There wasn’t much to be said as the pair walked through the sunset painted town. Ashra kept close to his side as Myles worked his way through the throngs of Runners back to the crossroads he’d been to before with the Warriors Three. He saw a few familiar faces in the groupings: Kenrdra and Will were off talking to someone official looking, and Wise, Rash, and Determination were keeping to themselves near the edges of the throng, but that didn’t even account for ten percent of the crowd. All of the runners from two days ago were here passing through like a storm as they all went to the same end.

Turning left at the intersection as Myles joined them, the crowd continued to flow to a building that looked like something pulled straight out of a story.

A manor sat in the direct center of town surrounded on all sides by smaller buildings that stuck out with their humbler appearance. The manor had dark wooden walls contrasting with white stone walls that gleamed with their own unnatural light. Myles looked up, trying to make something out on one of the balconies, but all he got were hints of metal that glinted along the edge with flashes of orange and red, most likely from firelight in the inner room.

It wasn’t empty for long, however.

Within moments of his arrive, someone walked out from the inner chamber of the room to greet the world, the woman from the other night, Sindra the [Strategist]. Myles couldn’t help himself as he noted the differences between how he expected her to look, and how she really was.

Gone were the fancy clothing of her class. She was dressed simply today, wearing something like a sundress in oranges and blues with an oversized hat to match. To Myles, the simple clothes made her seem so much smaller than the woman really was. Compared to the masses gathering in front of the manor, she seemed less likely to dictate their fates than to go out for a night on the town.

If he hadn’t seen what she did on her own the other night, it would be easy to forget her potential power.

“Hello, fellow Runners!”

It was a soft, sweetly deceiving, young voice. It was a voice that belong to someone gentle, feminine, someone that shouldn’t have been in this death game…

Someone’s memory that almost brought him to tears.

Myles shook his head and the thought away as Ashra projected surprise at his thought. They were all here for the same reason. Still, he couldn’t help but notice how that voice carried as well as if she were next to him. He was close, but there was no way she should have been that clear. It was probably the same skill as the other night.

“Thank you all for coming!” she said quickly, a smile painted so widely on her face that it was impossible to hide her joy. “I know I haven’t explained much, but I’m going to make sure that changes right now. Tonight, I just wanted to get everyone together to discuss the importance of the next step, and the steps to come after. We’ve built our city well, and I can’t thank you enough for accepting me as the organizer of Runner’s Plaza. Now, we have an array of interesting, useful allies among us, but as some of you may have already discovered, we need to form parties sooner rather than later.”

Myles felt the truth of that comment down to the bruises on his bones.

“I know we’ve just met, but I’ve been a [Strategist] all my life. So, I know what I’m talking about when I say that we clear as much of the area around us as possible. As we found out last night, that won’t really be as easy as in other runs. To make sure we are all on the same page here, we need to thin the herds, kill the rare mobs, and then destroy the region boss to make an area a safe zone.” Sindra looked behind her, adjusted her hat, and seemed to fiddle with something around her waist before she continued. “There are other options for some areas such as the desert region, and I’ll be happy to take them, but out main goal in the next month is to get strong enough to take out the Broken King and open the proper dungeon.”

The Broken King.

There were very few things that could be counted on from one run to the next, and one thing Myles knew was the same every run was the first floor guardian, The Broken King. To his surprise, the thought triggered his Monster Lore skill.

—

Information requested on The Broken King, Lord of the First Circle.

Information on The Broken King, Lord of the First Circle retrieved!

The Broken King, Lord of the First Circle

Titles granted: The Forged Promise, the Enslaved One, Ender of Heroes, The Shattered One

Dungeon Creature - Golem (Boss)

Rank B Threat level (Elite)

Best trait - Strength, Durability

Diet: Pure Aether, Soul Energy

Preferred Method of Attack - Overwhelming Force

Speed of Attack: Medium/Fast

Special Attack: Stone Binder (Slow), Medusa’s Gaze (Slow), Shardstorm (Death)

Known Drops: Varies based on class

The Broken King is said to be a mistake cause by conflict between the magics used to seal the dungeon in its time lock and the magics used to lock the first seal of the dungeon. Though its original name is lost and standing nearly half the height of the dungeon itself, The Broken King was said to have been one of twelve such constructs created for the Grand Kessivan Dungeon’s construction. When the final attempt was made to seal the dungeon and create the Grand Dungeon as it is known today, the Broken King became corrupted with dungeon magic and slew its fellow golems. For its traitorous act, The Broken King became part of the dungeon and regenerates each time the first floor seal is remade.

