The time passed surprisingly quickly, with Levi splitting his time between training Gordon or Peter, talking with Irene, and answering Cassandra’s occasional questions for her efforts online. Mostly on camera.

She insisted he introduce each of his minions, talk about their stats, the pros and cons of each class, explain the details of each type of elixir, and a hundred more questions and answers, recording them all. She’d sworn off leveling personally for the time being, since it was important someone remain capable of using the internet at least until the overall mana levels of the world started causing interference.

Once done with her recordings, he split up his minions not accompanying Laurence on his trip to collect the trade goods from across the country, and sent them out with instructions to clear as many dungeons as they safely could and then return after two days.

At first he’d reflexively checked on their stats every few minutes, but the teams were balanced and strong enough compared to local level 1 and 2 dungeons that they didn’t even need him. Once they started finding level 5 and up ones, the ability to survive with a team of under ten people would drop dramatically, but for now his team was strong enough to handle themselves.

Their health remained steady, unlike Laurence’s team which showed evidence of frequent combat. He began to wonder if they were even able to locate any dungeons. They had an innate mana sense, but none of them had the Mana Ping ability specifically. Perhaps they were spending half the day trying to narrow down his vague directions.

He sometimes considered trying to join them, but pushed it away. He had to learn to delegate; his job was more than simply leveling himself to the exclusion of all else. Training Peter and Gordon and Irene, working with Cassandra and Gayle to get word out, these would be more important in the long term.

Still, there were moments when he felt overwhelmed by how much progress he wasn’t making.

He’d agreed to visit all kinds of conventions with Cassandra, to rescue/kidnap Gordon’s son from his ex-wife Nancy, and now to organize a junior high school field trip to a dungeon. And that was just social obligations. He also needed to reach level 15 as quickly as possible, continue collecting ingredients and equipment, level his crafting to the point where he could make the Summoner evolution item, and then actually craft said item - along with a bunch of awesome components from special dungeon treasures that he’d be able to make into special armor or weapons.

Then there was the whole Dungeon Seed to figure out, a complete unknown. He’d never done any farming/growing type crafting, but he did know the basics. Seeds from dungeons needed very particular environments to thrive, and were usually set up in the heart of large bases with a lot of people coming and going. The same passive mana emissions that shorted out electronics would help the plants to grow faster and stronger. It made sense that the Dungeon Seed, whatever it may be, would require a mana-rich environment - or perhaps as a special unique item the initial mana infusion would be all it needed.

And if that weren’t enough, then he had the basic requirements of reaching level 25 to actually activate the Summoner evolution, followed by figuring out what the class actually did and how to use it, and doing it all before 10/24. Ideally, he’d like to also get Gordon and Peter leveled and evolved too, though at this rate probably Irene would beat them all.

His minions would start reaching evolution thresholds of their own soon, and he was very curious to see what sort of options they got. He’d seen variations on the basic archetypes in the dungeons he’d fought, but a lot of the creatures were so far removed from the basic ones he faced in these level 1 dungeons that it was hard to tell if they were evolved forms or a different creature entirely.

The sheer scope of what he had to do in so limited a time frame was daunting. The deadline loomed nearer by the day. Three months felt like a terrifyingly short time.

Too much to do, too little time, and here he waited, killing time until he could set out for a social event he couldn’t care less about.

He brought up his minions' info, checking over their details. They'd dispersed as he instructed, heading for local dungeons to level in. Skarm and Ward each had a storage belt - Levi's and Gordon's - borrowed to store any treasures in. Greg had his harness and they had instructions to meet back up to transport anything larger.

He should be there with them. His presence would make the rewards better, even if he did no fighting at all.

He resisted the temptation. Barely. Focusing on getting everyone else up to at least a base level of capability was more important than chasing a few extra items in level 1 dungeons. There would be plenty of time for Secret Seeker to prove its worth once dungeons started reaching levels where they’d give decent treasures regularly.

The second day, Peter came out to join Levi and Gordon’s practice. Levi had already given him some tips, but Peter was determined to practice as hard as the others.

Gordon still hadn't grasped the proper feeling of drawing on stamina. He could jump into panic mode quicker, but not form the connection without that external trigger.

"We can take turns stabbing when he slows down," Levi offered, and Peter laughed.

"I'm not that slow," Gordon protested. "A couple weeks ago I could have trounced both of you. I'm in shape, damn it! I spend more time exercising than both of you put together!"

"Ah, stamina, the great leveler." Levi tilted his head consideringly. "If you work hard enough, you might catch up with me briefly before I go on to outshine you like a supernova."

"That does it. I don't care that you have a ten-year head start, I'm going to beat your ass."

"Language!" Peter pointed at Gordon with an exaggerated frown. "Maybe I should stab you now?"

Levi laughed, while Gordon’s scowl deepened. "Homicidal co-workers and their homicidal kids." He took a deep breath, but before he could say or do whatever he had in mind, Levi shoved his sword into his hand.

Gordon's hand tightened around it reflexively. The blade flickered, the brown mana jaws appearing.

Gordon blinked in surprise, staring down at it as the mana faded from it. "Huh?"

"Hah! So we know your mana trigger now. You just need to be mad enough."

"Oh, shit..." Gordon's eyes widened; he dropped the sword and ran.

"I'll get him!" Peter ran after him, while Levi collected the sword.

Gordon's determination was honestly impressive. While it would have been within his rights to call a halt to their training after the first several hours, he'd fully committed to it despite his frequent complaints. He’d worked late into the night, and then showed up without more than cursory complaints in the morning to do it all over again. It may be making him miserable, but he wasn’t backing down.

For all his flaws, Levi couldn’t deny Gordon was a good man and steadfast companion. How many people would be willing to drop everything like he had, on the word of a time-traveling co-worker?

His admiration only made him more determined to succeed. Gordon didn’t deserve to die and be forgotten. He needed to learn to fight with mana as though it were an extension of his self, to burn and surge stamina as naturally as breathing.

Levi smiled faintly and pushed into a jog to close the distance.

These days were not being wasted, this training was important.

He only hoped he could teach everyone enough on time.