Califa stopped at the entrance of the grand building, which looked much like other adventurer's guilds he had seen in anime.

"Can you drop the weird bark...skin...armor...thing?" She asked as she motioned towards his hands and face.

He smiled as he waved a hand over his face, dropping Iron Skin as he did so.

His bark covered skin once more regained its dark crimson appearance before he canceled the spell.

The rough, dark crimson bark across Dante's skin began to crack and fall off, revealing his normal skin beneath.

Each piece that fell shattered into motes of multicolored light as it struck the ground, before said motes dissipated back into the manasphere.

"I think that's enough training for now." He said as he turned his head left and right, cracking his neck.

Califa looked back only to see Dante looking normal again.

The interior reminded him of the Adventurers guild from Overlord. Though instead of wooden flooring it seemed to be marble. It really looked quite nice.

They walked in and up to a counter where Califa began speaking with a human male about signing Dante up.

The whole process took little more than a minute as dozens of screens flickered in and out of existence rapidly in front of Dante and the person manning the counter.

When all was said and done Dante was handed a small, somewhat opaque card, about the size of a driver's license.

On the card, it displayed his level, rank, name, and a picture of him.

"And this is?" Dante asked with a little uncertainty.

"That would be your Adventurer Identification card. So long as you have it on your person or even in your inventory it will monitor certain things. For example, if you take a quest to kill, let's say, 10 goblins then that quest will appear on the card and display the current number of goblins hunted. This also extends to any monster or... player that you kill. It's a means to keep track of who killed what. It's very helpful in determining reward distribution when multiple people take part in a single quest." Said the man behind the counter.

Dante let that information sit for a moment before speaking.

"Not to say I would but couldn't someone just drop the card, kill someone and then pick it back up?" He asked, playing a bit of devil's advocate.

"Yes and no, I notice you're a cleric so I would hope you would hold off killing one of your fellow players as a last resort. As for the dropping idea, it doesn't work. The card as soon as you take it becomes a soul bound item. It works within a range of about a meter from whoever it's bound to. Should it leave that range, it vanishes and is moved to the player's inventory. Even if one attempted to remove the soul bound effect, which is very dangerous by the way, the guild would be informed as soon as an attempt was detected." replied the man behind the counter, his smile wavering for a second before returning in full force.

"I suspect that if you don't have an inventory for it to go to, it would probably either reappear on your person or in something similar to the system wallet?" Asked Dante who was rubbing the stubble on his chin.

+1 Wis...

"Indeed. Such work arounds have been tried for nearly as long as the guild has existed. Which is almost as old as the system itself. The system always builds failsafe's, either before or just after such things are discovered. The system’s always learning, always adapting, improving, watching." His tone was joyous at first but was brought down, until he spoke the final word, a word of warning.

'Well that's unsettling.' Dante thought, though he did appreciate the small gain in Wisdom.

"So Dante, shall we move on to some shops and skills..." Califa was interrupted as a loud retching could be heard from off to the left.

Many eyes turned towards the source of the sound only to see a man leaning one hand against the wooden wall and retching onto the floor. Several people were nearby who seemed to be his friends as they appeared to be trying to comfort him. Dante was about to walk out with Califa before he saw it.

The woman standing next to the man was speaking to him.

"You see Johnny, this is why you shouldn't have drank so much last night! You're lucky I have purify otherwise we would probably be paying to have this place cleaned!" She said as she looked down at the puddle of liquid and mush on the ground and it began to glow.

Dante moved towards the group of several people standing around the now clearly hungover man.

"Dante? Where are you going?" Califa said as she followed after him, once she noticed he had stopped following her.

As he walked, he watched the mess on the floor slowly vanishing into soft blue light. But not it wasn't just the mess that glowed with that faint blue light it was her!

"Susan we all know you love Delve, and think Purify is the best. But we both know Cleanse from Arcs is much better at the lower levels!" As the larger man spoke he raised up his hand and the mess rapidly became clouds of dense air that rose up before dissipating into the manasphere. Leaving a perfectly clean marble floor behind.

The woman he had called Susan looked at the large man with a sour expression and a glare.

"How am I supposed to train and purify if you keep Cleansing every mess Tod!?" She exclaimed angrily, while rapidly banging her fists on his chest.

He seemed amused by that as he cracked a smile.

Dante arrived unnoticed and touched the man leaning against the wall on his back.

