped slightly, but the head was weaving in all directions, not steady on the target. Samira stood stock still as the creature charged, her eyes wide and the crowbar shaking in her hand. The goblin didn’t seem much of a creature, but the point of its spear was black gleaming obsidian and it was dangerous and Samira wasn’t moving to protect herself.

Panic and fear drove Dal forward. He pulled back the bolt cutters and smacked the spear downward. The pointed edge of the spear stabbed into the asphalt and the goblin’s momentum pushed it forward. The thin branch of the haft snapped and the goblin face planted into the asphalt. There was a sickening crunch, followed by a low whimper of pain.

With his blood still pumping, Dal slammed the bolt cutters into the back of the goblin’s head. A dull thump filled the air along with the crack of bone. Dal staggered back, nearly dropping the bolt cutters as the goblin let out a death rattle, along with a putrid smell and a growing pool of blood.

High Goblin Core Guard: Killed

100 mana (First kill bonus)

1 redstone (First kill bonus)

It was a fucking isekai.

Dal turned to see the goblin’s two other companions were still approaching. This time warily as they eyed their dead compatriot on the ground. Dal rushed to Samira’s side. The woman was still shaking and holding the crowbar, but this time her eyes were locked on the dead goblin.

“I…” she stammered. “You killed it.”

“It was going to kill you.”

“It carried weapons, it was sentient,” she said, her voice low.

Dal glanced down at the dead goblin and back at the other two, who had stopped and were grunting to one another.

“We can’t kill them,” Samira said. “They’re sentient beings. They can talk, make tools.”

“Well, I think they want to kill us,” Dal said. He gently put a hand on Samira’s arm and pulled her back, away from the two goblins and toward the truck. If it came to it, they could probably outrun the two, with their ridiculously short legs and all.

“This might be their home,” Samira replied.

“It’s an isekai,” Dal said. “Like I thought. After I killed that goblin, it gave me stuff.”

Samira stared at him as if he were sputtering nonsense. “What?”

“I’m not lying,” Dal said, still eyeing the two goblins. They stopped by their dead friend and in unison stabbed it with their puny spears. One took a stone blade from its ragged belt and began sawing at an exposed leg.

“Oh, Christ,” Samira gagged watching as the two began butchering their friend.

“If we kill them, we gain mana and something called a redstone,” Dal said. He looked around and saw that they were being ignored by the two. “Status,” he whispered.

Dal Park

Health: 1

Regeneration: 1

Toughness: 1

Heart: 1

Perception: 2

Knowledge: 2

Insight: 2

Wisdom: 1

Perks:

Organization I

Knowledge Seeker I

Inventory:

100 Mana

1 Redstone

Dal frowned at the list of his stats. He was used to the usual S.P.E.C.I.A.L style of stats, but this one was different. What kind of perk was Organization? Before he could continue perusing the lists and try to delve into the information, Samira jerked his shoulder.

He looked up to see that the two goblins had turned their attention back to them. Their dead friend was half butchered, but they seemed to have suddenly gained an interest on the two. Dal and Samira had backed up to her truck and if it came to it, they could easily run and outpace them.

“I think we should kill them,” Dal said.

“What?” Samira let out a horrified squawk.

“This isekai isn’t like what I’m used to, but its kinda the same too. We have stats and we can upgrade them it seems. Either that or I’m forever stuck at Health 1.”

“What the hell are you talking about,” Samira growled. “We can’t kill them. They’re a type of people. Sentient intelligent creatures, aliens in fact. We’re in a first contact situation and one of them is already dead.”

A moment later the body of the dead goblin flickered and distorted. It was as if a digital glitch occurred, the creature’s colors inverted and then shattered into flurry of sparks and smoke. Nothing of the goblin was left behind, besides the broken spear and the chunks of flesh the other two goblins had carved off.

“I don’t think they’re real,” Dal said.

“Are we in some kind of simulation?” Samira said, looking around. “Was that some kind of glitch in the Matrix? Did you just see that body disappear?”

