As soon as we emerged from the woods, we were swamped by police and paramedics. They took the body of the young man from Brad and escorted Steve up to one of the waiting ambulances to look him over. Brad immediately began reporting to someone who I assumed was his superior, and I was left alone after pushing the insistent paramedics away, telling them I was fine. They probably still would have kept at it if Brad hadn’t stopped what he was doing to quickly tell them it was ok.

I searched through all the assembled people, looking for my friends. The area around the parking lot was lit up with a bunch of portable lights, giving me a clear view. The car park was full of police vehicles and ambulances, and out on the main road I could see several vans and other vehicles simply parked in the left lane. I could see media personnel at the barrier to the car park, being kept back by some police as they called out questions. I assumed those vehicles belonged to them. I was surprised they had gotten here so quickly.

There seemed to be one more group of people. They were gathered together away from everyone else. I wasn’t sure who they were, but a lot of them were quite well-dressed considering the setting. They also seemed to have a lot of equipment with them. They had already laid out a bunch of stuff on the grass at the edge of the parking area, and were still unloading more boxes and goods from several vehicles parked there.

I finally spotted my friends together off to the side of all the action. I walked over to them, aware of Brad keeping an eye on my movements. I wondered what he would do if I tried to leave the area completely. Would he try to stop me? I wasn’t planning on running away, so it wouldn’t be an issue.

When my friends saw me coming, they ran over and met me halfway. The relieved smiles on their faces and the heartfelt back slapping did wonders to push away my worries as they made sure I was alright. They were very curious where I’d gotten the new shirt from, but I just brushed the questions aside. Unfortunately, the happy reunion didn’t last long.

“Mate, there’s a woman around here that was asking a lot of questions about you,” Josh told me hurriedly, looking around as he led me further down the park away from all the people.

“Yeah, Ms. Anders,” Jared said as he followed. “I guess that girl you took care of told them about what you did, and once Ms. Anders found out we were friends she wanted to know all about you.”

Tony quickly spoke up. “Don’t worry, we didn’t tell her anything. Not that we know anything to tell, but still. Not going to let anyone mess with you.”

I couldn’t help but smile, more relieved than I could express. I felt myself relax, tension I hadn’t realized was there fading away. I knew I shouldn’t be surprised by their reactions. After all, they were my good mates. I’d been so convinced, though, that people would be scared of me and want to avoid me once they knew what I could do. That worry had been affecting me more than I realized.

“No way we’re letting the government take you away,” Tony finished, interrupting my happy thoughts.

“Hang on, the government?!” I said, surprised. “What are they doing here?!”

“She said she's part of…” Tony began.

“Shit! She’s coming this way,” Josh said quickly, cutting him off. He’d spotted her walking towards us.

It was easy to locate who they were talking about when I looked over, since there was only one person coming our way. I was pretty sure she was staring right at me, leaving no doubt as to why she was approaching. I’d actually noticed her before among the group unloading their equipment. She was dressed in a black pantsuit that really made her stand out, even among the other smartly dressed people who I now knew were most likely with the government.

Turning so she couldn’t see his face, Jared whispered, “Be careful, Dean. She’s got some serious pull. She was ordering the coppers around like it was nothing. She wouldn’t let me go and get my car off the main road, told the police to pull it into the car park like they worked for her.” I gave him a discreet nod to let him know I understood the warning.

As she got closer, I was able to make out more of her features, although they weren’t that clear as she left the brightness of the temporary lights behind. My best guess would put her in her late forties. She was fairly tall, coming up to about my shoulders. Her long, black hair was tied back tightly, completing the professional look she was obviously going for. Her self-assured walk enhanced the striking image she presented. As she stopped in front of me and I got a better look at her, I had to admit that even though she was a fair bit older than me, I thought she was quite attractive. The serious expression on her face quickly pushed those thoughts right out of my mind.

“Mr. Dean Whitler?” she asked confidently as she looked me over.

“Ahh, yes, that’s me,” I said, trying to stay calm.

“My name is Anita Anders,” she told me. “I am in charge of the government investigative team tasked with looking into this area and the phenomenon in the sky above here. I have some questions for you.”

I remembered hearing there was a team being put together, but I was shocked that it had happened so quickly. Echoing my thoughts, Tony blurted out, “Still can’t believe those pollies actually got off their asses and did something without having a million meetings first!” He didn’t have much of a filter. Loved that about him.

