'Wow,’ Matt thought, filled with amazement as the massive Giaspiders head rolled off into the sunset. “Bob, Bob did you see that!” Matt asked in wonder, amazed by what he had just seen.

“Yes, Yes I did master,” Bob said. “And I must say, the new layout worked out better than expected, Master.”

“You mean none of them died like you thought they would,” Matt said, extremely proud of this fact, him having been on the fritz of this matter for a while now, and though Matt knew if he was to grow stronger and stay alive in this new world of his that he would have to kill. Having long since accepted this fact as truth. It still didn’t mean he had to like it, after all, if everyone who entered him died who would be left to give him all that delicious EP, and so when designing his dungeon's newest defences Matt had attempted to minimize the lethality of the damage that they could inflict, making them just strong enough to wound yet not kill.

“So….,” Bob said, Matt only paying him half a mind as he continued to eagerly watch the adventurers every move.“, What do you think they’ll choose next master?”

“I don’t know Bob,” Matt replied, eagerly turning his attention to the bear-sized corpse, watching as the adventurer named Ash got off the carcass of the scaled Gigspider and began to sharpen his knives.

Larger than its predecessors, this gigantic bear-like Giaspider had come off as a total surprise to Matt when he’d first found it wandering the halls of his dungeon.

And it wasn’t the only one. No.Not by far. With Matt having discovered dozens of the massive buggers, all that remained after the Adventurers vicious attack.

At first, he’d been shocked, confused as to how had this had happened, concerned that perhaps he might be in danger from these new marvellous monster-like creature's that had seemingly doubled their size over a matter of hours.

But Bob, the machine-like being that he was, was quick to dissuade him of this inept notion. Explaining instead that this was indeed a natural phenomenon. And that this was indeed, just what apparently happened when monsters were infused with vast sums of energy. Like the vast surge, Bob informed him, that had seemingly stampeded throughout his new home/dungeon. Matt’s core having seemingly been unable to contain all of the vast amounts of energy that the Adventchurer Tam had possessed at the time, the vast sum of it instead surging outwards from him and into everything around him. With the end result, of course, being the monstrous Giaspder that laid out before him.

"I..."Matt said going as to answer Bob's question even as he eagerly continued to oversee the 3 adventures, eagerly watching as Ash who was evidently leading the team of 3 on a journey through Matt's monster-filled lair sat down, took out his calved roman gladi like blades. 'Hmm, Lair, yes, yes I could use that, it sounds so mutch better than dungeon', Matt thought eagerly watching as Ash began to run his blades over each other, sharing them over a now very dead Mega Giagiaspider, Matt having for a while now, having had trouble reconciling the word dungeon as a word for home, with the image that he had in his head, that of a mediaeval torture chamber type dungeon, that he thought of whenever he thought the word dungeon.

'Wait, what the hell', Matt thought still eagerly watching as Ash continued to shapen his blades when suddenly out of nowhere something strange began to happen as suddenly out of nowhere a Blue light appeared over Tam and the other young Adventchuer that Matt had still yet to get the name of.

“Bob, Bob, what is that?” Matt curiously asked, mentally directing his gaze towards the blue barrier like lights that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the two Adventchueres, Matt slightly freaked out by the sight of it, him having never seen the likes of it before.

“I’m assuming you're referring to the levelling field, Master?”

“I’m referring to the bloody blue lights that are hanging over those two bleeding adventurers, But yes, if that’s what they're called. Then yes. That's what I'm bloody referring to!” Matt said, with more than some slight irritation bittering his words over Bob's less than vague answer.

"Yes, Yes master, that blue light as you call it, is indeed the levelling field," Bob said with his all too familiar I know it all attitude.

"Explain?" Matt curiously asked wanting answers yesterday.

“Oh, Ok Master, I’ll try to explain," Bob said. “You see Master, unlike dungeons, most races do not have the capacity to naturally absorb energy. And those that do. Well, they tend to be few and far between, And…. ”

“Yes, yes, and so the system created levelling. Creating a neutral energy source, granting all races the ability to change themselves through statt points and use different types of energy without dying themselves, I know Bob, you've explained this already, What's your point?” Matt asked, growing increasingly more frustrated by the second, having heard all this before.

