"There are a few things we should take care of in the area. First, I need to take Peter to recapture Slayer from his home dungeon. While we're here, we should double check any dungeons in the area to be sure there's no Essence activity."

Gordon nodded. "Those things are nasty. Not sure we would have been able to survive if that Ice one had been any bigger."

"Now's your chance to be sure it won't happen to anyone else in the area. Who do you want to take with you?"

Gordon looked over their entourage. Their numbers had steadily dwindled. From those who'd genuinely wanted to join, most had remained, but plenty of them had only agreed to be part of the team due to the pressure of the moment. As they traveled and fought and time passed without the end of the world showing itself in blatant and obvious fashion, many of the more reluctant recruits made their excuses and slipped away.

Others chose to return as messengers to their own communities, to spread the word and help better prepare their friends and families for what was coming.

Levi made no effort to stop either sort of departure. Anyone who didn't want to fight was allowed to not fight, in his book. Forcing people into this war wasn't his style. He’d been on the wrong side of that tactic already and had no desire to inflict it on others. He'd do his best to convince them, yes, but outside his immediate family the rest of the world wasn't his responsibility. He would do his best, but he could only do so much.

Even with their decreased numbers, there were still close to thirty people who remained committed to following through despite the relative monotony. Several of the tamers brought or obtained minions of their own, further expanding their numbers.

Levi’s entourage had become more of a full camp than the horde of minions, and they did a lot more stopping for the night than when he’d been on his own, but… he couldn’t deny the warmth of the community it fostered.

“Whoever wants to volunteer, for a start.” Gordon looked over the assemblage, nodding slowly. “I’ll grab Drok if you don’t mind.”

“Whatever you need. I’m not concerned about our trip. The three of us can handle it.”

“Then I’ll also take a few of the harpies. Airborn range is probably the best option against any Essences if we encounter one.”

“All yours. Just save me a copy of any crafting essence you pick up and we’ll be good.”

Gordon gave a thumbs up salute, then headed off to start recruiting volunteers. Levi suspected most of the group would join him. Cassandra had already been stepping up her recruitment efforts in the area, visiting many of the emergency response organizations to spread awareness, as well as distributing supplies to any local Awakened Levi could locate.

Their network grew steadily, and Levi could already see the potential for a network of tamers acting as communication liaisons. Between swarm-type creatures like Bladefin and Crackle, there should be more than enough options for relaying messages. It would take some dedicated effort to set up, but he could envision it easily filling the communication gap until manatech started being more viable.

There was no way of knowing how the preparation efforts would be going internationally, but he could only assume it would be roughly the same as the first time around. Governments would always want to stay in control, individuals would try to hoard power, and apart from his group’s intervention things would play out as they had before.

There was only so much time in the day. He needed to prioritize his own group’s advancement. The deadline loomed ever nearer, urgency demanding he get back to leveling himself and his family.

If he wasn’t a Summoner by the time the portals opened, his best efforts would barely mitigate the coming disaster. Even then, he wasn’t confident it would be enough.

The dungeon where they'd first captured Slayer, Peter's Spitting Slime minion, had been in a parking lot. A month ago, it had been cordoned off with caution cones. Now, it had been enclosed by a building with radiation warning signs and keep out labels.

Also, a pair of level 14 guards leaning against the wall beside the door, giving the occasional glower to anyone passing by while mainly chatting to one another.

Despite their seeming inattention, the guards reacted immediately when they saw Levi and his team approaching. Shooting glances at the newcomers, they conversed quickly with much gesturing, then one strode toward the intruders with a businesslike air while the other drew a manabow and fired a green-glowing arrow straight up.

"All this in a few weeks?" Irene murmured. "These guys move fast."

"This is a restricted area,” declared the approaching man. “No access permitted without proper clearance." His voice was firm, even if his eyes seemed vaguely uncertain as he took in Levi's level tag.

Being below the third threshold himself, seeing someone on the brink of the fourth would be understandably intimidating.

"I'm Levi Morrison," Levi told him brusquely. "Stand down."

"You're not authorized for access."

"Are you planning to stop me?" Levi's voice was cold, but the humor of the situation was not lost on Peter, who snorted in obvious amusement.

The man glanced at the veritable army of monsters following Levi’s group in perfect formation. He took another second longer to gather himself, long enough that the second man walked over to join them.

"Move along, sir. I don't know who you are, but I do know this isn't your jurisdiction."

Levi resisted the urge to draw his manablade, hand resting on its hilt. "I'm going into that dungeon. You can't stop me. If you try, it'll only lead to people getting hurt. Do you really want to fight me over this?"

The two exchanged a glance, then back at Levi and his team. Even having split their group to cover more ground, they were an intimidating bunch.

Gordon and Cassandra had taken Pierce, Drok, and the rest of Gordon’s team to clear any smaller dungeons in the area that showed signs of being in use to ensure that there was no Essence buildup in any of them. But from the looks of things, this region hadn't been left to its own devices in the month since they'd been here last.

"You're not supposed to be here. We can't let you in."

It felt wrong to just attack these people. Levi saw no indication that they were with the same group that had been kidnapping people back in Nevada. Local groups would be formed with their own internal networks, given that long-distance mana-enabled communication was still in its infancy. It would require another year or two for a telegraph-analog to be established between major population centers, and that would only last until the invasions grew more widespread and resistance crumbled.

But… "You can't stop me from going in, no matter what you try. I'm stronger than both of you put together, and that's without counting my backup."

"Be that as it may, it's our responsibility to prevent unauthorized access. And your access isn't authorized."

Levi sighed and shook his head. "We're not going to get anywhere at this rate. Out of the way, please, I won't be asking again."

The first man fidgeted like he wanted to comply, but the second shook his head sternly. "No. If you want to enter, you’ll need to—"

Irene stepped forward, placed a hand on the unyielding man's chest, and activated Stasis. He stopped moving mid-word, and she turned to look at the first man. "We're coming through. Once we have what we need, we'll move on and you'll never have to see us again."

The man swallowed, looking between his immobile paralyzed partner, then the squad of monsters looming in the background. Whatever loyalty or fear held him, it wasn't strong enough to withstand such a show of power.

The guard nodded stiffly. "I'll have a guest access report for you to fill out when you leave."

"Thank you."

Peter and the minions preceded them into the building and the dungeon inside, Levi and Irene following at the rear.

A low-level nature dungeon wasn’t likely to pose any real threat to them at this point, but Levi wasn't sure he liked having Irene use one of her abilities with such a long cooldown just to prove a point, even if it had worked perfectly.

When she released the man she'd been holding in stasis, his partner quickly hushed his confused protests and dragged him off to another freestanding building nearby to prepare their exit paperwork.

The Nature dungeon’s doorway stood visibly, no longer just a shimmer of light and mist, the faintly visible portal surrounded by a thin frame of vines and flowers like an arbor archway.

"Level 8, impressive."

It looked quite inviting, if one didn't know what to expect.

"I don't know if Slayer will be here right now, we might have to come back a few times or wait for a while," Levi told Peter.

"He'll be here."

Levi smiled at Peter's confidence and didn't argue. They'd find out readily enough.