Dungeon Status:

Tier 2

Level 32/100

Heart 3,686,400/3,686,400

Experience 261,843/921,600

Mithril 5,560

Adamantine 3,202

Mana 6,420

Poison, Greater 500

Deadly Scorpion Venom 51

Quest: Kill 11 city dwellers.

Quest: Half populate your dungeon: Workers 46/66 | Monsters 52/67 | Traps 117/162

Quest: Reach level 50.

Travis was more than happy with the way his experience was progressing. Numbers were going up faster, now, thanks to the ability to kill adventurers—and have them enthusiastically thank him for it. "Life's weird," he said to no one in particular.

"Life is only as 'weird' as you let it be. Relax, Travis, and accept your new normal." Felna had deigned to come down from her tower and perform a minor service for Travis. "Soon you'll be able to do this yourself, correct?"

"Yeah. The research for Allies is over halfway. Then I should be able to talk to anyone this stupid system thinks is friendly." Travis paid close attention to the woman that Felna was standing before. "That should be another week or two at most."

Alice Stormblade had spent several days entreating with the two other churches in the city, a whole day praying with Brayden (which Travis had expected to involve a lot less swordplay), and finally she was here to speak directly to him. "You talk to the dungeon often?"

"Ugh. Go on. Tell her how disrespectful you are. How you talk at me until I beg you to stop, and then—when I want to talk—you go to sleep. I dare you."

Felna was struggling not to laugh by the time Travis was done complaining. "When he needs my counsel. I have the unique spell he requires, after all, though he won't need it much longer. Are you prepared?"

"As I'll ever be. There is truly no harm in the spell?"

"None. It cannot be dismissed, though your patron may be able to, should you need it. How long will you require?" Felna began the first hints of her mana weaving, the deep reserve she now had practically humming with a need to be used.

Taking a slow breath, Alice said, "As long as you're able to. I have much to discuss."

"Travis, can I have—?" With the mana field appearing before she'd even finished asking for it, Felna let out a little purr. "Thank you, Travis." Then, after it had filled her with as much mana as she could take, she cast the spell.

The sensation of being connected to a dungeon wasn't what Alice Stormblade had expected. There was pressure upon her defenses, and with her willingness, it slipped past them. "I will need to retire to the temple to continue. Thank you, cleric of Sandwalker, your order is always as supportive as it is elusive." She ignored the sound of Felna's laugh as she made her way down the tunnels, these brightly lit to allow regular folks to travel without bringing their own light.

Once she reached the temple, she stopped and drew her sword at the entry, held it up in silent prayer, then sheathed it again. Finding a seat in the front row of pews, she settled herself. "Thank you for waiting."

"I can keep my voice to just one person, but I figured you'd like your own words to be private. As Felna said, this won't be a limitation for long. I have no idea why I have the ability to research talking to anyone considered a friend, but I am going to take advantage of it—like I take advantage of a lot of stupid dungeon stuff."

The rich tone and turns of phrase confirmed two things for Alice: Travis was his own being beyond a shadow of a doubt, and that he wasn't always a dungeon. "You think it's stupid? What exactly?" She was, though, curious.

"Okay. So, the big one right now. People dying in the dungeon." At Alice's brow-raise, seen through a ubiquitous lizard that sat nearby, Travis continued. "Well, we can resurrect them. Death isn't permanent, and any adventurer willing to put in the work to get better can train safely."

"I am aware of that. There is a reason Brogdar sponsored you and supported you. Finding the weakness in a fighter and showing them a way to surpass it is a fine skill. How are you taking advantage of this?"

"Because I get— My strength is measured in what the dungeon calls experience. Killing people who enter me gives me a lot of that experience. I have research that gives me a much lesser amount if they enter, each day. That's why we worked out the idea of having people arrive and depart through my entrances on the first floor." Travis felt that he sounded like a heel for it. Discussing gaining strength by killing as if it were only a matter of numbers.

"That has been a long-held belief, and one that we were fairly certain was truth. Though we had no idea of a name for the process." Waiting for a moment, Alice didn't get any hint of a reply. Musing on his statements and hers, she smiled and said, "You thought I would disapprove of you getting stronger for killing adventurers?"

Travis felt as low as he could get. Admitting it seemed worse than letting it fester. "Yeah."

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"Brayden explained many things to me about you and the situation here. The compulsion that you don't abuse, the relationship between yourself and everyone who lives here. You fight a daily battle of morals, to not abuse those you care for and protect. When an adventurer dies here, there is no negative consequence. Someone learns a new lesson, someone becomes stronger. To put it how my peer Brother Rupert would, the scales balance. You are not taking advantage of them, and they are not taking advantage of you.

"Wait, before you try to refute that, let me say something else. Brayden speaks highly of you. He has felt Brogdar's own mana in you, in the city, and mingling among the grounds of both. You walk a hard line, Travis of Northridge, every day of your life. You resist temptation and go on to walk the right side. Travis, there are people in this world who go their whole lives without having true evil such as you fight ever once occurring to them. It is regrettable that you faltered, once, but that has strengthened your resolve; am I correct?"

"Stephan…" Travis said, imagining the words through clenched teeth.

"Lived. Is alive. There were two other dungeons that, should he have stepped into them, would have done far worse. Even some of the more wild Verdant dungeons would have attacked an unarmed and untrained human and gained strength in his death. Was it wrong? Did you learn from it?"

When Travis didn't respond, Alice nodded her head. "From what Stephan said, you both have. He has assured me he will no longer try to delve into any dungeons without assistance, and you have not harmed another who didn't mean you harm."

"So, what, just forget it?"

"Absolutely not. It is a lesson that carried a large price for both of you. Remember it, use it, but don't let it dominate the connection you both share." When Travis didn't respond, she felt it was time to move on. "I understand you took in some refugees from the northerner forces."

Another sore topic, but Travis was happy enough to move on from the previous one. "I stand by my decision. Astrid and her pack were just soldiers doing their duty. They died doing it, and I wanted something good to come from that stupid siege. If you or your church are against that, I—"

"Brogdar gave Brayden the power to bring them back. If they were evil at heart, they wouldn't have regained their lives. I have learned to trust my god's actions and not other people's judgements of right and wrong—even my own. What I wished to ask was if I could talk to them about converting."

Now Travis could see a trap, and though he appreciated what the gods of the world had done, he wouldn't force them on anyone. "That's up to them. I will ask them, and if they agree to talk to you about it, then you can. Otherwise, I'd ask that you respect their faith."

After having Brayden caution her on this topic, Alice nodded her head. "I will abide by their decision. I was under the impression, though, that they didn't worship any gods."

Travis started to ask Astrid while responding to Alice. "They don't. I— Ah. Astrid is coming here to discuss it with you. She speaks for all of her pack."

Waiting, Alice contemplated that. She wanted to ask if he believed Astrid would shield her pack from religion. Her thoughts weren't so much interrupted by the sound of the door to the temple opening and closing, so much as the heavy footsteps approaching. She turned her head to look, only to find herself looking up at a towering form above her. It took every ounce of her self-control to not draw her sword—or even reach for it. "Astrid?"

"Yeah." With anyone who lived in the dungeon, Astrid would have crouched to put herself on their level—at least symbolically. "Travis said you wanted to talk."

"I did. Regarding your faith." The moment she said it, Alice could see the way Astrid stiffened and seemed to close down. "First, I wanted to ask what god or gods you follow."

"Do I have to answer?" Astrid asked, forcing her voice to her native tongue. "I don't want to talk about our god to outsiders."

The words were lost on Alice. She tried her best to keep her face neutral, but it was obvious the huge wolf creature beside her was talking only to Travis.

Travis adjusted his voice such that only Astrid would hear. "Tell her that."

"We have our own beliefs. I won't share them." Astrid waited for the intimidating woman to open her mouth before speaking over her. "I don't care if they aren't real to you. They are to us."

"Oh." To say it wasn't the reason Alice was expecting was an understatement. She'd assumed they didn't know their gods weren't actually gods. That's when something else hit her. "I thought the northerners only believed in one god?"

Taking a long, deep breath, Astrid turned around and started walking from the room. She was terrified, in a way. Travis had arranged this meeting, and here she was ignoring what would have been considered an order by her superiors where she was trained.

"You don't have to—" Alice watched Astrid leave the room. "I didn't mean to push. It was just a question."

Travis ensured both of them could hear his words. "She told you she wouldn't talk about her faith. You did push, even if you didn't mean it. I will not make her stay." Then, directly to Astrid, "Thank you for trying."

Astrid stopped walking. Clearing her throat with a soft growl, she asked, "You're not angry with me?"

"No, Astrid. Not at all. I need to get all your pack to state the same, to me, and I will protect them all from needing to talk to anyone trying to convert them." A little startled when she closed her eyes, Travis asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Shivering and doing her best to stop her tears and hide them at the same time, Astrid continued walking. "I will talk to my pack. Thank you."

Heading back to the forge on the bottom floor, Astrid felt like her pack had grown. First and foremost, she thought Travis would have made a great wolf and pack leader.

Travis turned his attention back to Alice Stormblade. "There was a reason I held your order in so much regard, and that had to do with Brayden not trying to push his religion on anyone. I won't stop you from doing it, but it doesn't improve my opinion of Brogdar if you continue." It felt so odd to say.

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