Levi sighed happily as he stepped out of the portal and back into the real world, Skarm and Two coming after him, eying one another with obvious unresolved tension, Gordon bringing up the rear.

"That was good. We got you into the game, got Skarm back—" he patted his gremlin on the head, and Skarm patted him back. "And I’m finally level 5!”

"You know this changes everything," Gordon said, once they were all ensconced in his car. He had put the key in, but not started the engine yet. "This is... so weird. How has no one found out about this?"

"They have. Several dungeons were seized by the government or military, but they're too widespread to fully quarantine. Not to mention, most people can't find dungeons easily." He remembered the one in Ohio that had appeared inside a hallway in a little chiropractor's office, the one that had eaten unsuspecting visitors all the way to level 3. "I have mana ping, because it's a basic utility spell in the future, but most people wouldn't know where to begin looking."

"But..." he gestured to Skarm and Two, who sat on the back seat, squeaking to each other with their heads close together like a pair of girls sharing gossip. "You'd think things like this would be all over the internet."

"Yeah, they are. News will spread, but it'll be slow for a while yet. Especially since mana tends to distort light and consume electricity. It's all but impossible to capture decent video of dungeon creatures. It's easier to fake it. Once people start hitting higher thresholds and electronics go down, then there'll be an uproar."

Levi stiffened, remembering. He pulled his phone out and swiped it awake, then exhaled in relief. His threshold hadn't been enough to kill it yet. Good. He may not be ready to actually talk to Irene yet, but he wanted to know he could if he ever had to. If there were an emergency.

Gordon was still staring out the front windshield, his eyes unfocused. "It's all so weird," he repeated.

"Are you good to drive?" Levi prompted, when no movement was forthcoming.

"Oh!" Gordon shook himself and nodded with a quick smile. "Yeah, I can still drive. Just... processing. I'm a level 2 fighter. How weird is that?"

"Very weird. Now, head for Lexington. I’ll be looking over my upgrade options." He did continue to send out mana pings periodically, as every dungeon they could clear brought them one step closer, but most of his attention was on the details of the options before him.

The easiest to discard were the obvious duds: Manablade upgrades would only be useful so long as he remained on the front lines, and stunning wave was worse than useless at higher levels. It may be valuable in the short term but he didn't want to waste a single point on something that would be obsolete in a year or two. He had far too much to do.

Though he looked at the Horned Gremlin updates longingly, he decided that his endgame would be best served by reserving his points for more initially powerful creatures. As tempting as it would be to push Skarm and Two to insane heights with five extra stat points each level, right now he knew too little about his other minion options and it would be premature to rush into upgrading any one type - particularly the most generic and low level one available anywhere.

Likewise, the revive improvements tempted him, but ultimately they'd save less time than he could by simply not letting anyone die in the first place. The wind spells had their utility, but again, he was looking toward the endgame.

Tame upgrades could be useful, but once he evolved to Summoner, would he even need the skill any longer? There was only one thing he absolutely knew he was going to need, without any doubt.

More minions.

He planned to summon armies of the most powerful beings he could possibly control, and 'minion limit' was generic enough that he felt confident it would carry over through Summoner and any other future evolutions his class may take in the future.

He put both points into Pack Leader.

The stat point was easier, though he still hesitated between choosing Strength or Spirit. At the moment, he was running out of stamina more often than health, so he put it into Spirit.

Levi Morrison Unassigned Levels: 0 Primary Class: Tamer Tamer Level: 5 Subclass: None Minions: 2/4 Stat Points: 0 Strength: 1 Psyche: 2 Spirit: 2 Health

135/135 Mana

25/55 Stamina

95/95 Health Regen

2 /minute Mana Regen

3 /minute Stamina Regen

3 /minute Ability Points: 0 Mana Ping Tier: 1 Cost: 10 mana Fire an unfocused burst of mana in all directions, returning location details about mana entities nearby. Tame Tier: 1 Cost: 5 mana

5 stamina Attempt to convert a creature into a minion. Can only be used on creatures with less than 5% health remaining. Mana Push Tier: 1 Cost: (variable) mana Fire a focused burst of mana at a targeted location. Revive Tier: 1 Cost: 50 mana Restore one [Dead] minion to life at 10% of its maximum health. Cooldown: 24 hrs. Pack Leader Tier: 2 Cost: None (Passive) Increases minion slots by 1 every 4th level.

“Done,” Levi said, leaning back. “Decision made.” He felt confident in his choices. Though there were other viable alternatives, this would definitely be for the best.

They continued in silence for several more minutes before Gordon had to stop to refill the car at a gas station.

"By the way,” Gordon said as he returned to the driver’s seat, “you should put a shirt on. You look a little…" he trailed off awkwardly, gesturing at Levi. "People will wonder."

Levi glanced down at his shredded remnants of what had been his double-layered protection. One sleeve, a neckline and flap across his chest, and a few tatters hanging down his back were all that remained of his purchased gear. He shrugged. "Yeah. Something will show up."