“Yeah. Its title was a High Goblin Core Guard,” Dal said.

“What’s a goblin core?” Samira asked, “and why was it high?”

“I think High Goblin is the what it was and Core Guard is what it did.”

“Oh,” Samira said. “What’s a core that needs guarding?”

Dal peered at the bent up flap of the distant storage unit and saw another sickly goblin drag itself into the open. This one looked even worse that the previous three. Its body was twisted and gnarled, but the small beady eyes still held malice and menace.

“I think its a dungeon core,” Dal said.

Knowledge Seeker: 1 bluestone

Dal jerked at the appearance of the alert.

“I just used my perk and was rewarded with figuring something out,” Dal said excitedly. “It is a dungeon then. We’ve got a dungeon in our storage units.” His grin faded after a moment as the realization of what that meant dawned on him.

“I’m guessing this dungeon is not a torture place under a castle?” Samira asked, gripping her crowbar tighter.

“In games and stories a dungeon is a sentient crystal being that lures in people to fight creatures it creates from magic.”

“Why the hell would anyone do that?”

“They’re lured in for wealth and to gain experience to level up their skills. You kill the creatures and they drop loot. Then you defeat the bosses in each level, like in a game but I guess in real life…” Dal shook his head.

“That’s stupid,” Samira said. “It would have to be a lot of money and loot to risk myself in something like that.”

“Well, most of these stories happen in medieval like worlds, where social mobility is non-existent.”

“We don’t have time to delve into the the socio economics of fictional worlds,” Samira said. The deformed goblin join its companions and there was a small fight among them as they tussled over the meat left behind.

“We need to defeat them, then maybe destroy the dungeon core,” Dal said. “These things are the core guards, that means they’re protecting the exposed dungeon core. Like us, it was probably caught up in this strange world swap we’re in.”

“So they’re like automatons created by this core to protect it?” Samira asked. “Is the core sentient?”

Dal shrugged. “Most dungeon core stories are from the POV of the dungeon core,” he said. “I don’t know about non-fictional dungeon cores.”

Samira shook her head again looking at the goblins. They had come to a truce and were eating the remains, albeit slowly as the meat appeared to be very tough. “Okay, you say they’re not really alive. I’ll… I’ll believe you.”

She made up her mind and stepped forward, crowbar leading the way. Dal quickly followed, holding the bolt cutters like a bat.

One of the goblins squawked and the three jumped to their feet, scrambling for their weapons. The sickly third goblin fell over and lay there, exhausted and breathing heavily. Dal felt a pang of worry for the creature. Was it really sick? Why would the dungeon core make a sickly defender?

His questions were forgotten as Samira and he engaged the two goblins. They were slow, weak, and unsteady, but Samira and he were overly cautious. They kited the goblins for a bit, until the two creatures were breathing heavily and nearly retching with each breath.

“Maybe they’ll die of a heart attack,” Samira said.

One of the goblins collapsed to the asphalt, its spear clattering and a sickly spray of vomit erupting out of its mouth. The remaining goblin turned to laugh at its companion and Samira took that moment to strike.

The steel crowbar slammed into the back of the head of the goblin, immediately the skull caved in. Blood, bone, and brains exploded outward, as if Samira had tossed a grenade into the creature.

“Ugh, fuck!” Samira gagged.

Dal took the opportunity to strike at the gasping goblin. Its black beady eyes were now dulled and it barely moved. Dal stabbed the bolt cutters into the creature’s throat. Its leathery skin parted like paper and the metal tips of the cutter hit the asphalt. Dal jerked back in surprise, slamming the cutter close. The hardened steel blade easily chopping through the goblin’s neck. There was a slight pop and the goblin’s head rolled away.

“Ugh, fuck!” Samira gagged again at the sight.

High Goblin Core Guard: Killed

25 mana

Obsidian Dagger

Dal looked down to see that there was a sheathed knife at the goblin’s belt. He yanked on the sheath and pulled out the blade. It was sized for the goblin and barely qualified as a pocket knife. Dal let out a bark of laughter.

