Delve Deeper’s first level was gathering equipment by rolling the dice and seeing what equipment they could choose between based on the die rolls. It was far more important for Sillon and Serenity, since they had to have armor and weapons in order to fight to their fullest, but Serenity made sure to gather some of the odd things that they rolled. Kerr laughed when Blaze was horrified that Serenity chose mana-infused chalk over a magical enhancement for his sword.

Sillon and Kerr each made sure to pick up some healing items; mostly potions, since they were easy to get, but Kerr managed to get her hands on a mana-empowered healing stone. It would heal anyone who held it as long as it was provided with mana by a spellcaster, which made it invaluable in a drawn-out situation like a long dungeon crawl.

Once they were all done with the equipment level, the game entered them into a “dungeon race.” The goal was to see which party could delve the deepest before dying or running out of supplies. They could return to the “surface” to resupply or heal, but that cost time.

The dungeon race depended on the die rolls, but it also depended on knowing things about the monsters and traps the dungeon threw at each group. The box would actually quiz the group for each encounter, unless they’d already answered all of the questions for the monster before; if you answered correctly, the monster was easier and more rewarding.

Blaze managed the game mechanics while Serenity handled the monster quizzes. The monsters on the first few floors were all commonplace and Sillon and Kerr quickly took the lead, since they had a higher damage output. Blaze was surprisingly competent as a damaging mage for a primary healer, but he wasn’t up to Kerr’s weight, and while Serenity was sturdy, he was a lower Tier than Sillon and the game recognized it. Blaze had an absolute flair for completing the puzzles, and finessed them through those rooms quickly, but it wasn’t enough to catch the other pair. They were steadier since they didn’t have to stop and use items to heal, but still slower.

It wasn’t until the third level that Sillon and Kerr started making mistakes on monster identification. The hydra Sillon mistakenly identified as a giant water lizard nearly killed him when its acidic blood damaged his sword.

Serenity managed to not only identify the clam monster as a type of shen but knew that it was an illusionist. He offered it a pearl they’d picked up a few rooms earlier and the monster disappeared, leaving a shortcut to the next level down, which caught the two of them up with the other team.

From there, the game turned around. When they ran out of the time they’d set aside for the game, Blaze and Serenity were two levels lower than Kerr and Sillon with approximately double the treasure. Serenity hadn’t missed a monster identification and he’d managed most of the advanced features as well.

“We’re playing this again,” Sillon told them, “But not until I’ve had a chance to do some review!”

The game of Delve Deeper reminded Serenity of the Tutorial Dungeon and the rewards he’d gotten from the Duo and Solo levels. The Solo level rewards were simply colored rocks with a slight feeling of magic; even Identify didn’t seem to know what to do with them, simply calling them “mana-touched rocks”. Since all four of the levels he’d completed had rewarded several stones, Serenity suspected that he needed to finish the set before their purpose would be obvious.

The Duo level rewards were small tokens that looked rather like coins. They’d been listed as Favors of when he originally checked them, but had implied he’d trade them in when he went back to Earth. He hadn’t done that, but maybe they’d changed?

When he opened the pouch, he realized that the tokens were no longer the blank discs they’d been before. Instead, most had an image of one of the deities he’d met on Tek’s space station. Two of the tokens had figures he hadn’t met; one had the image of a Sterath. He Identified the one showing a Sterath first.

Favor of Tranquil Conviction

You have been issued a challenge by Tranquil Conviction. When you believe you have won or when you wish to concede, use this token to call Tranquil Conviction and conclude the challenge.

That one went right back in the bag.

There was only one token with the robed figure of Death on it.

Favor of Death

Commonly sought after but rarely granted, Death Himself believes he owes you a favor. This Favor will not be honored if called on by another.

That meant he couldn’t sell it. Did that mean some of the others could be sold? Serenity supposed it probably didn’t matter; even if it wouldn’t offend the deity it belonged to, Serenity doubted he’d choose to sell a favor.

A woman’s figure was next. There were three of them.

Favor of Luck

You have amused the source of Luck. As long as you continue to be interesting, you will earn her Favor.

Those were potentially very powerful, but at the same time exceedingly dangerous. Luck - Tyche, as she was calling herself - was not known for giving out unmixed good luck. The Mark she’d given him even called itself a curse. Serenity had the feeling that using a token would work but that it might be a case of “be careful what you wish for”. It would have to be a true emergency to use one of Luck’s tokens.

There was only one token with a coyote’s head on it. Serenity was confident he knew whose it was.