“Ok, Master, the point as you say, is that,” Bob said with more than a slight hint of bitterness to his words, continuing on with his explanation. Ash continually sharpened his blades in the background, the sounds growing louder and louder by the minute. “, Is that the Blue light, as you call it, is a sign of that neutral energy, their EP as the various mortal races call it, being converted from energy into matter, the conduit by which the system changes user’s, while also protecting said user as they level up”

“So, basically, the blue lights indicate that someone or something is levelling up, changing themselves on a Moncler level?” Matt asked, finally, for the first time today, finally getting what Bob was telling him.

“Yes, Master”.

“Then why didn’t you just tell me that,” Matt said annoyed, irritated with yet another of Bob’s overly long explanations, that had taken so much time yet could have been answered in one simple sentence.

“Well, Master, You asked, and you needed to know, This information is important after all…”

"Yes, and you could have answered my question with one simple lousy answer and told me the rest later. Now please Bob, be quiet I’m trying to concentrate,” Matt said, yet again annoyed by Bob’s blatant inability to see how valuable his time truly was to him. Going so far as to cut Bob off from his side of the bond in punishment, leaving him just enough access so that he could see and feel what was going on, but not do much else. Matt not for a second turning his eyes from the Adventurers as he did so. Eagerly watching as he was as the adventurer Ash continued to sharpen his blades, their size and shape oddly familiar to Matt and yet he could not place the memory of where he had seen such craftsmanship before

‘Yes's, yes, finally’ Matt thought, the boredom finally breaking. Excitedly watched as the Blue light barriers suddenly left the 2 two dazed adventurers. The adventurer Ash looking up a second or 2 later and seeing the blue light that had surrounded his companions gone, replaced with a wide-eyed stare that surrounded them both, using his red-scaled filled hands began to climb up onto his feet and walk towards them both.

And so a steel-like look in his eyes Ash stepped forwards, determination filling him as he started on a heading straight for his 2 companions. Interlocking his fingers in a palmed fist as he did so. Ash seemingly readying himself for himself for something yet what that was matt could not say.

But, however before Ash could even get a single step in, Tam, with a shrug of her shoulders and twisting of her head, looked up and grinned, having obviously gotten free from whatever had previously enthralled her.

“Ahhh…that’s that’s better,” The red-eyed half green monster that was Tam said cracking her head side to side, suddenly snapping out of the trance like state that she had been in. Quickly turning her head to the side only to see the wide-eyed teen, whom Matt had as of yet to learn the name of since they’d only called him Boy in all the time that they been within him.

‘Hah, WithIn me, that sounds so silly’ Matt thought mentally laughing at the silliness that was his situation, silently watching as Tam turned her head, Tam upon turning, seeing the wide-eyed teen’s condition, silently brought her hand up towards Ash.

“Stop, I'll deal with this,” Tam said, her hand right up in Ash’s face, leaving no room for argument, as she started to approach the boy.

“Sorry Boy, this is for your own good,” Tam said with a thick New Yorker, Scouser type accent, Tam’s hand still up as she continued to walk towards him, the young boyish teen, who was seemingly no older than 15-16 to Mat’s untrained eye, perhaps younger, still in his trance like state, paying no attention to her at all.

Reaching the boy in two seconds flat raising her right plastered hand as she went to do so, Tam went and slapped the young 16/18 year old in the face with her thick metallic fur gauntlets with a thud. Slapping the young teen once, twice, three times, before finally, after a not so short amount of time, the young teen opened his eyes, and the wondrous wide-eyed stare exorcized from his eyes and face.

“Ok?” Tam asked the teen, slapping the young brown-eyed boy on the shoulder watching as the now untainted black haired teen looked up and down, looking at his body with wonder.

“Yes,” The black-haired young teen said, wonder and slight excitement filling his gaze. “Level 10, Level 10, I can’t believe it”

‘What, what can’t he believe,’ Matt thought, unable to understand the boy’s excitement, not for the first time cursing his lack of knowledge of this world. 'Damit Bob would have been able to explain this in a heartbeat, aghhh, why did I have to be so stupid',

“I’ve finally reached it, I can finally pick my class. What should I choose, do you think?”, The young man said and looked up towards Tam and the now approaching Ash.