“What?”

“My loot,” he said, holding up the dagger with a deadly three inches of blade on a bone handle.

“Trust me,” Samira said. “Size isn’t everything, even a little blade like that can do some damage.”

Dal stifled another laugh.

“You’re a child,” Samira smirked. “I got 100 mana and 1 redstone, whatever that is.”

“I got the same, first kill bonus?”

“Yeah.”

“For this one, I got only 25 mana and the knife. Although I don’t think it really counts as the dungeon giving me loot as it was literally a part of the goblin.”

“The other one left behind their spear,” Samira said. “Maybe we can rob them of equipment before they dissolve.”

Dal jerked back as the two goblins colors began to invert and a electric feeling filled the air. A moment later they vanished in sparks and smoke.

“There’s the last one,” Samira said.

“All yours.”

Samira grimaced and took a breath. They headed toward the last goblin that was still lying on the asphalt, a pathetic look on its face as they neared it.

“I feel sorry for it,” Samira said. “But in the mangled dog on the side of the road kind of way. No way to save it and the only thing you can do it kill it.”

Dal flinched as she slammed down the crowbar. It only took one hit.

“50 mana and…” Samira leaned over and dug into a pocket sewn into the ragged tunic of the goblin. “One Garva copper.”

Samira showed him the quarter sized copper coin. Dal took it and peered at it. One side of the coin held a rough engraved dragon and the other had the gaunt face of man with ram horns and a bushy beard.

“Guess these Garva aren’t humans,” Dal said.

Samira peered at the coin again. “They could be the dragons,” she said.

“Dragons are all about gold. The Garva are sheep people.”

“Fauns, like Pan.”

Dal shrugged.

“Also you’re making a lot of assumptions. That may just be some kind of crown he’s wearing. The craftsmanship on this coin has a lot to be desired. It’s no US minted penny.”

They shared a smile and then a frown.

Together they turned to face the storage unit the goblins had emerged from.

“What’s in there?” Samira asked.

“Well, most likely the dungeon,” Dal said. “Before that it was John’s friend’s storage unit. He was hiding his stuff in there as he was going through a divorce or something.”

“John?” Samira asked.

“The owner of this place… former owner?”

“John… John… John…” Samira mused. “Wait, John Vans?”

“Yup. You know him.”

“Who was his friend that used this storage unit?”

Dal shrugged and thought back. “Farid Garnier…”

“John fucking Vans, my husband’s friend.” Samira growled. “I got home three days back and everything in our house was emptied out. Not the furniture, not the dishes, not the friggin’ washing machine, but everything else. Electronics, tools, our gun safe, and his two classic cars.” Samira clenched her fists and stalked toward the storage unit. “That asshole was hiding all his stuff and my damn lawyer said we shouldn’t try and pursue it. He took my mother’s jewelry!”

“Small world,” Dal said. “Well small former world.”

Samira caught herself at his worlds. She looked northward, across the wide lot leading to the large units and toward the tall primordial trees and distant peaks of the mountains.

“Yeah,” she said deflated. “Yeah.” She looked back at Dal and tried to force a smile. “Let’s destroy this core and secure this place. We still have to look in Grady’s unit.”

Dal nodded and carried his now filthy bolt cutters to the massive garage doors. There were security additions to the storage unit, but from the paperwork he had seen at the time, none of that had been added on. Instead a cheap padlock had been purchased and attached. Dal had to shake his head.

The lock snapped easily. Samira and Dal both pulled the doors up, the bent edge that was the goblin’s exit screeched as they forced the doors upward.

“Your former husband wasn’t a hoarder, was he?” Dal asked as he looked at the piles and piles of junk that filled the unit. They were stacked from floor to ceiling, creating a pathway of sorts. Dal reached forward and pulled out a picture frame from the pile. It showed a dark skinned man in a speedo holding up a large fish.

