Chapter Twelve

John sat in the adventurer’s guild only half listening to Lou’s explanation

“The good news is that the failure wasn’t your fault. Whoever is sending us supplies must have cheaped out on the runes.”

“What does it matter?” John interjected “If I can’t break through to tier two either way does why I failed change anything? I’m going to be stuck here doing nothing while Sam and Camille are exploring new depths of the dungeon.”

Lou patted him on the shoulder and said “Don’t give up all hope yet. If we contact the settlement manager they might be willing to send us some higher tier runes.”

“If they were willing to send higher tier runes wouldn’t they have just done that first thing?” John asked

Lou gave a weak smile and said “We’ll you’re probably right about that, but that doesn’t mean it's impossible.”

“Isn’t there any other way? I’ll probably die fighting the Sanguine Empire before those penny pinchers open their pockets. ”

Lou looked hesitant for a moment before saying “I don’t know of any other official ways to breakthrough. I have heard stories though.”

John sat up straighter with a gleam in his eye and said “I’ll settle for stories now. Anything that might give me a chance.”

Lou gave a small sigh and then started talking “The stories are really speculation from historians and some oral history that was passed down about how the first tier two and three adventurers were made. Most people agree that it was in cooperation with dungeons. There was some great threat. The exact nature of which is lost to time. That threat was so great, that man and dungeon teamed up against it. Dungeons gave every enhancement they could, and men went off and vanquished their mutual enemy while suffering great casualties.”

This time John stood up despite his exhaustion and said “I’ll go talk to Olivia right now. I’m sure she’ll give me time to negotiate with the dungeon when she hears what it is for.”

Lou pushed him gently back down in his seat and said “Let me finish my story first. If you want to negotiate with the dungeon you’ll need to know what you're up against.” Lou cleared his throat. “Now I was at the part where the few survivors returned from fighting the enemy. Their power was so far beyond that of other men that problems arose as soon as they got back. They were no longer content being guards and exterminators. When they realized they had power no one could oppose they decided to be kings. They divided up the continent among themselves, and ruled peacefully for a few years. Then they started to run into some problems.”

“What problems could Tier three kings possibly have?” John asked

“Their problems weren’t things that could be resolved through pure power. The biggest problem that all of them ran into was that they were mortal. Once they passed their primes they could feel a little bit of their power slipping away with each day that passed. Scared of a future where they did not have absolute control, they sought to make forces powerful enough to quell any rebellions. Forces that were loyal only to them. That led them to another problem. No matter how much they trained their soldiers. They could never get to tier two and three. If they wanted the unstoppable armies they were aiming for then they would need the dungeons help.”

Lou stopped and took a small sip of water before continuing. “The kings went to the dungeons and slaughtered every creature inside. Then they held the cores hostage threatening to destroy them if they did not strengthen the soldiers who made up their armies. At first the dungeons complied, and the kings got their unstoppable armies.”

“This can’t have been that long ago right? Shouldn’t I know about it if there were truly kings that powerful?” John asked

Lou shook his head “let me finish. I’ll tell you the story as it was told to me and then answer any questions you have afterwards.” Lou cleared his throat and then continued “At first those armies were used for the kings to gain absolute control within their own territories, but soon the kings got greedy. They saw how powerful their armies were and hungered for the territories of their fellow leaders. Just a few months after they solidified their control of their own countries, the entire continent was at war with the armies made up entirely of high tier adventurers. Their battles devastated both man and nature with soldiers dying by the thousands and forests turning to barren wastelands over night. Instead of stopping the fighting, this made the kings value the fertile land that was left even more. They went to the dungeons under their control and forced them to produce more soldiers than ever before. More than the dungeons could produce without hurting themselves.”

Lou paused for a second before continuing

“That leads us to the end of our story. The kings went off to fight and while they were fighting the dungeons took action against them. None know how they communicated or how they worked together over great distances, but while the kings were focused on each other a great spell was cast. All the dungeons that were under their control shattered their cores at the same time. There was an outpouring of mana great enough it could be felt from anywhere on the continent. Before anyone had time to figure out what was happening all of the kings and all of the adventurers that gained strength from the dungeons had their cores shatter as well. Not a single one of them survived.”