“I don’t know lad, Your choice, what do you think?’ Tam said, turning to Ash.

“Well, It’s his choice,” Ash said, having finally reached them both, turning to talk to the boy. “But I would think, Boy, you would be best off to wait till we're out of this forsaken dungeon. What did you get by the way Boy?”

“Ughh…” The teen said seemingly unsure of himself.

“It’s ok, I know this stuff is supposed to be private for human’s, only to be shared between friends and family right? But we're friends right?” Tam said, kneeling to the ground, looking the young teen in the eye, saying the most Matt had ever heard her say.

“Come on kid, we need to know, if we're to help you make your choice that is,” Ash battered in, Tam glairing as he did so. “You're going to have to trust us at some point,” Ash said, eyes straight, finally eye to eye with the young teen, begging to talk to the kid, like Matt thought any good mentor would, as an equal.

“Come on, it’s not like you’ve got a legendary class or something, right, ” Ash said, half laughing as he did so. ”Right?” Ash said, now a serious look upon his face.

“No”, the boy half muttered, seemingly on the fritz. “No, I don’t,” He said looking down, slight shame in his voice.

“Then you should tell us,” Ash said, seemingly ignoring the bitterness that laid upon the boy's face. “Or least tell me, come on you can trust us, I won’t, we won’t, tell anyone,” Ash said, nodding as he did so.

“Uhhhh” The teen still needed some convincing, it seemed when suddenly something changed within himself and the wide black-haired teen spoke. “uhhhhhh…………. , You won’t tell anyone the boy asked his mind seemingly changed. “Promise?” he said, looking at Ash and Tam in turn.

“Yes, promise,” Ash and Tam said in turn, looking straight into the boy's eyes, full of severity, as they said words. ‘Is this all necessary,’ Matt thought, not seeing the need for secrecy. ‘’Would be nice to have Bob around right now, he’d be able to explain all this'’ he thought, almost missing the annoying voice.

“I’m serious,” The brown-eyed kid said, turning to follow the other two. “If my gramps found out I told you, I'd be in deep shite” ‘Hey he swore, how did he swear, man I miss swearing’ Matt thought, thinking of how weird it was that of the things that he missed being able to do that, that was one of the more pressing items on his list.

‘Doesn't matter I’ll figure it out, or I’ll get a certain someone to do it for me’, Matt thought evilly thinking of all the things that he would say to that certain someone once he could finally swear again. Carefully listening as the boy continued to talk.

“So I have the classic 3,” The boy said. “Rogue, fighter, mage. The basics, but I’m sure I don't need to tell you this,” He said, looking at Ash and Tam both.

“But,” The boy said. “, But, I also have an additional 3 other’s, Explorer, because of the explorer title I have, Welder due to my ownership of a master class blade,” He said holding his gold and diamond pimple entrusted sword. “And finally, I have an ancestral class called the bladed night”

“What is it?” Tam said butting in with her overly simple high pitched voice.

“Well,” The black haired teen said, turning from Tam to face the both of them. “It’s a hybrid class.

“A hybrid class eh, and an Ancestral one at that, How’d y family manage that,” Ash said bringing the teens attention back to him. And what line are you from anyway?” Ash asked, Matt only understood half the words he said.

“I know most of the nobles with arsenal lines, we’ve had to,” Ash said nodding his head to Tam, Tam nodding back in return.

“Yep,” Tam butted in.

“What, why?” The boy asked, seemingly surprised by this admission.

“Why, well that’s complicated,” Ash said, seeming hesitant to go into it.

“Huh, no it’s not” Tam grunted in.

“No, no it’s not,” Ash said glaring at her before quickly turning back to face the wooded eye teen. “Precise to say is that… ''. “They all want us dead...” Tam said butting in yet again.

“Dead?” The teen asked.

“Dead, yes,” Ash said glaring at Tam, almost daring her to butt in and speak. But she did not. And so, after several long seconds of silence, where nothing but silence reigned Ash continued. “They want us dead,” Ash said.

