After more time than Ace would have preferred, Ruby speaks up. “I know we talked about this when the whole aura thing came out at first but this feels like taking it too far. I thought the oaths would be something limited to those who would train in the aura and not much else. This whole second-class citizen thing rubs me the wrong way.”

Jack nods, “what’s next? Do we enslave the people who don’t agree with us or something? I know that is taking it a bit far, but things can start with the best of intentions. Who knows if generations later it ends up being used for something like that?”

As he stops talking, there is a moment of quiet only broken by a muffled noise from Jeremy. When he notices that everyone has turned to him Jeremy can’t hold it in any longer and laughs out loud. “Oh, goodness me! You’re worried about the whole second-class citizen thing. And here I thought it was going to be something of actual importance.”

Ruby gives him a sharp look but he continues, “What do you call the billionaires from before this whole mess? What about the numerous and powerful dictators? I get it. You lived in the so-called center of the free world and what not. Was it really free though? Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and what not? At least that is actually possible now. Originally that saying was like saying when pigs fly. Most of the people espoused to have done it in modern times are like the magic trick of the levitating lady. No matter how much the magician waves the hoop around her to show there aren’t any strings attached, there was always some device behind the scene lifting her up.”

“If before this whole mess I offered you a few billion dollars on the condition that you lose it if you told anyone how you got it. Would you have taken it? I can see it on your face. A damn the consequences sort of look. Right now you are being offered something better than even a trillion dollars. This is the path to eternity and power beyond mortal concerns.”

“There are beings born out in space that are bigger than our solar system! They have powers beyond what most of the classical gods were said to have. A thousand levels wouldn’t be enough for most people to catch up and guess what? That’s the low end out there. Our planet is less than a rounding error to most movers and shakers on even just the galactic scale. If you even hint at giving away this drip feed towards that, well, I wouldn’t be happy.”

“Oh, and my mention of gods? Those powers they are rumored to have? That is just how ancient humans interpreted what they saw in their dreams. They have that much power in their pinky nail. A strand of their hair is enough to start a cataclysmic crusade on any planet it falls on if there aren’t other gods around to do damage control.”

“A newly integrated world like ours? The best chance at skipping hundreds of thousands of years of work. Not because what we have here is super powerful, but because in a more developed world any new wonders will get swallowed by those higher up. A herb that might give us ten points of strength? When consumed by some higher leveled beings they might need tens of them just to raise their stat by one. And even then only after they are mixed with other herbs and concocted into a pill while wasting so many other resources.”

Jeremy is breathing hard at this point and everyone else is giving him strange looks. Susan coughs, “ahem, well yes. What he said isn’t wrong, though he did get a bit passionate there at the end. The only other thing I have to add on to that is the old ones aren’t just a dream. Luckily the names we carelessly have scrawled in our books aren’t the genuine ones or our world would be a lifeless field of dust. Don’t search for what should stay hidden. We need this power if only to seek out those dangers and erase them from history. Our brand of humanity needs to grow in numbers and spread to the stars or we won’t even be a footnote in history.”

As she finishes one person after another reaches for a pen but Ace stops them. “Just to note, like most of the really fun magical contracts you need to sign in blood or your equivalent.”

Under Jeremy’s gaze, the others all grab daggers or bite their fingers and sign the contract. Ace nods, “good, now we can go into the details of how I want to deal with the issue. Though I guess I should ask. Jim, how long till they arrive?”

Jim takes a glance towards the forest and cocks his head to the side, “hmm, I would say we have three days? So tomorrow and the next will be fine but as the sun goes down the day after that they will arrive.”

Ace sighs, “that doesn’t give us much time then. Now hear me out. We had planned to build around the dungeons aura already and this is a splendid chance to speed up that plan. Likely most future monster based dangers will come from the forest anyway so we can spin it for the people easily enough. Think of our settlement as a giant circle and for this we are going to cut a slice out of it. Setting it up to funnel monsters towards the dungeon entrance. That way we can place more permanent traps that we won’t have to take out when this is all over.”

“With the outer wall and an inner wall which we will conveniently have built a little ways out from where the dungeon’s aura ends and things should be good. For the moment we just leave a direct shot to the entrance open, but later on we can build some more walls and gates. When it comes time for the fight, we can position people in that area to fight the wolves after they get past the traps.”

