People slowly filled into the meeting room over the course of the next quarter hour. Most completely ignored Steven, but Garth drew many hard stares. Steven sat and picked at his fingernails as the seats were filled. A number of people remained standing along the walls of the room. Among those numbers were a handful of black clad ninja huntsman. He assumed these were guards or a simple show of force for those attending the meeting.

He wanted to leave and get something to eat. With the weird way time worked in the dungeon, he had no idea how long it had been since he had rested in the room at the waystation. He wasn’t even sure if he could even access it anymore since he was now in a room filled with what he assumed were fugitives from the Emperor.

As if on cue, four of the members in attendance, including Caireena, stood and made their way to the head of the table. There, they stood in a small circle, conversing among themselves. A moment later three of the four returned to their seats as a muscular blonde man with short cropped hair and a braided beard addressed the room.

“The agenda for today’s meeting is to discuss what to do about this upstart emperor. Most of us here were born and will die in this dreary place, and throughout history the dungeon-born have eked out a living as best we could. This emperor has dissolved the guild as we know it, and placed restrictions on node travel and mana usage, thus limiting the means we have to live fruitfully,” the large man said as he looked around the room, making eye contact with multiple seated attendees. He wore a light brown leather sleeveless vest with black pants and modern style combat boots.

Garth leaned over and whispered, “that is Taryn Klade. An oddity of the Klade family last I remember.”

Taryn continued, “It is no surprise that this emperor has begun to siphon mana away from the masses, to make himself stronger and solidify his position. However, it is a surprise as to how.” The man gestured towards Caireena, who stood and cleared her throat.

Steven had been listening attentively, even though he was frustrated. He had no business being there, and wanted nothing to do with the council or the families. The whole point of this dungeon was to defeat the floors and gain a boon, and there was still no clue as to how to achieve either. This meeting was dull, and he just wanted to leave, defeat his boss, and start absorbing more monsters.

“Our spies have reported that the Eternal Emperor has gained dungeon system access.” Caireena announced.

The room suddenly became very loud with this news. There were people leaning over and talking animatedly to their neighbors, and several people had shouted all at one time. Taryn raised his arms in a gesture for silence as the room calmed down.

“That’s impossible. The dungeon doesn’t have a system, let alone something a person can use!” Someone shouted from Steven’s side of the table.

“Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case,” Caireena continued unflustered. She seemed to have expected the outburst. “When the Emperor forced the vote at the last guild council, he was awarded rulership of Serenity Springs and gained an uncertain amount of abilities tied to the town. It seems our ancestors didn’t even know of this functionality. But technically, our families gave him this power.”

Her last statement caused a sullen mood to spread across the attendees. Steven wasn’t sure why they seemed down, but in his opinion the emperor was rightfully the ruler. There was a vote and everything. He was tired of this.

“Why am I here?” Steven interrupted loudly, raising his hand to get the attention of the room. He didn’t like being the center of attention, but now was not the time to feel bashful.

Taryn and Caireena shared a look, but were spared from a response when another spoke.

“It is customary that an intervened dungeoneer, unaffiliated with the families, hold seat at the council.”

Steven looked to who had spoken and it was the eldest of the four that had risen at the beginning of the meeting. He was a bald man with a short cropped beard wearing a light grey robe sitting directly across from Steven at the table.

“There are others much better suited than me, I’ve just got here,” said Steven, rising from his seat.

“May I introduce Mr. Steven Reckker,” said Caireena, gesturing with an open hand at Steven who was now inadvertently on display. “He has returned the Sarenton princess to our care.” This announcement was met with quiet murmurs.

Steven was more than annoyed now. He had tried to leave, but was stopped and put on display by Caireena.

“Please have a seat Mr. Reckker. You aren’t here by chance,” said Caireena. The old man across the table chuckled ominously.

Perplexed, Steven sat down anyway. Of course he was here by chance. It was all because he needed help with his bonus challenge. He searched on the bulletin board, found Garth, and then in return for Garth’s help in the future he had gone and saved the girl from the death loop. He had nothing to do with these people voting for a singular ruler.

He leaned over to Garth and whispered, “Who is the old geezer across the table?”

“Great Sage Maximillian Reilnaut. Brother to the Reilnaut Family head. I guess he’s the family head now,” Garth whispered back, “and he can hear everything you’ve said.” Garth nodded at the Reilnaut head, who smiled widely.

“What a distinguished gentleman,” Steven replied. His attention was drawn back to Taryn, who had finished answering a few questions that Steven had missed.

“Back to the matter at hand,” Taryn said, clasping his hands behind his back. “We need to decide if this,” he looked over at Caireena, “Collective, will oppose the Emperor or disband and continue our lives under his rule.”

Steven raised his hand again. He felt like he was in school.

“Mr. Reckker?”

“Umm. Wasn’t this guy voted into power? Why do you want to oppose him if you voted him in?” Steven asked, causing more murmurs amongst the council members.