‘But why, why do they want you dead,’, Matt thought, in wonder, now completely and utterly enthralled by this conversation. ‘It can’t be for your good looks can it’ Matt thought looking at the tailed, fang-filled man-creature that stood before him. ‘No that’s not it’,

“But, but,” The boy said, shocking Matt out of his train of thought. “But why do they want you dead,” The boy asked, asking Matt's question for him.

“For power,” Ash said, seemingly seeing the confusion that filled the teenage boy’s face.``You see kids, people, do terrible things for power. Especially nobles'” He said glaring at the boy as he said the words. 'If only you knew',Matt thought thinking of the many many scandalous things that portions had done back on earth in the name of power.

“I know” The boy whispered, looking down, a ghost seemingly haunting him.

“So trust me when I say I know most of the nobility with access to ancestral classes. And you're not part of any of them, major or not '' Ash said seemingly hearing the boys ill-fated muttering out words. So I’ll ask again” Ash said leaning forwards, glaring into the boy's eyes. “Who are you?”

“Well, I….” The boy said seemingly hesitant, more than ever before. “I’m not supposed to say, ok” He finally said after several intense seconds filled with only silence and Ash’s very intense glare.

“Aha a new line then, Well that makes sense” The boy flinched. “Well don’t act so surprised, It's not that hard to figure out when you think about it,” Ash said, fear showed all over the boy's face, Ash seemingly having hit a nerve. “But we're getting off track, So.This class. What does it grant you? In stat’s, I mean.” Ash hurriedly added.

“It grants, ughh, well….” The teen boy seemed hesitant to reveal his secrets. “Ughhh, it grant’s, initially I mean,”

‘Yesss…’ Matt thought calmly watching as the boy struggled to get it together.

“Calm yourself, youngling, take a deep breath,” Tam said, putting her hand on her boy's shoulder. “Yess like that, and out,” she said, the young teen taking one last deep breath. In. “Huhhhhh……” And out, “Hah…….”, Before finally speaking again. “Thank, thank, thank you” the teen finally said, a now rather calm collected tone surrounding his words.

“My pleasure,” Tam said, looking at him with a smile on her face.

“This is lovely and all but you were about to say something?” Ash asked, butting in, a smile on his face as he did so. ‘Revenge I should think’. Tam glared as he did so.

“Yess…As I was saying, I get, I get an, an, all-around” The teenaged boy nervously said, taking another sharp breath inwards, calming himself before continuing. “An around

10+ to all my physical stat. Strength, dexterity, endurance, even stamina which I thought was impossible as that’s an energy pool, not a statt,” The teen said hesitantly adding.

“It’s basically a combination of the duelist and sword masterclasses, with the initial skills being blade, Blades summon, swords master, position and parry, with a few other basic rogues and fighter skills added in, But I don’t need to tell you those, do I? ” The young teen asked, looking at the two adventurers, certainty filling his eyes as he did so.

“No.No, you don’t,” Ash said nodding. ‘Yes, you do common’ Matt demandingly thought, wanting to know more, hating the fact that he couldn’t talk to the two. ‘That’s not exactly true, Bob never thought, but I’m sure it’s possible’, Matt promised to himself that he would try to come up with a way to do so.

“And an advanced one, too, well don’t you have a lucky family, but…” Ash said leaving the but right out there.

“But what?” The teen asked. ‘But what’ Matt thought, wondering the same as everyone else in the dungeon. Or at least he assumed so from the looks on Tam’s face, eagerly hanging on Ash’s every word, eagerly awaiting Ash's next words.

“But…”Ash said finally speaking, Matt hanging on to his every word.” But, I would suggest caution”.

“Caution?” The boy asked.

“Caution, yes,” Ash said and started to walk past the big ass Giaspider indicating Tam and the young teen to do the same. “I would suggest you do not pick this class, not yet at least, you're not ready”.

“Not ready,” The teen half muttered.

“He’s right, young one,” Tam said, seeing the sour look on the young teen’s face. “You’re not ready youngling and you may never be,” Tam said looking away in shame.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The teen said.

“She did something similar,” Ash said, pity filling his eyes, Tam giving him an ungrateful look as he said the words.

“You did?” The young teen said, looking at Tam.

