Jack's eyes widened at the messages flittering across his interface, noting key points before looking up at his friends. "We did it! The town is ours or... yours, I guess, as I'm just a provisional member..."

"Until you finally pick your class," said Sharon with a wink.

Jack nodded, making sure he understood the prompts and notes. "Wow. it seems like you could really go deep into town management if you wanted to, but..." he glanced up at a nodding Mitch.

"But, fuck it. I'm not here to squeeze the villagers for every coin they have, or get swamped and end up having to pay for upgrading everything out of pocket, so I'm totally cool with the vice-mayor handling the day to day crap while we focus on on leveling up our skills as much as possible."

Everyone smiled and nodded in heartfelt agreement, even Sin.

"If I wanted to level up in a trade sim, I sure as hell wouldn't have chosen Elerium. I would have picked some place far more high tech. This way we're free of all headaches, and they're on the hook for upkeep of this sweet manor while we stuff our bellies!" said Sin with a laugh.

Sharon smirked at that. "Not like there was any other AI forged universe you could hop into, but, yeah. The town can do it's own thing. I just want to do whatever I can to secure it, before I focus on my true passion."

"Mastering our skills, and becoming the best witch and enchantress we can be!" Lauren enthused.

Jack nodded thoughtfully. "So, are we ready to take the next steps to level up this territory and get ourselves into Regio?"

This earned Jack more than a couple of blank stares. "What are you talking about?"

Jack blinked. "The next steps we have to take to secure our town, even if we do nothing else? Clear the territory of any monsters and resetting the dungeon. Then we perform some ritual at the four cardinal exit points of this territory." He furrowed his brow. "It's right there in the interface. Can't you see it? Right now we also have 3 destiny points we can use to upgrade our territory, but you might want to hold onto those for now."

Jacob gazed strangely at Jack for long moments before turning to Sharon.

"Babe?"

Sharon gazed at Jack for long moments before closing her eyes and frowning. "Shit. He's right."

"About what?"

"All of it! It's right there in the logs, only..."

"Only we can't see shit about any territory," snapped a suddenly irritated Sin. "Just are damned character sheets."

"Which is more than enough, most of the time," Mitch noted.

"Except now we have an entire territory to look after," Sharon said. "And Jack's right. If we want this territory to truly be ours, we have to clear it and clear the dungeon while were at it. After that, it's a simple matter of putting destiny points into boosting the territory as a whole 3 points will earn us 2 ranks in Regio, and a +20 Bonus to all forms of production and quality of life!"

"Sounds good," Jacob said. "I say we get clearing right now. And Sharon? I guess you're our chief administrator by default, since you can actually see the interface notes!"

Sharon grinned. "My years as a treasurer will finally pay off."

"Sounds good to me," said Mitch, cracking his knuckles. "I'd far rather focus on fighting and forging than paperwork and politics."

The group exchanged excited nods, but Lauren was looking increasingly worried.

"Lauren?" Sharon gazed intently at her friend before giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "What is it?"

Lauren swallowed and shook her head. "I'm sure it's nothing, but... wouldn't it be ironic if this dungeon in our own territory spelled our end?"

Lauren flashed her hbest reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Once we claim it, it will be fully under our control. We can make it stable, or raise or lower its difficulty." Jack blinked at this, realizing both that she was absolutely right, and thinking just how profoundly awesome it would be to have their own dungeon.

Lauren's relieved smile froze. "Wait, the interface will actually let us level it up?"

Sharon nodded. "Of course. If we want to spend the territory's destiny points that way. But don't worry. It will be a stable local dungeon once we claim it, so it shouldn't swarm. Especially since we've claimed the adjoining territory as our own."

Sin nodded. "But if we do level it up, we can run it more often, right? Since it will have a greater potency pool to recharge it's own potential."

Sharon nodded. "Absolutely correct. So the balancing factor is what degree of risk is worth the reward and whatever the reset time will be?" She flashed an almost apologetic smile Lauren's way. "Especially since two of our party members would much rather spend their days learning and growing and mastering their arts, as opposed to constantly risking their lives in the never-ending pursuit of power."

