Three health elixirs, one of mana, one of stamina, a small glass vial of neutralized Destruction essence for use in potion crafting, and a Destruction power stone.

Levi found it incredibly ironic that now he already had decided on a power stone for his weapon, he was getting more than he knew what to do with. At least Destruction was a nice, safe option. It did extra damage to stuff. Nothing ambiguous there. He was happy with his Beastly Shortsword for the moment, and would gladly add a Destructive Longsword for his other hand if the opportunity arose. Until then, he'd store the power stone with the rest of his collected crafting materials.

He did hope they'd start getting some weapons or armor soon. All these low level dungeons with their low level junk. Useful, important junk, perhaps, but it just wasn't as exciting as a new sword or plate gauntlets.

As they headed for the exit portal, Levi heard a sound from behind them. He turned, holding up a hand for everyone to pause. They'd explored every side passage and detour, clearing everything in their path. Sometimes dungeons did have monsters hiding back, but this sounded bigger than a gremlin or scarab.

"What is it?" Gordon asked.

"Not sure. Something's back there. Cen, go check it out."

Cen sparkled in assent, then scurried off along one wall before Levi could reprimand him for wasting mana.

"Do you regret giving him Dazzle yet?" Gordon asked in an aside.

Levi chuckled. "No. I'm glad he's loosened up a bit and is willing to have fun with it. But don't tell him that."

There was a squeal of metal on stone, then Cen came running back with a new gash down his side.

Levi immediately drew his sword, the rest of the team falling in around him, as an angry fighter charged into the room. He pulled up short, eyes going wide at the sight of Levi and his squad.

"Oh... hey..." the fighter's voice was thin and unsteady, and it took a moment for Levi to place him. "You're that guy who wants to join the guild, right?"

Thomas Arlon: Level 3

(Fighter)

The kid whose back yard held this dungeon.

"What are you doing down here alone?" Levi asked, more gruffly than he'd intended. "It's not safe."

"I know how to take care of myself," the kid, Tom, pouted.

"And charging after a giant centipede almost double your level? You'll need a pretty solid argument for me to say that sounds anything but stupid."

"I've never actually gone into the boss room here, the guys won't let me. I thought the boss had got out, and was trying to scare it back in?"

Levi was 95% certain the kid was lying, but he also didn't care enough to make an issue out of it. What he did care to make an issue out of, was people getting themselves killed. "You should never go in a dungeon alone. I don't care how much you outlevel it, always always have someone to watch your back. If you get knocked out by something unexpected, like those Rust Scarabs that love to paralyze unsuspecting delvers, then having someone to drag you out before they eat you alive is very, very important."

Tom drew himself up and raised his chin defiantly. "You don't get to boss me around. You're not my dad."

"No, but I'm someone who's survived places that would kill you if you so much as looked at them. And you know how I did? By having allies. You even have a whole guild dedicated to running dungeons, you're already on the fast track. Most of the world will be caught completely unprepared when the next challenge comes, but people like you will be ready to face it." Levi paused for emphasis. "But only if you don't get yourself stupidly killed, first."

Tom wilted at Levi's strident reproof. "I'm sorry, I just--"

"No excuses. You will not enter a dungeon alone."

Tom visibly struggled a moment, then slumped. "Fine. I promise."

"Good. Now, if you want to run through this dungeon and see a real boss fight, you're welcome to join me tomorrow. I plan to run it again every night until we leave the area." As well as the Ice dungeon, and possibly the Dark one too even if it was annoying to navigate. All three had 'secrets' which had been claimed, leaving them eligible for his upgraded title to spawn new ones.

If not for the fact that he had to get back to his family, he may well settle down here for good. With a circuit of four guaranteed secret-having dungeons, with the level of rewards he'd get from them... it excited him just to imagine. Even if they weren't all ultra-rare like the five-slot power array, they'd all be powerful or valuable to some extent.

"You're planning to poach our dungeon immediately before your application interview?"

"Would you rather we have our important discussion in a dungeon full of live monsters?"

Tom shook his head. "Part of the interview process will be seeing how well you can work as part of our team. We'll all do the dungeon together as part of the interview."

"I see. Thank you for the information. I'll change my plans accordingly."

Tom kept staring at Cen. "So what you said is true? About taming monsters?"

"Yes."

The teen kept fidgeting with his manablade, not quite readying it for battle, but not fully relaxed either.

"If you want to switch your class to Tamer, you'll need to reset all your levels," Gordon said. "We can show you how, if you like, before you're too high."

"Oh, I... I level slowly enough as it is, I shouldn't be messing with anything."

"Fighter is a good solid choice," Levi cut in, before Gordon could convince the boy otherwise. "You stay safe and work together as part of a group and you'll come out of this all just fine."

Tom nodded. "I just wish everyone didn't treat me like I was a kid. I can handle myself!"

"It's not about age, it's about sense. I'd give the same advice to a geezer at level 50. Don't go into a dungeon alone. Not even when you think you can overpower it with ease. Not even when you know you can overpower it with ease. Always have at least one other person with you, preferably four or five."

"We usually go in groups of six."

"Good. Establishing solid practices from the start will save you a lot of pain in the long run. Just remember that each threshold represents a major power increase for the dungeons. A level 5 will be way more powerful than a level 4, and a level 10 almost twice as dangerous as a level 9. They scale up very fast and you'll need to increase your group sizes if you plan to keep up."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because my time online is limited. I'm getting too strong, and soon I won't be able to touch a computer without killing it. The more people I can share information with, the better."

Tom straightened, then nodded. "I'll see to it that everyone knows." There was a note of pride in his voice. "You can count on it."

"Good. That's what I like to hear. We'll see you tomorrow. And remember--"

"Yes, I know, I know. Don't go in dungeons alone any more."

"If that's the only thing you pass along, you may save countless lives," Levi said, seriously. "Knowing when to pull back is just as important as knowing when to attack."

Behind him, Gordon coughed loudly, not quite concealing a snort of laughter.