Nero almost did something that would stir trouble. Glom held him back. "It is not worth it. They are in the right and their offer is enticing. Pick your battles, Nero."

He went back to the line, activated the last three Arbitrii, and gathered everything. The eanling girl was taken home by her brother under the watchful eyes of one of the knights. Just as a curiosity, Nero used [Essence Analysis] on him. All he got was a void of Essence around him as the knight's Arbitrium eagerly soaked all the ambient Essence to maintain itself. Glom retrieved all the unused equipment and the two of them sat on the dais to answer the villager's questions. The satyr from before and a few other new Adventurers approached Nero.

"If I may ask, how can you use Skills when you are level zero, sir?" The satyr asked.

He was wearing wide shorts that covered the top half of his digitigrade goat legs. He had two horns but unlike the eanlings, his were forward and curved in a spiral. He had an elongated face and large elfin ears, denouncing his fay ancestry. His upper torso was covered in a tough brown fur that insisted on poking through the fabric of his clothes.

"We are the same age. I just had a two-month headstart and a lot of crazy adventures. I have a rare Class that doesn't require a level. There are some like that. Hard to find, though. I can't level but that doesn't mean I can't grow. I just need to put in more effort. You can call me Nero and this is professor Glom. I believe you already knew that."

"I'm Duzzon. Pleased to meet you. What do you think of the knights' offer?" The satyr asked.

"You should choose on your own merits. I'm afraid I can't voice my opinion," Nero replied with a dry voice, without emotion.

Duzzon nodded. "What other hints can you give us about the Goblin's Den? It is near your house, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. I can tell you that in every Dungeon, it is very important to know which side is deeper into the Dungeon and which side leads to the entrance. The only tell that is uniform across all of them I've met so far is that the levels of the monsters grow as you move deeper and shrink when you go back. Sometimes there are others. In the Goblin's Den, the rat caves slope downward. The serpent tunnels, the stone of the roof, and the walls look like corroded by the wind on one side but normal rock on the other. As for the creepy crawlers, there's no tell I know. But if you are going into the Den, there are a few pieces of very important advice I can give you."

He paused so Duzzon could write everything down.

"What is it, Nero?" Another lad asked.

"Do not level up at the first opportunity. Learn how the rats fight and kill lots of them. Do not brag or shout if you find a valuable card. Keep your excitement contained. Kill lots of rats. Lots. If you are sick of killing rats, you know you are halfway there, so tough it up and kill more. If you see sand, back off. Don't try the rock serpents. If you keep from leveling, you will get more profit from the Dungeon. Keep a [Healing Potion] card in your slot. Use it only when you really need it and not in combat. Killing the enemy is always better."

"What about parties? Did you delve with someone?" Duzzon asked.

"I delved with my wife. The most important thing about parties is trust. Many tales of shattered friendship abound when a monster dropped a valuable card and someone got greedy. The Dungeon never said who killed whom, but the guilt remains forever. And no matter how well your party is going. If you hear combat, go the other way."

"What if someone asks for help?" The lad asked.

"It is your life. What if it is someone asking for help but mounting an ambush? The Dungeon is lawless. Murders happen. But if I had to choose between helping someone or living with the guilt, I would help."

"Liar! You murdered your own kin!" A girl from the back shouted. "We all know, Mrs. Katia visited us to tell the tale of how you deceived her son to get him arrested and sent to the mines."

Nero didn't even shrug. He just pointed at her. "See? It is her word against mine. Or the word of some gossip from a nearby village against two Adventurers, my wife and I. I killed nobody, but the Dungeon won't ever confirm my story. So, believe in whomever you want. What I can promise you is that I have no trouble sleeping at night. I'm either innocent or a completely callous monster."

Glom chuckled. "It is time to go. What Nero said is good advice, I'm glad you took notes. We will be tomorrow morning at the Dungeon, to control the timing of your delves. Do take care and stick to the easy monsters. And pack extra food. Even if you have the cards, pack extra food and water. Save your cards."

"Oh," Nero remembered. "And get a blanket and a bedroll if you can carry. Sometimes you need to sleep in the Dungeon. Find a safe spot if you do. The end of a tunnel is the best."

They left after that, leaving the new batch of Adventurers to their own luck. Nero saw at least ten asking questions from the Knight.

He ran home with Glom in the shelter, alone. Altia remained in Hom to help Serena get settled. He found Katia of all people in the village streets.

"Hey, Katia, good job spreading lies and rumors about me while I was out," He said out loud. "Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree anyway. How's the kid in the Dungeon mines? Gotta run, bye!"

She screamed and cursed. Nero paid her no mind and was home a few moments later.

"I'm home!" He shouted.

"Upstairs!" Altia shouted.

He went up and found everyone in his old room. Serena's room now. It was... a bedroom, obviously, but it wasn't what he remembered. It looked like a princess' bedroom. The style felt familiar and the bed was too big. Seriously big, it used sixty percent of the room's acreage. He also noticed that the guest bedroom was gone, Serena now occupying a whole half of the second floor.

"What happened here?" He opened a portal and Glom left, closing right after to keep the badgers in.

"Te-he!" Amaryllis giggled. "Thank the late King Eddga for this. The furniture of a princess's chambers. Unused because the horny bastard never had a daughter."

"You know, when mom said you looted the castle, it sounded like you stole the treasure. But did you really go room by room pocketing the furniture?"

"Of course not, silly! That would take too long. I just looted the castle," The pixie answered as if he had asked why people don't fall upwards.

