Marcus looked around at his friends. To think, it’s been just over two months and Phase 1 started yesterday. He shook his head, still having a hard time wrapping his head around everything. Magic, stats, random chance, it was all real. He still laughed at how it all started.

Yet right now, he had to focus. It was his turn on watch and letting himself allow a random monster to sneak up on them all out in the wild was dangerous. He had the second highest Wisdom, hence why he took the last watch. The early morning was when any nocturnal creatures who were hungry, and desperate for a meal, would strike.

The sun hasn’t even fully risen yet, but the sky had a soft glow to it. He rolled an arrow between his fingers, keeping himself mildly entertained to stay awake. He barely had put points into Endurance, making a full eight hours of sleep needed.

His phone buzzed half an hour later, letting him know it was time to wake everyone up. He stood up and stretched and walked over to the largest sleeping figure. He was thankful the shop had a mana to energy converter. It cost them almost all of their combined currency after the priority items, but it was worth every one.

Marcus nugged him with his foot. “Yo, Tristan, wake the fuck up.” He started with him because the wall of meat would take the longest to wake up. Even before the system, his old roommate could sleep through a tornado like a baby.

He went person by person and started to wake them up. Emma, Charles, Tracy, and Hunter all soon not long after. Marcus dodged a pillow from Emma. “Really? Do we still have to do this damn exact eight hours of sleep bullshit? I just want a full night's rest for once.”

Charles yawned, “When we find a new safezone to trade with, we can. Out in the wild we need to stay on the move. There is a reason I threw random monsters at you all when you fuckers took too long during rests and preparing for encounters. Let’s not tempt fate shall we? I doubt The System is as benevolent of a DM as I was.”

Tristan laughed, “Benevolent my ass. Where was that niceness last week when I got a splinter? No first aid till that night!”

“Please, like it actually hurt you. Ever since you acquired that shield as a reward, you've been boasting about how you are unkillable.”

Emma groaned, “Can you two shut it? All you do is bicker. It’s driving me insane!”

Tracy and Hunter found something interesting to look at on the ground. Marcus was counting his arrows. Nobody wanted to admit Emma was being a bitch. Not in front of her boyfriend. Tristian had drugged her along with them once they agreed to abandon society in running toward safety. Since then she has been a constant annoyance.

They quickly packed up camp and were soon starting to continue moving along the abandoned highway. Occasionally Marcus or Hunter would pop open a car to look for anything useful. Weapons, food, water, valuables. Any and all useful things. They always celebrated when an eighteen-wheeler full of goods was found. They always made marks on a map to come back for things. No special bags to hold things were discovered yet. Any in the shops were too expensive, and ever since Phase 1 started, they knew such items would not exist. Not anytime soon that is.

Five of them traveled sparsely together, while Hunter went ahead to scout. Out of them all, he was the only one with real survival skills. If not for his [Bow] skill, he would have stuck with a gun after acquiring his profession.

“What’s the next potential stop for us?” Tristan asked Charles.

“Which should be about three hours away from a larger city.” Charles said, looking up from his tablet. “The reason I want to go here is that a warehouse for Amazon is there. Gigantic shipping center. Every and any trade goods can be found there. I doubt a safezone isn’t there. If we are lucky, people haven't gotten into it yet. If we aren't lucky, then there are plenty of things to trade for.”

“I still don’t like the fact we are stealing things.” Marcus said. “Why not work for more currency and purchase from the shops?”

Tracy sighed, “Listen dude. We can’t be thinking about morality right now. We need to focus on survival. Money and food is what will keep that for us.” She gestured down at her two weapons, a sword and parrying dagger. “I need new weapons. I’m the only one with the basic bitch gear. None of us have skills related to weapon repair, and I rather not risk trying to acquire one before the next town.”

Marcus conceded. She was right, they did need to focus on getting Tracy new weapons. They had a Dungeon to fight in mind.

It was a [Novice] ranked one, and they happened upon it by chance. Dungeons have been spotted numerous times, but have been locked away until now. That message was the signal to race toward growing stronger.

It was a bit faster than three hours, but they soon made it to the next town. Even more surprising, the town didn’t have a safezone, it had three! They were all combined and in control by a group of people who were voted to leadership.

The name of the new conjoined safezone? The Tri Safe Area.

“Really?” Trsistian asked flatly when he heard the name from one of the guards.

He shrugged back at Tristian, “A kid suggested it, and it stuck. Be glad you only got here recently, several days ago it was a pseudo civil war. We only recently joined together in fear of the Dungeons nearby. We have two Rank 1’s, and a Rank 3 Dungeon.”

Everyone paused and looked at the guard with confusion. “Rank 1 and 3?” Marcus asked. “What the fuck are those.”

“Eh, just a better structure of names. Numbers are easier to scale than names. I mean, why is Beginner after Novice? Wouldn’t it be the other way around? You start at something, as in the beginning ya?”

