“Man, you really do have all the luck, don’t you? Is there a potion for that?”

Jason tore his gaze away from the retreating forms of Kera and Lumi to see Aldin pushing his way through the noontime market crowd. Ravs was with him, trailing slightly behind and unashamedly licking the last of some marketplace treat from her fingers; apparently they’d left the Lodge again at some point.

“Huh?” Jason asked. “What do you mean?”

“That’s Kera, right?” Aldin asked, gesturing in her direction with a nod of his head. “New form?” Aldin asked.

“Uh, yeah.”

Aldin gave a Jason a wide grin. “Nice. Like I said, lucky.”

After wiping her fingers on a scrap of cloth she’d pulled from somewhere, Ravs reached out idly with one hand and flicked one of Aldin’s ears. He clapped a hand to his head, turning towards her.

“I’m right here, you know,” she said with a raised eyebrow, giving him a dry look.

“Ow.” he complained.

Ravs gave a snort and a shake of her head, rolling her eyes with a wry smile. Then she turned to regard Kera and Lumi in distance as the pair passed into the Lodge. She glanced at Jason briefly, resting her elbow lightly on her left hand while she tapped her lips with the fingers of her right. A thoughtful expression crossed her face as she tilted her head to one side and turned her gaze back towards the Lodge again.

Jason meanwhile turned to Aldin, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. “I’m not sure what you mean,” he said. “Lumi just likes to tease people, sometimes.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Aldin replied, astonished. “They totally —”

Ravs suddenly turned and stepped closer to Aldin and shushed him with a finger pressed to his lips. “Hush,” she said softly to him. “They’ve got enough to deal with right now. Let them work it out on their own time.”

“Wha-?” He tried to ask, but she just pushed her finger firmly against his lips again.

“Hush.”

Ravs she wrapped her arms around Aldin’s right arm, and gently pulled him towards the Lodge while he looked at down at her with confusion.

“Don’t just stand there,” Ravs called out to Jason. “If you want an actual seat, better claim it now. There won’t be enough for everyone.”

Jason scratched his head again, unsure about whatever had just happened. Shrugging mentally to himself, he followed after a moment.

True to Ravs’ word, the Lodge was already filling rapidly. There was still a good ten minutes until the meeting was supposed to start, but already most of the seating was taken. Here and there a few of the younger students were serving tables with food and drink, trying to take orders over the din of multiple adventuring parties all chatting with one another and having a good time. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits.

As he stepped in through the door, Jason saw Ravs release Aldin’s arm and give him a gentle shove towards one of the other tables, where a handful of students were seated. Jason wasn’t sure of their names, but he recognized them in a vague sort of way from interactions at the training grounds. Some of Aldin’s acquaintances from class, he thought.

As for Ravs herself, she joined Kera and Lumi at a small corner table, where she asked the other two some question with a grin. Jason didn’t catch what it was over all the noise as he made his way towards them.

Lumi laughed, and Kera started blushing furiously, and then the three of them fell to whispering to each other about something, leaning towards each other, heads held close over the table.

Jason shook his head with a smile. He recognized ‘girl talk’ when he saw it even if he didn't know what it was about. So he took a seat at the next table over in order to give them some privacy. Close enough to be waved over if they wanted him to join them, but far away enough he wouldn’t overhear.

Just sitting by himself and just taking in the room, Jason idly reflected that unlike Kera and Lumi, he hadn’t really gotten to know anyone in town. Not like Lumi, who regularly spent time hanging out with Sevani, or even Kera, who still occasionally paid a visit to Arn’s inn just so she could talk with Leska. Despite having spent a fair bit of time with the pair the past week, Jason didn’t even know a whole lot about Ravs and Aldin’s personal lives, for that matter. He supposed that he’d developed a sort of rapport with Tersk, but that wasn’t really a friendship sort of thing, so much as more like a mutual interest in the engineering business, like two coworkers might have.

He’d gotten to know a few people on a casual basis, but apart from the girls, Jason hadn’t really made any other friends. Sitting by himself, watching the bustle of the guild-hopefuls and townsfolk around him… perhaps for the first time in his life, Jason realized that that bothered him.

For Jason, his college classmates had never really been friends. Apart from Jim, who’d been his roommate for a few years, they’d all been more like temporary acquaintances. People he got to know briefly, maybe went to a party or two with, and then didn’t talk to much, if at all, once the school year was over.

But this? He felt vaguely like he was watching something special.

