Elizabeth Smith looked over the latest report on the clearing of Dungeons. Dozens were either shut down, or converted. New America was taking shape, and her uncle was constantly applauding her efforts.

She hated it all.

All she wanted to do was spend time with her husband, Christian, and fight monsters. A life long dream finally coming true. Years of tabletop gaming, virtual gaming, and constant reading works of fiction, and she was forced to play politics.

“This is why I always played a barbarian or a druid. No politics. Just nature, and letting shit work itself out.”

Mrs. Smith continued to look over the more pressing issues around known New America zones. Compared to the first few weeks, barely half of them are left. Either taken out by the local dungeons or, worse, by other people.

Currently all efforts with the peaceful dungeons are going smoothly. Trade, teachings, and many other things were going great. She recalled her first, and only, diplomatic mission to talk to a group of elven like creatures.

All notes on them noted to not disown nature in any way around them. They made vegans and hippies look like carnivorous cannibals. Then again, they were cannibals. The elven culture revolved around eating the dead of the fallen. To bring in their experience to the next generation.

The DC area was currently on track for full mana assimilation. Plenty of the old coots were distasteful toward mana powered vehicles. That was until they were shown the weapons that could be powered by mana. Then it was a 92% majority vote in favor of the new vehicles

“Old bums. Now they are just going to live longer. That’s what we need. Old world mindsets in the newest of new worlds.” Mrs. Smith shook her head in annoyance. “Fine fine, nothing I can do about it right now. I just need to find a replacement.” She moved toward the recent casualty reports that typically indicated revolts or dungeon takeovers.

Mrs. Smith noted that all communications with the western zones by The Grand Canyon were cut off abruptly just a few days ago. There were reports of an Apprentice ranked Dungeon there. She marked that off as an important scouting mission for those not entering the World Quest.

Novice, Beginner, and Apprentice were the three publicly known dungeon grades. There was yet to be a Student rank one, but all records and information gathered from numerous shops show that there is one on the planet.

All previous worlds that were like Earth have always had a single Student rank Dungeon to test the planet. Either that dungeon, the world's original inhabitants, or another random dungeon would come out on top from the mountains of bodies.

She shivered at the thought of such power. She wasn’t even level 20. The thought of something that could pick her up with just a single finger was frightening. Level 111 was so far away. It took nearly three months to reach 20. She doubted the time scale was perfect as one increased in rank and level.

Mrs. Smith started to put together the weekly briefing. All eyes were on the upcoming world quest. With less than 14 days till the dungeon opens, everyone was gearing up. Squadrons and teams were being put together. Battle protocols were fleshed out.

She was even more surprised when she was approved to enter. Her uncle called her to tell her the good news. “I need my expert in there with boots on the ground. The sooner we figure out how The System works, the sooner we can bend it over and make it out bitch.”

He was a different person from on TV and behind closed doors. She missed her uncle who gave her the first taste of booze or listened to her teen problems. Her parents never cared enough to raise her. Uncle Bari on the other hand, was always there for her.

Now it seemed she was always there for him. Not in a family way, only work.

“Work work work. All I do is work.” She huffed and opened another report. It was related to the teams going into the world dungeon. Out of all the teams, there were five high importance ones. There was a name that popped up as the leader for the fourth team that caught her eye. “General Payne. Now, why does that name seem familiar…”

She chewed on the end of her pen, trying to think. That was, until her office door opened up. “Mrs. Smith. I’m here to evacuate you. There is an emergency!” One of the guards shouted as he ran over to her.

“Evacuate? What the hell! Tell me what’s going on.”

“Later, you are with me.” The bodyguard picked her up in a princess carry and started to run out. She trusted the guard, knowing him even before The System appeared. Yet concern crossed her mind. “Just what in the ever living FUCK is going on to get evacuated.”

Being rushed upstairs to the recently modified helicopter she could see smoke in the distance. A hoard of fiery creatures were charging the building.