In past runs, The Broken King begins spawning one week (dungeon time) after the dungeon opens in either the ruined city or the desert biome.

Enter combat with or defeat The Broken King to learn more information.

—

He felt Ashra’s surprise between the connection as he felt her absorb the information. It was a strange sensation, but she seemed to feel… happy at the idea? The information? He tried to focus on the emotion and feel for more, but there wasn’t anything to feel.

I am happy you wish to challenge the lord of the floor and that you are prepared to do so is all, Tamer Myles. It makes you more worthy to lead.

It felt strangely satisfying to have her say that. Still, they’d only been working together for a day or two. A lot could still go wrong.

“We can’t grow unless we do.”

Almost matter-of-factly, her response crossed the connection. One of my only wishes is to grow stronger, and I can think of no better way to grow than to fight a creature of legend. You are quite well versed in The Broken King as well, but no more than I would have given you credit for.

She could see the information from his lore skill as well? Huh. Well, if he were being honest with himself, that made some kind of sense. If his monsters were smart enough, they could make use of what he knew. Ashra was no exception to that.

“— and I’m sure you will all be comfortable at our mixer tonight. Remember, we’re counting on you to do your best, and if you don’t, well, we won’t make it very far, will we? None of us want to die, right?” A rousing cry of no echoed from the audience, and Sindra continued. “Exactly! Remember, when you’re getting your bands: Non-combatants like [Medics] will be green, front line fighters like [Knights] will be blue, ranged combatants take orange, and mixed combatants will be gray but will also still pick a primary color. I know it’s a lot to remember, and there will be reminders next to the bands on display. Anyone wishing to lead will also pick up a red band.” Holding up her hand from the balcony, the red band on her wrist was easily seen. “Maybe I’ll see you soon! For now, head to the tables set up around the front doorway, get your band, and mingle!”

Mists, had he been lost in his own world again?

“Ashra, what did she say.”

You must form a team of no more than six, nor less than four tonight and register your team with a name with the one called Dalen. Picking a red band designates you as a leader rather than a follower of the team, green bands…

“I got that bit. If you see someone you want to interview, tell me.”

Myles felt… annoyance maybe, at the words request. Maybe even anger as she replied. There is no one else I’d like to interview.

Great. What had he said now?

“I didn’t mean to offend.”

Don’t apologize. Just do not suggest I find another master.

“I wasn’t…”

He stopped there and simply gave her a nod. They were just wasting time arguing, so Myles quit and went to the table to pick out a band but hesitated.

Myles was a [Monster Tamer]. He was the combined power of himself and all of his potential monsters. All he had right now was Ashra, but that didn’t mean she would be his only monster forever. He also knew he needed someone with a better head for battle than himself to follow, so the red band was out. Even so, that still left him with a difficult question— should he take all the bands, just the gray and blue bands, or just the gray and explain when people approached him?

If they approached him…

In the end, he took a gray and blue band, put the gray on himself, the blue on Ashra, and went off into the party. She didn’t want to stray from him, so it would make explaining things easier at least.

Somewhere, a musician of some kind began playing, the tables of bands were replaced with food, and people were acting like people again as they spent their time comparing weapons, talking, laughing, and mingling as though it was a party.

Which, Myles guessed, it was. Even so, he felt unnerved relaxing so much at night in a dungeon.

He was further unnerved when an armored hand clapped him on his shoulder. Myles turned and pushed the unease down and Ashra tensed ready to strike at a moment’s notice, but to his surprise, it was Mitchel, the warrior from the other night. “Myles Chase, right? The [Monster Tamer]? Remember me? We met the other night?”

Myles nodded. Did Mitchel thing he had that bad of a memory? He gave the man a small smile and made a motion to his monster. “This is Ashra, my current tamed monster.”