Nero knew that if a sound escaped his mouth he would hear what he didn't want to hear. Instead, he ignored the flying void where all logic died and addressed his sister. She was sitting on the bed with Altia hugging her from behind.

"How are you, Serena?"

"Spoiled," She answered. "Sleeping in a bed of my own aboveground felt so... strange. I don't think I'm ready to do normal again."

"I brought all our things from the house, Nero," Altia told him.

"Deal with it, sister," He told Serena and shifted his attention to his mother. "Speaking of that, when are we doing this?"

"As soon as you and Glom arrived," Rhynne replied. She wasn't annoyed or impatient. Maybe irritated for not being the center of attention. Or because Nero spoke to everyone else before her. Byron didn't count.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Amaryllis said. "Let's get this show on!"

Everyone straightened themselves. The adoption ceremony was supposed to be simple, but when one involves the people inside that room, it was all but that. Amaryllis produced a small crystal cube that she placed on a pedestal in the middle of the room.

"Princess Serena of Coriander," The pixie started with a solemn tone, any hint of her usual goofiness gone. "Do you renounce to your birthright and titles?"

Serena straightened her back. "I do. I renounce to my title as marchioness or Coral Pass, to my title as the third princess of Coriander, and to my rights of succession. I do that of my own free will."

"Witnessed as declared," Amaryllis stated, looking at the crystal.

"Witnessed on behalf of the Lyceum," Glom said, also facing the crystal.

"Witnessed on behalf of the Adventurers' Guild," Byron and Rhynne solemnly said.

Amaryllis continued, presiding over the ceremony. "As you are of age and unmarried, you do not need your parents' permission. I, therefore, declare you a commoner. You may be taken upon in adoption if there's a willing couple. Is there one?"

"There is. We wish to take this girl as our rightful daughter, with all rights of succession," Nero's parents stated at once.

"I also wish to become the daughter of [Armsmaster] Byron and [Magus] Rhynne," Serena said. "And by being adopted, I wish to take upon a new name. Serena is no more. From henceforth, I shall be known as Crystal."

"So shall be it," Amaryllis concluded. "As witnessed by those present and recorded in the jewel of memory!" After saying that, she placed her hand on the crystal and stored it and the pedestal in her pouch. "It is over. Congratulations on your new daughter, Rin, Byron. I have a gift for the young lady."

The fairy took a velvet pouch, the size of a card, and gave it to Rhynne. She looked inside and smiled.

"For later, I guess," Rhynne shared a glance of complicity with Amaryllis and hid the card and made it vanish in her own pouch.

Then Amaryllis returned to her usual self. She spun twice around the room, glowing. "It is over, let's get this party started!"

They celebrated among themselves. While the grownups had their talk, Nero took Altia and Serena, no, Crystal back upstairs.

"I have a gift for you too, sister," He said. "I know the guild master didn't eclipse the worth of mine, as she knew."

The nereid smiled with a short laugh. "Mother didn't let me see what my gift was. So if someone is eclipsing someone, it will be you."

Nero drew a card from his bandolier. "Here. I know you wanted it."

Crystal's eyes went wide, "Nero! What did you do to obtain this card?" It was the second tier Class Amaryllis showed them when she tried to make them overflow a Dungeon.

"I traded it for the [Verdant Growth]," He said.

"You shouldn't!" She exclaimed, angry, flustered, and a bit ashamed. "Even if it was an epic for a legendary, that Skill was worth at least two of them! I told you it was a 'national treasure' kind of Skill."

Nero sighed and looked at Altia. His wife was barely controlling her outburst as it would be too rude to get angry at a gift on Crystal's adoption day.

"Then it is good that I got the other Class she'd shown me. Wife, you get a present too," He gave Altia the [Transmuter] card.

"You could've obtained the [Chains of Kherghak]! Nero, I have a long time ahead to get a Class. That other Skill was perfect for you!"

He put one hand on each girl's shoulder. "I am going to the Goblin's Den now, to farm it and get the boss down some grades so it is not as dangerous for the novices tomorrow. I can farm as many Accolades as I need in there. That card is interesting, useful, and I cannot stay in a Dungeon forever otherwise I'll go crazy. My sister here was really tough for enduring that long. I could not pass the opportunity to get you two Classes that fit your builds so much."

"Just accept it, sister," Crystal told Altia.

She did. Altia jumped and kissed Nero. The three talked for a while but Nero's clock rang.

"It is time to delve and kill some goblins!"

Altia didn't let him go alone and Glom insisted on escorting them both. The first thing Nero did when they arrived at the ruined palisade was to check the Dungeon's status.

Name: Goblin's Den

Rank: I

Grade: Yellow

Condition: Overloaded

Occupants: Some

"Strange," Nero mused. "Professor, why did Rafflesia climb up in grade so fast, while the Goblin is still yellow? I thought it had enough energy to reach purple already."

Glom also used [Essence Analysis] on the portal. He adjusted his monocle and thought for a moment. "Different Dungeons have distinct advancement patterns. Some want to rise in rank and grade, to become strong enough to be unchallenged and then overflow in one huge burst. Rafflesia is like that. Others go for quantity over quality. The Goblin's Den is obviously the latter type. Another overflow is imminent, by the looks of it. Thankfully you two are here to take care of it. Good luck."

It was late at night but they still had a bit less than two hours to midnight. The couple could spend however long they wanted inside the Dungeon and would still come out in less than two hours. Nero waved Glom goodbye, held Altia's hand, and entered the portal.