“This is his stuff,” Samira said. She pulled out a silk tie from another pile. She reached toward another pile and pulled a second silk tie from it, a copy of the previous. “I bought this for him. He only has one tie like this.”

“I think the dungeon is copying what was in the storage unit to… create its dungeon.”

“How can this dungeon create matter from nothing?”

“Mana magic. In the books, the dungeon absorbs the original item and stores copies of it, when it has the mana, it can create it. ”

Samira snorted.

“Matter energy replicators like in Star Trek.”

Samira nodded. “Oh, I get that. So this thing will just keep producing the same junk until its killed?”

“Well, monsters and the like, maybe.”

“Let’s destroy it,” Samira said.

“Hold up,” Dal said. They stood in the entrance for a moment and soon another sickly goblin staggered toward them. This one was even worse than the last one. One arm was a stub and its head was a giant ballon with flesh so thin it was nearly transparent when sunlight hit it. “This dungeon isn’t well.”

Samira snorted once more. “How you do know? Are you a Dungeon Whisperer?”

“No. Look at that thing,” Dal said. “It’s utterly fucked up, at least the first one we met was fully formed if kinda ugly. This one… this one is just sad. Also, look at this.”

Dal pulled an object from out of the wall. It was the same picture frame from before, but in this case the wood was brittle and the image was a smeared mess of colors; although the crotch of the man was clearly visible in his speedos.

“It just gets worse the more you look in,” Dal said. He gestured pass the laboring goblin and toward what looked like melted trash embedded in the walls. “There might be a limit to the mana it can take it, but this dungeon just doesn’t feel healthy at all. Can’t you feel it?”

“Nope.” Samira replied. “It makes monsters. What do you want to do?”

“We find the core and figure out what’s wrong,” Dal said.

Samira shrugged. “This that’s what it can make, then I’m fine with that.” She pointed at the goblin, who at that moment slipped and fell. Its massive head hit the concrete floor and exploded like a watermelon. “Christ.”

Dal vomited at the sight.

***

“It’s bigger on the inside,” Samira said as they turned another corner. There were no internal lights, but they could see easily enough. A bit dim, but still easy to see in.

“I think we’re in the hills behind the storage unit,” Dal said. “We’ve been traveling slightly downward with each room we pass.”

“Have we?” Samira asked. “I didn’t notice. All these rooms are the same.”

Dal nodded as they entered the last room. Dal gagged again.

Melted goblins lay scattered around a large circular room. They weren’t killed, instead they seemed to be deformed creations. As if the dungeon had forgotten how to complete them.

Within the center of the room was what they had come for. It was the dungeon core. Dal was expecting a brilliant gem floating in the center of the room, instead there was a melted lump of what looked like glass covering a stone pillar. Dal stared at it, the glass glowed faintly and he could almost feel it trying interact with him. Was it trying to kill him or communicate?

“Look at that,” Samira said, nudging something on the floor. Dal peered at what she was poking with her crowbar.

“Holy shit,” he said, crouching down. A figure about the size of his hand lay twisted and burned on the stone floor. Half of its body seemed to be covered in melted glass and the other was twisted bones and limbs.  “Its a dungeon fairy.”

“Now you’re just making shit up,” Samira said.

“No, dungeons are supposed to have little helpers that guide them to becoming fully formed and operational dungeons. They’re fairy like creatures that normal people can’t see.” Dal leaned forward and touched the fairy with his finger.

“What the hell are-“ Samira began.

Dal jerked back and screamed.

Pain, pain, pain, and fear. Pain, pain, confusion. Pain, pain, G’vina? Pain, pain, defend self. Pain, pain, pain, pain, pain. An endless scream. Mana. Mana. Broken. Mana.

Dal stared at his finger, there was a scorched mark where he had touched the little being. The burn throbbed with pain and he felt a wave of sickness envelop him. “It’s in so much pain,” Dal said.

Samira looked at the melted glass. “We should kill it,” she said.

“No,” Dal said.

“We can’t just leave it in pain. That’s just cruel.”

“I think it needs mana to rebuild itself,” Dal said.

