Chapter 2

Getting an Education

It took nearly an hour for the sub-train to be pulled back to Crow Station. Janus could see people in sharp, black uniforms questioning the survivors as they left the platform. Some of them were waving strange devices near the sub-train cars. The occasional beeping noise was emitted.

Not sure what they’re scanning for….

The doors to his car slid open. There was a woman with vibrant, green eyes and short, auburn hair in one of those black uniforms gesturing for the passengers to make their exit.

Janus waited near Fao and Layla.

Fao turned to him and said, “I was serious about that job, kid. You can hit me up at this number.” Fao reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small notepad. He looked around in confusion and turned to Layla, asking, “Hey you got a pen?”

She reached into her purse and handed him a small ballpoint pen.

The writing utensil surprised Janus. They were not common in the stations. Most stuff was handmade and many people stuck to bottled ink.

Fao scribbled on his notepad and ripped a page off, offering it to Janus.

Janus folded it in half and stuffed it in his pack. “Uh, thanks. I might take you up on that offer.” He continued, “Without you, everyone here would be… well it’s better to not think about it.”

“No problem kid. The Jacks don’t take shit from anyone, but we have honor. No way I’d let some freak just rip apart everyone in there.” Fao replied, looking proud of himself.

“Next, please.” The auburn-haired official called from the sub-train exit.

Guess I’ll be up next.

Janus made his way up the nearly empty sub-train car.

“Identification, please,” said the official as he stepped onto the platform.

“Uh yeah, one moment.” He fished around in his pack, grabbing his wallet. He opened it towards the official, showing her his student and station identification.

“Looks good. Go ahead and proceed to one of those gentlemen over there.” She pointed to a cluster of police about ten meters away near one of the exit ramps.

Janus made his way over and was stopped by a dark-skinned officer, “Hey, don’t try to slip out, we just need to ask you a couple questions.” The officer said.

“Yeah sure, whatever you need, sir.” Janus was always nervous around the police. His dad told him it runs in the family.

“Right, right. You came from the sub-train car that took down one of the creatures, yeah? What did it identify as?” the man asked, motioning for Janus to take a seat. He grabbed a fresh form to clip to his clipboard.

Janus sat on the nearby bench and replied, “It was called a [Rail Balor]. I identified it as a level 34.” His voice seemed to focus and become more pronounced as he said the creature's name.

“34? That was one of the higher level ones. You’re lucky to get out alive,” the officer replied while making some marks on the clipboard.

I wonder how well you would have fared. Janus decided to identify the officer.

[Peacekeeper - Level Obscured]

Not as strong of an obscuring enchantment as the armored guy in the sub-train.

The officer broke Janus’ train of thought with another question. “Some passengers reported that they had entered a dungeon. Did you have a similar experience, and if so, what was the dungeon name?”

“Oh yeah, I got the notification. I think the name was [Rath Rohen],” Janus replied. Once again, his voice became more pronounced when he said the name of the dungeon. As if his words somehow had a greater presence.

Well, at least I know I probably got the name right.

“Alright, everything seems to be matching up with the other passengers. One last thing, though. I need your name and reason for travel,” the officer said and finished marking some more fields. His pen hovered over a box labeled “full name”.

“My name is Janus Alamy. I was on my way to class at Bear Station Junior College.” Janus was getting eager to make his way back home and fall into bed.

“Thanks for the cooperation, Janus. You can be on your way.”

-

Janus climbed the ramp leading out of the Crow Station sub-train platform. He weaved his way through the crowds heading toward the residential district.

Forgot how busy it can be around this time. This is why I leave early.

Runes lit the streets in an omnipresent, yellow glow. Janus had heard during his elementary school years that it was meant to mimic the light of the sun. That’s why the runes dim in the evening hours. They were bright now, signifying the morning.

I wonder if news of the new dungeon has reached Bear Station. That would make it a lot easier to explain to Dario… I really hope this didn’t blow my chance.

Janus arrived at a section of Crow Station with cramped, neatly boxed homes bordering quiet, nondescript streets. He continued down the road, heading towards his home.

Janus knew he had arrived once he reached the house with a large flag emerging from the window. He had no idea why his dad insisted on this misplaced display of patriotism.

Oh no he put the flag up again. We’re going to have another citation to deal with.

He had seen the flag before in his history textbooks, but the authors of those books seemed to see it in a different light than his father.

He tried to open the front door, but found it locked. The door swung open, startling him as he was fishing the key out of his pack.

“Home early?” His dad said, standing beyond the doorway and giving Janus a curious look.

“There was some trouble with the sub-train. Have you been reading the news?” Janus asked and pushed past his father, a man in his early 50’s, with sunken brown eyes, and a loose head of brown hair. He looked tired.

“No no, the damned contraption stopped working yesterday morning. I’ll have to call in a rune mage to fix it. If the phone still works that is,” his father grumbled, wiping the tiredness from his eyes. “Things used to keep working, back in the day. And, if they broke, it was a simple enough fix.”

Janus sighed and said, “I’m sure you’d love to share some tales of television and the Internet again.” Janus stepped inside and continued, “You’re going to have to take the flag down before calling a rune mage. You know we’ll get a citation.”

