Destruction Dungeon: Level 1

Gordon walked around the patch of shimmering air, frowning. He waved a hand through it, making its label appear hovering in midair.

"This is weird," he said, for the hundredth time.

Levi grinned. "Yep."

"This is weird," Gordon repeated.

"Yep."

Gordon looked at Gremlin Two, then at the hovering dungeon entrance. "You say he came out of a place like this?"

Gremlin Two nodded, and Levi grinned. "Yep."

"Weird."

"Ready to go inside?"

"No! This is a... glitch in reality. You don't just go walking into a glitch in reality!"

"Yeah I do. All the time." Levi drew his shortsword and activated its beast aura. The phantom brown visage sprang to life around its middle, and Gordon stopped to stare. "I take my magic sword and stab the dungeon monsters. You comin'? I'm about to reach a threshold level, so it would be a waste not to clear this place since we're here."

Gordon shook his head, but in disbelief rather than as an answer. "This is so weird."

"Yep. Come on in, I'll protect you."

Gordon continued to shake his head in bewilderment, but followed Levi into the dungeon.

It was set up much like the first, with an empty pitted room of sand and gremlins. Two sprang on his counterpart immediately, pounding the creature into the ground effortlessly. He was level 4 now, after all.

"Don't kill it," Levi called out. "Let Gordon do it."

He passed Gordon the manablade. The power drained quickly once Levi no longer fed mana into it through contact, leaving it no longer glowing. Gordon took it and held it awkwardly, as though it were a live snake he had to hold onto firmly lest it strike him.

"You could also just stomp its skull in with your boot, if you prefer that," Levi said, while Gremlin Two held down the squirming, bleeding monster.

"I don't believe this is happening," Gordon said, somewhat dazedly. "I stepped through a hole in space into a crazy fantasy movie."

"Yep. And it only gets crazier from here. Stab the gremlin and you'll see for yourself."

He watched Gordon closely as he stepped over to the gremlin and, taking the sword in hand like a machete, cleaved its head right off.

Levi focused on him, and his summary appeared.

Gordon McKaine

Level 1

Health: 100%

Levi grinned as Gordon's face slackened in shock. "Congratulations, Earth Human! You have Awakened!" he sang out, chuckling at Gordon's continued confusion. "You're going to want to accept that Fighter class you just unlocked."

Gordon poked the air, and Fighter appeared in his tag. Since they'd entered together, the system automatically understood them to be allies and would display more information to each other than it would for a stranger.

"Now, do you think I'm less crazy?"

"I think I'm going crazy," Gordon muttered. "I thought I needed to stage an intervention, that you were having a midlife crisis and about to run off with some hooker. I think I might have preferred that."

"As much as I'm not the sort to ever do such a thing to Irene, and would sooner die than abandon Peter, I think I'd prefer that scenario too."

Gordon looked at him, still holding the sword, his face growing concerned.

Levi grimaced as the weight of the responsibility upon him pressed in again. For a few minutes, he'd managed to forget. It felt more like a practice session with a rookie comrade, without the societal weight that constantly assailed him in the outside world. Inside a dungeon, Levi was in his element. At ease, as much as constantly in fear for your life could possible be said to put one at ease.

He pushed away the thoughts and nodded. "You remember I mentioned demons, earlier?"

"You said a lot of stuff that didn't make sense at the time."

"There's an invasion coming. I don't know if it's actual 'hell' from all the religions, or if it's just another plane of existence, but the system recognizes them as Demons. And... there are a lot of them, and they're insanely powerful. The weakest are around level 30."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"After ten years, five of which were spent fighting almost without pause, I was level 79."

Gordon frowned. "Wait... what? You're level 4."

Levi froze, realizing he'd slipped up. He hadn't meant to bring time travel into this, it was all too complicated anyway. But, the bat was out of the belfry now, so... he shrugged. "Yeah, I... came back in time."

Gordon stared at him, then shook his head and threw his arms in the air. "This is too weird."

"I agree. Definitely too weird. Whoever thought this should be my life, I'd like to..." but he couldn't go on. He shook his head. "No. I'm glad I'm back. I'm glad I was able to start over. I'm glad of the chance to change things this time around."

"This is insane."

"Yep."

"You. Levi Morrison. My co-worker, Irene's husband... is a time traveling level four Tamer prophesying the apocalypse."

"Yep."

"That's crazy."

"You've mentioned." Levi grinned. "Now, shall we continue our dungeon delve? You should be able to reach level 2 by the end of it."

Gordon shook his head, but followed Levi into the next room.

"Do you want your sword back?"

Levi waved for him to keep it. "I'll act as spotter. Until we get to the boss room, nothing here should be enough to threaten you. If too many swarm up on us, I'll step in. But I'd like to get you leveled a bit, get you used to it."

He was beginning to have an idea for how to turn this to a proper advantage. One man alone claiming to have fought monsters would be dismissed; two could potentially persuade Irene he hadn't gone crazy and get her to take this seriously. Once he could get her into a dungeon... well, he wouldn't be surprised if she took it entirely in stride and started going kung fu bananas on the gremlins, to be honest. She and her sister could be wild when left to their devices, and...

He could imagine the three of them, him and Irene and Peter, fighting together. Maybe let Gordon come along now and again, if he was as close a friend of Irene as it seemed.

What better way to protect his family than get them strong enough to protect themselves?

And with Gordon to help in the early levels, they could ensure Irene's safety and protect Peter from risk.

A whole future unfurled itself before him. He didn't have to worry. He could do this. Sure, there'd be the awkward day of talking to them and convincing them to go on a road trip with two people spouting nonsense, but after that! After that they would be a team, they'd fight through dungeons together, and when the demons came they could outrun anyone who tried to hurt them.

This would work.

He could have it all, it didn't have to be a one or the other kind of thing. He could prove himself and show the new reality. He could make them believe.

And they would be together forever. Just like he'd always dreamed.

Gordon caught on quickly. He must have had some outdoorsman blood in him, because he picked up the sword faster than anyone Levi had met. Sure, he swung it like a machete, but against gremlins that was perfectly sufficient.

They forayed down side corridors, investigated dead ends, and slaughtered their way through the place with impunity. Gremlin Two cackled gleefully as he joined in the slaughter, and they reached the first treasure room without any difficulty whatsoever.

They received a mana and stamina restorative, a greatsword, and a set of arm bracers as the rewards of their efforts. Levi passed the sword and bracers to Gordon, taking back the shortsword.

"You want me to wear these?" Gordon looked at the bracers, bemused.

"You'll be glad of its protection once we hit the boss room," Levi insisted. "Which should be coming up soon."

"Sure you don't want the big sword?"

"I'm a dual-blade kinda guy. A two-hander like that would only slow me down. But your style is much more chopping and the extra power should work out well for you."

They cleared one more room of gremlins, Levi coaching Gordon through the motions, then in the following room they reached the final hurdle.

Level 1+

(Goblin Mage)

Health 100%

“Stay out of the way and don’t get killed,” Levi told Gordon, hefting his beastly shortsword. Finally, the chance to fight properly again. "This won't take long."