“Your hand okay? That’a pretty gruesome burn,” Samira stated.

“It hurts, yeah, but I’ll be fine. What we need is to figure out how to give the core mana,” Dal sad.

“We barely even know what mana is,” Samira said, crouching down beside Dal. She poked the dead body of the fairy with the tip of her crowbar. The steel gave a little sizzle. “This thing is burning hot, how? Maybe it’s full of mana, should be give it over to the core?”

“Lets try something else first,” Dal said. He opened his hand and closed his eyes.

“What are you doing?” Samira asked.

“Summoning,” Dal said.

“Okay…”

“One hundred mana, make it physical,” Dal said.

Samira jerked back as light began to swirl around Day’s hand. It warped and burned with heatless light, slowly it solidified, turning into a shard of glowing crystal.

“Holy crap,” Samira muttered.

“It’s the one hundred and twenty-five mana I was awarded,” Dal said excitedly.

“How did you know how to do that?” Samira asked.

Dal shrugged. “I guessed it could be done? I don’t know. I was thinking since we were given different amounts of mana for each kill, that it could maybe mana could be traded or used as currency or something. Therefore, if you needed me to spot you ten mana, then I could.”

“That’s a convoluted thought process,” Samira said.

“But it worked.”

Knowledge Seeker: 1 bluestone

“I got another bluestone,” Dal said. “That makes two bluestones and one redstone.”

“Another question being what are they used for,” Samira said. She closed her eyes and soon it too began to suffuse with light. A moment later a similar crystal shard appeared on her palm.

As she was doing that, Dal summoned a redstone. It was a soft half inch disc that looked like a colorful river rock. In the middle of the stone was a closed fist. Dal summoned a bluestone and it formed on his palm. It was similar to the redstone, except it was a dark blue and had the engraving of a human head on it.

“Heads and fists,” Samira said, peeking at the stones. They took a moment to summon all of their stones. Two reds and two blues.

“Why are you rich in stones?” Samira asked.

“I have the Knowledge Seeker Perk, its been giving me a bluestone when I stumble upon some kind of knowledge.”

Samira had a far away look for a moment and let out a grunt.

“Can you see this?”

Samira Garnier

Health: 2

Regeneration: 2

Toughness: 2

Heart: 2

Perception: 1

Knowledge: 2

Insight: 1

Wisdom: 2

Perks:

Nurse I

Hunter I

Teacher I

Endurance I

Inventory:

1 Redstone

“Well, as I’m nearly twice your age, I think my higher stats are a given. But just only by one stat point? I spent nearly ten years in college and I’m barely at the same level of a twenty-two year old kid?” Samira said. “ Teacher? I don’t think I ever taught anyone besides new nurses. I’ve done hunting with my father and husband, but not in the last two years.”

“Maybe it reflects what you hold deeply?” Dal asked. “Did you like teaching newbies?”

“Yeah, it was great to see those new little shits craps themselves when they had to hold down a bleeding, screaming methhead who thought it was a good idea to jump through a glass door.” Samira chuckled a bit. “But it was sometimes the only good thing about the job. Making sure someone would be ready for the shit they were going to go through. Hunting was also something I really loved doing with my dad. I think those were the only times I had with him alone, without my asshole sister and baby brother.” Samira shook her head. “I also like to run marathons and was training for an ultra-marathon in six months.”

Dal nodded, not really knowing what to do with all the information she gave him. “I guess its what we really loved doing in the old world that became our starting perks.”

“Organizing?” Samira asked.

Dal chuckled. “My dad called me OCD. I just like sorting things and organizing paperwork. It’s worked out for me so far.” Dal took a moment to look at their two status pages. “It looks like perks aren’t just some abstract thing like Organizing, but also physical changes to you. You have an Endurace Perk, do you feel tired?”

“I felt pretty tired last night,” Samira admitted. “But this morning it felt like I had the greatest sleep in the world. I haven’t even had coffee yet.”