“Yes….” Tam said, looking downwards, anguish filling her face as she continued to speak, Ash giving her a pity filled look as she continued to speak “ It, It, It haunted me”. She hesitantly said.

“Haunted you,” The teen said demanding to know, not seeming to notice the agonized look that continued to fill Tams eyes as she continued to speak. ‘Or perhaps he just doesn’t care, Teens can be like that’ Matt thought having seen such a thing many times with his own children and others alike.

“Yes, haunted,” Tam said seemingly having anticipated his question, dread going through her as she continued to speak about what must be a haunted past.“Haunted by a terrible rage, One I thought I would have to live with for the rest of my days”.

“Till you used the reset orb?” The boy said. “Where did find it anyway, I mean they're so rare,”

“Yes, where did you find that orb,” Ash said with sudden interest.

“ I, I found it in a dungeon” ‘A dungeon what dungeon’ Matt thought demanding to know, suddenly cursing his decision to cut Bob off knowing he would have known the answers to such a question. As whenever it came to anything about dungeons, he knew it all. ‘Oh well, nothing to do but suck it up I guess,

“Dungeon, Oh,” Ash said, letting her speak, asking the question that Matt so desperately wanted to ask.

“Yes, aghh” Tam said, seemingly stuck on what to say. “The.The.The frozen waste,” Tam said, finally speaking

“Oh you little devil,” Ash said somewhat excited for some reason. “You do realize what Jaret, not to mention the guild, would not be happy if they were to learn this little piece of news. You do know what the guild dose to traitor's, don't you....” Ash said metaphorically making a splicing movement over his throat, making a cutting sound with his throat as he did so.

“I, I had to! You,” Tam said looking down to the dungeon’s stone-filled carpet that Matt had metaphorically created piece by piece throughout the night, him having had to absorb whole fields worth of dirt only to replace them with scattered rock’s he’d absorbed from throughout the dungeon. Seemingly ashamed of whatever she had done to get the reset orb, in order to reset herself, granting Matt such greasy energy load in the process. “You, you,” She said, continuing to look downwards. “You won’t tell him, will you?”

“No, no I won’t,” Ash said, looking downwards, right into Tam's eyes, as if to reassure her that everything would be ok. “Of course, I won’t, I promise, and I keep my promise right”

“Right,” Tam said, her eyes filled with hope for the first time in what seemed to have been forever to Matt. ‘Ugh, such a sweet moment’ Matt thought, overwhelmed slightly by the business of it all.

“So….” The wide-eyed teen said seemingly unmoved by the emotional conversation. ‘Yep, he’s a brat alright,’ Matt thought knowing the type having had quite a few of those in his life, But at least he had the foresight to wait, some kids wouldn’t be so kind’.

“Come, we'll talk as we move,” Ash said.

“I’m sorry.” The boy said.

“We’ve been here long enough haven't we? '' Ash said and went to move, walking past the empty space where the gigantic Giaspider had lain.

“Yes, No, I mean,” The boyish teen said Ash raising an eyelid in response. “I’m sorry” The boy finally said. “I’m really, really sorry, I shouldn’t have doubted your advice, but, it’s just I’ve been waiting my whole life for this, It feels like, and now I’m not even going to take it.

“You know you can always Respec. Reaching level 25 isn’t that hard after all” Ash said, watching as Ash carefully turned his eyes level with the boy.

“Yeah, I guess so,” The teen said, looking down, typical teenage acceptance upon him, “So why didn’t you?” He asked Tam. “Why didn’t you Respec, seem it’d be a lot easier to do than using a legendary reset stone” The teen curiously asked only for Tam to look away in shame and start walking off into the distance.

“What? What was that?” The boy said, turning to Ash who was even now beginning to turn, seemingly intent on following after Tam.

“If only things were that easy” Ash said, turning his head for a mere second of a time before quickly turning back, rushing as he was after Tam’s ever slow feet. The young teen quietly rushed after them.

‘Finally,’ Matt thought. ‘I thought they were going to take forever’ H excitedly watched as Tam, Ash, and the young teen continued their journey cruising past the Giaspider only to come across two passages leading off into 2 entirely different directions. ‘The show is about to begin. He thought, excited to see what would happen next. ‘I wonder whether they will choose left or right’.