"But if it's a controlled risk..." said Jacob.

Mitch nodded. "Exactly. Once we fully know the ins and outs, and with us being the only ones running it... there could be a fuck ton of potential, right there."

"Only if we set it for a low enough level we don't have to worry about you boys dying in there if me and Sharon don't want to delve at all," insisted Lauren.

Sharon nodded her heartfelt agreement.

Mitch sighed. "Don't worry about us, babe. Jacob's our tank and healer, and with this axe and my perks..." he flashed a satisfied smile. "I can take care of myself as well." His smile instantly wilted under Lauren's glare. "Alright, babe. We'll be careful. I promise!"

This earned him a fierce hug, his bemused smile turning to something protective and tender as Lauren silently sobbed against him. "I know just how strong you are, Mitch. But after everything that's happened.... everything we've been through, I don't want to lose you!" Red rimmed eyes met his own. "Promise me you'll be careful, no matter what happens?"

The powerfully built man swallowed the obvious lump in his throat, jerking a quick nod. "You know I will, no matter what." his gaze showed his concern. "Babe, you don't have to come, not until we've fully mapped it out and have it under our own control..."

Lauren gave an angry shake of her head. "The hell I'm letting you risk your lives and me feeling anxious waiting for you all day." She forced a smile. "I'd rather be fighting by yours side and earning my own share of experience!"

And with those words, the entire group proceeded out the exit, a bemused Jack just blinking when Lauren pivoted around, no trace of tears at all, flashing him a smile. "You coming, Jack?"

He couldn't help laughing at that. "You know I am," he said. Because despite everything they had been through, every perilous encounter faced, they were now taking steps to secure this territory for themselves.

A place of their own, to build, develop, and level up, as they saw fit.

With those thoughts in mind, he felt no shame in embracing yet one more peril, strangely ebullient at the thought of daring yet one more dungeon and seeing just how strong he could get, how far he could push his skills... and maybe solve that next piece to the puzzle of his soul, unlocking the class he just knew he was destined to play... even at level 1.

__________________

Chapter? Epilogue?

And much to their shared laughter and wonder, covered in elemental goop, splinters and smiles, their final delve really had gone as smoothly as a dream.

From the moment they had entered, they had fought and acted as one.

When the dim cavern lit just enough by luminescent pink moss upon the ceilings to see as if exploring by twilight, the ground had begun to tremble, belching forth elementals of clay, grasping forth with open mouths and muddy paws.

Destroyed, effortlessly.

A quick shieldbash followed by a Mighty Blow sent two clay elementals exploding into the next life, Mitch flashing a fierce smile as his now glowing axe signified his Vampiric gifts having drained the potency of at least one foe, but even his slamming shield had completely obliterated the other.

Just as Jacob's fierce shout and glowing sword, a constant effect with many minute's duration, was more than enough to separate an entire glasping cluster from their limbs of clay and half-melted heads, essences drained in the blink of an eye.

Lauren's desperately shouted curses when they entered the next chamber had also gone without a hitch.

Curses so potent that not only did the clay golems helplessly trip over themselves but half of them were torn apart so badly by the collide of bodies that they immediately crumpled to lifeless clay once more, the entire party infused with the essence of their fallen foes, Jack's Tier 2 Geyser exploding forth with water so explosively that the remainder dissolved like dirt on the side of a house blitzed away by a powerful hose.

All six of them exchanged awed looks, Sin whistling a cheerful ditty as he plucked shimmering, albeit tiny beast cores they had been in too much of a mad rush just to survive to overly worry about before.

"This," he said. "This is what a starter Delve should be like!" Sin flashed a fierce smile. "Finally, a fair fight, and every moment isn't a desperate struggle just to survive!"

Jacob winced. "You better not have jinxed us, you idiot," he said, half-goodnaturedly.

Sin snorted. "If our fortunes change that quickly..."

But much to a worried Jack's awe, they did not.