“Yes, I know it sounds stupid to build all those defense and then not use them but I have a reason for it. As it is too many people would stay. A wall sounds like enough of a defense. Many of those people were worried at the moment, but tomorrow will be different. Once they sleep on it, they will think the wolves to be just normal animals. Winds wolves should be able to just jump right over the walls. Stone wolves? Our walls are just dirt and we don’t have enough earth mages to hold against them.”

“Once I lay out how much danger everyone will be in and what others will call my suicidal plan things will be set. I hope that besides us, we keep fifty people around. Though I would settle for as little as twenty others. I know more people have shown up and bolstered our original hundred. But too many lack the drive we need. We are making history, not being swept up in it.”

All around the campfire, the others nod their heads and sigh. While each one of them differs from the next they all share one thing. That fire in the soul to go toward, grow stronger, and show the world that their survival wasn’t a fluke. Each one of them has been into the dungeon every single day. Multiple times if their duties haven’t gotten in the way. Even Kelly has gotten her time in despite not currently researching dungeons.

They bounced around between groups. Not because they didn’t want a steady team, but because they delved too often. Except for the foragers who only killed some goats, the people who truly dived would go in once a day, if that. It looked like good public relations, but really they all just strove to advance faster. With steel in their eyes now that the uncomfortable decisions are out of the way everyone gets down to tweaking the plan.

The next day they gather the entire community together and make an announcement. First the timeline, then the worries with how walls wouldn’t actually defend them, and to wrap it up the actual plan though carefully censored to keep the true intent hidden. There are many questions about why even bother, but Ace waves it away with how important the dungeon was to them.

Then he slips the bait in. “We don’t need everyone, I guess. I would like it if everyone possible stayed to help the odds. However this likely is a death sentence so I won’t chain you to our folly. Jan, I know you aren’t a fighter so as one of the founders I task you with guiding any who don’t want to stay and defend our livelihood away from here.”

Silence follows what seems to be an off-the-cuff comment. Jan quickly hides a cruel smile, but not before Ace can see it. Her plan is clear enough, once the other founders are dead she would be the only leader. She steps forward and bows, “I would gladly help ferry away those who don’t want to stay on this deadly mission.”

Ace nods, “good, now since we still have three days I would like it if everyone stays for today and helps ready the walls. After that though, you can head off bright and early tomorrow. We don’t know what the wolves will do after they get here if they win. I advise you to keep moving in the opposite direction for a few days, then send a group back to check if we won.”

He sighs, “now the thirteen of us would like to help you all and will for the first bit. However, we need more power and so after we lunch all of us will start to delve into the dungeon. If anything, with a better clear of the place we can build up a supply of food for those of you leaving.”

With the plan all laid out the crowd disperse. Some to the river to get more clay, others to the forest for timber, and a last group stays to help clear out the area planned for the traps. Things actually proceed with an eerie smoothness. No arguments and little discussion is had as everyone works with an almost manic determination.

Sure some of them were still lazy about it but most of the common people really hoped for the best even if they didn’t have the drive themselves. They weren’t terrible people and every civilization needs them. What Ace needed though where those who would stand with him through thick and thin. Especially with how the future wasn’t going to get better in the short term.

Then as lunch finishes, the thirteen gather at the dungeon portal and team up. Doctor decides to sit out so as to be ready with a heal if needed and the Barrais are split between the two teams so each will have someone who can harvest. After some more discussion the first team has Ace, Ruby, Jeremy, Jack, Bill, and Tess. While the other team has Jim, Sammy, Susan, Kelly, Kellinger, and Og.

Ready they all turn to Kellinger and Ace asks, “so uh, how do you fight?”

Kellinger tilts his head to the side and then raises both his eyebrows. “Oh right, no one has seen me fight have they? I guess my clothing would sort of lead to certain guesses. I just like the gi because it reminds me of my childhood. I’m actually a magic user. Not specialized in any element, though.”

Sammy laughs and slaps him on the back, “well you just blew everyone’s expectations out of the water! Let’s just keep this little fact between us in the inner circle. A secret mage can be a powerful surprise!”

Off to the side the guards chuckle as Kellinger shrugs, “no one ever asked?”