“How did those things get in? I thought the elementals were contained in their dungeon.” Her husband said so. Elizabeth's eyes went wide. “Wait, where is Christian! We need to wait on him.”

“I’m sorry ma’am. Protocol. You know the drill. I’m sure he is fine and will meet us at the rendezvu spot.

Kris Bolotin stood proudly over the recently slain false man. He morphed into his true form, a black carapaced bug. “Men!” he shouted in Norwegian. “Today, we finish off this cursed alien menace. Then we go home and celebrate!”

Cheers went off around him. They had finally found the entrance to the unmanly dungeon full of unmanly creatures. They disguised themselves like other people. Kris flipped his long blonde hair out of his face and held aloft his giant sword. “We fight for who?”

“For Honor!”

“We die for who?”

“Our family!”

“Who dies by our hands!”

“The enemy!!!”

Kris laughed with his fellow warriors as they all ran through the blue mystical portal. “Today I rank up. The informant says I need one last ability to Apprentice rank. I need time to celebrate and train before the newest challenge comes!”

Mark McGonald toweled the sweat from his face. A glass of water was offered to him from a nearby servant. Who knew that a class and profession related to such work existed. It made keeping them around much easier.

He looked up at the single eyed trainer that he earned from a recent reward. “What am I doing wrong?”

“Who says you are doing something wrong?” The alien trainer spoke in a sing-song voice. As if taunting Mark.

“I didn’t land a single attack on you. I even used my trump card ability that I can only use once every couple of days. It’s that intensive on my body.”

“That is because I didn’t want to get hit of course.” The trainer laughed and twirled a fork in his hand.

“I’m not leaving this place until I hit you.”

“Oh dear. Then you better have your servants bring in a bed as well. You will be sleeping here for many nights I’m afraid.”

Mark smiled. “Keep taunting me. It might make me angry enough to not hold back.”

“You were holding back? I thought you used your so-called ‘trump card’. I told you to take this seriously.”

Mark’s nostrils flared. He said no words and rushed forward with his sword and shield. His sword glowed green as poison coated it. Meanwhile his black shield vibrated as Mark’s ability activated.

The one eyed human danced around, not a single attack getting remotely closed. It was as if Mark was too slow. His body couldn’t move fast enough. “Why” “Can’t” “I” “Hit” “You!” Each word was enunciated with a missed attack.

“If only you were faster. What do you fuel your body with? Sugary sweets? Whole pigs?” The trainer dodged an attack and poked Mark in the belly. “So pudgy. Do humans here use fat as a protective measure, or are you just fat?”

Mark bashed out with his shield, not even getting close to his trainer. “Agh! Stop, fucking, dodging!”

“Well, then you would hit me! That would hurt, how would you feel if I hit you!”

“Then at least I would feel like you were treating me as an enemy, and not an annoying insect. Attack me back damnit!” Mark tried to goad him. He had a counter attack spell that only worked if he was hit. He was 100% positive it would hit the old man. He just needed him to attack back!

“Why would I want to hurt you? Then I won’t have my personal cooling servant with his metal fan keeping me nice and comfortable.”

Mark was too angry to keep fighting. He yelled in frustration and marched back to his servants to rest. “Just what in the fuck am I doing wrong. You said you would fight me as if you were on my level!”

“I am! I never said I wouldn’t use my knowledge either. You can move this fast too Mark McGonald. You have nearly 200 Dexterity. I am moving with 150. Once you hit me, you will be enlightened with all my secrets.”

“Fourteen days. Can I be strong enough to protect my daughter within that time frame?”

Adam McGonald and Jonathan McGonald looked up at the japanese styled building.

“It’s been three days.” Jonathan complained with a sour look.

Adam huffed, and closed the book he was reading. The light above his head flickered off. “Servants keep coming in and out. We are not allowed in, if we do, we break the rules.”

“I’m starting to not give a damn. What if he is hurt?”

“Then the servants will take care of it. Mark is strong, he will be fine. You need to hurry up and get Level 25. Mark will be upset with you if you don’t.”

