After reading the screen, he tapped on his implant to pull up his own screen to checked and see if the rat boss had been properly absorbed. He wasn't sure if it would add to his attributes without absorbing a mimicry. It was reassuring to see the new attributes adding up nicely.

Strength 9

Dexterity 9

Endurance 9

Intelligence 6

Wisdom 5

Pain 1

Steven looked back at the dungeon screen for a second to decide. He had no idea what Serenity Springs was and had simply assumed he would just work through the floors one at a time. A moment later, he focused on the Serenity Springs Y and selected it.

His vision went black, and heard a quick wooshing sound followed by a deafening silence. It was like all the air sucked out of the world but he felt no pressure or pain in his lungs. He figured this was some sort of teleportation. After a couple of seconds lights and sounds returned and he could see the bustle of an incredibly enormous city in front of him.

Steven looked down and found that he was standing on a raised platform, probably specifically designed for teleportation. The platform was maybe forty feet in diameter with a Red Eye statue in the center. There were other people appearing to immediately make their way down some steps off the platform.

"Yer lookin' a little lost, fella" a voice came from the side, when Steven made his way off the final step. He looked over at the sound, and saw a man of medium build, wearing a blue gambeson with some sort of crest embossed over the chest. He had on a small skullcap, and knee high boots over matching blue trousers. Steven couldn't see any weapons.

"Yeah, I'm a bit lost. It was either here or Floor 1," said Steven, walking towards him. "What is this place?"

"Floor 1? Eh whatever. Come, follow, let's get you situated," the man said, waving at Steven to follow him. They walked a short distance on a surprisingly flat cobblestone path to a little shack surrounded by gazebos and larger pavilions. Most of these sitting areas were occupied by small groups of people. Between each sitting area, there were small gardens of dark green grass mixed with a few flowers that Steven didn't recognize.

"This is the guard shack. I'm Daniel. This is where we'll be doing yer orientation," he said, taking a seat on a bench just outside the shack. "Head on in. I'm not doing it." He pointed at the door.

Steven gave him a side-eyed glance, shrugged, and walked in through the open door. From the outside, the guard shack looked like a small run of the mill storage for outdoor equipment, albeit made of stone instead of wood. But from inside, the shack was much larger and painted white. There were plush couches of all colors lining the walls. Steven saw some doorways to what he assumed were small offices along the back wall, behind a long counter which stood several people wearing the same outfits as Daniel.

He took a step backwards out of the door and looked to the sides of the building. Shaking his head, he went back inside and approached the counter across from a tall blonde woman.

"Uhh, the Daniel guy said there was some sort of orientation I need to do." said Steven, glancing behind her at the offices.

"Shirking his duties again," She said, "It's his job to do orientations, among other things. As guards with very few things to guard, the guild has put us in charge of greeting newcomers." The woman grabbed a short stack of papers, and gestured for Steven to follow. She led him behind the counter into one of the small offices that were somehow fit inside the shack.

"How?" Steven asked when he walked through the doorway to the room, gesturing in a circle. The woman sat down in a plush chair on the left, indicating Steven should take the one across. In between sat a small coffee table, upon which sat a jug of water and some stone cups. She set the papers down on the table and smiled, seemingly understanding the question.

"Serenity Springs is a floor of its own. It's simply as large as we need it. This includes the accommodations inside town."

Steven looked at the jug, and glanced at the woman, who nodded. Then proceeded to fill a cup and drain it while the woman continued.

"You've probably forgotten about the dungeon screen that you got at the beginning of Floor 0, so I'll start there. Most folk usually don't get the invite to the Springs until they have a few levels under their belt. Kinda stressful, so I understand." She leaned back in the chair and stretched here arms above her head. "You're in Drknfel Dungeon. In the real world you died. The dungeon intercepted your soul, or spirit, or whatever. We don't really know. But now you're here."

Steven experienced this not long ago, so it wasn't new information. Besides, how could someone forget they died and were reborn in this place. But he guessed she assumed he'd made it through several floors or spent a very long time before he got there, so he let her continue.

"You got to pick a class and were told to kill monsters to collect mana and level up. Progress through the dungeon, beat it, and get a boon." She droned, likely bored of this very speech being done several times. "What the screen didn't tell you, was that you aren't alone."

Which was true. Steven assumed he would be completing the floors by himself. There was no indication of a town or other people at all. It was quite relieving to know he wasn't alone. He nodded to indicate for her to go on.

"Serenity Springs was discovered and settled by a party of four, who then set up houses. Those houses turned into estates, and now they're the four noble families controlling the town. The original settlers, we have no idea where they've gone or what's happened. It's possible they eventually finished the dungeon and received their boon." She said, picking at some fluff on the arm of the chair. Looking directly at Steven, she frowned. "It's more likely they're among the withered."

"Withered?" Steven asked, now raptly engrossed in the conversation. It took him close to twenty hours to finish Floor 0 with only rats to talk to.

"That's what I said," she said, looking frustrated, still idly picking at the fluff on the chair. Her eyes were glazed over and staring off somewhere behind Steven. "Anyway, the four families eventually started the Guild. That's where people band together to tackle floors as a team. And that's where your orientation begins."

"And you want me to join this guild?" Steven asked, suspicion lacing his words. He wasn't really distrustful of organizations and authorities, but he had a thing about in-groups and out-groups. The out-group members are always looked down upon.

"Well yea," she said, perking up. "Why wouldn't you? You get a weekly mana salary, higher level folk will help you run through your floors, and they even put out quests for people to take. Things like looking for a particular monster for the week's menu. Or some material to make a weapon out of. There's always stuff to do." She spoke excitedly, becoming animated and sitting forward to command Steven's attention.

He stood up, "Thank you for the water. How do I get to Floor 1 from here?" He asked.

"The transportation platform has the Red Eye. Wait, Floor 1?" She asked, incredulously. "What level are you? Most people can't come to the Springs until after Floor 3, or around level 5."

"I don't have levels." Steven mumbled as he walked through the doorway. He stopped and turned. A thought had struck. "You said higher level people can help clear floors?"

The woman smiled. Steven assumed she felt like she had him hooked for a sale and was about to gain a new guild member. He had no interest in joining the guild. All he wanted was to get to Floor 1 and maybe find something he could eat. But he also needed information.

"See? The guild can help you. Mana from defeated enemies is split between those who helped defeat it. Most guild members would go simply to get the mana. It's like free easy levels to help on their own floors." She said, tapping on her implant which was on the back of her left hand.

Steven saw the little screen come up, but noticed that he couldn't see any writing. More specifically, he could see scribbles, but it didn't look like any language he had ever seen and there weren't any numbers.

"I've not been to my own floor in nearly thirty years, and I've gained 15 levels just from helping others." The woman continued.

"No, that's not what I mean," said Steven, "The monsters on my Floor 0 stopped respawning after I completed the quest. I couldn't gain any mana until I defeated the boss. A higher level person wouldn't have anything on that floor to help with."

"That's a rare quest, to stop floor monsters respawning. So rare, in fact, it only appears for those with special classes who usually don't have a need to farm." Her eyes turned hard, and she stood. The woman took a step forward and Steven felt himself being pushed from behind back into the room. He looked to see who shoved him, and the woman was there, closing the door to the small office. He heard a lock click.

"Stay there. Your new orientation will start soon," the woman said from behind the door.

"Greeaaat. Good look for your guild," Steven said as he sat down and poured himself another glass of water.