The next morning, Orrin kicked Daniel awake.

“Ow! What the hell?”

Orrin squatted and poked his friend. “Last one up. I guess you have to sort bones with me.”

Daniel groaned and stretched. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”

Madi and Emily were up and ready to go already. Madi had sorted through a heap of broken dishes until she’d found enough bowls and cups for them to drink some of Orrin’s conjured water. Garret stood apart from the group, styling his hair in front of a shattered mirror against an armoire.

Garret tucked a stray hair behind his ear and glanced over at Daniel. “You were the one who set that rule.”

“I’ll do it,” Madi cut in, forestalling the argument. “Let’s map out any traps in the third room first and then we can backtrack for the bones.”

Orrin pushed the party’s gear into his [Dimension Hole] and followed Madi as she led them to the far side of the room. They entered the door.

Daniel whistled.

“This is much more organized,” Emily noted.

The room was smaller than the two they’d already explored. Shelves had been set up around the perimeter of the room. The left half reminded Orrin of a library, with see-through bookshelves in rows. While some had books, most shelves were covered in stacks of various monster bits. Claws, teeth, hides, jars filled with clear liquid and floating bits, alchemy tools, smith tools, and labeled flasks.

An enormous table spanned the length of the right half of the room. A stand in the middle contained a single book and a jar of ink. The rest of the table was clear but split into small alcoves that would provide only the bare minimum of privacy from the next seat.

Madi nudged Orrin. “Check for any traps, please. This room must be the one the new Guildmaster has been working on organizing. The rumor is she tossed everything out into the main hall and had them start from scratch from here. Anything that comes in has to be recorded in her master log book there.”

While Orrin pulled up his [Map], Garret walked up to the book. He flipped through the pages.

Orrin frowned and tried again. The same result.

“There are no traps or anything in here,” he announced.

Garret turned away from the book. “You sure? After all the ones we had yesterday?”

Orrin shrugged. “Maybe they set off anything they found? Should I check out the last room before we go back?”

The final door was in the back of the room, the only stretch of the wall not covered with shelving.

“We might as well,” Madi agreed.

The door looked no different from the others, but as Daniel pulled it open, he grunted.

“This door is heavy,” he muttered. “Way heavier than it should be.”

Daniel poked his head inside. “This is more of a closet than a room, Madi.”

Madi and Orrin peered over Daniel’s shoulder. The last room had cleaning supplies on a single shelf against the back wall, with a broom and mop.

“We could have just finished up last night,” Garret complained. “This room is organized and we know what else we need. I could have been home in bed.”

Even Emily let out a disappointed sigh and returned to the record book.

“Might as well doublecheck,” Orrin said and entered the cupboard. He ran [Trap View], closing it out as quickly as it popped up.

He paused and pulled it up again.

“Uhm… guys?”

With all four of his party members pushing into the room with him, Orrin was feeling a bit claustrophobic. After Emily had used her [Inferno Veins] to search the single trap that appeared in the cleaning closet, they’d pulled the shelf out of the room, discarding the supplies on the table. She’d been adamant that no traps were present, only a concealment of some sort.

“Maybe it needs a magic word to open,” Daniel suggested.

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Emily countered. “Obviously, there is a hidden latch or lever. I can’t see through the stone wall, but something is definitely right behind here.”

She rapped her knuckles at waist height behind where the shelving had been.

“Do you think it’s more gold?” Garret pushed in again, jostling Orrin. “If we find two caches of gold, we are keeping one.”

“Can everyone back out, please?” Orrin yelled. “I’m getting smashed here.”

He had tried using [Analyze] on the stone but nothing had appeared. As the rest of his party had started suggesting ideas, they’d also crowded in until they all stood in the shoebox-sized room together.

They all stepped back sheepishly.

“I think the best way might be to just break the wall,” Madi said, her finger over her mouth in contemplation. She snapped her fingers. “Orrin, can you boost up Daniel’s strength? I think I saw a hammer back there on one of the shelves.”