Whether it was a handful of slowly lurching undead, so vulnerable to acid or decapitation, silver-colored wolverine-like predators with eyes filled with madness yet only a fraction of the size of the wolves that had come so close to killing Jack in the woods months ago... or had he just grown that much more competent? One and all, they fell within seconds to the group's coordinated tactics and strikes.

Even when they exchanged nods and dared the second level, their smooth efficiency only grew.

Knowing just how to strike the slow moving handful of magma golems they faced, so quickly freezing up and crashing to the ground in discombolated heeps between Jack's Geyser spells, or Lauren and Sharon combining Hex and Corrosion to such devastating effect that they crumpled near effortlessly under their own inertia, the few remaining put out of their misery near instantly by Mitch's spiked axe, or the well-balanced warhammers Sin and Jacob both now kept at their hips, opposite from their swords.

It was only the slimes that would prove a challenge, and though they could be hexed to quivering, paralyzed confusion, Mitch's vampiric swings could only drain their foes away by inches, for all that the surge of energy left their warrior eager to pound away for as long as it took, and Jacob's blazing sword could wound, but only slowly kill. For those beasts alone did Jack's increasingly powerful Bloodflame spell prove absolutely vital. A situation that changed only when Sharon's flash of insight gave her the epiphany needed to exchange massive balls of acid for pure ethyl alcohol that the now sizzling and squeeling slimes quickly dissolved into helpless piles of obliterated goop before fading completely away, pink crystals, beastcores radiating gentle magics, all that was left.

"Brilliant, babe!" Jacob had laughed, eyes alighting when his grinning beloved explained her secret, earning a bemused smile and with an act so bold it reeked of madness, he dipped his finger in a couple clean spattered drops, sniffed, and plopped it in his mouth.

"Jacob!" her sudden horror had been the first time any of them had felt dread that day.

Earning a powerful baritone chuckle. "Sharon, do you even know what this is?"

Sharon furrowed her pretty brows, and when her boyfriend stuck his finger in her mouth, her eyes widened in surprise. "This tastes just like Michael's double distilled wiskey!"

"I know!" Jacob laughed, flashing her an arch smile. "I'm guessing you know that taste so damned well that you couldn't help but throw it into the spell."

Sharon cringed, chuckling softly. "Trying to cast spells by sheerest inspiration, has it's drawbacks, I see. Alright, soon as we're out of here, I'll see what I can do about-"

Her eyes widened when Lauren covered her mouth, slowly shaking her head. "You won't change a single thing about that spell. Not a single thing, do you here me girl?"

Sharon's gaze turned quizzical.

"Don't you see? This is perfect!" she said, licking the back of her hand. "This is the best damned drink I've had since i got here! Micheal's is premium shit, girl!" She squeezed her friend's hand, practically squealing. "You're going to be casting this spell in wooden vats as soon as we're out of here! We need to see how long it lasts... is it really permanent? Is it really safe to drink?" She chuckled throatily. "Maybe, working together, we can enhance it. Maybe truly make it a spirit whisky, giving only the best high, with no damage to the liver or anything else. Who knows how far we can push this thing?"

A frowning Sharon's cynical smile widened with genuine enthusiasm. "You know what? I just might be able to do that. This is exactly what Enhancers specialize in!" She was all but bouncing with excitement. "Imagine, a drink so powerful, so wonderful, it gives you the best night you could hope for, with no side effects the next day, and no damage to the body at all. On Earth, it would be madness even to think such a thing could be done. But here?"

Lauren squealed. "Here, anything's possible! Witch's have talents specifically designed at mitigating the nasty side effects of any potion they generate. So why not drinks as well? We're going to master this spell so well we can bottle it and sell it for a mint!"

Sharon's grin widened. "I love it. I absolutely love it! Talk about an alliance of powers!"

Sin chuckled softly, smirking at Mitch and Jacob. "I think we created a pair of mercantile monsters."

Jacob smirked and nodded. "But if this actually works?"