All around him, adventurers sat in small groups, eating and drinking, chatting or laughing, and just generally enjoying a festive atmosphere. Many moved from table to table, giving nods of greeting to others and just generally mingling.

For all that this meeting was essentially to be a sort of war council, everyone seemed awfully carefree. Jason would’ve expected an air of tension, a sort of undercurrent of fear and worry that ran through everyone because they were soon to go into a situation where people might die. It had been like that, last night.

Right now, though? Now Jason saw nothing but excitement, good cheer, and a certain degree of anticipation. No sign of real concern for the future. The cynic in him wondered if it that was something of a defense mechanism. That people had learned to stop worrying about the constant threat of death and instead take what comfort you could in the people around you whenever you could. He didn’t really believe that, but he couldn’t help but wonder for a moment.

Whatever the real reason was though, these were people who all knew one another, who had fought together at one another’s side, trusted each other on a level that Jason had never really experienced before. People from all walks of life, many of them not even the same species, much less gender or race, who had all come together to push back against a terrible evil which tried to devour everything it could.

It was strangely hopeful, and it made Jason feel the lack of something to truly belong to in his own life. He had always just sort of coasted along, trusting his own ability to make his way without needing to be beholden to anything or anyone. He didn’t see that as a bad thing, but watching the Lodge around him, he realized that maybe he’d been missing out on a part of life, and he really only had himself to blame.

The people here… they stood for something, and by doing so were a part of something greater. Or hoped to be anyhow, seeing as most of them weren’t officially Black Thorns yet. Maybe a few wouldn’t make the cut, but Jason suspected that most of them would.

He contemplated the question of what he stood for. Jason kept telling himself that there was probably no going back, that he should approach things from the perspective of being trapped here for good, but… he hadn’t really acted like it, had he?

Instead he’d mostly been… detached. Coasting along as usual without really involving himself. Friendly enough to the people living here, but without any real entanglements, no real thought to the future apart from keeping his options open. Even his offer to outfit the town militia hadn’t really been born out of a real desire to help people; that was just an excuse. It had been a business arrangement to get himself ingredients and a proper lab to experiment with, an arrangement that just so happened to save lives in the process.

Oh, he knew he would have offered anyway. He was no sociopath, to just stand aside and let hundreds die when he had something to contribute. But saving lives hadn’t been his main, driving force. Instead he’d been more interested in exploring the system, seeing what possibilities his skills held, treating everything much like a game.

He tried to think about what he really cared about, that was here, in this world. In his musing, he found his gaze slowly drawn to the table where the girls sat together, chatting away with Ravs.

He cared about them, he realized. What they thought, how they felt. What could potentially happen in a few days. He saw Lumi mildly wince and clasp one hand to her side as Kera said something that made her laugh; her injury was still bothering her slightly. In his mind’s eye, Jason recalled her lying against the doorframe, covered in her own blood, with Aldin kneeling over her. That brief moment of panic he’d felt.

He definitely cared about preventing that from happening again. And about making sure it didn’t happen to Kera, either. That went for Ravs, and Aldin as well, when he thought about it.

He may not care specifically about the world around him much, but he cared about his friends, he realized. And they were his friends. Ravs and Aldin were included in that, despite what little he really knew about them. He knew, deep down, that he could trust all four of them with his life, just as they trusted him with theirs. He wanted to continue spending time with them, to fight alongside them, to be involved in their lives.

He wasn’t sure when that had happened. Somewhere along the line he’d just started to think of Kera and Lumi as fixtures in his new life, as ‘part of the group’, and when Ravs and Aldin had come along, they’d just been sort of rolled into that. He had trouble imagining himself walking away from that. Trying to imagine Kera or Lumi doing the walking away upset him more than a little.

Jason wondered if that his easy acceptance of the two newcomers was somehow due to the game-like nature of this world. Not in terms of the Voice having some kind of unconscious effect on social dynamics, though that was always possible, but rather his own experiences as an avid gamer putting a spin on things. He, Kera, and Lumi had been, almost from the get-go, essentially a classic RPG party. The tank, the caster, and the support, forced together by circumstance, fighting for their own survival from day one.

All of them had just accepted it, because it felt right, here, thanks to the Voice. Then, being adventurers themselves, Ravs and Aldin had joined the party literally as well as figuratively, and he’d just unconsciously accepted it because that’s how things were supposed to go in games. How had that happened?

Jason chuckled to himself, shaking his head. Here he was, having some kind of emotional epiphany on the presence of friendship in his life, and he was already segueing off into wondering about the specific details.

