After making several probes into the System, changing my questions each time until I figure I've asked everything I could that will yield an explanation, I've learned a few things. Any Dungeon which has yet to be completed has several restrictions.

They can hold up to fifteen people at a time, while a Dungeon that has been completed before can hold as many as it can fit. However, if a Party enters the Dungeon, entry becomes locked until they either complete it or die off. The Party Leader will also be required to pick from those within the Dungeon who they wish to enter their Party, and everyone else will be kicked out. If a Party forms within the Dungeon before it's completed the first time, then the same thing happens.

Once the Dungeon has been completed at least once, that restriction is lifted.

Because of this, if a Party in a new Dungeon needs help, no one will come and rescue them. It also means that a new, uncompleted Dungeon is perfect for someone who's on the run, as they can then escape into it and hide within, preventing others from entering.

There might be a way to get in, though. That, or an incentive to get one's ass moving, and I'm betting on the latter. I can't see the System allowing someone to just hold a new Dungeon hostage, preventing people from entering it.

Considering that Lucas has been here for a few days, there's probably a good amount of time before it gives that incentive. Maybe a week?

According to the System, Lucas is the only other person in the Dungeon, which confirms that his bullies didn't follow him in here. Now I'm trying to decide what to do. I want to reject him and kick him out, but that would leave an attractive, vulnerable guy open to being attacked and abused. That pulls at me, and I want to protect him. It might not be the same as I what happened to me, but it's still bad.

If I accept him into the Party, though, won't that mean I'm also responsible for him? I don't want to be responsible for people, but he's clearly not a combatant. At least, not yet. So either I'll have to do all of the fighting, or I'd have to teach him how to fight – and I'm not too fond of the latter. What if he uses what I teach him to attack me?

"It's okay if you don't want me in your Party," Lucas mutters. Did he get a notice, then? "Not a lot of people here want a gay guy with them. I've heard it all before. You're probably worried that I'd try sleeping with your or something, and you probably find that disgusting, being into women instead."

"No, that's not it," I reply automatically. "The only reason I'd ever sleep with a woman is to have a baby. I have no romantic or sexual attraction for women. Twinks like you are more my type, though you're a bit too skinny for me. I don't handle people very well, and you're clearly someone who needs help. But if I reject you, you'd end up outside, weak and wounded. So I'm divided."

"You're gay?" He asks.

"Yeah," I pull a coin out of my pocket and flip it. "Heads."

I select him for acceptance, and a moment later, the System confirms that he's in my Party, informing me that the Dungeon is now sealed against entry until we either complete it or die.

"Did you just decide that by flipping a coin?"

"Yes," I return the coin to my pocket. "When I'm stuck on a decision between two choices, I flip a coin and let fate decide. It's faster."

"…I'm glad fate was on my side."

Grabbing a branch, I place it so that one end is resting on the boulder, and the other is on the ground. Then, I stomp on the center of it, breaking it. I do the same to another branch, then break the four halves over my right knee before adding them to the fire. Scrubbing the pot clean again, I fill it with water from the creek, then hang it over the fire once more, quickly bringing it to a boil. I open up a one-pound box of elbow macaroni and dump it in, then look at Lucas.

Yeah, this will have to do for now. I do have a small can of tomato sauce that I'll add at the end.

"I was looking through my Quests while you were treating me," Lucas says as I stir the pasta. "And-don't stir it so much."

"Huh?" I look at him.

"The pasta," he says. "Don't stir it constantly. Just stir it a little, let it sit a couple of minutes, stir it again, repeat. It will cook faster."

I stop stirring the pasta, a bit confused but accepting.

"What are you planning on making with it?" He asks, rubbing his forehead a little.

"I was going to dump this in once it finishes," I pull a can of the sauce out of the bag.

"That thing is tiny," he mutters. "Do you have another? Or a bigger can? Perhaps actual spaghetti sauce?"

"I have another."

"Do you have a saucepan?"

"Which one is that?"

"…I'm willing to bet you don't have [Cooking] as a Skill."

"I don't."

"Think of a pot," he says. "But smaller and with a handle like a skillet."

I open up another bag and pull out the saucepan. So that's what this is called?

"I'm willing to bet there's a story behind your ignorance," Lucas mutters. "Especially considering the comments you've made."