Garret quickly bounded over to the other side of the room and returned with a small hand sledgehammer.

Orrin threw his highest [Increase Strength], level three spell on Daniel the maximum five times. With his Will at twenty-eight, the plus four increase became an eleven-point increase. Fifty-five extra points in strength put Daniel into the high seventies for strength. For whatever reason Orrin’s buffs didn’t affect Daniel…or himself… as they did everyone else. Orrin had performed some testing on Madi, with only a few minor side effects back at the Catanzano manor. She could stand an increase of up to a little more than twenty points to her stats before she had side effects. They hadn’t found anyone else willing to be a guinea pig but Orrin had his theories. For now, he wouldn’t increase anyone but himself and Daniel more than fifteen points or so per stat.

Daniel’s eyes glazed as he watched his status screen. When Orrin’s final spell cleared, he smirked and held the hammer over his head with one hand.

“I have the power!”

Orrin kept his face very still.

Daniel smirked at him and then looked around. “You all would be laughing if you got that.”

He turned and disappeared into the closet.

“Sometimes I forget he’s from another world,” Madi stage-whispered to Orrin, “and then he goes and says weird shit and I’m reminded all over again how strange he is.”

“I know what you mean,” Orrin chuckled.

“I can hear you,” Daniel’s voice came from the room along with the sound of hammer on stone.

Two minutes later, Daniel came out covered in dust. “It’s books.”

Madi stood up from the chair she’d been resting in. Orrin pushed off the table he’d been leaning on. Garret and Emily were going through the rest of the room for the pre-determined supplies but came back over when they heard the hammer stop.

“Books?” Madi asked, glancing behind Daniel. “How many? What kind?”

“I don’t know,” Daniel said. “I didn’t want to pull them out in case there was another trap.”

Orrin punched his shoulder. “That was surprisingly bright of you. Good job.”

Daniel’s mouth turned up as if he’d bit into a lemon. “Surprisingly?”

Orrin quickly ducked into the room. “I’ll just go check for traps.”

The cleaning closet had been covered in a fine layer of stone dust from where Daniel had knocked a hole into the wall at knee height. Small chunks of the wall lay in a pile on the floor and Orrin could make out five maybe six books behind the wall. He pushed his [Trap View] into the newly made alcove but picked up nothing.

“It seems all clear to me,” Orrin shouted out from the room. “I’m going to grab these few.”

Pulling the books out of the hole, Orrin’s eyes got wide as he read the titles.

“They’re all skill books!”

Ten minutes later, Daniel had finished destroying a perfectly good hidden wall and the party had spread the ten skill books out on the table.

“These are all pretty good. Most are rare enough that we could sell them and make a lot of gold. Some I haven’t even heard of,” Madi said in a low voice. “Personally, I’ll pay for this one.”

She picked up one of the spell books. The spell books were embossed with the name of the spell they’d teach. In this case, [Sunbeam].

“This is a direct upgrade for me,” she continued, holding the book to her chest. “I didn’t know that a spell book like this even existed. I could do more damage for the party and I’d be able to-“

“It’s yours,” Daniel interrupted her. “You don’t need to pay us for it.”

Madi shook her head, “No. I will pay for it. This is too much.”

Daniel put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s not too much. Just make sure to save all our lives a few times.”

Emily cleared her throat. “If we are allowed to use these… I wouldn’t mind taking one of the [Firebloom] spell books. I had to pay dearly for mine and I have a sister…”

Daniel nodded. “Go for it. This entire thing was to make us all stronger but family is family.”

Emily’s smile lit up the room. “Thank you. Really.”

“Now if only there was a weapon skill book, Orrin could finally be useful,” Daniel said with a laugh. “Garret, do you want any of them?”

“None of the spells or skills really do much for my build. I’m not even sure what these two are though.”

The archer pointed to the two Madi had set to the side. The first had a dark green cover with gold lettering. It was heavy and looked expensive, with the title of Life Tree. The second was well worn by time and had a dark blue cover with light blue stitching of the words Way of the Water.