"It will put our town on the map for sure!" Mitch enthused. He furrowed his brow. "Assuming we can actually get merchants to come by, once we're in our own regio, and our town is beyond the reach of any vengeance-seeking asshole."

Jack grinned, thinking about a certain merchant he had almost chosen the trader's path to follow. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that. I'm almost certain that there will be at least a few enterprising merchants who specialize in finding towns just like our own, that being their gift. So if trade's the path you want to follow..."

The group exchanged meaningful glances, the hallway beyond their final kill-sight clanking with the sound of a fearsome opponent whose metallic rhythms they knew all too well. But now, instead of dread, they felt nothing but exhilaration.

"A conversation for another time," said Mitch. "Right now, I do believe we have at least one more baddy to take down."

All of them exchanged fierce, predatory grins, racing for the tunnel exit at a mad sprint, bursting upon a room that was indeed clanking with a golemn whose build and clockwork movements they recognized all too well. Only this time they had only the final boss and a small handful of magma golems to deal with, unlike the swarm of death seeking to obliterate them before.

And when Sharon and Lauren's spells of cursing and corrosion struck their giant sized opponent, the giant robot of cogs, magic, and bronze, trembled with such a hissing buildup of steam that Jack felt terror for the first time that entire day, the creature's resulting explosion shattering their raised shields with bronze shrapnel that came far closer to seriously injuring them than anything the dungeon had thrown before, as the final boss exploded, taking out all but one of his rocky underlings, a single geyser's worth of water all that was needed to clean up the remains from there.

And the looks of awe and wonder they shared when the final baddy had fallen and they could sense in their hearts that the dungeon had been cleared, and what had at first seemed to be nothing more than a cavern of dark grey damp stone turning to the brilliant sheen of a cathedral of well-polished marble between one heartbeat and the next, filled them all with awe and wonder, Sharon's eyes especially widening at the sight before her.

"We now have full control over the dungeon," she whispered. "We can grow it however we like."

"Well can we make it double the payout between runs?" Sin half joked. "And those slimes are a pain. Though your whisky balls? Stroke of sheer genius there, girl."

Sharon laughed. "Actually we can, Sin." Her gaze hardened. "But it will deplete the vitality of the rest of our territory and twist the regio. Our realm will become one of twisted bittersweet dreams more than paradise."

Sin snorted. "I'm not going to apologize for asking."

"Nor should you," Jacob said. "But I think we can all agree that leaving things alone, just as they are, is probably our best bet?"

"And it still allowed us a very sweet run," Lauren enthused, eyes twinkling. "And if this is the layout, if we know what to expect..."

Sharon grinned. "It is. And right now it's in perfect balance!" she furrowed her brow, turning away from her mind's eye, and gazing at the sparkling chest before them. "But that prize we're about to get? I think we can tell that's a one-time thing. The prizes will be much more modest, once the dungeon resets. But if we leave everything alone, we can run this same dungeon once every month." She caught their gazes. "Or for a single one of our three territory points, we can up that to once a week, and everything's still perfectly balanced."

Sin raised a bemused eyebrow. "Only if you're damn certain that it won't lead to outbreaks, and we're always having to rescue the townsfolk when we might have other things on our plate."

Sharon laughed, eyes twinkling. "Why, Sin. If I didn't know better, I'd think you cared. But no. This dungeon is safe. Stable, even. The only true sentients are the rock wolves, and their primary prey are the slurpurs and rock rats eating the mosses flourishing on the underlying mana levels. Sunlight would burn them, and I don't think the cave will let them leave in any case."

Mitch grinned. "Well if the default settings are this balanced, and we can run it weekly for just a point... hell, why not? It will be our own dungeon to farm!" he squeezed a beaming Lauren's hand. "A safe dungeon we can clear whenever we like, and only do as much as we want. That okay with you, babe?"

Lauren squeezed his hand, leaning close. "You know it is, love." He grinned at those words, while Sharon closed her eyes and shuddered with something close to ecstacy. Or perhaps, the spark of creation.

"It is done," she said, with a voice that echoed through the cavern. "Now let's collect our prize, and get out of here. It will reset shortly."