"Lesser Restoration." He said casting the spell whilst holding the symbol of his lady.

Lesser Restoration, 2nd level You touch a creature and can end either one disease or one condition afflicting it. The condition can be blinded, deafened, paralyzed, or poisoned. Conditions caused by damage, in most cases, cannot be alleviated by this spell. Cast time: 1 second, Range: Touch, Duration: Instant, Mana Cost: 150

He felt warmth pour forth from the symbol, moving through his body out of his right hand and into the man.

The man went rigged for a moment before he stood up and turned around.

Johnny, as he had been called, inspected Dante for a moment before turning to Susan and asking, "Can you keep Purify up, I have a terrible taste in my mouth...Thank you for your assistance, I'm Johnny and your name is?" He said, turning towards Dante.

"Dante, that should have purged the booze from your system, as for the hangover drink some water. I can't help you with that right now." he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Johnny made a motion with his hand and a water bottle appeared in it, before he began quickly downing it.

As he was drinking the water Susan piped up.

"So Dante, what's your class? You don't seem to be a paladin like Tod over here. Are you a cleric?" She asked inquisitively.

"I'm a level 22 High Priest actually, it's a rather new position for me but one I quite like." He replied with a smile.

Susan and Tod looked at him with shock and awe, their mouth’s gapping in surprise. Then there was the guy he hadn't spoken to yet he looked at him like...

No sooner had he spoken and smiled then it faded as Johnny took a spit take, pointing at his face.

Immediately he was drenched and could hear those he couldn't see struggling to hold back laughter.

He took a few deep breaths before casting cleanse on himself.

A few seconds later he turned to Califa who lost her composure and burst out into laughter followed shortly by the others around him.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I won't hold that against you, don't worry." Dante said as he looked at Johnny whose expression was a mix of barely withheld laughter, and genuine look of being sorry.

---------------------------

"So I overheard you saying that you had purify, the skill from Delve?" Dante asked, trying to get things off of laughing at him. Moving on from the mention of his high priest class.

After a moment they all managed to regain their composure and she replied.

"Yeah, have you read it?" Susan replied.

"I have, it's not a bad story. Though I found the system a little lacking, it had it's highlights.” He spoke his mind before looking at the warrior.

"Tod was it? You have Cleanse from Arcs right? That's gotta be one of my favorite stories!" Dante exclaimed, earning a growing grin upon the warrior's face.

"Yeah, nice to meet you. I do have Cleanse! It's a fucking great spell isn't it?" Tod spoke as he reached forth and took Dante's hand while eyeing Susan with a wide grin on his face.

Susan looked about ready to start their previous argument back up before Dante interjected.

"While I prefer Cleanse over purify, each spell and the system they come from have their own benefits. Cleanse has low mana cost, while purify can get up to insane power and range, or a mix of the two. Auras aren't my thing though. Mana exhaustion is a real bitch!" he exclaimed, eliciting nods from several of the group including Susan.

"I know what you mean that's why I'm trying to see if I can get the Dynamo class! It's a real bitch trying to get this class I'll tell you. Here's hoping it gives at least resistance to mana exhaustion, if not immunity for all the work I'm putting in." she said with a measure of worry and pride.

"Dynamo is a good way to farm exp for leveling but are those levels worth it is the true question. What rank are you guys?" Dante asked curiously.

"Rank?" asked Susan

"I saw it next to my level on my guild card but the guy wouldn't explain it to me." asked Tod.

"Is that like your level or something?" Spoke the man who had been silent up until this point. His expression and tone hinted that he didn't really care about the answer. No his expression and the way his eyes darted back and forth to him. That told him something was up.

"Ah, before I explain what rank is, what are your levels and main classes?" Dante spoke.

"Level 56 aura mage, level 42 Paladin, level 36 Leader and warrior, level 25 Ranger..." They replied after a moment of discussion amongst themselves.

In order.

First had been Susan who seemed very proud of her level. Her shoulder length blond hair was a bit unkempt as it seemed she had been working hard.

Then came Tod, also proud of his level but spoke with an air of humility. His copper hair pulled back in a ponytail. He reminded Dante of someone but couldn't remember who.

Johnny came next with the second lowest level, he seemed to be the leader that let others do the work for him.

'Anyone with the Leader class had to be more of a talker than a fighter.' was the impression he got from the information he had.

Then there was the silent man. He had the lowest level among them but something didn't sit right there. The way he had asked about rank, his expression.

