I sensed confusion from Cax. “How are you going to do that? You haven’t made an entrance yet.”

I was surprised. “You mean you don’t know?” I thought he would have picked up on my plan to try out the Teleport spell earlier. When I saw the option to create an entrance contained within my profession, it made me realize it would be impossible to hide the room if there was such an easy way in. Then I had remembered I still had one spell to try out. If teleporting worked, there would be no way for Mum or anyone else to find out there was a room under the yard.

“I see it now,” he said in surprise. “Interesting! Since it wasn’t something you were focused on, just a passing thought, I was unaware of it. Only those things you are concentrating on seem to be clear to me.”

I pulled up the details on the last of my known spells as I said, “It’s good to know I still have a little privacy up there.”

Teleport

Immediately travel to a place within sight or that you can picture clearly.

Cost: 50 mana

Range: Up to 50 meters

Cooldown: 5 minutes

I didn’t have enough mana left after making the room, so I had to wait for it to regenerate. I spent the time walking above where the room was located, checking to see if there was any difference in the ground. It was perfectly solid, just like Cax had promised. There were no indications that anything was under our backyard.

Once my mana had reached 50 points, I concentrated on my dungeon room. Thanks to the connection I had to the magic sustaining the room, it jumped into focus and I was able to get a feel for exactly where the room was. Hopefully, it would be enough.

I could barely contain my excitement. This was going to be amazing! I quickly looked around to make sure I was still alone. I scanned the tops of the fences, looking for any heads poking over the top. I knew I was being paranoid, but I couldn’t help it. Making the dungeon room had turned out to be an undetectable process even if someone had been spying on me for some reason. Suddenly disappearing was another matter entirely. Satisfied it was safe to do so, I cast Teleport while focusing on the middle of my dungeon room.

I felt the energy in my center begin moving. Almost immediately, it seemed to explode out, forming into a bubble that covered my entire body. Everything went completely black for a second, and then suddenly I was no longer standing outside. I was inside an unfamiliar room. There was a little disorientation as my mind caught up to the sudden change of scenery, but otherwise I didn’t feel any ill-effects from the teleportation.

I checked out my surroundings. There was a white glow similar to the light spell I had used this morning coming from the walls and ceiling, allowing me to clearly see the entire room. There wasn’t much to see, though. It was completely empty.

The roof and walls were a light gray with dark streaks throughout. I walked over and ran my hand along one of the walls. It was perfectly smooth.

The floor also felt smooth on my bare feet, but surprisingly it wasn’t slippery at all. I had no trouble walking on it. It was the same light gray as the walls, but solid without any streaking.

The temperature was comfortable, and the air was fresh. If I closed my eyes, I would think I was outside. Except for one thing. Being in here was invigorating! I could almost feel the energy of the dungeon surrounding me, and every inhale sent it coursing through my body. Everything I’d done today had left me feeling a bit worn out, but that was washed away in an instant. I was energized! I’d often heard people joke about wanting caffeine injected directly into their bloodstream. Even if that were possible, I was sure it couldn’t hold a candle to the effect just being in this environment was having on me.

I let out a big yell, smiling broadly. I had just teleported! And now I was standing in an underground room I had made with magic! I pinched myself just to make sure.

“What do you think, Cax?” I asked. I got caught up in my excitement. “As good as yours?”

The feeling of sorrow I got from him had me immediately apologizing. “I’m so sorry! That was incredibly insensitive.” I felt like an idiot. He had been ripped out of his dungeon and lost it all, and then I went and said something stupid like that.

“Do not apologize. I know there was no ill-intent to your comments,” he said, voice definitely tinged with sadness. “And to answer your question, I think it is marvelous. The coloring is different from mine, but otherwise it feels the same. By the way, you are able to adjust its appearance. This is simply what your mind imagined it would look like. From the memories I have absorbed from adventurers, every dungeon they entered differed in small and sometimes big ways.”

I hesitated for a second, but then asked something I needed to know. “Do you regret joining with me? Do you wish you were back on your world?”

I felt him considering my question. “The alternative was death, so I definitely do not regret joining with you,” he finally said. “Do I wish I was back in my dungeon, living my normal life? Yes, of course.”

I had been expecting that answer, but it still hurt a little to hear him say it.

Cax quickly continued. “But that doesn’t mean I am not happy here. This is all amazing. I am experiencing human life firsthand, whereas before I only saw things through memories I absorbed. Like I mentioned before, memories are not always accurate. Everyone had different impressions of things such as how the sun felt on their skin, or the taste of food.

To be able to experience such things for myself, to form my own impressions, is a remarkable thing. One I will never take for granted. I know you didn’t have a choice in joining with me, but still. Thank you for this opportunity.”

His words, and the genuine feeling of appreciation that accompanied them, touched me deeply.