Alchemist really does suit me, doesn’t it? Jason though with some amusement. Always drifting off to contemplate the whys of it all.

He leaned back into his chair, tilting his head upwards and closing eyes. For a moment, he let himself just relax and let the sounds of general bustle and laughter wash over him.

Would it be so bad? He mused. To take Kera’s path and stay? Sure, it’s a dangerous world here, but compared to this, what do I have going for me back home? I was probably replaced at my job two weeks ago. Probably got dropped from my classes for non-attendance, too. I wouldn’t even be surprised if my parents weren’t even aware I’ve vanished yet, it’s not like they’ve ever cared to catch up with me. Even if that wasn’t the case, what do I have to look forward to after graduating? Probably all I’d be looking at is bouncing from dead-end tech job to dead-end tech job for years, searching for something to make a career out of.

Here, I get to be someone. I can do something that nobody else in the world can do. I’ve got friends and comrades at my side and a whole world to explore with them. What isn’t there to like about that?

Jason felt an arm snake through his as someone soft hugged him by the arm. He opened his eyes.

“Hey. You ok?” Lumi asked him, her arm looped across his, sliding her seat up to his side. “You looked like you were having a bit of a moment, there.”

Jason gave her a small smile. “I was. I’m fine though. I think.”

“Nothing serious I hope? You can always talk to me.”

Jason tilted his head in acknowledgement. “I know. Just… feeling a little overwhelmed, I think.” He tilted his head back again for a moment, giving a faint sigh before sitting back up straight and looking out across the room as he talked.

“I was just thinking… this whole ‘other world’ thing may actually be the best thing to ever happen to me, and it’s kind of hitting me all at once. I’ve got friends, good friends, for the first time in a long while. I’ve got skills that are very valuable to powerful people. I’ve even lined myself up a top-paying job, one with long term prospects that is highly unlikely to ever lay me off.”

Jason gave a short laugh. “Sure, it comes with a fair degree of personal risk. But that almost just makes it more worth it, you know? I don’t even have to worry about health care benefits or dental or whatever either, because… well, magic."

He shook his head ruefully, with another small sigh. “I begin to wonder if maybe I shouldn’t just stay here,” he said quietly.

Lumi gave him an small smile, and just let him sit for a few moments of quiet contemplation. She didn’t let go of his arm, either, instead keeping it in a sort of loose, friendly hug. He didn't object; it was comforting.

After a moment, he turned slightly to face her better.

“What about you?” he asked. “Have you given more thought about staying or not? You seemed to be the one with the most to lose. That much had was apparent from the start.”

Lumi hesitated. She hugged his arm a little tighter, then released him.

“A little,” she said. “I… well, it’s like you said, right? Prospects. I was a coffee barista. At most I was looking at lower management, or maybe trying to open my own place if I was really feeling ambitious. Here… well…”

She paused, but then laughed and shook herself, giving him a lopsided grin. “The choice between ‘Twilight Valkyrie Lumi’ or ‘Alice the Coffee Pourer’…. Well, it sort of speaks for itself, yeah?”

Jason laughed. “That makes you sound like some kind of magical girl straight out of an anime…”

“Hey! Whats wrong with that?” Lumi tried to act offended, but couldn’t maintain a straight face. Instead, she started giggling. “Ok, Ok, I see you what you mean. It is a bit silly sounding. But it is my current title.”

“So pretentious.” Jason deadpanned.

Lumi began a retort, a spark of mischievousness in her eye, but Jason didn’t get to hear it because at that moment a hush fell over the room that caused her to pause. Aurion had arrived, with four others in tow. Two were faces Jason recognized: Aria and Belman, the hunters who’d accompanied him to the wastes. The entire group was decked out in full combat gear, and from the looks of them, they’d been out and about all night.

The scouting party removed themselves and headed up the stairs without a word, while Aurion moved to take a spot behind the bar, where he could be seen by everyone. Suddenly, as if someone had signaled an impromptu game of musical chairs, everyone began to move, with each set of adventurers regrouping with their assigned squads wherever there was space. Some were forced to stand on the sidelines, and Jason found himself being pulled one table over by Lumi in order to make space. Aldin joined him and the others in short order.

After the shifting ceased, Aurion surveyed the assembled crowd, then began to speak.

“Good. It looks like everyone’s here already. If only I could get you all to be so punctual about showing up to class.”

A sound of amusement rippled through the room.