Dante tried Observation analysis on him and was a little surprised by the result.

Target has resisted your skill...

Observation Analysis has leveled up! lvl. 29...

The man stiffened before slowly turning to look at him.

"Stay with them please Califa and explain rank to them." He said as he stepped forward and grabbed the "Ranger" by his elbow and with a little force led him a dozen feet away.

"Alright spill." Dante spoke in a hushed tone beginning the questioning. He didn't know if he wanted to be right that something was up here.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." replied the Ranger as he attempted to move back to his group.

"We both know you know more than you let on. When I said my class everyone else looked at me with awe, but not you. You looked at me with fear, like a deer in headlights.

The man said nothing for a moment, only looking Dante up and down. Then he spoke.

"I tried out my appraisal skill on some of your equipment, it keeps failing." He replied warily.

"I’m not supposed to tell you where I got this equipment. So, I won't. I will tell you however that I probably won't hurt you so long as you're not a certain person..." He spoke coldly.

"So long as I'm not who?" the "Ranger" asked, confused.

Dante took a step back from the man, held out his arms, and snapped his fingers.

Something orange appeared in the air and fell into his arms.

*Meow?*

He looked down at his beloved familiar with a warming smile.

"Oh...A cat? Is that a familiar?" Asked the "Ranger" his worry was shrinking but his confusion only growing.

"Hey Tom?" He asked gingerly to his familiar.

*Meow?* The cat said looking up towards Dante's face.

"Is this the guy that killed you?" He asked while pointing at the guy. The cat looked and turned its head before turning back to Dante and shaking its head.

"No? Ok then." He said simply as he held Tom, the cat familiar like a baby in one arm and scratched his belly with the other.

"Ok sorry about that. So why were you so scared when I said my class." He asked simply.

The man looked upon him with a mixture of curiosity and still fear, but mild fear. He was silent, his eyes shifting in and out of focus as if he were concentrating on something else.

His eyes resolved and then he spoke.

"My lord told me to be wary of you. Told me of someone close who had gained the attention of several blood gods. That's you right?" Spoke the "Ranger" too scared to make the obvious joke.

"Yes, my lady Rosana is the lady of Life and Blood. She is the one who helped me save Tom here." He said rubbing Tom on his chin and head as he stretched his legs, content with his pampering.

"What do you mean save? Isn't that just a familiar?" He asked his curiosity rising as his fear fell slowly.

"No, he was once a living cat of flesh and blood."

"Then someone killed him..." The "Ranger" spoke, beginning to understand a little of this weird situation.

"Yep. I tried to save him but couldn't. I watched him die and I felt absolutely powerless. Then I had an idea so crazy it might just work. With her help, Tom here got a new life as my familiar..." Dante paused as a few tears began to flow down his cheek. "I cannot express my gratitude enough..."

Tom purred happily in Dante's arms.

*Home*

That was the feeling that Dante felt through his link with Tom.

The feeling of being home.

"I'll see you later Tom, have a good nap." he said watching Tom smile before he snapped his fingers and the cat was gone.

He wiped away his tears and looked at the "Ranger" who smiled slightly.

"My lord sees through me and into you. He finds you a good man, one worthy of being called friend and looks forward to meeting your lady. My name is Richard, please don't call me Dick." Richard said as he extended out a hand towards Dante who readily took it and they shook hands.

"You're right, I have been hiding some things. I can't share everything, but I can share some things. Like ranger is a more "inconspicuous" way of referring to my class. I now know you're Rank 3 now thanks to my lord. My class is also Rank 3, rare." Richard said with a small smile and a measure of pride. Speaking quietly so as to not catch the ear of anyone nearby.

"What is your class?" He asked quietly.

"Lord of the Emerald Grove, I also have a few levels in rogue but don't tell anyone else this stuff. I honestly thought you might be lawful stupid or something so I got a little scared." Richard chuckled at that, Dante chuckled.

"No, I'm not that guy. I will keep your secret. You have my word. Part of being a cleric for my lady is I truly cannot lie to you or anyone."

(Redacted entity) hears your words and holds them to be true!...

You have earned a small amount of influence with (Redacted entity)...

----------------------------------

It came out that Dante was Rank 3, and he learned that while he had been talking to Richard they had not only learned about ranks but all three had ranked up to at least rank 2, except Tod, he was rank 3 because Paladin.

