There was only one new Skill available for Nathan to buy, sitting at 75 Skill Points to purchase. Based on its name, however, he could guess what it did. Card Box was too obvious when compared to Item Box, Weapons Box, and Clothing Box.

It would allow him to store the cards he had. The fact that it had come so early after he first used the cards combined with him having not used very many suggested something to him. Provided that Skills were earned based on actions taken and something else that Nathan simply suspected, it told Nathan that all games were watched.

The Skill was either created for him, or it already existed, but was usually given for people just playing cards or something all the time. Possibly someone constantly moving cards in and out of Item Box. If it were the latter case, then it had been intentionally enabled for him at Level 150, which would mean that he shouldn't have unlocked any new Skills.

Nathan spent the 75 Skill Points, then pulled up the Skill's information.

Card Box: Level 1 Storage: 3 card types per Level of this Skill Same-type Stack: 5 items per Level of this Skill

That was useful to him, especially since, much like Item Box, it listed no Max Level. He promptly spent 45 Skill Points to raise it up to Level 10, allowing him to store 30 different types of cards and up to 50 of each of those.

That was more than enough for all of the cards he had brought with him into the game. Ichtvar had designed most of the enchantments based off of Nathan's explanations, leaving the fighter to create the cards himself. However, even the ancient phoenix had his limits and had not been able to come up with too many in a short frame of time. They would need more time to craft more card types.

Hoping the game would eventually give him a Bullet Box, Nathan decided to sign out of it, but not before testing something else, something that he noticed and began to suspect on the first day of the game, back when they were all brand-new to it and recovering from that first Challenge.

"Not sure how it is in your language," Nathan said. "But 'Mana' and 'Mana' is a bit confusing. One's an energy, the other's simply a stat that we only know the value of due to the energy. A bit of clarification would probably be best, since they're written and said the same way."

After saying that, Nathan sat on the ground and began eating, then rested for a few minutes before signing out of the game. He found himself back in the locker rooms at the school, slightly disoriented from the shift in his position.

Nathan set down his backpack and stripped off his clothes, then stepped into the showers and began scrubbing himself. He felt dirty after the round in the game, even though he knew that his 'body' there and his 'body' here, while technically the same, only suffered the same if he died.

After his shower, Nathan dried off, dressed, then went to his room, where he stripped to his underwear and sat on his bed, reading Ichtvar's edited book. After a few minutes, he sent Keith a text, asking him to come. Keith responded after only a few seconds, saying he'd be there in a minute. Not even a minute later, there was a knock at Nathan's door.

Nathan answered it, finding Keith quickly blushing on the other side.

"Get in here," Nathan grabbed the magician's shirt and pulled him into the room, closing the door. "Secret project, swear you won't tell?"

"Sure?" Keith gave him a confused look. "In your room? While you're almost naked?"

"I can put some pants on if you're too uncomfortable," Nathan said. "But I was doing some reading before going to bed. Ichtvar's helpful with enchanting, but there are limits to what he knows due to not actually being around for advancements."

"Sure," Keith said. "I won't tell, and not just because you'd probably break my neck. What's the project?"

Nathan opened up his backpack and pulled out one of the guns.

"Nathan?" Keith said. "Do the feds know you have all those weapons?"

"Yes," Nathan answered, and Keith gave him a questioning look. "Do you really think I could have gotten all these in here without them noticing? I told them I was having my parents send me guns and bullets. Samtol protested, and I reminded him that we wielded deadly weapons for the game. I convinced him to build a firing range as well."

"A firing range?" Keith asked. "They've mentioned that bullets don't do much against some of the stronger monsters. That is, anything past the weak ones."

"And that is exactly what I need help with," Nathan returned the gun to his pack and pulled out the three decks of cards he'd brought with him into the game. He pulled out one of the cards, then handed it to Keith. "Push your mana into it, then crush it."

"Why?" Keith examined it. "Why does it say 'fire bullets'?"

"Just do it," Nathan growled.

"Alright, alright," Keith did as Nathan ordered, finding himself holding not the card, but the magazine. "It's a gun magazine."

"Check the bullets."

Keith pulled out the top bullet and examined it, noticing the enchantments magically etched into it.

"These are-" he began, eyes widening. "How did you learn those so fast?"

"Ichtvar helped me," Nathan told him. "Unfortunately, while they work, they need more power on the magical side of them."

"I don't even recognize some of these enchantments," Keith said. "But-they work? How well did they work? Attempts at enchanting bullets have failed drastically in the past. I mean, they work, but it's pathetically weak."

"I used them to kill monsters in an Adept-difficulty Dungeon."

"Then they're-wait," Keith groaned. "Nathan, we aren't supposed to enter without permission."

"Does DSIS make up the rules for this game?" Nathan asked.

"Well, no, but-"

"It's run by a foreign force," Nathan said. "Who has shown they can force anyone in at any time. The government wants to make sure we're okay, which is why they want us to get entries approved. I'm interested in getting stronger, and before you say 'but you could die', I'd like to remind you that we could anyway. How many Amercians survived against how many are still here?"

Keith sighed, knowing Nathan had a point. Before he could ask for more information on the enchanted bullets, a message appeared in their visions.

For clarity purposes, Mana is now called Mana Energy, and Mana is now called Mana Stat.

"What the heck?" Keith asked. "That seems… random."

"It's not," Nathan said, and Keith realized the other senior looked pleased, even if he wasn't smiling. "I tested a hunch, and it turned out true."

"A hunch?" Keith asked. "That… resulted in them changing what things are called? That seems a bit off."

"It was a hunch," Nathan said. "Tear and tear. Two words with the same spelling, but different pronunciation. In the former's case, a tear drips from your eyes as your cry. In the latter's case, it is when you rip something. Rip and tear. They mean the same thing, but also different things."