Favor of Coyote

A trickster with a fondness for Humanity, wherever it is found, Coyote has granted you a Favor that will allow you to speak with him.

That seemed a very limited Favor, almost the opposite of Luck’s. Serenity might actually use this one, if there was a reason.

One of the unknown figures was next.

Favor of Ptah

Thought, Word, Existence: Creation is Ptah’s passion, and you have crafted yourself as others craft the world around them. Ptah grants no gifts that you cannot make yourself, but those who can see shall know that he favors you.

That seemed remarkably useless. Serenity suspected it meant more than he knew, but there was nothing he could do with it.

One of the figures was a woman holding a plate of cookies. Serenity didn’t even have to check to know who it was.

Favor of the Earth-Mother

A home is more than a place.

Rhea must have written that description; it was just as limited as the description of the Title she’d given him. It screamed there was more to it, but it wasn’t something he could look into while he wasn’t on Earth.

The other unknown figure was the last single token.

Favor of Psyche

Risking your life to save the one you love not once but twice has gained you the attention of Psyche.

Once again, it seemed like a favor that didn’t do anything. Serenity didn’t know much about Psyche, but he was pretty sure the name had to be Greek, so she was likely an Olympian.

The rest of the tokens all had the same figure of a woman with goggles pushed up onto the top of her head.

Favor of Tek

Hey, Serenity! I figured out what’s wrong with that neural interface device! Stick one of these things on it and I’m pretty sure it’ll fix it.

…the Voice definitely let the gods write the descriptions for their Favors.

The Tutorial was blessedly free of the interference-noise, so Serenity wasn’t in a hurry to fix it, but it still seemed worth doing before he left. He hoped that “pretty sure” would work, but … as Rissa would surely remind him, that’s what he got for trying out experimental technology.

Serenity did feel better after the day off, even though the weight of the people he hadn’t been able to free was still there. His secondary goal for visiting the Tutorial was still possible, even if his primary one wasn’t, and now that they were a few days into the Tutorial, Serenity had more time.

Serenity decided it was a good time to sample what the other magic teachers were teaching, so he attended a few of the lectures. He wasn’t impressed by the teaching, but he didn’t notice anything overtly wrong.

The lectures were surprisingly boring; did none of them know how to teach? The one thing he did notice was that they were all very, very light on actually having the students do anything practical. Serenity always started with practical exercises at the beginning of the Tutorial then went deeper into theory once the students knew a little; maybe the other instructors did the same? He knew he’d need to start earlier next time.

The last week of the Tutorial, Serenity had time available. He still hadn’t finished the solo dungeon, and this was a good opportunity.

The fifth level had Serenity exploring an overgrown ruin in a jungle, searching for small animal figurines. The enemies were enhanced versions of the jungle animals, intent on keeping him away from the statuettes.

It was fun. Each one was a little different, with different strengths and weaknesses. It was also slow, which would have been a problem if it were anyone else. Serenity had plenty of Tutorial time to finish the dungeon, though, so he took his time and explored the level. He had four more statues than were needed to finish the level by the time he was done; some additional searching revealed a second “exit” door that could be opened with the extra statues.

Serenity took the side exit first. It led down a hallway to a room that seemed to be empty. After some searching, he found a small stone set into the wall near the door. When he touched it, a menu appeared.

[Dungeon Practice Room]

[Once found, this room may be entered instead of visiting your current level]

[Select any level you have cleared to fight individual opponents or repeat a level]

[No rewards are included other than the practice]

That was useful. Serenity wondered if it was possible to find the Practice Room before the solo dungeon; hiding it away this late meant it was likely to get very little use. He’d use it to get practice fighting actual monsters instead of only the instructors.

He headed back to the other exit and found that it was a fight against all of the animals whose statues he’d placed to pass the exit. The four he used to gain access to the Training Room were missing.

Completing that fight (and the fifth level of the dungeon) was the last new thing he did during that Tutorial. He tried to teach more and watch more lectures on magic, but he didn’t feel very effective. The headache was only getting worse.

Unfortunately, the Tutorial ended before Blaze could force him to take another rest day. By then, Serenity would have welcomed a rest day and another round of Royals and Dragons or Delve Deeper.

The night before the end of the Tutorial, Serenity pulled out one of the Favor tokens from Tek and pressed it against the back of his neck, where he knew the neural interface resided. The token disappeared, but nothing else seemed to happen. Serenity couldn’t even find the spot where the neural interface sat; at some point since the last time he’d checked, it had either vanished or come to feel like his own skin.