“Bah, I’ll get it before it’s too late. I have other things to take care of.”

Adam glanced at his older brother, but said nothing. He simply walked off. Jonathan didn’t need to look at his younger brother to know that instead of walking out of the house, he walked further in, toward the stairs.

“Crazy bastard.” Jontahan thought with a chuckle as he continued to stare at the building. “Be my turn soon enough. Just you wait.”

Mr. Melton looked at the cost of the newest addition to Blue Oaks. “Yes, this will work fine. How many crafters will be dedicated to the project?”

The sculpture that came from what used to be Watago smiled. “Just me and a few others. I have a crafting profession, and a Geomancer class. I can manipulate the earth like no other. I’ll have the building done in just two days. The statues will take longer, with the fancy workshop you guys have here, I say ten days total till it’s complete.”

Melton smiled and shook the man's hand. “Perfect. Get it done, keep it secret though, okay? We don’t want to ruin the surprise!”

Mr. Melton was excited. He knew Mathew would approve of it, so he might have taken a small loophole in the approval chain. But that man the past two days has been stuck inside that workshop.

Only Bob and Agnox were seen going in and out of the place. Why the martial artist went up there, he had no clue. “Probably taking lessons. But inside the workshop? That made zero sense.”

Mr. Melton wasn’t here to question Mathew’s choice of training grounds. He was here to satisfy two people with his work ethics, and one woman back home.

He pulled up his quest screen, and grinned at it.

Personal Quest: Local Theology

Your people need to be reminded of the hierarchy in the Universe. Erect the nine statues of the first gods to remind them who truly rules.

Statue of Chadkix, God of Business: 0/1

Statue of Okutar, God of Combat: 0/1

Statue of Poi, God of The Sky: 0/1

Statue of Gaia, Goddess of Earthly Bonds: 0/1

Statue of Numa, Goddess of Deception: 0/1

Statue Venessa, Goddess of Betrayal: 0/1

Statue of Xy’Chu, God of Life: 0/1

Statue of Appiat, God of Fire: 0/1

Statue of King, God of Weapons: 0/1

Reward:

Ability: Divine History [Unranked]

Henderson shouted at the newest batch of guards. “Down!”

Seventeen bodies dropped to the ground, their arms locked, ready to push their bodies back up at her command. Henderson waited a few more seconds, eyeing a few shaking arms. “Up!”

“Fifty Ma’am!” They all shouted in almost perfect unison.

“Up! Up! Run ten laps, then back in formation!” All of them jumped to their feet and started to run around the track. Each lap was a quarter of a mile. With their stats, it was a perfect warm up.

While she waited for them to finish the exercise. Henderson started to think over her recent goals. Her talk with Mathew went…well it happened. She wanted to talk about other things, but that man had no thoughts for others. Not personal ones. He would be a great leader one day, yet he lacked that personal charm.

He could fake it, he did perfectly in front of people. Behind closed doors, he was too focused on himself and the future. She was almost worried about him.

“Bah what does it matter if I care? I have to train these men and women so they don’t die. Mathew has everything else taken care of. Crafting new equipment, upgrading the entire zone to keep it safe, not to mention the upgrade for mana.” Damn she loved that upgrade. It let her train harder on her own. Longer.

She smiled at herself. She just recently got her weapon skill to Apprentice ranked, earning her an epiphany. An Axiom. Her very first one, and it was how she knew why Leo and Mathew were so strong.

The Axiom of [Precision] was nothing right now. But her sword swung so fast, she couldn’t believe it was possible.

“I’ll keep you all safe, you all just need to be able to live.” She muttered to herself as she watched the soon to be guards run. “That’s why I am making you almost die today. So tomorrow, you can survive a little more.”

The wilderness wasn’t a place for the weak. It’s a place for the strong. Zachary was abandoned in the wilderness after his plane crashed years ago. He is nothing like the boy he was when he was lucky to survive.