"Ah," Keith said. "They were using 'Mana' for two different things. Rip and tear. But it was coming off as two tears because the pronunciation was the same."

"Exactly," Nathan responded. "The fact that they stated it was for clarity purposes confirmed it to me. They don't speak English as their native tongue."

"Which led to that confusing error," Keith realized. "What made you think of that?"

"It was one of many suspicions regarding the reason for it," Nathan answered. "Most of which were eliminated when they proved repeatedly through messages and tutorials that in most repeat things, clarity was intended. That only left for the stat and the energy form being called the same thing as a translation issue if they wanted clarity."

"So them not speaking English as their native tongue is confirmed," Keith nodded. "Any other suspicions regarding the forces behind the game?"

"Yes," Nathan answered. "However, there's little in way of proving them. If I could find out some stuff, I might be able to narrow down said suspicions. Or it might not change them."

"What's the one you think is most probable?"

"That depends," Nathan said. "Do you know if there are worlds other than ours?"

"Yeah," Keith answered. "Opening a gate to them is incredibly difficult and costs a lot of mana and resources. There are only two others we've been able to access, as far as I-other worlds. You think the game is run by someone from another world?"

"Yes," Nathan answered. "Possibly another dimension, since they seem able to make dimensions and have no qualm making many temporary ones. Since there are other worlds, then the suspicion they're from another world is my best guess."

Keith thought over that, then nodded.

"I had a theory," he told Nathan. "That whoever was running it was trying to build up an army. The entire thing seems based on around making powerhouses and only the strong surviving. So far, no one's found a Challenge after the Tutorial where there was a limit to how many survived or a necessary amount of deaths."

"I was considering that as well," Nathan frowned. "But something in my run a few minutes ago made me wonder something."

"What?" Keith asked.

"What's the reason behind needing powerhouses?" Nathan asked.

"I've considered that as well," Keith answered. "We're just being created, left for whatever our governments do or don't do."

"The Dungeons."

Keith's eyes widened.

"I think I saw something about that," Keith said. "Something from one of the other players. A report on their Dungeon having a lot more space than they were able to actually access for the Dungeon, some sort of barrier preventing them from traveling too far away. In addition to that, Dungeons aren't set to a specific session – several different players from around the world have found themselves able to perform the same Dungeon, but most of them disappear after they're completed, only able to be completed by one. What if… what if the Dungeons aren't created by the game?"

"They already exist in reality," Nathan stated. "If that statement is true, then we are being used to clear out monsters and fix situations. My Dungeon had an ocean. With a horizon. Yet the Challenge itself only required me to be in the region-"

"Sandcastle Kingdom?" Keith asked, and Nathan nodded. "It was a Scavenger, right?"

"More like a series," Nathan shrugged. "A Quest, more like, though that's not a Challenge-type. Only the initial portion of it was a Scavenger, where I had to locate something. I then had to put it somewhere, then protect it from monsters until there were none left. I let Ichtvar do that, there were too many for me alone to handle.

"That said," Nathan told Keith. "These are all just theories. It's also possible none of that is true, and all of this is just for amusement. If what you said about the Dungeons is true, it's possible that Dungeons are a 'sponsored' event from a viewer or something."

"Yeah, that's what I'd been thinking as an alternative," Keith admitted. "Most people have, too."

"Back to the bullets," Nathan shifted Keith's attention back to the items in the magician's hands. "Can you help me with the enchanting?"

"You, uh, already have them more powerful than others," Keith said. "And you want them even stronger?"

"Yes."

Keith sighed, then examined the bullet again.

"You just used the inscribing pen, right?" He asked, and Nathan confirmed it. "Magic crystals might work, too. The pen is a type of enchantment, but it contains a chamber within it. Where you'd usually find ink, it's empty. This creates the basic enchantment lines. You can power them up, making stronger enchantments, but using a rod formed from magic crystals. It's how they've been trying it. The medium with which you're writing and what you're inscribing on also affects things. Let me see what I can dig up on the enchanted bullets they've made in the past."

"Thanks," Nathan said.

"Mind if I keep these?" Keith asked, and Nathan glared. "Not to share with others, Nathan, I promise. It's so I can check a few things and make some comparisons before passing on information. It should help me know if something's relevant to you or not."

"Alright," Nathan yawned. "Thanks."

Keith slipped the bullet and the magazine into a pocket, then wished Nathan a good night and left, opening the door just as Samantha went to knock on it.

"Oh, hey, Keith," Samantha looked at Nathan, then back at Keith, giving a knowing smile. "Oh?"

"Nothing like that," Nathan snorted as Keith hurried past her, Nathan's girlfriend entering the room and closing the door. "No Katie?"

"She's probably coming over in a few minutes," Samantha told him. "So when are you going to stop making those poor boys uncomfortable on purpose?"

"Never?" Nathan answered. "Though I might let up if they finally start dating. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she touched her stomach. "It's not that far in yet, so-"

"I meant with Katie sharing my bed pretty much every night."

"Yes," Samantha snorted. "I'm perfectly fine with it… though I do wish you had a bigger bed so we could share your warmth. What was Keith doing in here, if he wasn't?"

"Secret project," Nathan answered, moving the decks back into his backpack. "Wanted him to play cards, but he ran away."

Samantha snorted, then climbed onto Nathan's bed, noting his glare as he climbed into it, pulling her against him.

"How long before Katie comes?" He asked.

"She's talking with her parents," Samantha answered. "So probably around twenty minutes or so, why?"

"There are ways to pleasure you without working you too much," Nathan's hands were already at work pulling her shirt off.