‘Left or right, left or right, come on it’s a simple choice’ Matt, quickly grew annoyed with their indecisiveness. ‘They all lead to the same path in the end.

It had been several minutes, though it felt like hours to Matt since Ash, Tam and the young teen in gold plated armour had come across the divide in the crossroads that Matt had ever so carefully placed.

The idea had come to him after many hours of brainstorming between him and Bob. With him wanting to keep the dungeon the same and Bob relentlessly suggesting he fill it to the brim with traps. In the end, they had compromised, the result of which stood before Matt’s eyes even now. But the argument had given him an idea, leading to the two separate tunnels that stood before him.

On the left stood the entrance to his old dungeon filled with many dungeons worth of Giaspiders, Giant Ants and worms. On the right on the other hand leading to an altogether different type of dungeon, a small-sized labyrinth, one filled to the brim with Traps. And Matt could not wait to see what they chose.

‘Left or right, left or right, come on make a choice.’ He thought, just about despairing about them ever making a decision either way when finally they did. Ash, Tam and the boy, picking the new over the old as they turned to the right and entered a maze-like corridor. Several large rocks appeared over the left side corridor’s entrance as they did so.

‘No going back now, Matt thought, now happier than ever to have gained such an excellent ability such as dungeon seed. Watching as Ash, Tam and the boy walked past the corridor and into a maze that was filled to the brim with trap’s aplenty.

“Ugh…,” Ash bashed the side of his head, obviously in great pain as he began to walk on, leading the group through the entrance to the second half of Matt’s dungeon. Several long angled mud pathways ahead of him. “…trap’s” he muttered out, immediately stopping before the adventurer could go even a step further.

“Stop! trap’s ahead!” Ash shouted out, the small muscle filled teen and Tam both immediately stopping in response to his words, ‘Good, seems he’s learning’, Matt thought, the young teen boy having seemingly learnt from his previous experience of his time spent trapped in one of Matt’s many Pit traps.

“Good, now walk behind me and do everything I do,” Ash said, turning to the young teen. “That goes especially for you boy, I’m not going to rescue you a second time around, hear me,” Ash said. “Hear me!” He said looking the young teen directly in the eyes as he said the words.

“Yes,” The young teen said.

“Good, Now, the question is,” Ash said, turning to Tam. “Do we continue? Do we stay or do we go?”

‘Continue, please say continue’ Matt thought filled with hope and dread both, as Tam, slowly opening her massive gigantic green red jaw, went to speak. “Stay,” She said.

“Hah…,” Ash sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” He said staring into Tam's intense red eyes. And so, his mind seemingly made up, Ash, not even attempting to turn his head and ask the boy's opinion in the matter, started to step, stepping forwards, onwards, further into Matt’s trap-filled maze.

Quickly, ever so quick, Ash, taking step, after step, after step, quickly continued. Making a quick right, avoiding a pit trap that held nothing, nothing but the rocks and stone dirt that held it together.

Turning left then right then right again, Avoiding every trap that came his way, Ash swept through his Maze faster than Matt ever thought possible.

Till finally, finally, after who knows how long, though it must have been at least an hour to Matt’s reckoning, Ash stepped off the final pit enthused mud trap that should have pushed him down into the deepest hole filled to brim with every bug, ever spider, every ant, every worm that Matt had at his disposal, Him having, through some unknown means, made it stable to tread, which should have been impossible as Matt had made that thin sand of soil so so thin, ensuring even the lightest of steps would set off the trap, Ash stepped off the finale trap, finishing the maze with one final step.

Stepping forwards, his party carefully following after him, Ash walked out of the maze. A mud enthused corridor much like the first one Matt had created coming before him. Swiftly walking through it and arriving at Matt’s core room, his two companions, Tam and the young teen, that Matt still did not have a name for, at his side.

‘So, you're here’ Matt thought, curious and slightly fearful of what they might do now that they’d finally arrived. But thankfully, however, other than giving his core a frightful stare, Ash and his two teammates did nothing, quickly leaving the same way they had come. An annoyed look upon their faces as they did so.