Mitchel gave her a once over, eyed the armor and weapons and nodded. “She seems capable. I’ll cut to the chase,” he snickered at that, but it took a moment for Myles to realize it was meant to be a bad joke. When he didn’t laugh, Mitchel cleared his throat and offered a hand proper. “Mitchel Hedgelore, Proficient [Armored Wall] at your service.”

Hedgelore? As in Dalf Hedgelore?!

As in…

Was he…

Myles did his best to keep his jaw from dropping as the words found their way out. “You’re...”

As if he saw the question coming from a mile away, Mitchel vigorously shook his head. “No, I’m not Dalf’s son or anything. Just an unfortunate relative with the same name.”

“Oh.” He regretted it the moment he said it as he saw the pride of the man practically deflate.

“Yeah.” The awkwardness was so thick he could have cut it with a knife, but thankfully, Mitchel seemed to be used to that line of conversation, put on a smile, and laughed it off. “So, you’re sporting a gray band and a blue band tonight?”

Myles nodded. “If we’re being honest, I’m really only as strong as my monsters.”

Mitchel gave him an approving nod at that. “Makes sense. Is that why she’s wearing the blue?” Another nod seemed to give Mitchel the permission he wanted to continue. “Good! Look, we’ve already got a [Restoration Mage], [Tactician], [Armored Wall], and a [Blade Dancer] so far. We’re pretty balanced if I do say so myself, but we want more damage to push things over the top.”

“So, you want us?” Myles asked, slightly surprised.

“Well, I’m here to offer you a trial for our team,” he corrected as he held up his arm. He wore no bands. Of course, that was because he already had his team. “You’re a unique class and your potential is only limited by your monsters, right?”

“Right, but I do have limits. I can only keep four of them in stasis gems.”

He shrugged. “So? Four extra fighters that don’t cut into the loot table? That's a game changer.”

Did they get their own loot?

Myles wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to correct Mitchel on it.

“It’s only an offer though, you can keep looking and see if you find people you get along with better. If you don’t, come try out. No harm, no foul.” Mitchel explained. Then, as if seeing his hesitation, he added. “If you don’t make ours and no one takes you, we’ll find a team that suits you. Good?”

That sounded better than good to Myles, and he couldn’t tell whether or not he hid it well as he answered. “Sounds good to me.”

As Mitchel held out his hand, Myles shook it, and was surprised to see a prompt appear next to the man:

—

Contract Accepted:

Sindra’s Gatekeeper

Difficulty: Medium

Objective: Prove your worth to be one of Sindra’s Seekers by competition in a hunting competition with other front-line fighters tomorrow in the lake region tomorrow at noon.

Victory Condition: TBD

Failure Condition: TBD

Reward: 10 - Building Vouchers (Comfort Supply), A party slot in Sindra’s Seekers

Failure - As long as a showing of good faith is made, a customized party request provided by Sindra through her proxy Mitchel.

—

Myles blinked, staring at the spot the information populated. He’d heard of quests before, but he didn’t know people could just… make them. Only towns and guilds could create contracts like that, and from what he knew about the process, there was a pile of paperwork that went along with it.

Mitchel caught wind of his surprise and laughed. “First Quest?” Myles nodded. “Sindra’s Seekers do own Runner’s Square, and there are enough residents here to classify it as a small town. Did you really think a [Strategist] wouldn’t play to her strengths?”

That comment gave Myles pause for a moment, but only a moment.

No, he didn’t, but the way Mitchel said that so casually made him just a little more wary of the group.

“So, tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Mitchel confirmed with a relaxed grin before waving him off. “Take care, and see you tomorrow.”

What did I just agree to?

Ashra just looked at him, confused as she responded. “A proper challenge we will overcome.”

He just exhaled again and shook his head.

As long as he passed their test, things would be fine. Another positive point came out of that little interaction though, and it made Myles smile. He knew he’d made the right choice as a [Monster Tamer], but now he knew his worth more clearly. He’d been approached by Sindra, by and large the only one trying to organize the Runners on a large scale, and he knew eyes were on him. That meant only one thing.

It was time to put to good use the most important lessons that he’d learned from his father about dealing with potential clients.

It was time to schmooze.