“So it’s not like the games I’ve played before. No strength, chrisma, or luck stats,” Dal muttered. “Health, Regeneration, and Toughness are obvious.”

“Are they? Regneration of what?” Samira asked. “If we’re injured will we heal faster? Or is one’s entire body regeneration?” She was lost in thought for a moment. “I need to run a mile and see how I feel,” she added.

Dal chuckled. “We haven’t even left the storage units.”

“It’s brain power and physical power,” Samira said. “The reds are your body and the blues are your brain.” She suddenly jerked and grinned. “I got a bluestone for figuring that out. Delving into the System, one bluestone.”

“So it’s not just Perks that give you bluestones,” Dal said. “You get redstones from physical acts and bluestones from mental acts.”

“With the Perks being something added extra?” Samira said.

“Are the Perks random? Can you ‘purchase’ them? Are they upgradeable, as of now, they’re all at level one. They also don’t fall into the whole physical and mental stuff.”

Dal leaned back and stared at the melted dungeon core. So many things were going on and his head was aching a bit. If only there were a Help wiki or book to teach them what was going on.

“They’re upgrading tokens,” Dal said. “The reds boost your physical attributes and the blues your mental.” Dal summoned his redstone and closed his eyes. He thought on what he wanted to do with it. This was a dangerous world and even one point in Health could mean he would be able to survive an attack. “One point to Health.”

You need 4 redstones to reach Health 2

Dal handed Samira the redstones he had. “Try to upgrade your Health,” he said.

“Your sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Says I can’t. I need nine redstones to do that.”

“Its the square of the level you’re trying to reach,” Dal said. “Health 1 seems to be the starting point. Health 2 is four redstones. Health 3 is nine redstones.”

“Gets pretty pricey the higher you want to level,” Samira said.

“Then what’s the mana for?” Dal asked.  He looked down at the mana between them. Two hundred and fifty total. “Mind if I?”

“Go for it, you’re the knowledge seeker.”

Dal grinned. “What can I do with you?” he asked the crystals. Nothing. Dal closed his eyes and tried to use the mana crystals to summon a purchase screen. It had to be some kind of currency, right?

Nothing happened.

Dal stared down at the crystals again, racking his brain. “Maybe they’re used in some kind of magic stuff?” he asked no one. “Show me magic stuff.”

Samira let out a stifled chuckle.

“Gimmie some bluestones,” Dal said.

Immediately the mana crystals burst into bright light and in his palm was one bluestone and left one mana crystals. Dal and Samira shared a looked. Dal put the crystals into his inventory.

50 Mana added

50 mana total

“Looks like it took two hundred mana to make this bluestone.” Dal said.

“So the mana can make stones. Do they cost the same amount?”

“Well, we don’t have enough to make more,” Dal said. “Hold on.” Dal stared at the bluestone, directing a thought toward it. “Give me back my mana.”

The light swirled again, but this time less so. Dal took up the mana.

150 Mana added

200 Mana total

“Damn,” Dal siad. “You can turn mana into bluestones for two hundred, but it only gives you back one-fifty when you turn it back into mana.”

“Call the Better Business Bureau. We’re being scammed here.”

Knowledge Seeker: 2 bluestones

“Well, I got two bluestones for figuring this out.” Dal said.

“That Knowledge Seeker business is a paying out too well,” Samira said. “I haven’t gotten anything from Nurse or Endurance.”

“Two redstones, four bluestones, and two hundred mana,” Dal muttered.

“We sharing all our loot now?” Samira asked, an eyebrow raised.

“We have to pool resources in times of emergency,” Dal grinned. “Plus we need to know what these things do and how we’re supposed to level up, if we’re not given actual levels. Also how do we get Perks and how can we give this little damaged dungeon more mana?”

“Don’t worry,” Samira said. She looked around the sad and droopy dungeon. “You think this stuff over. I’ll see what Grady’s unit has.”

“You sure?”

“All this sitting is good, but I’m not cut out for it. Give me a stab wound patient or juicy doctor gossip, but sitting around pondering this? Nah. Be safe and scream if you need my help.”