Her words flowed over Jack he approached the box, his heart roaring in his ears. He swallowed the anxious lump in his throat, knowing his hope was absurd, quelling it as best he could.

Like holding onto a lottery ticket, knowing there was no chance it would hit, just savoring the anticipation, the buildup, so sweet in it's own right almost hoping the jackpot would just roll over, again and again, or that the golden chest would never open.

Until it finally did.

His smile was genuine when Lauren squeeled, holding some sort of tome she swore her wise-woman mentor would be eager to see, Sharon picking up a shimmering trasluscent cube that made her pale with wonder when she peered inside. Sin was flashing a fierce smile when he plucked free what looked to be a cloak of liquid darkness, and Jacob was now holding a brilliant pendant that was either the number eight or infinity, but either way, seemed to fill him with a brilliant, golden resolve when he looped it over his neck and tucked it under his armor.

And the way Mitch's eyes lit up when he pulled out a silver-blue round shield that looked absolutely perfect for him, all of it made Jack's gut twist up in ever tighter knots.

When his friends all turned to gaze his way, Sharon coaxing him forward with a smile, "Come on, Jack. It's your turn," his boots helplessly led him forward, eyes flicking over them all one last time before turning to the box, and the prize that lay within.

A single grey stone.

Sin actually had the grace to wince when he met Jack's gaze. "Yeah, seems like you got the short end of the stick, that time, friend." He turned to Sharon. "What gives with our dungeon?" Then he frowned at Sharon's shocked expression, eyes darting around with inhuman speed to behold Jack, only peripherally noting their odd expressions, slicin the ball of his thumb, before gazing intently at the drops of crimson splattering against the stone.

Willpower Check successful!

Drops that slowly began to form a tight little jewel of crimson, now circling the dull grey stone Jack peered at so intently, levitating of its own accord as he pit his will against the very mountain, as if determined to make its lessons his own.

Sharon hissed. "By all the powers above. What does he think he's doing?"

Lauren's eyes filled with grave concern. "Sharon? What's wrong?"

Sharon gave an angry shake of her head. "He's trying to force the magics That never works."

"Not force. Encourage. Understand," Jack thought to himself, as the little crimson orb spun around faster and faster to the point it keened through the air around the vibrating stone as time seemed either to slow down or speed up as Jack dove into the odd secrets revealed within that humming stones.

Filled with the power of Earth.

In all it's rhythm and complexity.

Like life itself.

Like a drop of his blood.

Of Earth, Water, and the metabolic Fires that kept all living things going, Jack doing all he could to expound upon his comprehension of the stone before him, and the others he had absorbed.

Far more than an elementalist's power, it encompassed an existential paradigm that mirrored the fuel and fire of life itself

The bedrock of existence in a handful of elements and the crimson drops connecting them that represented so much more.

A fusion of elements and existance in one precious whole.

More than the clay from which the gods formed man, but the crimson spark of life that gave them life in truth.

If he could truly master the ties of blood and the elements from which it sprang...

Heart racing with exhilaration and awe, he strove desperately to understand the connections between him and the world around him.

Finally understanding himself to be more than the deathly still figure meditating before a drop of blood racing at inconceivable speeds around a vibrating stone, simultaneously a young man chuckling ruefully as he pocketed a stone far beyond him, joining his friends, arm in arm, as they made their way to the exit of their own private dungeon, to behold a world as glorious and grand as any tale.

A town they had pulled and rescued from the brink, now blossoming under their stewardship and care. Boundaries marked with a single afternoon's jaunt, good food, laughter, Sharon's exquisite magical whisky, and a few drops of their blood demarkating their increasingly magical realm from mundus marked the end of a glorious day.

And when Jack found himself drinking a bit too much of that glorious whiskey a smiling Sharon promised him was as safe as mother's milk, he could only laugh with the wonder of it all.

To be alive, hale and healthy, around friends who cared for him as he did them.