He probably doesn't realize he said that. While there is a story, I don't plan on telling it to him. I neither know him nor trust him, and it's rather personal.

"Okay," he says. "Put that on the side of the fire, and open up the can. You do have a can opener, right?"

I pull out a can opener.

"Pour two of those tiny-ass cans into the pot," he says. "Stir it every time you stir the spaghetti. Separate spoons."

Though I don't handle being ordered around very well, I decide to listen to his advice. It's easier to think of it that way. If I didn't think of this as advice rather than orders, I'd probably react very badly. As it is, I'm trying not to.

After pouring the sauce in, I stir the spaghetti, then the sauce, then I clean out the cans and set them to dry. I don't like littering, so I'll take them with me and dispose of them when appropriate.

"There are several Quests I'm interested in," Lucas tells me. "I'll leave the one for earning the [Apprentice Chef] Trait for now. You said you're a wizard."

Is it not something he'd gained just from making meals with his knowledge, then? Or does he feel that he won't be able to work well enough for a few days to obtain it?

"The Trait is [Wizard Apprentice]," I tell him. "But yes, I'm a wizard. I use magic. I'll train some while waiting for you to finish recovering your strength enough to travel. I want to try and get my Mana and Magic up a little more, especially if we have to fight the big daddy of all squirrels."

Maybe I should have tried getting a few Levels before coming in here?

"Are you going to go back into the main forest?" He asks.

"I wasn't planning on it," I say. "This room is relatively safe, if you've been in here for over a day already and haven't been killed by the squirrels."

I cannot believe I just said that.

"Don't look like you're trying not to laugh."

"I'm trying not to laugh."

Lucas groans.

"Alright," he says. "Well, some of my Quests are for alchemy. One of them involves making mana potions. I'm sure those can help you with your training. They may even help you in combat, if you're able to drink them while fighting."

"I have thirty-five low-quality mana potions from Quests," I say. "Though now that I know I'm going to be here for a bit, I wish I could take on a second Quest."

"You have a Quest going?" He asks. "Can you dismiss it in favor of another?"

"Yeah," I answer. "But if I dismiss it, I won't be able to take it back on. The Quest is for defeating this Dungeon, and it's only available until entering the Dungeon for the first time. It gives ten low-quality mana potions, five low-quality small magic stones, and 100 syscre."

"Syscre?"

"System credits," I answer. "At least, I'm pretty sure that's what it's short for. It's money you can use in the System shops."

"Ah," he says.

"Stupid one-Quest limit," I mutter. "Is there a way to increase that limit for the amount of Quests we can take on?"

Quest Limitations At the start, one may only take on a single Quest at a time. After completing 10 Quests, this limit is increased two two. At 25 Completed Quests, it is increased to three. At 50 Completed Quests, it is increased to four. At 100 Completed Quests, the limit is increased to its final size of five. [Next…]

There's a next button? So it looks like I'm only three Quest completions away from having increased that limit. Should I have continued to go for Quests before coming in here? How long would that have taken me, though? I'd have just kept going for the magic-related Quests, so it might have taken two or three weeks. Would I have become locked out of this Dungeon for awhile due to a Party entering it or forming within it?

Had I gone for other Quests, I might have been able to reach that first increase relatively quickly. That adds more to my theory the System is trying to help us out – being able to take on two Quests means we could take on two Quests that we can work on at the same time, such as me taking on one to increase my Mana and my Magic. Or we could take on a long-term Quest and still be able to perform short-term Quests. In other words, I could have been able to take on smaller Quests while in here.

Though in the grand scheme of things, these increases seem fast. Wouldn't most people be able to advance to five slots within a few months? I must be missing something, then. Do we become locked out of Quests for doing others? I haven't noticed a difference in what Quests are available to me, but I didn't really look at a lot, so I can't compare the current list to the old to see if anything's missing.

Curious about what else this has to say, I tell it to continue.

