“Sup Matty, what can I help you with?” Zack asked. His face was covered in sweat, his ever long hair now held back in a ponytail.

Choosing to ignore the nickname, Mathew leaned against the wall looking at everything inside. “Grabbing people to clear out a possible Dungeon. You in?”

“Hell ya I am! I knew you would need me. I’ve been slaving away on my latest project, want to see?”

Mathew nodded and followed Zack to the forge. The heat in here was insane, instantly causing him to sweat. “How the fuck does he work in here hours all day?”

Mathew saw dozens of pieces of armor, unfinished blades, and other metal pieces. Zack walked over to a suit of armor. It was mostly gray steel with crimson red pieces.

“I call it Hell Armor. It mixes our normal steel with the Infernal metal ingots some people got as a reward. With the bonuses from my skills and ability, this armor is going to be the best in the town- no, the world!”

Mathew shook his head, trying to stop himself from laughing at Zacks antics. “It looks good buddy. Just how well does it hold?”

Zack grinned, “How well? Attack it. Give it your best shot.”

“I don’t think you want me destroying that Zack. You put so much work into it.”

“And it’s that work that I know you won’t destroy it. At worst, you will leave a dent. Trust me. Do it. Unless you secretly gained another thousand stat points, it won’t be destroyed.”

Mathew shrugged, “Fine, don’t cry when I damage it though.”

Zack stood cross armed waiting for Mathew to do his magic. Damien just stood idly to the side, also eager to see how the armor fairs.

Mathew didn’t bother pulling out his rod, but let a large charged up [Mana Bolt] form in his hand. The mana rivers flowing slowly through the ever expanding tunnels Mathew formed. He took his time building it up, and once it was the size of a bowling ball, he threw it at the armor.

A loud thundering *thud* echoed through the room, followed by metal clattering to the ground. “Fuck, okay, that might have been a little too much Mathew.” Zack yelled as he walked to the armor that was on the ground.

“I told you, but you didn’t listen did….you.” Mathew stopped talking as Zack sat the armor back on the stand. It was perfect. Not a single blemish that he could see.

“Okay, explain.” Mathew demanded.

Zack just chuckled, “Told you, but you didn’t listen…did you.”

Mathew narrowed his eyes. “Har har. Very funny.”

“Well I thought it was funny.” Damine said to the side laughing.

“It’s one of the passive effects. Distributes damage across the entire armor set.”

“One of? Jesus, what else can it do?”

“Just two other things. One is a self cleaning enchantment. The only one I can add to armor. The other effect is from my God. Three times a year, I can bless an item through his magic. It gives it a random property. Since I use the armor, it gains two. The first you saw for yourself. The other is called [Charged Momentum]. Pretty much turns me into a walking battering ram.”

“Dang, even I didn’t know that.” Damien said.

“That is impressive. What about that weapon there?” Mathew pointed to the now fallen over large weapon.

Zack picked it up with one hand effortlessly. “Hammer on one side, axe on the other. Told ya one existed. I just had to make it. Simple weapon, nothing fancy other than the self cleaning part. I didn’t bother using any fancy stuff on it. Not here to deal damage, I’m here to take it. The weight is all on the head side, so if I use it, it’s going to hurt.”

Mathew nodded, “And a shield is in the works I presume?”

“Yup, final piece I plan to make. The one given to me as a reward is nice and all, but not suited for what I need. I need a shield. Not a little buckler.”

Mathew thought back to the shield Zack used, and always thought it was fairly large. “Alrighty then. We leave in three days, can you be ready by then?”

“Ready? Ha, you are going to have to slow me down since I’ll be halfway to the dungeon by then!” Zack put on a face mask and picked up his smithing hammer. Mathew and Damien scurried away before they got hit by flying sparks.

“We’ll be ready. Who else is going?”

“You are the first two I asked. Leo will be, I know I won't’ have to ask. I’m going to ask Henderson and Lindsey. Then try to snag Brown and Dr. Garcia. That should be enough for a Beginner Dungeon. Too much for a Novice one.”

“I like it. Good luck Mathew.”

Mathew drove his cart to the newly repaired barracks. He saw several groups of people training with weapons. Those who weren't were obviously resting. Mathew saw a familiar face yelling at a small group, and parked his cart to get out and walk that way.

“I don’t give a shit what your skills are. I said you are going to run five miles in less than twenty minutes, or you are on cleaning duties for the rest of the month! High tail it magic boy!” Sergeant Franks yelled.

Mathew watched as a trio of young adults scurried off to run. Mathew doubted they could run five miles in less than twenty minutes with the benefit of stats unless they were heavily invested in Endurance and Dexterity.

Franks turned and sneered at Mathew. “Sir.” he said with an edge of distaste. “What can I do for you?”

“Looking for Henderson, know where she is?”

“Captain Henderson is in her office currently finishing paperwork you sent to her.”

“Okay, thanks.” Mathew started to walk away but was stopped by a voice.

“Wait. I want to ask something from you Mr. McGonald, Sir.”

Mathew turned back. “What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if you can teach a class on magic. As one of our strongest and current experts, you would be a prime example. Plus having such a high ranking leader give the time of day to these people would do wonders for their morale.”

“I’m no expert, I’m still learning how things work myself. You would be better off having someone else, or let them read the materials themselves. Just like I am doing.”

“No, I insist. Even Captain Henderson agrees with my suggestion. She was going to ask you herself, but I figured since I have you here, why not now?”

“Now? I can’t do it now. I’m not even prepared.”

“But sir,” Sergeant Franks had a glint of enjoyment in his eyes, “Think of the fine young men and women training to protect you and this town. It would behoove you to take a few moments of your time to at least give them something to work toward. To become a man of your caliber would be a dream for them.”

“Alright, drop the military pitch. You are making me feel like Payne is behind me or something. Don’t forget, I never sold you out to him.”

“And I’m thankful for that. However, these young aspiring guardsmen are not thankful for your merciful benevolence.”

Mathew closed his eyes and thought it over for a moment. “Maybe Franks has a point. A small, almost insignificant one. But showmanship will be important. Reminding everyone who is in charge, and why is going to be required.”

“Fine, but on my own time. Set up a day next week. I’ll do a performance then. Also, ass kissing doesn’t work on me. If you want to be on my good side, do good work. That will keep me happy.”

“I suppose that could work. You better be ready for a proper demonstration Mr. McGonalds, sir.”

Mathew narrowed his eyes, but said nothing as he walked away. “Small victories Mathew. He’s just trying to get under your skin.”

Inside the barracks, Mathew headed to the offices by following the few signs. He came to Hendersons and knocked on her open door. “Mathew? Good to see you, how is it going? Any reports from the scouts yet?”

“Got one today. Dungeon. Want in?”

“Maybe, what rank is it?” Henderson leaned against her elbows, looking up at Mathew from her desk.

“Don’t know. Apparently it is some sort of dinosaur theme. I don’t want to risk another Beginner rank. If it’s Novice, I could clear it myself. Maybe one or two others. Regardless, I plan on bringing all our heavy hitters. It’s less than a day’s travel on foot. That’s further than the Infernal one, but closer than the Goblin one. If it’s just as deadly as the Infernals…”

“Agreed. I’ll set things up here, when do you want to head out?”

“Tomorrow preferably. The plan is to just eliminate it, and claim the core to turn it into a repeating Dungeon. That will introduce currency back into the coffers for the town itself.”

“Smart plan, I like it. I had enough UC to buy a bulk basic gear from Di, but I agree, we do need more money on the town side. I’ll be there. Franks can watch the trainees for a day.”

“Yea, that man is acting weird. Super professional around me now.”

“He’s afraid of you.” She said, now looking at some papers on her desk. “You essentially are a mystery to him. He doesn’t know what to do with you. I told him to treat you respectfully, but not to let you walk all over him. Otherwise I’m going to knock you on your face.”

“Like I would openly do such a dumb thing. Not going to act like a dictator because I’m in charge, that’s a ticket to death.”

“Well, if he keeps being over the top, I’m going to just slap him. Not hard, but enough to make him stop.”

Henderson just snorted. “Sure, you do that. That’s how you resolve an issue.”

“Going to do it. Can’t stop me now.”

“Go for it Mathew. Just be sure I can watch the cat fight that happens shortly after.”

Mathew started to walk off, “See you in a couple days, 6am like the usual?”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way Mathew.”

“Lindsey, Check. Dr. Garcia and Brown, half a check. Garcia didn’t want to come, but I convinced Samuel to instead. Zack and Damien are there, plus Henderson, three checks. Just need Leo, and that’s all our big hitters. Sucks I can’t find another healer. Leo has a healing spell now right?” Mathew muttered to himself as he walked toward Leo’s living space.

Mathew had an inkling of an idea of his timing. He left before the sun came up, and was back around dinner time, unless he had a bad fight. Considering it was just an hour till dinner, Mathew figured Leo would be back soon.

Luckily, he only waited less than fifteen minutes. Leo came strolling up to Mathew, covered in grime and dried liquids that looked like blood and other fluids.

“Yo Mathew. How does mana studying go?”

“Went well, small progress being made daily. Add in my other training, and steady progress. How about your own stuff?”

“Same.” Leo started to stretch out his left shoulder, “Pulled my arm outta it’s socket. Fought a pack of bears in a den. Was kinda close, nothing I couldn’t handle. What do you need from me today? Another drinking night?”

“Not tonight. A dungeon was found. You want to help take it out?”

Leo’s eyes lit up like fire. “Damn right, we're leaving tomorrow?”

Mathew nodded, and Leo just smiled. “Good. I’ll clear it out myself if it’s Novice. If it’s Beginner, you and the team can support me.”

Mathew paused and held up a hand, “If it’s Novice, I was going to clear it out with at least you and maybe Zack or Henderson. We can’t take chances. The Goblins took all five of you and that pushed you to ya’lls limits.”

“That was then, this is now. I can handle it, trust me.”

