Book 4: Chapter 40

Time until floor completion 0:00:05

4…

3…

2…

Quest: Keep the Lights On! COMPLETED!

40 auction points rewarded!

Additional bonus rewarded for being the first group to finish!

10 additional auction points rewarded!

Passage to the next floor, opening…

Global Chat Disabled until next floor!

The moment the message appeared, the crystal began to morph, turning into a portal to the fifth floor within seconds. And as it did, a forcefield enveloped the castle, and a small amount of the surrounding area where some were culling the remnants of the previous wave.

“Huh, would you look at that,” Aaron said, eyeing the forcefield. He didn’t need to inspect it to know that it was some damn durable System power; he could sense it the moment it appeared. “Well, it certainly looks like they don’t want us going anywhere.”

He figured it made sense. They had finished the dungeon floor, and perhaps there were insights or tricks to completing the floor that the System didn’t want them sharing with others. Not that Aaron had any particularly useful advice. The technique he’d used to keep the crystal powered wasn’t easily replicated.

And within seconds, everyone was pouring in from beyond the wall, crowding out the central courtyard and congratulating Aaron. They mightn’t have appreciated how hard it was to keep the crystal lit when Aaron was first given the job, but by now, everyone was well aware.

“Not bad,” came Ernest’s raspy voice. “If I do say so myself. And an extra ten points? I think we owe you one, Aaron.”

“Yeah, that’s for sure. Though you could have let us go a little longer,” Talia said with a smile. “That was good training out there.”

“Aaron, you’re all sweaty!” Soohyun said, pulling a towel from her spatial storage. “Let me help.”

“HAHA! Look at you go! All the other teams are struggling, bro! That’s some big old balls you got there! Wouldn’t expect any less from you, brother!” Terry cheered with wide arms.

“Humy, do alright,” Erdek croaked. “For a humy.”

Even Raksha looked impressed. Well, somewhat. It was clear she didn’t want to be too congratulatory and didn’t actually say anything. Then again, he doubted it was all about feelings. She had the image to maintain as their world’s second-highest ranker to uphold. But between the murlock stew and smashing the dungeon floor, it seemed that she would let go of whatever irritation he had stirred up.

Emmy came casually floating by on a bubble as the crowd gathered. “Nice one, boomer.”

“I’m not a boomer, but thanks,” Aaron sighed. “And that goes for the rest of you. Thanks for all the praise. But I couldn’t have done it without—”

“Keep it to yourself,” Ernest grasped Aaron’s shoulder. “None of these bastards did it for you. They just wanted the levels, and it just so happened to turn out for the best.”

Talia gave him a sideways glance. And Aaron knew it was true. Still, he felt weird in the spotlight. It wasn’t really his thing.

“What are we waiting for?” Emmy said, breaking the awkwardness as she floated straight through the portal.

Once Emmy was through, many others started to enter, her teammate Lance being the first.

“Aaron?” Talia said, pausing before the portal and turning back to him.

“Right,” Aaron nodded and caught up.

Talia didn’t need to say her thoughts; he felt the same way. Even if all the top rankers on their world had some kind of strange alliance at that moment, it was far from solidified. Who knew what they would find on the next floor? If it were a challenge that pitted them against each other, Aaron had no doubt the alliance would quickly crumble. But he could rely on his party, and it was best they entered prepared.

Sharing a glance and checking themselves over, Talia, Aaron, Soohyun, and Zero stepped up to each other’s sides and entered the portal together.

Welcome to the Dungeon Interlude!

Time until Dungeon Interlude completion 23:59:57

System energy wrapped around them in an instant, and before they knew it, they were in a dim, smoky bar, surrounded by cushy lounges.

“A speakeasy?” Aaron said, as it reminded him of bars he’d seen in old movies his late mother had liked to watch when he was young.

It wasn’t just the decor, either. The System assistants waiting for them were there, dressed in overalls with white shirts and fedoras.

“This is…” Aaron muttered.

“Unexpected,” Talia finished his sentence.

“Yeah. Exactly.”

Terry had already passed through the portal and was already at the bar ordering dozens of beers. Only a meter or so down from him was Ernest, who was puffing on a cigar as he leaned against the bar, swirling a bourbon in a crystal glass between his fingers.

“They’re fast,” Aaron said, eyeing their companions from the dungeon floor, most of whom had already ordered and were either digging in or about to.

“Our friends, or the System staff?”

“Both.”

In one booth, Emmy had an entire, multi-layered birthday cake to herself. In another was Erdek. The goblin queen was leaning back, being fanned by one of her man slaves, as another massaged her shoulders. The others were arranging a platter of drinks and food.

“Bro, come join us! Ernie says we’re having a war council or something in a bit.” Terry waved from a crowded table. “Over here! Hey, you, soy boy, get up! That chair is for Aaron!”

“Wait, keep your chair; it’s fine,” Aaron waved and then glanced over at Talia and Soohyun.

“I can deal with him… for a bit,” Talia sighed. “We are supposed to be allies, after all.”

“You sure?”

“I can look after myself, Aaron.”

Aaron nodded and turned back to Terry. “I’ll take the empty chair.”

As they walked over to the table, Aaron noticed that there were screens playing in corners of the ceiling. “Hey, look at that,” he pointed up at the screens. “That’s the fourth floor. Those are the other teams.”

The screens were flicking between the teams, playing their action in thirty-second or so intervals before moving on to the next.

“So it is. Seems that we get to watch them.”

“Might learn something about their weaknesses,” Aaron said.

“Another bonus for finishing early. We really do owe you one,” Talia smiled.

They took their seats amongst Terry and his boisterous Desert Pythons, and small talk chattered around the table as they watched the screens. A short moment later, Terry pushed apart a couple of his pythons, ordering them to take different chairs, and plonked down beside Aaron.

“So, I’ve been meaning to ask…” Terry said suggestively.

“Huh? What do you wanna know, mate?”

“You know. It’s not a secret, is it?” Terry smiled deviously.

“I… don’t know what you’re getting at.”

Terry’s vibe had completely changed, and it made Aaron a touch uncomfortable.

“You know. The message. In the chat. That’s some spicy shit, bro.”

“Chat messages? Spicy? What the hell are you talking about?”

Terry bounced his brows and took a sideways glance at Talia.

“Err, I’m sorry. Seriously. I dunno what you’re getting at, mate.”

“A three-way? Ring any bells, stud? I know you,” Terry nudged him. “Ever since we met, I could see straight through your act. You play the innocent, but you’re nothing like that, are you? I bet you can’t wait to take those girls into a backroom and have some fun, huh?”

“Oh, that. No, it’s not wh—”

“Haha, bro!” Terry smacked his back. “You don’t gotta explain shit to me. Players gotta play. I get it. No hate here. I got my own girls back in my camp. They’re not fighters, though. That’s not really my style. Well, most of the time… I could make exceptions,” his gaze drifted back to Talia.

“Sorry, Terry. Really, you’ve got it all wrong–”

“Aaron! Bro! Chill. I’m not going to ruin your good times,” Terry tapped the side of his nose. “Zipped and locked away. This is between bros. You’re a lucky man, though. Talia is not bad. