The rest of the week rushed by in an endless blur for Joshua. School days were about the calmest and most relaxing part of his schedule, and even they were almost without a single break in them! During classes, Joshua pushed himself to both try and learn everything that was required for his lessons, while at the same time he was constantly trying to take advantage of his enhanced intelligence to read up and study anything that might be useful in the future.

While Mr. Babs was talking about how certain elements bonded together to make various compounds, Joshua was trying to listen, take notes, and read a magazine about camping and wilderness survival all at the same time. When Coach Beale was screaming about the basic physics of water and air flow pressure, he was studying a booklet on firearm cleaning, care, and maintenance. In Mrs. Martin’s English class, he was struggling to study meteorological weather patterns, prediction, and formation, all while trying to keep up with where the class was in Hamlet, just so he could read out loud from the proper area when it came around to his turn in class.

Every class that Joshua was in, he was struggling to use to the best of his ability to try and improve himself. Normally, he never would’ve been so motivated, but now that the World Renewal System was active, he found it much easier to push himself in his studies. Not knowing what the future might hold, while having several people now dependent on him, provided motivation to push Joshua to learn as much as possible, while the ever-present system pinging and chiming to notify him when he learnt or improved skilled levels motivated him on some Pavlovian level. In its own way, it was almost addictive hearing the ping and accumulating points one after another, which he could then use to improve himself however he wanted.

Lunchtime was the only real time at school where Joshua got to take much of a break at all, and even they could be rather stressful in their own ways. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were all Olivia’s day, and Joshua had to sit with her in the cafeteria and try to learn to fit in with all the elites of the school. There was about a dozen new people for him to get to try and learn and interact with, and all of them exerted the innate pressure of their own self confidence. For a loner like him, who used to spend all of his time playing games online, having to interact with such outgoing people was a nightmare of epic proportions to Joshua.

Joshua’s only real “Treasure Time”, where he could truly rest and relax, was during lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays with Rebecca. Alone, with just the two of them, Rebecca was more than content to just sit and eat quietly beside him, and then gently rest her head gently upon his shoulder after. Private by nature herself, Rebecca was more than happy to carry her meal outside and eat with him in the privacy under one of the tall trees which dotted the school’s surrounding acreage.

Mornings were double-study time. Afternoons were double-study time. Evenings were chores, exercise, and even more intense study time. Even his precious lunch time was crammed in with the stress of expanding his personal connections and getting to know Olivia’s friends three days out of the week, so the short and gentle moments of relaxation that Joshua managed to steal away during lunch with Rebecca were quickly becoming his “Treasure Time”, in his mind.

As Saturday morning finally came rolling around, Joshua interrupted his usual routine of depraved indifference and silence at the breakfast table to ask, “Hey Pops, do we have anything planned for today?”

“Not in particular,” his father answered him, quirking an eyebrow up slightly in questioning suspicion as he slowly buttered his toast. “Why? What do you want to do today?”

“Not much,” Joshua shrugged indifferently. “I just thought it was a pretty day for this time of year, and I might take the rifle out and just enjoy a little time outside today hunting.”

“And since when have you been a hunter?” Frowning even more heavily, Joshua’s father was obviously baffled and suspicious by his actions. “It’s still Winter out there you know. I didn’t figure you’d be going outside again until Spring.”

“Well…” Shrugging slightly, Joshua tried to act all innocent. “To be honest…,” he hesitated.

“Yes?” Putting down his toast, it was obvious Joshua now had his father’s complete attention.

“Well…” Sighing slightly, Joshua shrugged his shoulders again a little dismissively. “The truth is, there’s kind of this girl I like at the school,” he started…

“…And,” his father prompted, when Joshua hesitated. “Go on.”

“Well, there’s actually two girls at the school which I kind of like,” Joshua admitted, awkwardly, "and yet I don’t think I’m quite good enough for either of them, personally. I’ve gotten a little too pudgy, and I’m not all that athletic, and one of them is a cheerleader…”

“So that’s why you’ve been doing your chores without complaining this week,” his mother chimed in, smirking slightly. “I told your father that I thought something was up.”

“Yeah,” Joshua blushed slightly. “You guys know that I can go to Prom this year, and I was thinking of maybe asking one of them to go with me if I get a chance. I just thought it’d be nice to maybe do a little trimming up and lose some weight before I do though.”

“So even boys have those thoughts.” Laughing lightly, Joshua’s mother leaned across the table and softly patted him on the head. “It’s nice to see you’re a little more honest with your feelings than your father ever was – he liked to act as if he was the king of the world back when he was in school, and he expected everyone to bow down and worship at his feet. I think any girl would be lucky to date a boy like you.”

“So, I guess you’re just wanting to do a little hunting to get out and get some exercise,” his father snorted, completely ignoring his mother’s comment.

“More or less,” Joshua admitted. “I really don’t think I’ll get anything, but it’ll be nice just to get out and wander around in the fresh air for a change. I’m only going to take the little .22, and I might try and shoot a rabbit or a squirrel if I see any and then bring them back for supper. I’m not going to try and hunt anything big like a bear or a deer, and then have to drag it back tonight.”

“And where might you end up doing this hunting?” His father asked, apparently not disapproving of the plan.

“Well, if you or mom don’t mind giving me a ride, I was thinking back behind the old White’s place might be a good spot. Nobody lives there, and everything’s all grown up all around the place now. It seems to me like it’d be a nice little place where I could hunt, without having to jump people’s fences, or pester them for permission and such first.”