Ms. Anders gave him a stern look. He simply stared back, not seeming fazed at all. After several seconds, she replied, “You’ll find that when something of this magnitude occurs, a lot can be accomplished remarkably quickly.”

Turning back to me, she carried on. “As I said, I would like to ask you some things. Before you think to lie to me like your friends did so poorly earlier, please listen to what I have to say. It will save both of us some time.”

I nodded mutely, taken aback by her straightforward, forceful approach.

“There’s a young lady claiming to have been miraculously healed by you,” she began. “Of course, at first I dismissed it as simply shock, or perhaps drugs. When I saw the state of her clothes and the amount of blood on her, however, without an injury to account for it anywhere to be seen, I was inclined to believe something had happened.

After looking into it some more, I was quite surprised to find that the person she claimed healed her was the same young man who was found by the police here last night. The very person who notified them of the problem in the area." She kept her eyes on me the whole time she spoke, watching carefully for any reaction. I was too off-balance to do a good job at schooling my expression. "The odds you just happened to be passing by while all this trouble was happening tonight seemed quite slim, which increased my interest in you even more.”

Holding up a finger, I quickly spoke up before she could continue her little speech. “Actually, we were on our way to the pub. We just wanted to have a few drinks,” I said honestly, willing my Persuasion skill to back me up.

“Exactly what they said,” she said, glancing around at my friends. “And actually, I can believe that. But then, when I heard that you had gone in alone to assist two trained police officers, I really started to wonder. What would make a business major who works in a pub think he could help two experienced law enforcement officers? Why would he even think they needed help in the first place?”

She noticed the look of surprise that flashed across my face. “Yes, I looked at your social media pages. I know quite a bit about you. And I must say, you are looking much better now than in your pictures. Another strange thing about you I can’t make sense of.” She tilted her head slightly to the side as she looked me over again. I couldn’t help fidgeting, feeling a little uncomfortable with the scrutiny.

“Anyway,” she continued, straightening, “as I was saying, there’s a lot that doesn’t add up. Then, to top it off, your friend’s evasiveness to some simple questions really made me think there might be some merit to the girl’s claims, as strange as that would be. I wonder what the two officers you were with will tell me when I have a chat with them, hmm?” She let that hang for a second before adding, “So, are you ready to come with me and tell me what’s going on?”

Josh, Tony, and Jared began to object immediately, telling her they were staying with me. She ignored them, looking at me steadily. I sighed inwardly. I knew that Brad and Steve would tell her everything. They’d said as much. I looked down at the ground, shoulders slumping as I let out a quiet sigh.

Brad had been right. I needed to tell people about what was happening so we could work together. I’d thought I was going to have a bit of time to prepare myself, though. I didn’t expect to be ambushed like this and have to have this conversation so soon. I tried to convince myself that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to let people know about what I could do now. The ones who had already seen me do magic had surprised me with how well they’d handled it.

There was no way I was going to go somewhere with her alone, though. I was going to stay right here where there were plenty of people nearby so she couldn’t easily lock me up. It wasn’t only for my safety. I needed to get a move on with making the dungeon here to help stop the spread of the void energy. I couldn’t afford to waste time sitting in an office somewhere.

With my mind made up to cooperate with this Ms. Anders and reveal my secrets to her, I needed to establish that I wasn’t going to be pushed around. I usually preferred to avoid confrontation and just go with the flow, but I needed to be assertive immediately with this government representative in order to set the tone for our relationship going forward. I would feel better if I had some friendly faces around, too. I just hoped I wouldn’t come to regret dragging my friends into this.

I looked up and squared my shoulders. “As hard as it may be to believe, what the girl said is completely true. And healing is only a small part of what I can do. It’s all directly connected to what’s happening here.” My voice came out quieter than I would have liked. I was doing my best to convey my sincerity, making sure to keep steady eye contact despite the mocking reaction I was expecting. However, Ms. Anders didn’t laugh at me or accuse me of lying. Apart from a narrowing of her eyes, she simply looked at me steadily, giving me the confidence to go on.