“People down here want to forget about their heritage, Janus, but I refuse. I was proud to be an American. Proud of my country.” Janus’ father sat on the sofa and began tinkering with a small, flat device covered in runes. “I never thought I’d claim electrical engineering was simple, but compared to this? Sheesh.”

Janus made his way across the small living room, heading for the stairs.

He was part way up when he heard his fathers voice call from the living room, “You’re okay. Right, Janus? You’re not hurt?”

He called back down, “I’m fine Dad, just need to rest. I’ll tell you about it once I’ve had some time to calm down.” Janus continued climbing the stairs, opening the door at the top.

The experience from the sub-train was still fresh in his mind, and Janus wondered why it didn’t seem to affect him that much.

It could just be the adrenaline or the mana exhaustion.

He slipped into bed, drifting off to sleep, with thoughts of slaying balors on his mind.

-

Janus woke to a quiet, buzzing noise. He looked over to the clock on his end table, portions of runes lit with a softly glowing blue to indicate the time.

Oh stars, my head is killing me.

He headed downstairs, noting the absence of his father. The living room was neatly arranged, a sofa and coffee table took up the bulk of the space. A small, economic fireplace was inlaid in the wall opposite of the sofa. A portrait of his mom looked down at him from the mantle above.

On the coffee table was a runescribe, the flat, rectangular contraption his father was fiddling with the day before.

Janus made his way to the runescribe, lightly pressing on one of the runes on the side. Words started to slowly etch themselves into the face on the device.

Looks like dad just forgot how to turn the thing on. Janus chuckled. He’s probably at work right now.

The headline read: “Dungeon appears on the rail line between Crow Station and Bear Station.” The article detailed his morning adventure on the sub-train.

Janus set the runescribe down and headed for the phone. His dad told him that phones back in the day could transmit your voice hundreds of miles. Now they just worked similarly to the runescribe. He etched a small note explaining yesterday's absence and also noted that he wouldn’t be coming in for class today.

He set the runes on the device to point towards his professor's numbers and sent each of them a message in turn before activating a reset rune. He watched his message slowly fade away as the face of the phone repaired itself.

Then, he etched a new message into the device and sent it to the campus offices asking them to notify Dario about his absence. After setting the device back on the table, Janus sat on the sofa, folding his arms behind his head. Before he knew it, he had dozed off once more.

A knock at the door broke him out of his nap. He groggily slid off the sofa, struggling to his feet. The effects of mana exhaustion were still hitting him hard.

Opening the front door revealed a man with striking green eyes, short bushy red hair, and a scraggly beard. He locked eyes with Janus.

It felt like Janus was back on the sub-train car, staring down a balor. Every instinct told him to just get out of the way.

“Excuse me, uh…” Janus said, a bit lost for words.

The red-haired man simply looked Janus up and down before saying, “You must be Janus. I expected you at the campus today.”

Janus was in shock. This must be the Dario Wall standing in his doorway. Janus sputtered, “Uh, p-please come in!”

“Of course.” Dario made his way inside, pushing past Janus. He grabbed the photo of Janus’ mother from the mantle, staring at it for a moment before setting it back down. “You are late.”

“B-but there was a dungeon!” Janus replied.

“A dungeon?”

“Yes, on the rail line.”

“And that stopped you?”

Janus was flabbergasted. Did Dario expect him to walk through the dungeon and then the following rail line all the way to Bear Station? Regardless of the danger, it would have taken stars knew how long.

“Of course it stopped me!” Janus replied. “Do you think I’m suicidal?”

“No, but I expected you to at least be resourceful,” Dario said.

“Resourceful? How? What resources do I have!”

“That’s not for me to know. It was for you to find out. However, the situation with the rail lines has made my plans to teach on campus difficult. I had to make my way over here without a sub-train. The other students are now waiting here, at Crow Station.” Dario walked over to the sofa and sat down before continuing, “For the foreseeable future, we’ll be meeting up at the local delvers' guild. I expect to see you there tomorrow.”

“Absolutely. I’ll be there,” Janus nodded fervently.

“Now, give me a demonstration.”

“A demonstration? What do you mean?”

“Of your [Mana Manipulation] skill. What else would I be asking for?”

Janus, now embarrassed, stood in front of the sofa.

What do I show him?

He settled on a similar technique to the one he used on Fao earlier that morning. He drew the ambient mana toward his fist. It burned as if somebody had lit a fire in his veins, but he clenched his jaw and continued until the mana became dense enough to be visible. A diffuse, blue light formed around his hand.

“Oh-ho, now that’s what I’m talking about. Looks like we’ve got a winner!” Dario said, inching closer to Janus’ hand.

Janus could barely speak through the pain. “It’s the best I can do for now.”

“For now,” Dario replied. “I’ll be seeing you tomorrow morning. Eight o’clock sharp.”

With that, Dario unceremoniously stood from the sofa and made his way out of the still open door.

Janus let the mana seep out of his clenched fist with a whimper. It hurt, but he was willing to go through a lot more. He wouldn’t be stuck in this station like his father. He would delve dungeons. He would make a name for himself.