The heroes of a town full of vibrant, healthy, happy citizens who knew what it meant to honor their heroes, ever warm words and quiet bits of advice, like indulgent aunts and uncles to the adventurers trying their hands at blacksmithing, herbalism, and brewing as days turned to weeks and the sunsets blazed with the fire of magic and wonder as Jack laughed and caroused with his friends every night, while finding fresh purpose and fulfillment during the day, crafting runes of sharpness and Resilience as he, Mitch, and Sharon combined their growing skills into making swords and shields so gloriously fine that somehow merchants found their way even to that realm of dream and wonder.

And somehow, Jack wasn't at all surprised to see a beeming Master Mercator himself grace their blossoming town with Jack's old friend Carl by his side, both of them gazing with awe at the masterwork forgings before them.

"Truly, Jack. I've never seen blades so sharp, or shields that could withstand so much! Even our guard mock charging it with a spear didn't so much as scratch the surface!" enthused Carl. He then frowned, peering ever closer at Jack, before flashing a sad smile. "I'd say you chose the Path of Eternity after all. But you haven't, have you?"

Jack, ears still ringing with the thrum of earth and blood, gave a sad shake of his head. "Afraid not, my friend." he then turned to gaze the companions he now loved so dearly, Mitch and Lauren laughing hand in hand as Sharon and Jacob peered enthusiastically over Master Mercator's collection, and even Sin, holding hands with a strikingly beautiful girl with eyes heavy with the weight of bitter years and a barbed whit that made even Jack wince... yet, somehow, the pair always seemed to be by each other's side, bitter humor and dark quips a perfect match for one another, having found, somehow, yet another girl who remembered her past all too well, desperate for another life, a better life. A girl who had appeared out of nowhere and had fit right in. And for the first time Jack could recall, his friend seemed genuinely happy, as remarkable a transformation as anything else Jack had seen.

He then turned back to Carl. "And I see you've also learned the trick of passing from mundus to dream."

Carl smiled and nodded. "Passing through overlapping realities. Master Mercator's greatest feat. Since we both walk the Path of Eternity, all eternities are open to us, and our trips through mundus are like a captain sailing from port to port."

Jack nodded, understanding that truth more than ever as the festive market day took on a superluminal air. "It's good to see you, Carl. Should you ever stop by home again..."

"I'll tell your parents you miss them, Jack. Don't you worry."

Jack nodded his thanks, before turning to catch Sharon's gaze, one last time.

Something in his smile, perhaps. Her feature's instantly paled. "Jack, oh no. Please don't tell me we left you... oh, no. Jack!" she turned to Jacob before catching Jack's solemn gaze.

"Tell them I love them? You too, Sharon. No better companions I could have asked for."

Sharon swallowed. "You don't have to..."

"I do. You all made your choice. And it's a wonderful one. The Path of Eternity is the one you all belong on. Forged the day we chartered this realm, and made it our own."

Sharon trembled, eyes illuminated with insight he hadn't expected to see. "It was you, Jack. Wasn't it? You're blood. Born on the path you now forsake. You're the one who opened this for us, when we marked the boundaries." She swallowed. "When your blood marked the boundaries. Now it's like we're all soaring high above the bitter madness marking the world beyond our sanctuary. You're the only reason why we can..."

"Get a second chance?" Jack smiled. "I'm happy to help. But really, for me? It was just remembering the feel of home. And adding my blessing. And yes, a bit of myself, to the town we all forged together."

"You gave up your immortality," she sobbed.

Jack shrugged. "No matter that I haven't even accepted a class, I was already walking the Path of Peril, even before we met. All I did was suggest to the world around us that it would be a fine idea if you all took my place."

"Because of your parents. The ones you had back on Earth."

Jack shrugged. "Who can say?"

Sharon bit her lip, tears flowing unashamedly from her eyes.

Jacob immediately noticed and frowned.

"Babe, what's wrong?"

"It's Jack. I think... I think he has to go now."

The paladin's look of puzzlement only grew. "Where is he? Shit, Sharon, I don't even remember when last we spoke. Where is he?"

But Jack was already gone.