My voice became louder and firmer as I continued. “I will answer all of your questions and tell you things that you would never even think to ask about. I can tell you exactly what is going on with the earthquakes and the black spot in the sky. But we stay here where the media is nice and close in case you decide to try something once you hear what I have to say. Also, my friends stay with me. I owe them an explanation anyway, and I’d rather not have to go over everything more times than I have to.”

She looked at me appraisingly. I had no idea what was going through her head right now. I knew if I were in her shoes, I’d have a hard time believing me, regardless of whatever suspicions she had about me. “I can agree to remaining here, but I think it best if your friends return home,” she finally said. “Especially if you can live up to your claim. Any information relating to this matter is to be handled delicately and needs to be kept contained. We can’t afford to have anything leaked that might cause a panic.”

I nodded, relieved that she was willing to hear me out. “I understand that. And I’m sure they will sign any documents you require to guarantee they won’t spread what they learn.” I thought that was a reasonable compromise. “But their attendance is non-negotiable if you want my cooperation.” I was bluffing, since I’d already decided to work with the government on this, but she didn’t know that.

Cax’s projected sense of approval helped bolster my confidence enough to maintain eye contact and a firm expression despite my racing heart. I really wasn’t used to pushing back like this.

She stared at me intently as though trying to read my thoughts. Eventually, she nodded. “Very well,” she calmly said, not showing any hint of displeasure. “I will prepare a confidentiality contract for you and your friends to sign, with very strict repercussions for anyone who breaks it,” she said sternly, the last part directed towards Josh, Jared and Tony. A chorus of, “Yep, no worries.” and “Won’t tell a soul.” were spoiled by the eager smiles they couldn’t entirely suppress. I admired her professionalism. Even though she hadn’t gotten what she wanted, she carried on as though it wasn’t a big deal.

“I’ll need some time to get the paperwork ready.” She tapped her lips as she considered something, turning her attention back to me. “Actually, we were going to have a team meeting shortly. Since you want to make this into a group thing, you and your friends can attend and you can address everyone at once. There are other people who haven’t flown in yet, but they can be briefed on anything useful you have to tell us when they arrive.” She stepped in closer, probably trying to intimidate me and despite being shorter, doing a pretty good job if I was being honest. “From everything I’ve found out, I’m inclined to think you may indeed have something important to share with us, and I'm curious enough to indulge you.” She pointed a finger at me. “However, if it turns out that you are wasting our valuable time, there will be consequences. Are you sure you want to go ahead with this?”

I was left standing there, taken aback by what she’d said. Was I ready to tell that many people? “I assume they’ve also signed similar secrecy documents?” I asked as I considered it.

She nodded. “They have.”

I wasn’t sure if she was trying to scare me into talking to her alone, or if she truly believed this was a good idea. Ahh, stuff it, I thought. I was the one who’d said I didn’t want to have to explain this multiple times. This would take care of that. And it’s not like whatever I told Ms. Anders wouldn’t be shared with them later anyway.

“Let's do it,” I said in agreement.

She turned to leave without reacting, not wasting any more time. As she walked away, she called out over her shoulder, “Wait here while I arrange everything, and don’t talk to anyone.”

I called out before she got too far away. “Ms. Anders, wait!” She looked back at me. “Can you set up a tent or something here for privacy? I want to show you all some proof so you don’t think I’m just telling some crazy story, and I don’t want those cameras filming it.” I gestured in the direction of the entrance where the news crews were being kept back.

She nodded. “We have some with our equipment. Anything else you need?”

“Can you bring the two police officers I was with?” I quickly found the notification from when I analyzed Steve in order to get his last name. “Umm, Steve Young and Brad…something.” I realized I hadn’t analyzed Brad when I found him.

“I will bring Officers Saunders and Young here,” she confirmed. With that, she continued back to her group.

“I like her,” Cax told me. “Very efficient.”

I completely agreed. She’d already known exactly who I was with in the forest, and her focus on moving quickly and getting things done was much appreciated. The boys crowded round as soon as she was gone, inundating me with questions and assuring me that despite what she’d said, they’d done a fantastic job covering for me when she questioned them.

I held up hands. “Woah! Hold up. I’m sure you did a bang-up job. Don’t worry about it. And you’ll find out everything soon. For now, there’s something I need to do. I’m going to zone out a bit, so keep an eye out for me, ok?”

