James received the expected notification when the party stepped out of the Dungeon.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You are the first Champion to complete The Sandstone Temple Dungeon.

Reward: 550 XP (bonus due to Dungeon Friend)

Title: Dungeon First

Free Advantage Points: 33 (bonus due to Dungeon Friend)

The return trip to Milgarden was uneventful. Everyone was in high spirits considering they had gained at least a level and a magical item. James figured he was a day behind on his runs for Glezda but was confident that the Great Sword of Poisoning would appease her. The others didn't make any claims on it, as the run would not have been possible without James. The sisters did promise to reimburse James for the potions he bought for them.

When he dropped them off outside Milgarden, he promised to return in a few days and check up on them. Roland told him that he would return to the capital in a few days and would leave his contact information with Connie if James wanted to pursue his offer. James just opened the Astral Portal and allowed them to exit without exiting himself. After some Meditation, he used Astral Anchor to return to Ash Rumbo and went into town.

After his usual tactic of changing appearances, James made it to the warehouse. There was a new guy in the warehouse, but he knew the passcodes. James was still suspicious of dealing with new people. The new guy advised James that the boss wanted to see him, and since it was still before midnight, James figured he would stop by the house and see what was up.

Jones escorted James to see Ferdinand and left them to have their chat.

"You have not had a chance to clean up," Ferdinand stated more than asked. "Everything okay?"

James nodded and accepted the offered drink, "Ya. I just finished running a Dungeon and wanted to get caught up on my deliveries."

Ferdinand nodded and sat down in his favourite chair. James noticed that the carpets had been replaced, and there was no evidence that violence had visited this home only days before.

"I appreciate that. I am sure that your Dungeon and my bookkeepers will ensure that everything is even in the end," Ferdinand confirmed. James was sure someone was keeping track. It didn't matter, so long as he got the goods he needed out of it.

Ferdinand took a sip and relaxed, "I have a client who wants to see if your Dungeon can reproduce some unenchanted items. If it can, then he will pay handsomely for our exclusive use. Once he confirms that you can create the products he needs, you will continue to drop them off at our warehouse here and pick up the Enchanted items for the exchange. I already have some Rare items on their way. Those will give us a large reserve."

"And the items I requested?" James asked.

"I have a fund aside, other than the money you used to by that Wand of Flamebolt. We have your request and will be able to get them over a month or two," Ferdinand smirked.

James smiled. He had forgotten to mention getting the Wand to Ferdinand's crew, but apparently, they already knew. "Sorry about that. Anyway, I need to start focusing on my Skills, so that should be when I need them. Mind you, by the time I get them. I will need stronger items."

Ferdinand nodded, "That is always the way."

After a few moments, Ferdinand continued with his previous conversation, "About the client. Be wary, James. He is very dangerous. The only reason I am entertaining the idea of dealing with this is that he willing to spend a lot of money."

James took a sip of whiskey, "Oh. What can you tell me."

Ferdinand leaned forward, "He is a Vampire Lord. Has been for more than a few centuries. He will provide you with a Dimensional Storage Container filled with blood. He wants you to keep the blood in the container until you are ready to reproduce to maintain its freshness. You are to make two copies of each sample so that he knows that we are not just returning his originals. Once he tests the copies and is satisfied that we can meet his expectations, he will have us provide him with his complete blood needs."

"Wasn't expecting that," James frowned.

"If you have no wish to deal with the Undead, then we can just tell him that the experiment failed, and we will only owe him for the loss of the original shipment." Ferdinand suggested, "But if it does work, this could make us several thousand gold a day."

James nodded. He understood the need for money. But this was blood money, literally.

"If it helps any, think of it this way. If we can supply him with this blood, he doesn't need to go and get it fresh anymore. Thereby saving lives," Ferdinand offered.

James wanted to retort but feared that his words might be harsher than intended. He didn't want to make an enemy of Ferdinand and his guild of assassins, "Alright. Where do I go?"

James left Ferdinand's just after midnight and headed to the Dungeon. The goblins outside the cave had not been cleared, but James used Shadow Step and Stealth to bypass them. The last two goblins didn't have a chance to react before James was through the portal that was in their room.

Once he was in the Dungeon, he breathed a sigh of relief. After stripping out of his armour, he took a long bath. Onyx curled up on his bed and went to sleep. James remembered refreshing the summons at midnight, so Onyx was safe for another day. After nodding off in the tub a few times, James finally decided to get out and dry himself off. By this time, the water was cold, and he could barely keep his eyes open. Onyx grumbled and resisted his attempts to get into the bed, all while staying asleep. James was both impressed and unimpressed.

When he woke up next, he felt rested and refreshed. He got up with Onyx and made breakfast while humming to himself. He wished he had a radio or some of the old LPs. Glezda was already waiting for him when he entered the exchange room.

"Morning," he said with a smile.