Everyone blinked at him. “Well I think he has a point.” Emma said.

“Eh maybe. But to just add entire new wording to things people were starting to get used to seems a bit extra to me.” Charles said. He glances down at his tablet. “Any trade halls here? I also don’t suppose you have a magical shop by some chance?”

“No fancy shops, just people selling things.” The guard pointed down the road and turned his hand to the left. “Follow this main road for six blocks, at the corner cafe make a left. Continue down till you hit the old High School. Trade hall is set up there.”

“Thanks Sir!” Tracy said and darted down the road.

The city wasn’t in too bad of a shape. The city had a makeshift barrier on the roads in and out while other ways in seemed to be boarded up or piled with trash metal. The people in general seemed mostly normal. Typical clothing was exchanged for armor and weapons. The main mode of travel was bicycles or by foot. The only vehicles that were on the move either transported supplies or guards.

Lo and behold there was an actual hotel that offered rooms to stay for travelers. It cost them 250 Credits a night. Another term that was exchanged from what The System called everything. It was still Universal Currency, but the people in the City called them Credits. After the trading they had finished that day, it was well within their price range.

A good night's sleep, a full belly, and some personal time with a Hearth Crystal was all they truly needed before they all set off again. They grouped up for a hot and fresh breakfast. Tracy and Emma both seemed to have enjoyed the showers the most, but not because they used them.

“It’s nice to not smell funk anymore off you boys.” Emma commented as she sat down. Tracy nodded in agreement, “Not enough deodorant in the world to prevent what we all smelled like.”

“You get bathed in blood every fight and see how fresh smelling you are.” Tristan joaded.

“Well in his defense, you were also bathed in blood from fights.” Hunter said, slurping down his runny eggs.

“Says the guy with a bow and I think has been hit by an attack less times than girls I dated.” Marcus jabbed.

“Hey I don’t think I can be hit negative times Marcus.” Hunter said with a sly grin.

Everyone else laughed at Marcus’s expense, including himself. It was the first group laugh in a long while. Traveling puts a strain on them as a team. If not for Charles keeping them focused on tasks, they would have long since split up.

Speaking of, once breakfast was done, Charles pulled out his tablet. “I did some talking around town with Emma yesterday while you all were shopping. Two things I figured out. The first is a group that is forming to take on one of the Rank 1, or [Novice], dungeons that I think we should join for.”

“Really? We are all a rank above that! Why do it in a group?” Tracy asked.

“Because, we have no honest clue what to expect.” Hunter answered for Charles. “I agree with the plan. We can use what we learn for when we tackle that other Dungeon for ourselves.”

“What kind of Dungeon?” Tristan asked.

“The three different Dungeons are: Human, Elven, and High Moon. The latter being the [Apprentice] ranked one.”

“So it’s creature types?” Marcus questioned.

“What kind of creature is ‘High Moon’?” Emma asked. “I don’t know these fancy terms like you nerds do.”

“That’s the thing, High Moon isn’t a creature type, at least, not what we are used to.” Charles said. “I say we go for the Elven one. I rather not fight other humans.”

Everyone got slightly grim. “Why fight at all? What if they are willing to talk things out?” Tristan asked.

“These three are severely different from the Dungeon we found. I agree, why not talk?”

“The city people already sent a scout team with someone to negotiate for the Human Dungeon. Half an hour later the negotiator returned with his eyes removed.”

“Dude, we are eating here.” Emma blanched.

“As for the Elves, the scouts retired and claimed they found nothing but a sparse forest. Nobody has gone near the big dungeon. Rightfully so, that brings me to the second thing I learned.” Charles tapped on his tablet and turned it so everyone could see. It was a list.

Novice

1-9

Beginner

10-24

Apprentice

25-109

Student

110-224

Journeyman

225-449

Marcus let out a whistle while Trisitan and Hunter grunted in annonce. Emma looked confused. “What’s this mean? Surely that’s not what I think it is.”

“It is.” Tracy said. “It’s the levels for the first five ranks isn’t it Charles?”

He nodded. “It’s on public display near where the Hearth Crystal is. I saw it while Emma was doing her thing.”

“Oh yea, what kind of upgrade did you get for hitting Level 15?” Hunter asked.

Emma stuck her tongue out but winked, “Wouldn’t you like to know? Afraid I might out do you now?”

Hunter laughed, “Nice try, like you can out do me.”

“Well if you must know, I received a new skill that plays with my cute charms.”

Everyone stared at her confused until Charles spoke up. “She has a skill that more or less makes her our bard, or sorcerer if she stays on the path of magic. It increases any and all profit in trade deals called [Barter].”

“That’s right! It’s an upgrade to that [Negotiate] skill I had since the first week. It was a shitty one too. Only gaining a bonus to ensure I don’t die was nice until I had Tristian here save me.” She hugged his shoulders tightly. “Now, I gain a profit off any and all trades! I shall be your financial adviser.”

