Evan’s thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a tall, skinny man. He wore the same blue armor that marked him as a member of the Hunter Association. His black hair was wild, and his eyes were a dull brown. Evan noticed that the man’s face and arms were caked in dried blood.

The man bowed slightly before speaking, “please excuse my appearance, the Hunter Association is … understaffed .... so they have had me clearing dungeons while I waited for you to recover. When Sasha told me you had woken up, I rushed over.”

The man walked over to the chair by Evan’s bed and sat down. “My name is Michael Lewis. I run the recruitment department for the Hunter Association. I was in Citadel when the dungeon broke a couple of days ago.”

The man paused and moved his face closer to Evan’s. “Now ... I know and work with the most powerful people in the world. Men and women that are capable of collapsing entire nations by themselves. Some would and do call them Gods.”

Michael leaned back in the chair and took a long, slow breath. “Yet, I don’t know you and I have never heard of or seen you before. So imagine my surprise when you almost single-handedly defeat one of the biggest dungeon breaks I have ever been a part of, and then — more importantly — manage to do the impossible. You cause a portal to disappear. Something no one else in the world has done.”

Evan smiled at the man. “I sense there is a question that you are trying to ask?”

Michael clasped his hands together and rested his chin on top of them. “Several actually. But let me start with the most important. How? How did you manage to close the portal?”

“We should be careful how much we reveal, my King. There was no way to keep the healer and her group from asking questions about who we are and where we are from. However, Astrid thought it prudent to warn us about how humans treat those that are different. We cannot fight a war against The Labyrinth and the humans,” the ancient core whispered in his mind.

Evan closed his eyes. “I know you are right Fenrir. But, we have to tell them what they need to know to win. If they are going to have any chance at all in saving their world, they need to know about the dungeon cores. We will deal with the consequences later,” he replied.

Fenrir snorted at his response but fell silent.

The summoner opened his eyes and looked over at the tall man who waited patiently next to him. “Every dungeon has a core. You can think of it like the dungeon’s heart. The core is responsible for creating monsters and keeping the portal to Earth open. That’s why even though you clear a dungeon of all its monsters, over time more are created. To collapse the portal you need to destroy the dungeon’s core.”

Michael eyed him skeptically. “What does a dungeon core look like? Why hasn’t anyone ever reported seeing something like this? Surely given the number of dungeons that we have cleared, someone would have ended up destroying a core by sheer luck.”

Evan placed a hand into his pocket and made a monster core appear from his [Ring of Holding]. He handed the core over to the man. “They look very much like monster cores only larger. The colors vary, much like the cores from dungeon beasts do. The reason you have never seen a dungeon core is because they remain hidden. Sometimes in secret rooms or behind false walls. The hiding spots vary, but they are always hidden. Always cared for. In fact, the whole reason that a core summons and breeds monsters is to protect themselves. All they care about is growing their power. Becoming stronger.”

He watched as the man stroked his beard as he contemplated the summoner’s words. He placed a device in his ear and whispered into it. A few seconds later, a young woman in blue armor walked through the door. She stood at attention in front of Michael before saluting.

Michael took a piece of paper and scribbled a message onto it. He handed the paper over to the young woman. “Have someone relay this message to the Association Headquarters at once. When you’re done with that, find the nearest blue portal and assemble a clearing team asap.”

The woman gave a curt nod and walked out of the room.

After the woman had left Michael returned his gaze to Evan. “I have to ask … how did you learn all of this?”

The summoner hesitated for a fraction of a second before shrugging. “Does it really matter?”

Several seconds passed before Michael grinned. “Not to us. The only duty that the Hunter Association has is to protect humanity. How we do that is irrelevant. But you must understand that if I am able to verify your story, then there will be people to whom it will matter. Knowledge is power, and people will do anything they can to get their hands on it. Which brings me to the second reason for my visit.”

The man stood up and began to pace around the room. “I mentioned before that I run the recruitment department for the Hunter Association. I would like you to join us.”

Evan shook his head at the man. “I have already told Sasha that I am not interested in joining a guild.”

“The Hunter Association isn’t a guild,” Micheal laughed. “It’s true that on the surface the Association carries out many of the duties of a guild, including clearing dungeons, but that isn’t all we do nor is it the most important. Without going into specifics, the Association was built to gather knowledge.”

Michael paused for a moment to let his words sink in before continuing. “The Association spans across the world. From Citadel to Haven and across the seas to Sanctuary and beyond. We are the first and last line of defense against The Labyrinth.”

Evan’s eyes widened in surprise. “How do you know about The Labyrinth?”

The man smiled at the summoner’s reaction. “Ahh, so you already knew about that. Interesting. Then you probably already know that some of the monsters inside the dungeons are sentient and can speak our language.”

His smile turned into a grin. “As it turns out, they bleed and beg for death just like anyone else.”