I could tell they were disappointed I wasn’t going to fill them in now, but they quickly agreed. I closed my eyes to avoid being distracted, trusting them to alert me if something happened. I wanted to try making a dungeon room here under the park. I wouldn’t have time to finish it, but I’d be able to test if I could start and stop the construction without it all collapsing. I opened my interface and selected the Room option in my Dungeon Construction profession.

Analyzing…

That was new! I’d never encountered that kind of notification before. Before I had time to worry, it was replaced by another screen.

There is no strong claim on this area.

Your efforts in defending this region and the large amount of time you have spent here are sufficient for you to construct a dungeon in this location.

Do you wish to proceed?

The sense of relief I got from Cax was unexpected. I sent him a querying thought.

“I actually wasn’t sure you’d be able to build another room away from the first one,” he explained. “For me, all the rooms needed to be connected, and together they made up my dungeon. I had hoped that, due to your ability to move around freely, you would have more flexibility in where to build your rooms, but I couldn’t be sure.”

His revelation didn’t make me angry exactly, but I definitely wasn’t happy. “And you didn’t think to share the possibility that our plan wouldn’t work?” I asked him, making sure not to speak aloud since my friends were standing close.

I got the equivalent of a mental shrug in response. “You seemed to have enough concerns. There was no reason to add to them when there was nothing you could have done about it until actually trying to make a separate room.”

I sent him a feeling of exasperation. “I appreciate the thought, but remember, I don’t like being kept in the dark. I need to know these things so I can come up with other options.”

He didn’t seem apologetic. “I will keep that in mind, but if I told you everything that could possibly happen, we would never get anything done. Trust that I won’t hold anything truly important from you, but there is simply too much for me to tell you everything.”

I sent a feeling of agreement. That was good enough for now. If things got to the point where my life wasn’t so busy, we could talk about the matter some more. I read over the notification about making the room again.

The part about a claim was interesting. The fact that this was public land, managed by the government, apparently meant it wasn’t owned in the traditional sense. That, along with the many hours I had spent here even before all this began, was enough for me to be able to go ahead. It also implied that I wouldn’t be able to just build a dungeon room anywhere I wanted, so I’d need to choose the areas carefully in the future.

I confirmed I wanted to proceed, and then concentrated on seeing the largest room I could make. I was a little surprised to see 20m x 15m listed. If I was remembering correctly, that was exactly what the original Standard Room had been listed as before I changed it to 4m x 4m.

“Of course,” Cax told me. “There’s a limit on how many rooms a core can make. Why waste one on making something smaller? The standard is always the biggest.”

“You didn’t mention that when I made the small one at home!” I told him indignantly.

He wasn’t fazed by my tone. “Your priority was on making a room quickly, so you made the correct choice to go smaller,” he said. “You were right that, as a human, it wasn’t possible for you to spend several days making a room, whereas for me, that amount of time would have been nothing. Besides, you are able to make changes to any rooms you make, so once you have a sufficiently large mana pool, you can go back and expand it to the full size.” He paused, and when he resumed speaking, he actually sounded a little apologetic. “I believe this falls under the category of something I should have told you earlier.”

“You think?” I told him sarcastically. We’d already talked about this, so I left it there. Besides, knowing that I hadn’t made an irreversible mistake with my first room meant there wasn’t actually a problem to be upset about.

I reset the Standard Room template, saving it with the original, larger dimensions. There was no point to making a smaller room anymore. The idea here was to cover as much area as possible with the dungeon’s aura to block the spread of the void energy. Since the number of rooms I could make was limited by my level, making multiple smaller rooms wasn’t an option. It was go big, or not even bother.

The text was telling me it would still take four days to make, even though I now had a larger mana pool than the first time I had looked at it. The problem was definitely with my mana regeneration rate. It was simply too slow at 1mp every 20 seconds. If I could solve that problem, I’d be able to do so much more.

“I have two ideas,” Cax volunteered. “Both together should offer improvement on your mana regeneration.”

“Let me hear it,” I said, hopeful he had a viable solution.

“As you know, your mana regeneration is doubled while in your dungeon,” he said. “I propose making a small room, just big enough for you to stay in while constructing the main room. When done, you could collapse the small room to free up your build limit. The large room’s aura would keep the ground stable, so the earth wouldn’t cave in.”

“That’s a great idea!” I told him enthusiastically. That would take the construction time of the largest room down from 4 days to 2 days. Still too long for my liking, but a big improvement. Plus, he’d said he had two ideas.