Tracy rolled her eyes, “Gread, the blonde is in charge of our money. I will give us two weeks before we are broke.”

“Hey, no need to be rude. It was one time! It’s hard to make that skill any better and it’s still stuck at [Novice 4].”

“Well now it should be better to rank up.” Marcus said with a friendly smile.

“So new skills aside, anything else we need to be aware of?” Hunter asked their team lead.

“No, tomorrow we go into the Dungeon. Take a rest day and prepare yourselves for anything.”

Twenty people stood in a loose gathering in front of the wintergreen portal. Six strangers stood out among them, but the word of the raid leader put them at ease.

“These six are here to help. I vetted them myself.” The man in charge was a large black man standing nearly seven feet tall. He wielded two axes and wore a mix of leather and chain armor. His name was Tucker.

As for the six strangers, people eyed their get up. Firstly was the large man wearing just normal clothes, a shield, and a heavy looking spear. Almost everyone wore armor, including the mages to some extent. Even robes had better protection than jeans and a T-Shirt.

The next oddity was the man wearing robes but holding a tablet. There were two orbs floating over his shoulders, the signature weapons of a mage. It was just odd seeing two. No other mage had two, since using a second one would cause the first to go inert.

The other four looked mostly normal. A woman wearing leather armor with a blue sword and a smaller red dagger. A man wearing darker cloth and leather with a bow. Another man wearing Chain armor, but had an odd looking crossbow. Lastly was the final girl, wearing the typical attire of a mage, even holding a wand waving it around like an idiot.

“Everyone under my command. We go in, we scout. We are not here to fight unless threatened first. Keep your wits about you. Scouts are to stay within shouting distance. Everyone now groups close together so Miranda here can buff you. It will last an hour, so let’s move quickly.” Tucker commanded

Everyone did so, and a woman with red hair started to chant. A screen appeared showing everyone had a speed boost. It was only 4%, but it was something.

One by one, people entered the dungeon. The last to enter was the group of six. It was colder on the other side, but not freezing. More like a fall evening. For those in heavier gear, it was a blessing.

“Why does it feel different here?” Tristan asked. “Something seems off.”

Charles continued to tap on his tablet but nodded, “The air is cleaner for sure, hold on let me figure this out.” He continued to tap but Hunter responded first. “It’s more than that. There is ambient magic in the air, my skill is giving me weird feedback. As if it wasn’t intended to be used this way.”

Charles nodded, “Agreed. I’m picking up ambient magic. My orb is a basic scanner, but from what it can tell me, there is a focus on Earth, Air, and similar types of magic. Strong Nature vibes if I had to guess. Marcus you see anything? What about you, Tristian?”

Tucker glanced back at the group. Their team work was surprisingly more than he expected. Leave it to the nerds to somehow take the lead on this new magical world. He glanced around not seeing anything outright dangerous.

The trees were huge, the size of redwoods he once saw back in California. There was an herby sent in the air. The sky was cloudy but the area was well lit by a bright sun. He honestly believed to be on another world, or at least another part of earth possibly. Would Oregon be this cold at this time of year?

The group started to move forward. They walked for roughly ten minutes before a scout came rushing back. It was a woman but she didn’t look afraid.

“A small group of four people. They are wearing robes and hoods, but have no weapons that I could tell. They are headed right for us.”

Tucker nodded, “Everyone group up!” he shouted, signaling the scouts to return. Sure the group could hear him, but it was a needed risk. Everyone must be grouped together in case anything bad happens. It could be a trap and not calling them back to avoid being heard was the wrong choice.

Everyone was on edge, weapons drawn and ready for a fight. Tucker kept his hands on the hilts of his axes. Wanting to appear somewhat friendly if possible. A few moments later four tall robed figured walked into view. One of them had their hood down.

To everyone else, it looked like a woman with pale skin and green hair. She smiled and held her arms wide. “Newly coveted. I, Amoria, cherish I am the first of my people to welcome you. We are but lost petals to fate. Allow us to break bread and share stories. We bring no ill wanted harm upon you or your peopel or planet. We merely wish to spread the word of our goddess.”

Everyone seemed confused. This was nothing to what they expected from a dungeon. Emma scrunched up her face. “Is this normal?”

“Considering this is the first Dungeon we have encountered, it’s a 100% rate of occurrence.” Charles said.

Marcus kept his eyes looking around in case this was a trap. Although, he was secretly glad they were nice and not murdering elves like from the stories. He was mentally ready for arrows to rain down upon them.

Tucker spoke up, “Pleasentries aside, how can we trust you?”

The woman nodded, as if expecting such a question. “You can’t, but my clan is only here to share knowledge, trade goods, and possibly plant seeds of hope among your people. If you are willing to allow us exit from this Dungeon, us four will be the first among your people.”