“Last night’s minor earthquake was the result of our resident dungeon seizing and rapidly terraforming a sizable piece of land," Aurion began. "First off, I’m happy to report that the townsfolk suffered no casualties, though there is some widespread, if minor, property damage, and in one case someone’s house collapsed. Thankfully, no-one was inside at the time as the individuals in question were assisting the cleanup crews.

“As for the dungeon itself, it has claimed an area on the order of perhaps a square mile, transforming it into a river-fed, forested swampland. A number of structures have appeared as well; no doubt a prelude to a self-sustaining population of minions.”

Aurion began pacing behind the bar, arms held behind his back.

“Solid footing is sparse, and in many places the water is quite deep. Transportation to the entrance itself is now an issue, as it is now, perhaps unsurprisingly, located underwater.”

There was some subdued grumbling at that announcement.

“That particular issue is well in hand, however. What’s important is that these changes came at a great cost to the dungeon. During our brief survey, very few denizens were encountered. As we’d hoped, the dungeon has fueled its rapid expansion with the mana it collected from its slain horde. No doubt our lack of action over the past two weeks has emboldened it into lowering its defenses so that it may begin the process of accelerated growth that unmolested aquatic dungeons are so infamous for.”

Aurion paused for dramatic effect.

“This provides us with… an opportunity. Originally, the plan was to enter the dungeon as a full raid in expectation of facing a much larger force. That is no longer an issue, and with the dungeon entering a construction cycle where it must spend mana on new structures before respawning its troops, we also do not need to worry too much when it comes to assaulting the core itself.”

“Most of you are here because the Grandmaster felt this might be a good opportunity to get your feet wet, pun intended, while at the same time allowing me to evaluate how well you’ve absorbed your lessons. The hope being that should you account yourselves well enough, this expedition take the place of your final exam. That hasn’t changed, but how we’ll be going about doing it has.”

“Instead of assaulting the dungeon as a cohesive raid, I will be breaking each squad off into its own party, to be evaluated separately by a member of the Guild. Depending on your group’s particular talents, you’ll be assigned different tasks. Some of you will be assigned as scouting parties, some will take on the various structures that are springing up, others will search for usable resources, and yet others will assault the dungeon itself.”

“Do not get complacent,” Aurion emphasized sternly. “While the dungeon is currently at its weakest, a lot can change in two days. We’ll be taking a fairly big risk here by splitting you up, but we stand to reap greater rewards by doing so, as we will be able to do a full clear instead of needing to push our way straight into the core. Remember to keep your heads: if you come up against something that you aren’t sure you can handle yourselves, don’t try. Withdraw to the base camp we’ll be setting up and get help. At worst, your escort can pull your asses out of the fire, but if your own decisions lead to that, it will be a mark against you for the evaluation.”

The meeting went on in that vein for perhaps a half an hour, with Aurion emphasizing the need for caution whole reminding everyone of various strategic approaches to clearing structures and rooms. Specific orders were given out, and an escort assigned to each group.

Jason’s group was one of those that would be assaulting the dungeon proper. Not only did they have a classic party setup with tank, healer, melee and ranged attackers, and a support, they had aquatic capability as well: Kera had her alligator form, and Jason could provide them with not only the ability to breath underwater, but enhanced swim speed as well. For that matter, Echo and Ceri could be granted those abilities on the fly courtesy of Kera’s [Evolution Surge] skill.

Aurion ended the meeting with a reminder to spend the time resting and healing, and that if anyone had any last minute equipment needs to seek out Therissa and let her know. They’d be leaving at dawn the day after tomorrow.

That only gave Jason a day and a half to complete as much of his armor as he could. Plus he needed to improve Lumi's as well, and make sure they were all as well outfitted as they could be with spare potions.

It looked like he had a lot of work ahead of him.

As many of the adventurers began leaving the Lodge, thinning out the crowd, Jason caught sight of Tersk sitting at one of the tables idly sipping from a large tankard. Apparently the old dwarf had been present at the meeting, ostensibly to see if anything more would be required of him.

Seeing him reminded Jason that he needed to choose a material for his new Golemist skill, and it occurred to him that Tersk might be just the person to ask about what his best options might be.

There was no time like the present, so he excused himself from his companions and approached.

“Hey Tersk, got a question for you.” Jason said. “Mind if I join you?”

Tersk drained the last of whatever he was drinking, gesturing to the side of the table as he did so.

Jason took a seat.

Placing his tankard down at the edge of the table, Tersk looked at Jason with interest.

“What’s on your mind this time?” he asked. “Got yet another invention you’d like parts for?”