“What’s the other one?” I asked him.

“Your body can now handle another passive ability,” he reminded me. “You could use it to permanently improve your mana channels, allowing for an increased ability to handle energy. That would give you a five-second reduction to your mana regeneration, meaning you would recover 1mp every 15 seconds.”

“And in the dungeon, that would become 1 every 8 seconds!” I said excitedly, rounding up for simplicity. I was a big fan of that idea. Even outside of my dungeon, an improved mana regeneration rate would let me do so much more. A question occurred to me. I let myself get distracted and asked Cax, “How do regular adventurers deal with this mana bottleneck?”

“After awakening, every five points they put into both Intelligence and Wisdom together increases their regeneration by 1 second,” he informed me. “In fact, you may also enjoy this benefit. We’ll find out the next time you level, as that will mean you have the equivalent of an extra 6 points in each attribute.”

If it worked like that for me too, I’d shave a second off my regeneration about every three levels. That would add up quickly, provided I could get enough xp to level up. I seemed to be using it on a lot of other things at the moment.

I was drawn back as Cax went on. “Another way is an enchantment on rings and amulets that increases the flow of mana your body can take in. Before you ask, that won’t work for you. Your regular Earth goods won’t hold an enchantment, and you can’t learn another profession yet in order to create an appropriate item.”

Too bad, I thought. I was sold on the idea of using my available passive ability to increase my body’s ability to pull in mana. I had enough xp saved up to do it immediately. I decided to hold off on doing it now, though. It might come in handy to save it for the demonstration I was planning on putting on for the government people. I focused back on the main issue of making the dungeon.

I would be able to finish the room in just about a day once I improved my mana regeneration. That was still a hefty time investment. My mouth shifted into a frown as I wondered if it wouldn’t be better to give up on the idea of combating the void energy with my dungeon’s aura and instead spend that time and mana on making Void Blockers.

“I believe that would be a mistake,” Cax told me. From the feelings I was picking up from him, I knew he felt strongly about this. “Dungeon rooms emit powerful, almost insurmountable energy barriers. Those things you created are impressive, but ultimately they are unreliable. They are low-level items. There is no way to know exactly how effective they will be against the void energy. Also, they could be removed by someone or broken in an accident. The best use for them are as a backup measure to fill in gaps in the dungeon aura.”

He made a good point. I was also a little concerned about the void blockers, but that was mainly due to my lack of experience in dealing with magical items. It was hard to put my faith in all these unfamiliar things since I had no real understanding of how they worked. He continued before I could tell him I agreed with him.

“Another reason you should go ahead with making your dungeon is that I think it will draw in the infected wildlife. On my planet, the animals were drawn to my dungeon, sensing the higher levels of energy and instinctually recognizing the opportunities it could provide them. Even overcome by void energy as these animals are, I believe they will react the same way. It might even be more likely. Look at how they attack any living thing they come across. It’s as though they are driven to seek out life and eradicate it. The dungeon’s energy will be like an irresistible beacon to them.”

“You almost had me sold on the idea,” I told him, incredulous. “Why the hell would I want to attract those dangerous animals here?! The plan is to contain everything to the forest.”

His answer was simple. “For the experience. The more you can draw in and kill, the more xp you can get. Then you can level up and make even more rooms.”

I wasn’t convinced. “I can get xp from making rooms, and just snowball that into more levels. No need to go looking for more danger.”

“The xp costs to level will keep increasing,” he countered. “Fairly soon, making a room won’t be enough to level, and your other abilities only provide miniscule amounts of xp. Killing the infected animals is a viable alternative.” He could probably sense I was on the fence, as his voice took on a persuasive tone. “You won’t have to be in any danger. You can create defenders and let them deal with anything that enters the dungeon. And by drawing in anything dangerous from the forest, you will be making the area safer for any other foolish humans who wander in. It’s exactly what you were doing by calling out constantly when you went in, only this will be on a much larger, efficient scale.”

“Well played,” I told him grudgingly. Appealing to my desire to keep myself safe and protect others was a good move on his part. “Alright, let’s do this then,” I said. As much as I didn’t really like it, it was a good plan. No point wasting time coming up with something else when this would get the job done.