Dante spoke with the group for a while about D&D spells about any differences they had noticed. How he remade the light cantrip and dancing lights.

They all gave joy and amazement of how the spell they had loved had come to life and now they could use them.

Dante learned that thaumaturgy and prestidigitation both cost about 10 small gold in the store.

Dante paused for a moment noticing something that hadn't been there before, he felt a little colder now.

'Was it this cold before?' he thought before he looked at Susan and it donned on him. His eyes widened in shock as the realization hit him and he asked, "Who's running the winter aura right now?"

Susan smiled, he learned that each one of them had one of the three main season skills from Delve. All except Fall, the hardest to get.

Susan had Winter, Tod had Summer, Richard had Spring, Johnny also had Summer. Susan and the other's were quite intent on getting the Fall aura but couldn't quite remember the requirements to unlock it.

As it seemed that even though the system made the skills real, said skills still had their requirements.

Even the part where you had to pay experience to access higher tiers on the skill trees.

Tod mentioned how sending had changed to be more like the Arcs version of the spell, having no class or level requirement now like in Arcs.

After inquiring as to its cost and finding it to be 10 small gold he immediately bought it.

Sending Lvl. 3

You open your mind to a creature with which you are familiar allowing for communication over long distances. The creature hears the message in its mind, recognizes you as the sender if it knows you, and can answer in a like manner immediately. The spell enables creatures with an Intellect stat of at least 1 to understand the meaning of your message. 1 mana per word, possibly more if it's a long word. Transmission of thoughts and other such things more substantial than words is possible but incurs increased mana costs. Spell may be maintained for as long as you have sufficient mana.

You can send the message across any distance and even to other planes of existence, but if the target is on a different plane than you, there is a, variable chance that the spell will fail to connect. You are made aware when the message fails. You cannot target dead creatures with this spell unless other effects would allow you to do so.

Cast time: 1 second, Minimum cost: 1 mana/per second, Purchase cost: 10 small gold

The doorway swung open and knowledge of the spell poured into his mind like water. After a second the doorway closed once more and the spell ordered itself there in his mind. The light transcribing itself upon the pages of his system spell tome.

Intrinsic Focus and Clarity were mentioned somewhere along the way and after 12 seconds of description he bought them too.

Intrinsic Clarity (1/10) Exp: 0/100

Multiply base mana regeneration by 100% + 20% per level of this skill

Intrinsic Focus (1/10) Exp: 0/100

Multiply base mana by 100% + 20% per level of this skill

Sometimes he really did love Delve, like now.

Each of those cost him 25 large gold. Or in smaller coins, 250 small gold.

He had more than enough to buy them.

Dante mentioned meditation to the group eliciting a nod from Califa.

He explained how meditation was like intrinsic focus and clarity but for all your stats, to a smaller degree.

To which they began scrambling trying to find the skill in the system store.

When all was said and done everyone but Johnny had obtained the skill and Dante had lightly slapped each of them to knock them back to their senses after they paused.

From what he was told later, it had a stat requirement of 100 Wisdom.

--------------------------------

Elsewhere on Earth...

Men, women, and children fought on the beaches and in the streets not against monster though there were a few around.

No they were fighting each other due to a quest the system had prompted them with as soon as each of them had returned.

Global Quest has been issued!

Spare some change?

Find and collect metal change.

You may have said coins appraised and "cash them in" via this quest box.

For every coin given to the system an amount of money shall be added to your system wallet based on its appraised value.

Other forms of currency are accepted and you shall be fairly compensated for turning them in.

It's recommended that anyone participating in this quest purchase the Detection skill from the system store.

Appraise Cash in

----------------

Several men worked together to find all that they could on the beach before many others had this same idea.

The three friends had been fans of Delve and in their foolishness died trying to raid that Halls of the Dead.

Now the three friends were scavenging a beach for all its valuables.

Each man had the Detection skill. One man was combing the sands for change to turn in for the quest, though he decided to hold onto a quarter the system offered him a small gold for, 100 dollars.

Another searched the sands for jewelry, as scanning for gold or silver came back with very fuzzy results.

Then there was the third man, he searched the surf for anything of value but after seeing a shark and scanning it he decided to go back to shore as fast as possible

His skill had identified the creature as something that should have been long extinct, a Megalodon.

Many people worked hard and fast trying to earn enough for this Detection skill so that they could earn as much money as possible to use in this new world.