“Listen to me dude.” Mathew stared at Leo. “I can’t have you dying on me. You are too valuable. Easily the strongest here in an all out brawl. The creatures we are fighting are some sort of dinosaur-like things. If you want to fight a small group alone, go for it. But when we go into that Dungeon, no matter the rank, we do it together. People care about you Leo. I want to try to do it by myself as well, but only if I know I can. I would rather send in the entire town to get thatt core, and nobody dies, than just you and risk death. Got it Leo? I want to get stronger too, but I don’t want to risk people's lives to do so.”

Leo sighed deeply. “Fine, but in the first fight nobody helped me. I need to push myself more, I need to be ready.” He looked down at Lucky, his weapon. “For them, I have to. For everyone. There may not be a next time if I’m not strong enough.”

“Trust me, you are not the only one. Let’s just do this one as a practice run for the Undead one ya?”

Leo nodded, “Works for me. I’m going to show and eat. See you in the morning buddy.” He closed his door behind him, leaving Mathew alone.

“God, I swear he is suicidal on purpose.” Mathew walked back to his golf cart and headed to his own room.

“Well, at least the crew is together. Hopefully Leo doesn’t go off on his own there. It would be very bad to go against the plan. We need that core…I need that core.” He thought to himself.

Once he arrived back to his room, he opened his bag up, and started to sort through things and prepare. They had no clue what to expect inside, himself less so. It would be best to be ready for almost anything.

He had plenty of pills thanks to Di to help him restock. Back up staff. Back up knife. Water, food, and other supplies. “I’m going to need a back up medical kit for Leo and Brown, in case those two lose theirs.”

Mathew started to add more stuff, then frowned. His bag was too full. “Damn it, I need a bigger bag enchantment.”

He’s had this bag since he was level eleven. It had served him well, but now he needed a new one. The wear and tear could be seen on it, and he knew he would need replacement soon. He wanted to wait a bit longer though.

A quick stop by The Workshop while getting dinner landed him a new wolf hide bag. Externally, it was way better made than his old one. It only had a flap at the top, but it could open up wider to put larger things through the top. A new model that started when Mathew made his enchantment publicly available to buy again.

Some people used the bags to transport corpses. Why, Mathew would never guess. It would dirty them inside, plus it still weighed the same. Then again, with the help of stats, it wouldn’t be too big a deal.

“Let's get to magic making, shall we?” He said to himself. He finished a fresh cup of tea and sat at this table with the bag held between his hands.

The act of casting this spell was no different than any other he had. What was different was the time, and application of the magic. This was something Mathew started to realize recently with his study of Mana Cycling.

Take [Summon Wispy & Whis] for example. He can cast it through one hand for starters. The mana flows steadily and constantly out of his hand. It then forms the two whisps the spell is named after. However, he can’t control the speed of mana flows, nor how much.

As for [Mana Bolt] he was all too familiar with how the mana in that spell worked. Since that was the primary spell he used to start Mana Cycling. With that spell, he can hold the mana in one or two hands, however he typically used it in his rod. Then he can build up the mana to increase the output.

Now we have [Ritual of Enchantment: Increased Space] this required both hands touching the object he wished to apply it to. He needed a consistent mana flow, but the more he applied, the stronger the enchantment to a certain maxim. Where more mana didn’t work, it just fell off the object.

With his studies of Rituals, it applied to the spell. Rituals were predetermined spells. They worked only one way. Yet, this ritual formed spell could work to some variable. Primarily increasing the quality related to the rank which the spell took. At Novice 1, it barely made a bag bigger than three feet. At novice 5, plus a Novice 5 [Ritual] skill. Well, the results speak for themselves.

The important part Mathew really focused on right now, was the mana and spell. He only had two other ‘types’ of spells to compare. His summons each worked mostly the same, requiring different amounts of mana, time, and for Jeffrey specifically, a slight way the mana is shaped.

Mathew never noticed until he tried to use the [Summon Jeffrey] spell to learn Mana Cycling. The mana when it formed in his hand seemed to form a shape that he couldn’t quite sense or see. For the enchantment ritual, he could see it thanks to his skill.

It was fuzzy, as all the mana diluted the symbol, but it was there. It seemed to be layers of circles overlapping one another to form a bigger circle. Mathew ingrained that symbol into his mind, and after doing so finished the spell, creating a new bag for himself.

He was satisfied with the results. Going from a three foot by two foot bag to an entire ten by twelve foot bag. He could fit an entire body or two in it with room to spare for his smaller belongings.

He started to put items into the bigger back one at a time, while thinking about the ritual. The mana followed a predetermined path. Could he recreate the enchantment but with his skill and ink, rather than in spell form? Then on the flip side, could he turn rituals into spells?

His skill allowed a small chance for it to happen automatically, but what if he did all the work without a System given spell? Would that even work? The idea tantalized Mathew’s mind. A working problem to solve. His favorite court cases were the ones that required some thinking. Like a puzzle.

Usually a private investigator or two was needed to fill in the blanks. Photos of the person that was being used to cheat with. Maybe a security film that nobody knew about. The occasional witness that was difficult to track down to ensure his client won the most money.

Each piece furthering his chances of victory. When it all came together, and it was an open and close case? Those are the ones that Mathew enjoyed the most. The times when there was zero chance the opposing party could fathom a win. Absolute victory.