A potential issue suddenly occurred to me. “Hang on! Won’t healthy animals be drawn in too?”

“Likely, yes,” he admitted. “Although, there probably aren’t that many still in this area. Even if that does happen, just think of it as taking them out before they can become infected.”

“I’m starting to think my initial opinion of your disregard for life was spot on,” I told him.

I created a template for a new dungeon room that was only 2m x 2m, with a height of also 2 meters. I called it Prep Room. It was big enough for me to lie down and be comfortable, but small enough to make quickly. In fact, it would only take me about 5 minutes to make. I lamented the fact I couldn’t make an unlimited amount of rooms. If I could, I would be able to ring the entire forest with my dungeon aura in no time at all simply by making this tiny room over and over.

I sent the wireframe of the small room down into the ground. On the special viewscreen that appeared, I could see that there weren’t any pipes or other man-made things down there. The drinking fountains and toilets were on the other side of the park, so this entire side was probably clear. As a result, I kept the room relatively shallow, stopping its descent when the ceiling was only a couple of meters below ground.

I initiated the construction and felt the mana begin to flow from me into the earth. Just like with the first room I had made, I sensed the mana gather together in the outline, waiting to activate and pull in the dirt. After a minute, I willed the process to stop. This was an important test, as there was no way I could continue for an entire day making the bigger room without a break.

A screen appeared. I read over it slowly, keen to see what it said.

Warning.

You are attempting to halt construction of a dungeon room before completion.

If construction is not resumed within one hour, the mana already used will dissipate and you will have to start again.

Depending on the progress of the construction, the surrounding area might become unstable as a result.

Do you wish to halt construction at this time?

Yes! My happiness was mirrored by Cax. It worked. I’d be able to pause the construction and take a break. Only an hour, but still. It was enough time for some power naps. I resumed the construction of the Prep Room, and before long I’d put in enough mana for it to trigger and begin pulling in the soil within the outline. Due to how shallow I’d made this one, I was actually able to feel the vibrations through my feet as the soil shifted, and I thought I could hear a distant grinding noise. I was vaguely aware of my friends shifting nervously around me, but the disturbance wasn’t big enough to be truly worrying. A couple of minutes later, the dirt had been magically compacted and altered, completing the room.

Two screens appeared as soon as the room was done. The first was expected, just telling me that I’d received 25xp for making the room. Curious what the other one could be about, I looked it over.

You have created a second, separate dungeon.

You may name each dungeon for ease of reference.

You will receive full experience when a lifeform perishes in one of your dungeons, provided you are within that specific dungeon’s aura at the time.

If you are not within the dungeon’s aura when a lifeform is killed, the majority of the experience will be lost, but a small percentage of the experience will be stored within the dungeon.

It will automatically be claimed by you the next time you enter that dungeon’s sphere of influence.

Cax’s intellectual curiosity was shining like a beacon in my mind. I knew this was brand new territory for him. What interested me the most was that I could leave all the fighting to the defenders I created in the dungeon and still receive the full experience while staying safe above ground on top of my dungeon. Although, it might be safer in the dungeon behind the defenders rather than standing in the open if any animals avoided going in.

I took the time to rename the two dungeons I now had. They were currently listed simply as Dungeon 1 and Dungeon 2. I changed them to Home and Park. I felt a sense of pride and excitement. I had two dungeons! Sure, they were only a single, small room each, but still. They were mine!

While I was in my interface, I took the time to check my stats and noted that I was now at 2/5 to reach the next rank of Rooms in my Dungeon Construction profession. Making progress, I thought, satisfied. I was also excited to see my Heal spell was at 9/10. Part of the demonstration I was planning on putting on would take care of ranking that up. I was looking forward to seeing what evolutions would be available.

I didn’t have time to go over anything else as I felt someone shaking me and heard my name being called. My surroundings came back to me and I focused in on Jared, who removed his hand from my arm. “Deano. Mate. They’re coming over.”

Looking where he pointed, I saw a big group of people coming our way, carrying a lot of equipment and several tents. I spotted Brad, Steve, and Anita among them. I suddenly felt nervous as I looked at all the people I would have to speak in front of soon. I normally didn’t have any issues with public speaking, but there was a lot riding on this. I rolled my shoulders, trying to ease the tension that had reappeared. Convincing everyone that the very planet itself was at risk was not going to be easy.