Gordon looked at him sideways. "You don't want to stop at a clothing store?"

Levi snorted. "Why bother? Anything we buy will only get ruined. Waste of time. The dungeons will provide something eventually."

"And you don't mind fighting with your entire vulnerable torso exposed and unprotected? I don't know shit about fighting, and even I know you want to protect your vitals most of all."

"Yeah, but I don't plan to be a front line fighter forever. I need to focus on magic."

"Oh? Why’s that? From what I’ve seen, close fighting is your strongest style."

"That may be true, but physical power is insufficient. The demons are too strong."

"And magic is different? From what I've seen, everything is very balanced. Your little helpers there are cute and all—"

Gremlin Two hissed in annoyance and Skarm laughed, until Levi glared them into cheeky-grinning silence.

"—but I don't get the feeling they'll be able to stand up to you or I, let alone these unstoppable demon armies."

"They're just the start,” Levi explained. “Everything evolves as it levels. I don't know what the gremlins can become, maybe nothing worth anything, maybe something amazing, but I don't have another Summoner around to ask."

"Are Summoner and Tamer interchangeable, like Fighter and Warrior?"

"No, all four of those are distinct classes. Tamer is a base class, as is Fighter. Warrior is a secondary class, focusing on armor usage, and Summoner focuses on contracted creatures."

"Contracts?" Gordon frowned over at Levi in obvious concern. "Are you planning on summoning demons yourself?"

Levi shook his head. "It's not that simple. Like with dungeon creatures, in order to form a contract you need to force the creature into submission. But while Tamer has to exert magical and physical control over the creature - that's what the Tame ability does - a Summoner doesn't have that restriction. As long as you can forcefully apply your contract to it, it doesn't matter if it's willing or unwilling, or what its ability to resist magic is. It's bound to your will."

"I didn't follow all that. Are you saying your little gremlins are mind-controlled to obey you?"

"Dungeon creatures aren't intelligent without a master. You can tell if you ever watch them for long periods of time, they have patterns to imitate life but they're not actually like a person. Only once they're bound to a Tamer do they attain any sort of independent thought. They inherit it somehow."

"How can you be sure?"

"There were experiments done in the early days. Dungeon creatures kidnapped from their dungeons, tests, labs, all of it. Once removed from the dungeon environment, they quickly revert to a brain-dead mindless state, at least until they break down and dissolve after a week or so. Only the dungeon's presence, or the bond to a Tamer or other minion controlling class, allows them to be more than empty shells."

"So them bickering back there is... because of you?"

Levi glanced into the back seat, where Skarm and Two were poking each others' arms with their claws hard enough to draw blood, in a rapid flurry of movement that he had a hard time following. "Knock it off," he reprimanded, and they pouted and crossed their arms with twin harrumphs.

He turned back to Gordon with a shrug. "They're like stupid children sometimes, or cunning warriors at others. I really don't know how it all works. This is my first time as a minion class."

"And you're planning to contract with demons?"

“I’ve only seen one Summoner who managed to contract a demon, most use it as a way to capture dungeon creatures easier. But…” Levi's hand tightened on the armrest. "I will do whatever it takes. I was too slow last time, too weak to do anything in the end. If I have to force a Demon Lord to his knees and bind him to my will to save my family, then that's what I'll do."

Gordon laughed. "Every time I think I've gotten used to this whole crazy situation, it hits me all over again. If you'd told me yesterday we'd be conspiring to enslave a Demon Lord, I'd have laughed in your face."

"Technically, you did just that." Levi held a straight face long enough to catch Gordon's expression, then chuckled. "If you'd told me a week ago that I'd be riding in a working car down a highway full of safe, happy people..." his humor abandoned him as memories of the first timeline assailed him, and it took him a moment to regain his composure.

"You'd have?" Gordon prompted, not noticing his sudden shift of mood.

"I don't know what I'd have done," Levi said softly. "Laughed. Cried. Reported you to command. Dragged you along to the front lines anyway, because mental incapacitation isn't a good enough excuse when the final survival of our species is on the line."

"Damn," Gordon said, his own tone subdued to match Levi's. "I'm sorry."

"It's all in the past. Or future. Or never."

"Still, you experienced it. That means it's real and it matters."

"Not any more. Only in what it can inform about the new future. I won't let it come to that. Not again." His breath was coming faster now, unable to maintain his facade of calm.

"You can't save the whole world on your own," Gordon said. "That's too much for anyone to bear."

"I know." Levi turned away, staring out the window.

"Is that why you told me?"

"No. I didn't mean to, but I needed a ride. It'll be at least another three thresholds before I can move fast enough on my own." Even now, he wanted to urge Gordon to drive faster, the landscape flowing by too slowly.

If he'd been stronger, faster, more powerful...

No. This time he would be. No matter what it took.