“Not this time,” Jason replied. “Well, not exactly. I do need some stuff, lots of things actually, and I'll need it quickly if I want to be ready for the raid, but that’s not what I wanted to ask you about.”

“Oh…?”

Jason explained briefly about his new Golemist skill, and how he was fairly certain that it would apply to all crafting skills, not just the golem-making process.

“What I'd really like to do,” Jason said, “is pick something that takes enchantments really well. Like metals with unusual properties, or stuff like the Earthheart you were using to reinforce the gates. I was hoping you might have some suggestions about what to pick.

“I’m open to suggestions for other things, but I’d really like to know what the best metal for enchanted gear would be,” he finished.

Tersk stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Well, that’s a bit of a complex answer, really. Y’see, different metals are best for different things. There’s quite a few out there that hold elemental affinities. Azurite, for instance, is very dense and heavy, perfect for the strongest of shields, and readily accepts enchantments with a water theme. Wouldn’t be shocked if somebody comes across some in the dungeon, now that I think on it. There’s mithril, of course. It’s great for storing mana and is far lighter than steel, making it fantastic for armor.”

He paused. “Would these be just for you, or for your friends too? From what I hear of your group’s talents, abysium, or maybe seratite might be up your alley.”

Jason nodded. “Yes. I’m looking to outfit our party, not just myself.”

“Well,” Tersk said, “Abysium, which most folks just call shadowsteel, has several uses. As the name implies, it enhances enchantments using aspects related to darkness. But it also accepts aspects like ice and illusion as well. Seratite, meanwhile, is a kind of polar opposite to shadowsteel. It’s good for fire and light and several other things. It’s hard to come by unfortunately.”

“Why’s that?”

“As far as I’m aware,” Tersk replied, “there’s only a handful of places in the world that it’s found, all of them inhospitable wastelands. Badlands, deserts, and so forth. The closest source that comes to mind is the Pelean Expanse, a large desert whose central feature is a constantly active, volcanic lake.”

Jason hummed thoughtfully. “I’d guess that it only appears in places with a high level of fire and light aspects, if it’s the opposite of shadowsteel?”

“Aye, that’s correct.”

A stray thought occurred to Jason. what would happen if you tried to make something out of both?

“This might sound like an odd question,” he asked, “but can any of these metals be made into useful alloys with each other?”

“Not that I’ve ever heard of,” Tersk replied with a frown.

“Do you think they could be?” Jason asked. “If someone were to try?”

Tersk scratched at his beard for a moment. Then he shrugged. “Well… probably. Most metals have something they alloy with. Don't see why they'd be any different on account of being magical. Usually the question though is more ‘what don’t they mix with’, and more crucially, ‘is the result something actually useful?’. And then there’s the all-important question of ‘how much would it cost me to try?’”

He mused for a moment or two, then shook his head.

“Doesn’t matter though. Metals like seratite form only when more common ores are exposed to decades of different types of aspected mana, which slowly transform the ore over time, and many aspects don't play nice with each other. You’d need a special means indeed to merge two or more aspect-tainted materials into a single cohesive metal.”

Jason remained silent for a moment, thinking. Tersk had been quite straight with him so far, and if Jason was being honest about it, he was already aware that dwarves were somewhat legendary for their ability to keep secrets. Furthermore, he was well aware of Tersk’s past thanks to conversations he had with various people over the past week. For instance, Tersk possessed the same [Legendary Craftsman] title that Jason did, but had of course obtained it through far more typical means.

Jason glanced around, checking to see if anyone might be listening in. It didn’t seem like it. Everyone was either involved with their own groups, talking over their planned tasks, or already on their way out the door. He leaned over the table, lowering his voice to a whisper.

“Look,” he murmured in a frank tone. “You know I’ve got secrets of my own. I can’t teach you the process, because it’s a unique skill, but with some effort and the right starting point, I could probably manufacture just about any kind of aspect-infused metal you’d care to name. From your description, with a little bit of work I’m positive I could whip up a batch of stuff we could use to experiment with, provided I knew what to start with.”

Tersk looked at him with surprise.

“Don’t go mentioning that to anyone, please,” Jason emphasized. “As a master weapon-smith hiding away in some frontier town, I’m sure you’re well aware of the kind of attention top-tier crafting skills can bring. I’d rather avoid that as long as possible, thank you very much.”

“Why tell me, then?”

“Because now I’m thinking I’d like to recruit your help in going one step further,” Jason declared. “My skills allow me to do some incredible things, but you’re the one with all the knowledge of metallurgy. Let’s see if we can’t work together to make something truly special. What do you say?”