“So you’re saying that the dungeon might be able to help but my life will be in its hands?” John asked

Lou shook his head “It's obvious the dungeons can’t kill their own creations lightly. The real lesson of this story is about greed, but I haven’t gotten to the part that affects you yet. Now, ever since those kings died there have only been rumors of adventurers leveling up with the help of dungeons. There hasn’t been a single confirmed case. That is why humanity has had to develop all these tools to break through.”

“But there is still a chance right?” John asked

“I don’t know if this dungeon will have learned from the reign of the mad kings like the dungeons on the main continent, but if it hasn’t, or if you have something it really wants, maybe you can break through with the dungeon's help.” Lou replied

“Well, we are pretty far away from the main continent, and the dungeon has been reasonable so far, so I have to at least try. Thanks for your help.” John said

Then he headed straight to bed. After a long night's sleep he felt refreshed enough to go wait outside Olivia’s office until she was free. After two meetings and a heated argument she was finally free so John snuck into her office before anyone else could rush in ahead of him.

As he walked inside Olivia smiled and said “What brings you here? Come to tear me away from these stacks of paper?”

John looked down with a chagrined looked on his face and said “Ah, I’m actually here for a bit of business. Lou said the only way I can break through is to either go back to the main continent or get help from the dungeon. There’s no way I’m going back to the continent, so I was hoping you could give me permission to trade with the dungeon.”

Olivia groaned “ I can do it, but I’ll have to rework the entire patrol schedule. How could you possibly repay me?”

John pretended to be in thought for a few seconds before responding “How about a moonlit dinner with the best food a savvy man can gather?”

“Hmm I don’t know. What else can you offer?” Olivia asked

“I can throw in breakfast in bed and a massage. Final offer!” John said with mock seriousness

Olivia exaggeratedly considered the offer and then said “Fine, but I expect wine. And some of those honeyed treats.”

Then John lifted Olivia off her feet and said “Now that business is over with I’m sure I can find something to tear you away from all that paperwork.”

Olivia laughed and said “I think you have a few ways.” Then she started to lean in closer to him. Their faces inched closer together and just as they were about to meet there was a knock on the door and a panicked cry

“Err Olivia. We’ve got a problem. The carpenters and the farmers are fighting again. What should I do?”

Olivia sighed and John put her down. “It looks like you’ll have to pull me away from my paperwork another time. Be careful working with your breakthrough. Lou has told me some stories about what happens when people mess up and I’d hate for my boyfriend to explode.”

“I’ve already had one practice round that seemed like it was going well. I’m sure next time will be a breeze.” Then he paused for a moment and said “Good luck with your angry carpenters.” and headed off to prepare for his meeting with the dungeon. He packed all his gear, got some food in case negotiations went long, and convinced Sam to use her day off to go with him so he would have some back up. Then the two of them headed straight to the dungeon.

On the way over Sam started to tease John “ So you managed to seduce your way into getting time off for your breakthrough huh?”

John groaned “please don’t start with that. I get enough sleeping with the boss jokes from the people I don’t spend all my time with”

That of course, did not deter Sam “I’m serious. Lou’s a little old but he is quite suave. Maybe if I date him I can get the training ground to myself.” John stayed silent so she continued “Adrian could also be a good choice. He’s a bit pompous, but he is handsome. Plus I could probably order the entire guild around If I chose him.”

John groaned again and said ‘I think I should have risked dying alone in the dungeon.”

Sam kept it up until they arrived at the dungeon. Then the talking stopped and they both got serious. They walked in and called out “We’re here to trade.” before waiting for Mav to come. After half an hour the drybold arrived and immediately started talking

“You decide to trade, yes? Good choice. Holy Tree have many tasks. You help and Holy Tree provide many flowers. Good?”

John responded “Actually I’m not here to trade for blood river flowers. I’m here to trade for the Holy Tree’s help with my breakthrough.” Then he waited nervously in the growing silence.