Many times he thought about ending his own life. Yet, the thought of rescue staved off the actions. Even after fifteen years, he had hoped someone would save him. It was the fact that his rescuer wasn’t human that was unpredictable.

One morning he was sitting with his bird friend, Kook, when he suddenly appeared in a gray zone. He had thought he had long forgotten how to read. Yet when a blue screen with white text appeared, he could read all the words.

He yelled, screamed, ran, everything in fear. His worst thoughts of the government pulling an experiment on him returned. He almost broke, after fifteen years in the wild, he almost gave up right then.

Yet, after throwing his stats into Strength, just with the false hope he could return to his camp, he appeared in what was a young girls room. The girl was there too, screaming at the sight of him.

Zachary ran out, and returned to the wild. He looked high and low for his friend Kook, and to this day still searches for the animal. It’s been nearly three months, and Zachary was running out of options.

“I won’t take you out to sea. Ever since The System showed up, monsters appeared out in the waters.” The captain pleaded.

Zachary narrowed his eyes. The man wasn’t lying. He was weak. Zachary nodded as he gripped the man's neck with his lone hand, and squeezed. “If you won’t, then I will find someone who will.”

He didn’t kill the captain. That would be too far. Zachary just needed to steal his boat is all. Ever since that first day back in the normal civilization. He has realized mankind was weaker than he was.

Monsters, dungeons, magic, it was all fantasy come to life. Zachary found a thrill in it. He was faster, stronger, and could recover from the worst of injuries in hours. There were two times in his life he almost died. When the snake bit him, and when a shark ate his left hand and forearm.

Now Zachary laughed at the pitiful slaps and punches mankind tries to deal with on his body. There was but one lone hope for him. The class he acquired acknowledged his closeness with nature. It helped unleash the animal instincts he’s developed.

Even the blue boxes continued to reward his progress. He was the alpha in this world. Zachary has seen the leaderboards. He would demand rewards from quests, to get his friend back, but none of that mattered. There was a single hope left if he couldn’t find someone to take him out to sea.

The World Quest was his best chance. If he defeated it, The System had to give him his friend as a reward. He wouldn’t let anyone stop him. Kook was all he had. His parents were dead. His childhood was gone.

Zachary threw some American dollars on the ground for the captain's problems. Money was pointless to him. Why buy when he can take or make?

Zachary activated his skill that increased his speed, and took off to the next closest harbor. He only had limited time till the World Quest. At this speed he probably won’t make it to the island he had survived on for years.

He didn’t know its exact location. Just somewhere southeast of china. From America, that would be weeks to reach, not including the searching island by island. If only he could see the stars in the area, then he could start to narrow it down.

No, he would wait for the quest. Join it. Then demand for his friend as his reward. He will be the top of the food chain, just like he was on the island, he will dominate the dungeon.

A man was watching a movie on the TV. He was sitting down on the gray couch wearing a black robe. The TV was playing an older kids movie using the DvD player. It showed a knight riding a mule to escape from a dragon.

The man scoops a bit of his cold red dessert and places it into his mouth. The taste is orgasmic to him, the expression showing well onto his face. He has longed for such a taste for a few years now. Before his new world, such flavors were just a memory that he yearned for.

Long ago memories of a field with red fruits behind his old home in Turkey crossed his mind. He remembered being a young boy picking them with his mother and sister. “I do miss strawberry ice cream.” He said between bites, enjoying the sweet dairy food. Each spoonful he let sit on his tongue letting it slowly melt as to savor every bit.

He missed the blue sky and yellow sun. He glanced down at his arms, pale from years of being inside. He had almost forgotten what sunlight was like before he was freed. The feeling of sweat running down his brow from hours of working in the fields.

It was over thirty years since he last tasted the red fruit. His most recent home never had any. Only lime or cherry flavored desserts, and he hated them both. The scene on the TV moved to showing the knight and noble steed climbing a tower to a princess, one who is cursed with everlasting sleep.