Dal nodded, offering her the bolt cutters. She gave him her crowbar and left him behind. Dal looked at the melted core and sighed.

***

“If you want walkie talkies, we got them. You want cellphones and hard drives filled with porn, we got them. You want cheap radios and old ass computers? We got them,” Samira said a few hours later. “Grady was going to open up an old army surplus electronics store.”

Dal peered into the storage unit to see shelves stacked with metal tubs; they were larger galvanized steel drums wrapped in what looked like metal tape. He looked at Samira.

“Faraday Cages,” she said. “Guess he was expecting and EMP or something.”

Dal pulled up a plastic lawn chair and sat down.

“How’s the knowledge gaining?” she asked.

“Put simply, red is body, blue is mind, purple is Perks, two reds and two blues make a purple, with a purple you can open up the perks catalogs, but its limited to your current levels in body and mind stats.”

“You worked this all out?” Samira asked, impressed.

Dal set a yellow legal pad before her. It was filled with his scribbles and notes.

“Upgrading a Perk is also a square cost. Four, nine, sixteen… put differently we’ll need about eight reds, eight blues, or thirty-two hundred mana to increase each of our Perks to level two.”

“And the new ones?”

“Almost anything you want,” Dal said. He produced a purple disc and handed to her. “Just ask to see the List. Making one purple stone is two reds and two blues mixed, so its pretty cheap to get a level one perk.”

Samira’s eyes rose. “There is a lot, most of them kind of useless. Dishwashing Perk? Keeps water hotter longer and kills more bacteria?” Samira laughed.

“I’m thinking that all these crappy level one Perks, if you get the right combo can open up more powerful Perks,” Dal said. “I got three blues for coming to that realization.”

“How many have you gained now?”

“Since you left, about forty,” Dal said.

“Holy shit, did you upgrade anything?”

Dal shook his head. “I’m tempted, but I think this should be a group discussion.”

“Group? There’s only two of us,”

“True, but we’re going to need mana for the dungeon,” Dal said.

“You figured out what’s wrong with it?” Samira asked.

“I think when we were sucked into this world, this dungeon was also sucked in from another world, but it’s trip was more rough. It’s fractured, I think. Damaged in the crossing, its fairy died trying to save it, and now its a broken mess in constant pain. I got two bluestones figuring that out.”

Samira took a seat across from him, sitting in another cheap plastic chair. “Okay,” she said. “You want to keep this dungeon alive?”

“Yeah. Long term, if it can be healed. The stories say its a great place for weapons, gold, and other riches.”

“If you’re willing to risk your life every time,” Samira said.

“Yeah.”

“You’re also saying it’s broken, do you know how to fix it? Is it like a car, a person?”

Dal shrugged.

“How much mana do you need?” Samira asked.

“Maybe three thousand mana to stabilize it. That’s twenty blues turned into mana. That’ll leave us with twenty one blues and one red.”

“I suppose we can afford it,” Samira said.

“I also want you to upgrade to Nurse 2 and gain the Perk Medical Check,” Dal said.

“You want me to?” Samira asked, eyebrow raised.

“I also want you to get the Perk Powershot.”

“What?” Samira demanded. She did the math in her head. “That’s all the blues, reds, and mana, along with this purple.”

“I know. From a survival aspect, you’re the one with the most skills. You can hunt and you can fix injuries, you can also teach. That latter one is pretty important, because I think you can teach me Perks.”

Samira stopped. “Again: what?”

“I was looking at the list of Perks I could get, but Teacher wasn’t on it. It should have been, but I didn’t see it. I think there are some Perks that are solely for us, like my Knowledge Seeker, also your Teacher. I’m completely guessing at this point, but it’ll only cost two purples if I’m wrong.”

Samira frowned but nodded. “You’re making me do all the heavy lifting. I was practically a doctor, you know. But you want me to be a hunter and a fighter? What are you going to do?”

“Dungeon Lord,” Dal said.