“No one here had voting privileges, nor were present at the council meeting. Only a scant few even knew of the individual in question, and they are presumably with him now. Please, you will be filled in with the details later,” Taryn said.

Steven looked over at Garth, who held a neutral expression with his eyes locked on the table in front of him.

“Those who vote for opposition and an active resistance against the Emperor of Serenity Springs, raise a hand,” Taryn said.

Steven watched as many of the council members raised their hands. It was obvious that the majority wanted to start a resistance.

“Those who vote for disbanding the, erhm, Collective, raise a hand.”

Steven raised his hand, along with a few others. He noticed that Garth didn’t vote at all and remained with his eyes glued to the table.

“Eight votes for opposition. Three votes for disbandment. Three votes uncast,” Taryn said with finality. “We go to war. Great Sage, I will leave you in charge of the strategy. Meet with the other heads at your discretion for an appraisal of assets. The council is adjourned. Mr. Trager, Mr. Reckker, please remain seated.”

Now he felt like he was in detention. Was he not allowed to vote? The old man implied that he was sitting on the council as an outside and unbiased source.

He watched as the other meeting attendees filed out of the room with their guards. Many seemed excited and were sending their guards off on errands before they had even exited the room.

After a few minutes the stragglers left and Caireena closed the door to the chamber. She returned to the table and took a seat next to the Great Sage, who winked at her when she sat down. Taryn had stood at the head of the table until the door was closed, and he took a seat right in front of him with a groan.

The last of the four family heads was seated at the other end opposite of Taryn. He was another older man but seemed a bit younger than the Great Sage. He had long black hair to his shoulders, clean shaven, and wore simple blue jeans and a t-shirt. He was the only person Steven had seen that looked relatively normal by Earth standards.

“Everything that is said in this room is not spoken of outside this room. Agreed?” Caireena asked, and the other heads nodded their assent.

Steven had the distinct feeling that they had already planned on that display of secrecy. He glanced over at Garth, who was frowning. It looked like he was expecting some sort of interrogation.

“Let me start off by saying, thank you. Both of you,” said Caireena, looking between Garth and Steven. She was sitting straight backed in her seat, but no longer had the tone of someone in a position of authority. “For bringing back my sister. To answer your earlier question Steven, we were ordered not to help Vera. I don’t know why, and we argued for weeks, but my parents forbid any Sarenton from joining Garth in his quest to rescue her.”

“Garth was expected to progress his own dungeon floors and increase his level to save her himself,” said the Great Sage, eyes locked on Garth. “I remember telling him exactly that. Instead he lost his damn mind and tried to rush everything. Eventually fell into a depression and withered.”

“She’s dungeon-born, she doesn’t…” Garth started to say.

“Boy! We’re all dungeon-born! Ain’t nobody got time!” The old man interrupted. “The mark of a good tactician is patience. To know when and how to strike. When to lose pieces and save others. You spent too long doing nothing, instead of doing what you could to solve the problem.” The Great Sage was red-faced and breathing hard. “And now the girl is in a coma and you’re still weak. Those are the consequences. Not some half-assed executions.”

“That’s enough,” Taryn said, “we aren’t here to lecture. State your intentions and let's move on.”

The Great Sage sat for a moment, breathing and calming himself. “I intend to reinstate my sponsorship. The offer remains open for three days. See me before then,” he said, closing his eyes.

Steven had always had the impression that Garth was a thinker and not a fighter. The man was usually pale during any sort of confrontations. Even now, he was sitting forward with his elbows on the table with his head in his hands.

“Anyway,” Caireena said, “I’d like to ask for your help Steven.”

“No,” said Steven without hesitation. He didn’t want to help anyone else right now, he had to finish his floor and move on. To get stronger.

Taryn leaned back and put his feet up on the table, a big grin plastered on his face. Steven assumed he was amused by someone denying Caireena.

“Fair enough,” she said, unbothered. “What floor are you on?”

“Floor one,” he replied. “Garth promised to help me defeat a boss there, and that's what I want to do next.”

“What would you say if I told you that I had the minotaur you defeated scouted long ago? And even the level fifty three scout I sent in there said he would have a bit of trouble with it.”

Garth perked up, “I would say you were lying. Only party members could access the floors of each other. And fifty three isn’t that different from Steven’s level.” He bluffed.

“Cut the crap, Garth. You knew me better than that. I cast identify on him before you even left for the dungeon. I know his full name, his attributes, his level. And even his class and abilities. I didn’t only send the huntsman to escort my sister here. I sent him to escort all three of you here,” Caireena said, calling Garth’s bluff. “Steven has the potential to be the strongest out of everyone, given enough time, which he has an eternity of.”

Garth looked over at Steven. “What is she talking about? What is your real class?” He asked.

Steven glanced around the table. Most eyes were on him. The amused Taryn was lounging back in his seat still. Fierce Caireena looked smug. He liked her less now. The Great Sage still had both eyes closed, but was no doubt listening. The final man at the end of the table looked bored.

“Mimic.” Steven replied.