“I’m not sure what those are either,” Madi admitted. “Those are the ones I’ve never heard of.”

Orrin pulled up his store in his status screen and typed in life tree.

“[Life Tree] is a druid spell. You can set up a magic tree that heals the local environment of most types of corruption or contamination. It’s pretty mana heavy to start and drains as long as it’s going, too. I’m not sure even I could keep that up for long,” Orrin said, summarizing the spell. “What?”

Garret and Emily were looking at him weirdly. Madi also gave him a squinty look.

“How do you know that?” she asked.

The lie came so quickly, Orrin surprised himself. “[Analyze]. I’m getting better at it.”

The answer seemed to placate them. Madi held up the Way of the Water book. “What about this one?”

Orrin stared at the book like he was going to use [Analyze], while secretly searching his interface store.

Way of the Water- You are adept at the Way of the Water, fighting style.

“It’s a fighting style,” he answered. “I’m not sure what kind though.”

“I’ve never heard of that one,” Garret said. “But if Orrin really doesn’t have any martial skills, it might be worth using. Worst case, you have a skill book learned fighting style you don’t use.”

Madi shrugged. “We can get it appraised if you want. We might be able to get something better and more well-known.”

Orrin shrugged. “I’ll take it by Bartholomew’s after we leave.”

The bookstore Bartholomew’s had been where Orrin had purchased [Side Steps], the first and only skill book he’d used. The small selection of skill books they’d had cost a silver coin to peruse, so Orrin knew he’d likely get bilked for the information but everybody in Dey purchased their skill books there.

Orrin swept the rest of the books into his [Dimension Hole] and looked around. “If you guys want to finish up here, I’m going to go search those bones for more dragons. Madi, you coming?”

As they left the other three behind, Madi was quiet.

“Are you okay?”

“What? Oh, yes. Sorry.”

Orrin slowed his walking speed in the main room, turning to her. “Madi.”

She looked up from her feet.

“What is it?”

“[Sunbeam] has a cost of thirty ability points. It’s not right that I take that,” she said, still clutching the book to her chest.

“You heard Daniel. It’s yours. We came here looking for good stuff. You set it up. If it’s something you want, then use it.”

Madi glanced up finally. “Orrin, my planned path wouldn’t let me get this until I was in the mid-thirty range if I made it that far at all.”

“Awesome.” Orrin smiled at her. “I guess you’ll need to re-plan your plan. I should really make a plan and stick with it. I know I’m going to pick up a few more specific ward spells for the dungeon but I keep spending all my ability points before I can save up enough to buy the ones I really want to get.”

Madi shook her head. “I know that pain. Getting [Shimmersight] cost fifteen. I had to wait for two full levels without buying anything. I just… I’m so glad you two found us on that road. I mean, obviously, I’m glad you two saved our lives, but my entire life has been turned upside down. I’m about to learn [Sunbeam] before I hit level twenty.”

“Is it really good? I didn’t check it out.”

“It’s like my [Lightbeam] but light and fire damage and way more powerful. It’s also part of my core spells, so getting it will unlock more high-level spells I can plan around.”

Orrin started walking again, checking to make sure she followed along. Her eyes were still glued to her book.

“That sounds pretty cool. All I want to get is [Merge]. I’ll be able to smash different spells together and make new ones.”

Madi started laughing so hard that Orrin had to stop walking. “That’s funny. Oh, damn. You really caught me off guard.”

“What?”

“All I want to get is [Merge],” Madi mocked, wiping her eyes. “As if that hasn’t been a lost spell for hundreds of years. Everybody and anybody would kill for that spell.”

Orrin forced a laugh. “Yeah. Haha. You caught me. Now can we please get back to searching for dragon bones?”

He felt the sweat dripping down his back. Madi let out a long breath.

“Okay. Thanks. I needed that. Let’s see what we can find.”

She walked past him to the side room door and opened it. “Are you coming?”

“On my way,” Orrin said shakily.