“I don’t know…” Frowning, it was obvious Joshua’s mother wasn’t too keen on the idea.

“It’ll be fine,” Joshua’s father assured her. “Josh is right – it would be a good place to go hunting,” he admitted, thoughtfully. “The next time me and the boys go out, I might even go there and see what type of game is hiding back in those woods behind the place. I think they’d make a good spot to go trapsing around in – as long as you promise to stay out of that old house,” he added, firmly. “That place is about ready to fall down. It’s not safe to go in there anymore.”

“I will,” Joshua lied. “All I’m planning on doing is just avoiding it and making a loop or two through the forest before coming home. I plan on walking back this evening, if I’m not too tired, so I shouldn’t have to bother either of you to come get me afterwards.”

“That’s a couple of miles,” his father warned. “Are you certain you want to try walking all that distance? Especially after spending the morning walking the woods? It might be a bit much for you,” he frowned, worriedly.

“I’ll have my phone with me,” Joshua promised, “and it’s got a full charge. If that ends up happening, I’ll just call you guys to come pick me up.”

“Fine.” Nodding his head slightly in ascent, Joshua’s father turned his attention back to finishing his breakfast. "After we finish eating,” he promised.

“My little boy is finally starting to grow up to become a man,” Joshua’s mother gushed, wiping slightly at the corner of her eyes. After the way he’d always spent all his time lost on his computer, or on his phone, it was a true relief for her for her boy to finally start showing some interest in improving himself and dating girls. He was finally on the path to adulthood!

Pulling over to the edge of the road, Joshua’s father smiled lightly and motioned for him to hop out. “Hop on out here real fast,”he told him. “The old driveway heading down into the White place has really gotten overgrown these last few years. I’m not certain there’s a place to turn around down there anymore, and I don’t want to have to back back out into traffic.”

“Uhhh…. Sure?” Hesitating slightly, Joshua slowly opened the car door and stepped out onto the edge of the road. Glancing down the old driveway leading in to the White’s place, he didn’t notice any sign of it being overgrown.

“Call us if you need us,” Joshua’s father yelled out the open window, as he slowly pulled away the moment Joshua shut the door.

“Weird…” Joshua muttered softly to himself, as honestly he couldn’t see any reason why his father couldn’t have dropped him off closer. As far as he could tell, the view was the same as always, with the driveway clear all the way down to the old turnaround where the workshop used to stand. “Could the system possibly be messing with non-participants’ perception, to encourage them to avoid these dungeon zones?” It was the only explanation that made any sense at all to him.

Pulling out his new uPhone, Joshua checked the bars and sighed heavily. “Just as I thought,” he muttered softly to himself, “there’s no service out here in a dungeon zone. Not enough of a connection to dial out or even send a text. Looks like I’m truly on my own.”

Shivering slightly, Joshua took several long moments to look all around, before working up his courage to slowly start walking down the pathway towards the old house. The girls had all wanted to come out to the dungeon together, and even though he’d initially agreed to such a thing, his pride as a man wouldn’t allow it. Olivia wanted to send Rebecca out to scout first, and then place herself before him as his knight…

What type of man would he be if he let the women all take the lead and walk into danger first?

“I’ll just take a brief walk slowly down the old driveway, look around a little bit, and scout out the situation of things,” Joshua promised himself. “Or even better,” he chuckled nervously, “I think I’ll start out just by walking the edge of the perimeter and see how large this dungeon zone is. I’ll be able to learn a little more about it then, and I’ll never be more than a few steps from the edge in case anything too dangerous pops up.”

“Yeah… That’s the plan!” Assuring himself that he was ‘scoping out the lay of the land’, and not being cowardly, Joshua slowly began walking back up the main road until the notification that he’d left the dungeon zone and that the rules of engagement would no longer be allowed.

Notification! You have now left the Dungeon Zone. Rules of Engagement are no longer active, and environmental combat will not be allowed and can not occur.

Turning left, Joshua walked up the main highway several feet, before turning and heading down off the side of the bank and carefully towards the woods.

Warning! You are beginning to enter a Dungeon Zone. Rules of Engagement are active inside this area, and environmental combat will be allowed and may occur.

“As I thought,” Joshua chuckled to himself. “It’s not just a small door-way like entrance that you walk through, but more of a whole fenced off area. I was almost positive that would be how it worked, since the system called it a ‘zone’, but it’s nice to have confirmation!”

Feeling rather proud of himself, Joshua carefully worked his way back and forth along the edge of the woods, constantly stepping first into the dungeon zone and then stepping back out of it, to make certain he was walking the edge as he carefully began to navigate and learn the border.

“Technically,” he assured himself, “I’m not breaking any promise with the girls, as I’m not actually going into the dungeon without them. I’m just mapping out the boundary so we’ll know how far we’ll have to run to get away, once we do decide to explore together.”

Joshua might not be able to lie to the girls, thanks to the system, but he certainly had no problems lying to himself. The simple truth was, the air was colder every time he stepped into the dungeon side of the boundary. Everything was quieter. A heaviness blanked everything, and even the sun seemed dimmer and less powerful.

Even at the edges, the inside of the dungeon zone was cold, clammy, and made the hairs stand up on the back of Joshua’s neck. His every instinct was telling him that going in any deeper was the wrong thing to do. He simply couldn’t work up the courage to walk past the woods and actually see what was on the other side of the overgrown foliage, so he contented himself with spending the day slowly circling the perimeter and assuring himself that the only reason he didn’t go further was because he’d promised not to.

After all, they were all supposed to go in together. Right?