“Oh! Hello, Zhang Li.” James responded with polite Mandarin.

It’d been 3 weeks since James had joined the dungeon, so James had gotten used the atmosphere. He pretty much recognized everybody that, at least during the time period when he was in the dungeon himself. Most people used the dungeon at night, and James got to know a few of the dungeon explorers. Most of them were from the Americas, just like James.

A few people The Chinese man in front of him, Zhang Li, also had an irregular sleeping schedule. Wei was a pop idol from China who had a ridiculously busy schedule. He was constantly flying from one province to the next to perform shows, record advertisements, and get mobbed by fan girls. Things that pop idols usually did.

“I’m surrounded by famous and rich people, despite being pretty normal.” thought James.

No, that wasn’t the case, he realized. He was not normal anymore. He was part of the dungeon. Wei, the pop idol, was able to achieve his dreams because of the money he got from the dungeon. The same held true for Mike and Leah’s companies.

If he exchanged all the magic stones for money, James was pretty sure he could make more than 500 thousand dollars a year. That wasn’t half bad for a high school junior. He could eventually start a company, or something of the sort. He was part of the “elite.”

James scanned the room. He’d only cleared the 2nd floor once, so even if it took a lot more time than the 1st floor, he came into the shop much earlier than usual. He still had hours before his usual meeting time with his usual senior dungeon explorers.

“You cleared the 2nd floor?”

“Yeah. Come here,” James said to Zhang Li. “Have you gotten something to eat yet?”

James and Wei grabbed seats, and ordered some food. Dungeon explorers usually ate one or two meals per night. After all – they were constantly fighting monsters, which took a lot of energy.

“So, congratulations on clearing the 2nd floor. It’s the most dangerous out of the tier 1 floors.”

“Thanks. What do you mean the most dangerous?” James cocked an eyebrow.

“Well, it’s not actually the hardest floor. Obviously, the hardest floor is the 5th floor, the last floor. But, the 2nd floor is much harder than the first.”

“I see. A lot of new explorers think the 1st floor is easy, and they overestimate themselves when they go to the 2nd.”

Zhang Li nodded. “Right. And if you’ve survived the 2nd floor, you’ll be much more cautious of climbing from then on. The mortality rate goes down. New explorers often get drunk off of the power that the dungeon gives them. Well, I guess you’re smarter than that.”

Zhang Li cracked a smile. But, it slowly morphed into a slightly more gloomy expression.

“But, I’ve seen quite a few people die due to overconfidence. The relic makes you feel untouchable at first. I mean, you’ve just discovered that magic really exists.”

“Relic?” James had never heard of the term before. “What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s the item you get at the beginning. The artifact that has power. Every explorer gets one when they’re on the 1st tier.”

James sat there. He didn’t know he was supposed to get this “relic” during the beginning of the dungeon. But, Zhang Li spoke of them like every explorer knew of them.

“Oh, that,” said James. “I didn’t know it was called a relic.”

James and Zhang Li finished their meals.

“Oh,” said Zhang Li. He pointed to his watch. “I gotta go. See you around.”

After Zhang Li left the dungeon shop, James sat there, stirring his iced tea with his straw. He didn’t know about this relic that Zhang Li had mentioned. But, he didn’t ask about them. James liked Zhang Li. Unlike most dungeon explorers, Zhang Li was friendly and outgoing, reaching out to James and talking with him. But, James was still a bit hesitant – he simply didn’t know Zhang Li all that well yet.

Dungeon explorers had strength that could shake the foundations of Earth’s societies. In such an atmosphere, it would be the survival of the fittest. The strong would rule the world, and backstabbing would be fine, so long as nobody saw or found the body. True, the shopkeeper, John, would prevent fights from happening in the dungeon. Also, James felt like explorers would be penalized from using their power on Earth. However, there was simply no guarantee. Dungeon explorers had enough power to get away with a multitude of crimes. This was why most dungeon explorers didn’t really interact with one another.

To be fair, James really didn’t know Leah, Beck, and Mike all that well. But, they were a group of 3 of the strongest dungeon explorers, the “frontrunners.” They probably had nothing to gain from exploiting a weak person like James. From what James could tell, Zhang Li seemed to be decently strong, but he wasn’t on the level of his senior explorers. Zhang Li would probably have more to gain from.

James felt that if Mike, Beck, and Leah truly wanted to come after him, he would be toast. They were simply too strong, and he had no way to stop them. Also, if he ever got into a sticky situation, James might be able to rely on those 3.

“Actually, I’m already relying on them. And I’m about to rely on them some more.”

James waited for, and then asked about the relic.

Mike’s brow creased. “How come you always have problems with the dungeon? Every time I see you, something always happens.”

“I don’t know either.”

“No no no,” Beck shook his head vigorously. “The problem isn’t that the dungeon is messing up. The problem is that it’s messing up in ways that should have killed you. But you’re here without a scratch.”

“Hey! I did get scratches! But potions exist, you know? But, what do you mean? Is the relic that important?”

“The relic is an item that contains mana,” Mike explained. “I think it differs from person to person because of different affinities to certain types of magic, but it will give you strength and magic throughout the first floor. You didn’t get one, so you didn’t get any of that.”

“Strength and magic? Wait. So you guys didn’t fight with the goblins? I mean, you didn’t just stab them until they died?”

“No, we all had basic magic and strength enhancements.” Beck jabbed his thumb in Leah’s direction. “Do you think she would’ve had the strength to do that, before she came into the dungeon?”

“…it would be hard. It was hard for me. It got easier eventually, but it was very difficult at first. Wait, you’re telling me you guys just waltzed through with superhuman strength and fire magic?”

“Yes,” said Leah, who didn’t really talk that much.

“No, I got strength and light magic,” said Mike.

“No, I got strength and water magic,” said Beck.

James was triggered. Where the hell was his relic? Why was he the only one who had struggle through it all? James didn’t know for sure, but he got the feeling that it was connected to his luck stat.

Mike scratched his head. “I mean, your luck stat and the rate at which you get orbs kind of makes up for that, doesn’t it? You have that going for you. Plus, when you clear the 5th floor, you’ll be fine. The relic stops working after the 5th floor. You’ll get something that’ll teach you attack magic, or physical enhancement magic. That’s why the 1st tier floors are known as the tutorial.”

Mike’s words made sense to James. It wasn’t fair to James, but the world never was fair. At least it was doable.

“The 5th floor, huh. Somehow, it feels far, far away. Well, safety first. I’m gonna farm orbs on the 2nd floor until I move up again.”