Quest Limitations [Part 2] Long-term Quests, such as ones for receiving certain Traits or for completing a Dungeon, can be suspended for up to two weeks. If they are not taken on once more within two weeks, they are locked for a period of one year, preventing you from taking them on until the lock is over. If the Quest requires an action to have not been performed before accepting it, the Quest is lost instead of locked if the action has been taken. This is done to avoid abuse of the suspension system. [Next…] Quest Limitations [Part 3] For the completion of an entire Quest line which consists of more than ten parts, you will unlock the Quest-Taker Trait. This Trait will unlock an additional Quest slot, and further upgrades to it will add additional slots.

This information about Quests is surprisingly far more helpful than any other piece of information I've been able to pull out of the System. What determines how helpful things are? Or am I just asking the System the wrong questions?

Reading through the last page again, I can't help but notice that it explicitly tells me how to unlock a Trait. Not only that, but it mentions that Traits can be upgraded. How does that work?

System, how do we upgrade Traits?

Nothing happens. What other ways can I word that?

"Stir the pasta and the sauce," Lucas says before I can try to come up with another wording.

"Huh?" I look at him.

"The pasta and the sauce," he points at the pots on the fire. "Stir them."

"Oh," I stir them, then turn my attention to my Quests, deciding to set aside the subject of upgrading Traits for another time.

There are three main ones I can work on over the next two weeks and which I have an interest in. [Cast a Spell IV], which requires casting a Tier II Spell, [Magical Might II], which requires me to train up 20 Magic, and [Bountiful Mana II], which requires me to train up another 50 Mana. Judging by how long it took me to do the first Quest for the latter two, though, it might take me two weeks just to do one of those.

As for the former, I don't know any Tier II spells, nor know what would count as one. It might take me two weeks just to figure that out. I think the Quest doesn't require me to not have one before taking it on, though, so I might be able to figure out a Tier II spell, accept the Quest, then just cast the spell I have, and that might count as completing it.

Doing [Bountiful Mana] and [Magical Might] would be easier if I had more Mana Regeneration. As it is right now, it takes me a little more than four minutes just for 1 Mana, which is almost enough for a single [Magic Bolt]. If I can increase it by even one more point, that would drop it down to a more acceptable level, to me.

It's a shame there's no Quest for increasing it, but it is what it is.

Okay! I think I know what I'm going to do.

"Your face is extremely easy to read," Lucas comments, and I look at him. "You just came to some sort of decision."

Though I don't really trust him, we are stuck in this Dungeon together, so I should at least let him know my own plans. If he has objections to it, then he can voice them. I'll then decide if I want to listen or not, and if he doesn't like if I don't listen, he can deal. I am the one who saved his life, after all.

"My spells," I explain. "Require me to be up close to my target at the moment. Unless the Dungeon starts to encourage us to travel forward, I'm going to train for a bit before going up against the big daddy of the squirrels, since later areas will probably be even more difficult. This does seem to follow game logic in some respects."

"Oh?" He asks.

"Yeah," I nod. "First, I'm going to raise my Mana Regeneration a little bit more. Once I've done that, I'm going to work on figuring out a Tier II spell. If the next three parts of that Quest follow the same pattern as the first three parts, I'll probably be able to earn a second Quest slot before I lose the Quest for this Dungeon."

If not, I'll just deal with my frustration over losing it. The reward probably isn't all that massive for a Dungeon, with the 'real' reward being all of the items and Experience we gained in here. The Quest's real purpose is probably to let us know that there's a Dungeon nearby.

"After obtaining that," I continue explaining my plan to Lucas. "I'll turn the Quest back on, then use my second slot for the Quest for increasing my Magic Attribute. I'll need to increase my Magic to increase my range, anyway, so I'll be working on that first. Then I'll work on increasing my Mana with the Quest for that. Having around 100 Mana would be much better than half of that."

This might take a month or more, though, which is unfortunate. If we have to move up the schedule due to the System, then I'll deal with that when that happens. During this training, I'll find out how trustworthy Lucas is, too. At long as he's trustworthy, then at least I'll be safe here. It also means that the outside world will have time to adapt to things, and hopefully, be a bit safer for me.

"Don't forget to stir the pasta and the sauce," Lucas says. "The pasta's probably almost done. Once it is, drain the noodles, then put them back into the pot and mix in the sauce."

"I remove the noodles to drain them?"

"You don't have a colander, do you?"

"What's that?"

"A pasta strainer."

"I just drain it by putting on a lid and opening it only a crack."

"… try not to drop too many noodles."