“Right back at you, mate,” I said. I was usually uncomfortable being open with my emotions, but thanks to our connection it was all laid bare anyway so there was no point trying to hide from it. “I know I was angry with you at the beginning, but you have made so many wonderful things possible for me. I wouldn’t change our situation even if I could.”

We enjoyed the feelings of companionship flowing through our bond for a little longer, and then I got back to the matter at hand.

“I probably should have asked you earlier, but how long will this room last? Do I have to keep adding more mana to keep it from falling apart?”

“It will last indefinitely,” he responded. “The magic will pull in more mana from the environment to sustain the structure. It requires very little now that it is established. As you noticed earlier, the magic also controls and purifies the atmosphere. That’s especially important here since there’s no entrance. It is keyed to your mana, so you can make adjustments by connecting to it.”

Connect to it? I wasn’t sure how to control my mana. Every time I used it, it was guided by a spell or ability. I thought about it, and then put my right hand on the wall. Just standing on the floor would probably be enough, just as it had been when I built the room, but using my hand would be easier for visualization.

Maintaining contact, I concentrated on where my hand met the wall and pictured the light in the room dimming. The glow from the walls and ceiling changed accordingly. Keeping in mind what Cax had said earlier about his method of hiding traps and creatures, I made the ceiling completely dark. Then, I made the light coming from the walls bright at the base and then progressively fainter from the floor to the ceiling. The result was a fairly clearly lit floor while above was gloomy and difficult to make out. Amazing!

Next, I increased the temperature to resemble a hot summer’s day, and the room immediately heated up. Sweat began to bead on my forehead. I quickly reset the room to a comfortable temperature and put the lights back to what I considered the ‘standard’ setting.

I was very impressed with the room I had made. And I realized there was a nice side benefit. It was quiet. There was no noise at all. Absolutely nothing. No dogs barking, no kids calling out, no cars going past, no hum of appliances. This kind of peace was impossible to get in my daily life.

I would have to experiment with bringing things in when I teleported. If I could lie on a couch and have it transported with me when I cast the spell, I could rest comfortably down here. If that didn’t work, then hopefully I could at least hug a cushion and have it travel with me. I was also curious if my phone would be able to work in what was essentially a magic box.

“If it works, it won’t connect to your Internet technology. Nothing can penetrate the magic that makes up a dungeon. Not to mention how far below ground you are. The only reason you were able to teleport in is because the magical signature matches yours. Nobody else would be able to enter in that way.”

I was a little disappointed, but quickly shook it off. “No worries. I can still load it up with some books and read in peace down here.”

“A dungeon is not meant to be a pleasant little retreat,” he told me a little disapprovingly.

“Yeah, well, I’m not going to be inviting people in here so I can murder them. Might as well get some use out of it apart from just an easy way to get experience.” And it really was easy. Time consuming, sure, but easy to make.

It had been more than 5 minutes, so I could use Teleport again. However, I still didn’t have enough mana. I lay down, taking the opportunity to rest. When I was good to go, I pictured the kitchen and cast the spell. I appeared in front of the sink, exactly where I had intended.

Well, not exactly. I was still lying down. Luckily, the spell had automatically adjusted my position so my feet didn’t end up cut off in the cupboard under the sink. I would have to make sure I stood up before using that spell in the future. Although, lying down had helped alleviate the disorientation that came with teleporting, so maybe it should be my go-to position until my body got used to the sensation.

I immediately noticed the difference between the dungeon and the outside world. The concentrated energy that had refreshed me while in the magical room was absent up here, and my previously forgotten tiredness quickly seeped back in. Today had taught me that using so much mana was actually quite draining. Even though my abilities automated the process, I still had to maintain a certain level of focus. Then there was all the new information I had needed to take in. All in all, my brain had gotten quite a workout. Being in the dungeon had been a welcome respite, but apparently it wasn’t a cure-all.

What I needed was to take my mind off everything and relax a little. A bit of TV would be perfect for that. No thinking required. Decisions on how to spend my experience could wait until tomorrow. Being in the kitchen suddenly made me realize how hungry I was, and I realized it was quite late. I put a frozen meal in the microwave and heated it up, then I took my food and a bottle of water to the couch. I turned the TV on and found a news station, wanting to see if there were any updates on the global earthquake.

There were a panel of experts on, but it seemed like there were still no concrete theories on what could have caused it. I checked another news channel. They were playing mostly the same clips I had seen earlier.

With nothing new to learn, I changed the channel to some sitcom and finished eating.

I stayed on the couch for a little bit, the simple act of watching TV doing wonders to ground me. Everything I had done today had been amazing, but it was definitely overwhelming. It felt good to have a bit of normality again.

The day’s events eventually caught up to me and I found myself nodding off. I switched the TV off and cleaned up my dinner stuff. Then, after getting ready for bed, I turned in. I was looking forward to tomorrow. As I drifted off, I wondered what amazing things I would experience.