The loot the spider skunk guarded proved far better than Levi had dared to hope. A mana and stamina restorative elixir, nothing to complain about though unexceptional, but then there was another dungeon token, and a second power stone.

Levi couldn't help but feel excitement thrilling through him at the sight. It was normal to get one token or none from a beginner dungeon like this, but power stones were uncommon even in higher level dungeons. To find two in the same one was a windfall he'd not have dared to hope for.

He almost slotted the other stone into the dagger, then hesitated. Gremlins had no mana. It would be of no use putting a power stone into a weapon for someone who couldn’t power it.

He handed the dagger back, frowning slightly, and slipped the power stone into his belt pocket for later. The thought of empowering a better sword in future soothed his momentary uncertainty, returning his mood to high spirits. Though he hadn’t leveled, he’d cleared the dungeon and earned a second set of excellent items.

Now, to search the place high and low for the next piece of his treasure hunt.

The first place he searched was the treasure circle guarded by the spider skunk, as they were right there already. He carefully ran his hands along the ground, up the sides of the table, shoved at it to see if it would slide or tip over, and patted down the ground a second time in case he’d missed anything the first time.

He eventually determined that the circle was as mundane and ordinary as they came, and moved back to the main exit door and its treasure room. Gremlin Two helped to search every inch of the floor, poking at anything that seemed like it could possibly be the treasure they sought, but found nothing.

Levi sighed and stared at the ceiling. “I guess we need to search the whole…” he frowned. The glittering light… something about it…

The usual shafts of light coming from above were off, just a bit, throwing glints of light in all directions.

He climbed up on the table and jumped, his fingertips brushing something solid and cold. He jumped again, and this time jostled it loose. The small object pinged to the ground with a high ringing sound, bounced a few times, then rolled in a wobbly circle until it rested against the far wall. Gremlin Two squealed in excitement and ran over to pick it up.

Levi could see the tip of the scroll now that the crystal object was no longer refracting light in dazzling patterns, and one more jump let him snag it between two fingers and pull it cleanly out from where it lay embedded.

He hopped down from the table and Gremlin Two handed him the object with a grin.

Unbound Seed Fragment (Rare)

1 of 3

Reclaim what was abandoned

He pulled out the first piece and pressed them together. Nothing happened, but the cracks lined up perfectly. Two thirds of the seed, which was clearly going to be long and thin and not the shape of a power stone. He placed both back in their pocket, then spread out the next map.

Two more locations. The same two as before. One in Kentucky, the other in Michigan.

If Irene had followed his instructions, she’d be waiting with Peter at her parents’ house in Oregon, so he would start at Kentucky and work his way up toward them.

His stomach clenched at the thought of her worrying, of the madness he’d already brought upon them without meaning to, but more so at the thought of having to confront her. In his imaginings of reuniting with his family, it had always been a joyous occasion without tension or uncertainty.

But reality… didn’t tend to play out like a fantasy. His brief text exchange was enough to prove that. And Levi… wasn’t sure he remembered how to relate to people normally any longer.

The thought made him feel vaguely ill, and he forcibly drove it from his mind. He would deal with that problem when he had to. Until then, he had a treasure hunt to finish, and a great many levels to gain as quickly as possible.

Before he could exit the dungeon, Gremlin Two poked his leg.

“What is it?”

Gremlin Two pointed to his chest, head tilted to the side.

“I don’t understand.”

He ran around in a slow circle, then poked his chest again, then ran in the circle slightly faster, then poked his chest a third time.

It took Levi a moment to catch on. “Yes, of course. Right away.”

In the excitement over his new sword upgrade, he’d forgotten to assign Two’s stat point. He dropped it into Spirit.

Minions 2 of 2 Name Level Type Strength Psyche Spirit Health Mana Stamina Skarm 2 Horned Gremlin 0 0 2 0/50

(+1/min) 0/0

(+1/min) 0/70

(+3/min) Gremlin Two 4 Horned Gremlin 2 0 2 60/60

(+3/min) 0/0

(+1/min) 70/70

(+3/min)

Levi stared at the greyed-out name on his sheet, the unavailable Revive option haunting him. He wasn’t going to give up. Not until he absolutely had to. Whatever it took, he was going to protect his team and keep them safe and happy. He refused to lose anyone more. Not when he had the chance to start over. If he couldn’t save anyone, what was the point?

“Anything else I’m forgetting?”

Gremlin Two shook his head and rushed over to the portal. Levi stepped out, orienting to the darkness outside. Though they’d spent many hours preparing to fight the turkey boss, it was still pre-dawn, though not for much longer. Distant glimmers of paleness on the horizon heralded the sun’s inevitable rise.

Congratulations, Levi Morrison!

Due to discovering 3 hidden treasures, you've earned a title.

Secret Seeker (Title, Rare)

Dungeons containing hidden secrets will be unable to hide from your sight: when entering a dungeon, if it contains an accessible treasure, you will be aware of its existence.

Treasures obtained from all dungeons will have a higher chance of being uncommon or rare items.

[Evolution currently unavailable.]

Levi had only met one person with a Title before. They were incredibly rare. He read it over, excitement building the further he read. Not only would it alert him any time there was a secret treasure, he'd also have a better chance of getting better treasures from normal dungeons. The fare thus far had been largely uninspiring, so this would be a welcome change.

And it looked like it could be evolved in the future, even if not right now. Probably by finding even more secrets. Levi grinned. He was not opposed to searching out more secrets.

He jogged back toward the highway, bringing up the uber app as he went.

This time, though, things did not go smoothly.

His account had been locked.

He sent a message to support, but knew it would be hours if not days before anything was done. How had he gotten his account locked? Weird rides in the middle of the night shouldn’t be enough for that.

He reached the gas station where he’d started, looking around the small stopover town in annoyance. New York was nowhere close to anywhere he wanted to be. It would take days of running nonstop to reach the next location.

Should he abandon the treasure hunt? Was a ‘rare seed’ even worth his time?

The sudden loss of freedom staggered him more than he’d expected. He’d gotten too used to the convenience of on-demand drivers so quickly, it left him feeling adrift without them.

But only for a moment. He was used to battlefields with changing conditions, to campaigns with unexpected shifts.

He tucked the phone away, ignoring the notifications, and closed his eyes to focus on his memory of the dungeon map of the country. He had multiple goals, and he could advance them all at the same time.

If he pushed himself, he could reach a new dungeon every few hours. They weren’t distributed evenly, often more closely clustered around population centers and sparser away from large cities, but he could chart a route that would pass through both destination dungeons on his treasure map, and dozens more on the way.

It would extend his travel times significantly; he’d not reach the Kentucky destination for over a week, another week to Michigan, and well over a month until he got to Oregon.

His hand twitched toward his phone. The thought of going a month and a half without being able to personally ensure his family’s safety… anything could happen in that time. Dungeons usually kept to themselves aside from sending out scouts to lure people in, but what if one he didn’t know about existed near Irene’s parents’ house? What if they decided to move? What if Irene decided he’d been off grid too long and came looking for him?

He could do this if he had to… but… that was too long to wait. If there was any other choice…

Taking a steadying breath, he pulled out the phone and looked down at the contact list.

Seven missed calls from Irene, six from various numbers he didn’t recognize, and four from Gordon.

He hesitated, but remembered the genuine concern and affection in Gordon’s voice from their one conversation. Irene… he still couldn’t decide how to handle talking to her. Gordon was the nearest, and the least dangerous option with the highest chance of actually accomplishing something.

Taking a steadying breath, Levi pressed call.