He took a glance at his new robe, it wasn’t his favorite color, however it was a close second. It was nice to wear such a high royalty like item. Never has such luxurious threads ever covered his body, even while working in the fields with his family.

The mobility and freedom it offered was wonderful compared to his last jacket. Luckily when he awoke in his old destroyed and deserted home, he was able to escape from it. A very liberating feeling. He took another bite of ice cream and was in a small slice of heaven mentally.

As all good things, his came to an abrupt stop as the sound of something pounding on a door interrupted his moment. His face turned cold and upset as he paused the movie. “I thought I told them to leave me alone!” Placing his bowl of ice cream down, he marched into the kitchen toward a door that had a chair up against it.

Ripping the chair away and opening the door so suddenly that the source of the noise fell through the doorway without realizing the door was gone. “How dare you ruin my evening!”

The figure that fell at his feet was bound and gagged. Both men looked up at each other. Looking down, the robbed man saw the box above his head.

Richard Avanza, Level 7, Unclassed

The robed man enjoyed the ability that granted him more information about others, it allowed him to enjoy conversations much easier. Asking for someone else's name was always awkward. Even worse when they lied.

Richard had fear in his eyes, and started to let out a muffled scream. The other man just sighed disappointingly. “I thought I said to be quiet!” He kicked the bound man back down the stairs into the basement.

Walking down after him, he flicked a switch to turn on the basement lights. Revealing three more bound figures huddled together in a corner. “I would have thought my previous proof of concept would have been enough.”

The man bent down and removed the bound man's gag. “Let us go! We have money! Just take whatever you want and leave us, please! At least let my wife and children go!”

The pale man looked down with pity. “I told you, I care not for your material belongings, however your ice cream was enough to buy you a few last moments with your other two children.”

The bound man tried to leap up at his captor, but it was all for naught. “Tsk tsk, you have no idea how much I understand the feeling of fighting against your restraints, but I know a thing or two about such things. Hence your inability to escape them. I do apologize it has to be this way, but you did it to yourself. Now pick a child, or it will be both, just like last time.”

He walked over to the huddled bodies, their mother was somewhat in front of them, defiant to defend them. “No! Please not another! Take me!”

“You don’t get a say! Pick one or both, I do hope you pick one, I rather not have to be wasteful.” He looked at the two young children. One was around the age of 13, while the other was not even 9. The third child was just at the perfect and ripe age of 17. Oh she was perfect! I hope to find more just like her.

The bound man was just sobbing on the floor. Broken and defeated, he didn’t even last two days. “Weak times create weak men, if only he was stronger.”

“Please….”

“Tick tock Mr. Avanza. Unlike me, you don’t have all night.” The man said.

He didn’t respond. The robbed man shrugged and grabbed the mother by her shoulders and tossed her away as if she was nothing. He reached out and grabbed both by one of their arms. They were all kicking and screaming at me through their binds.

There wasn’t much they could do to their captor. They were all under level 10, while he was Level 12. Just acquiring his class before he captured them all. Powerless to defend themselves, and because of that weakness, another child will die.

“Fine, since you can’t decide, I will cut both in half and leave the remains for you both to grieve over.” He walked to the stairs before the father cried out.

“Wait!” He let out a couple of sobering breaths. “Take...take Christopher.”

“NO DAD! PLEASE!” The older one cried out.

The captor shrugged and tossed the younger one down. “I better not be interrupted again. Otherwise I will make you watch with your last. Remember, this is all your fault.”

He closed and locked the door dragging the child to the dining table. Layed out was a tarp and several tools. When he was done it was quiet again in the house. The man watched the slow drizzle of red syrup onto his ice cream and pushed play again on the movie.

Vampyric Lust Novice 6 -> 7

Blood Magic Novice 2 -> 3

These little blue boxes pleased the man. He smiled as he took another bite of his favorite ice cream topped with his favorite color, Blood Red.

“I can’t wait to get new toppings inside that World Quest. So many new people to meet! I wonder if anyone else has the same favorite color.”