Glezda smiled in return. It was still a little off. Glezda appeared human, but there were times when you could tell she was not. James remembered reading about an effect that existed where something was close to looking human but was a little off, and it caused people to be anxious. He wasn't sure if this was something, but it felt like it.

"Hello, James. For your information, it is afternoon."

James shrugged, "It was nice to sleep in. I may have a new request for you. Are you able to recreate blood?"

Glezda cocked her head to the side, and her smile remained unchanged, "That is an odd question. I believe I can, yes. I don't know if there are limitations based on my Race Selection."

"How do you mean?" James asked.

"My Race Selection is Goblins. That may mean I can only create the blood of Goblins. But I don't know. I could try with some of yours if you like," Glezda offered.

James thought about it, "How much do you need?"

Glezda continued to smile, but her head returned to the correct angle, "A vial should be more than enough."

James frowned. That seemed like a lot. Taking one of his empty vials from his Satchel, he walked over to the table for Glezda and took out his knife. With his Resis Pain and his high Health, he wasn't worried about killing himself, but no one likes inflicting pain on themselves. James took the dagger and cut it into his wrist. He dropped the knife on the table and grabbed the vial, but he was bleeding too fast, and the table was soon covered with blood. Then the bleeding stopped as the wound closed.

"Damn!" James muttered. He was not eager to repeat the process.

"That is more than enough blood," Glezda said as the blood disappeared. James sighed in relief when he noticed that the dagger didn't fade away with the blood. Reaching over, he grabbed the dagger and put it in its sheath. A moment later, a vial of blood appeared on the table.

"So, that's a yes?" James asked, looking from the vial to Glezda.

Glezda smiled again. This time, it looked more natural, "That's a yes."

"That's great." James grabbed the items which were destined to be sold for gold. "I have a few items I will need to be replaced. My Scale mail will need to be replaced, as it sustained a lot of acid damage. But there is no rush as I have a new set."

"I noticed when you arrived. Congratulations. Was that from a Dungeon?" Glezda asked.

"It was. It was called the Sandstone Temple, I believe. It was dedicated to Apep," James explained.

Glezda nodded, the smile fading, "I have heard of that Dungeon. It was reported to be very tough. No one had completed it in the last three Challenges."

James' face darkened, "It was tough. I am surprised we made it, honestly."

Glezda's eyes spoke of her concern, "You must be careful, James. Some Dungeons are more eager to kill than to challenge."

James picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, "Roger that. I will be back either later tonight or in the morning."

Glezda smiled, "Roger that." The voice carried the same tone and inflection as James'. It was more than a little eerie.

James travelled to Ash Rumbo and dropped off the items at the warehouse. James tossed the things in his backpack and waved to Sasha before heading out of town.

"You may wish to check your Skill progression, James. There is a bump you may want to see," Rocko advised.

'Oh?' James inquired as he checked the latest advances. The last time was when he left the Dungeon, so he was surprised that there was anything upgraded.

Astral Navigation +1 Congratulation! Astral Navigation has reached level 10.

Travel through Astral Space has increased by 25%.

Perception Range in Astral Space has increased by 25%.

You gain the Advantage Astral Map I. The Astral Map I Advantage allows you to map the location of places you have been. It will enable you to leave notations on the map.

James paused in his walking, and someone bumped into him from behind. James apologized to them as they cursed him for his sudden stop.

'This is going to be handy,' James declared.

Rocko smiled, "Which is the reason I brought it up. I also wanted to point out that there are higher levels that you can attain when you reach Astral Navigation 20, or you can purchase using your Free Advantage points."

James' curiosity peaked, 'What do they do at higher levels?'

Rocko nodded, "The next level allows you to plot waypoints as you travel. The level after that allows you to share your map with others with the same level or higher of the Advantage, and Tier 4 allows you to superimpose the real-world map. This would help you locate places in the real world and the Astral Space more easily."

James was impressed, 'Those some great. I have many points we need to figure out how to spend.'

"Well, we overspent on the Grasping Shadowy Tendrils, but I think it was worth the added cost," Rocko commented.

James nodded, 'Agreed. So, what's next?'

Rocko thought, "You can pick up Animate Shadow or Shadow Form. Both are expensive but worth it."

'Pros and Cons?' James asked.

Rocko paused to get his thoughts in order, "Animate Shadow is an offensive Ability. You already have some of those, but this is very strong and could help against several strong enemies. The drawback is that you can only give it simple commands. Shadow Form allows you to move freely without barriers getting in the way. It can also be used defensively, allowing solid objects to pass through you instead of damaging you. The big drawback is that any damage that has a light component, such as Fire, would deal extra damage."

James smiled, 'Shadow Form sounds great. Something I remember you mentioning earlier is Shadow Armour. Is that still an option?'

Rocko shrugged, "Each Tier is worth 10 AR, but you can not wear any other armour while it is active, but you don't have to have any Armour Skills."

James hemmed, then made his decision, 'Shadow Form.'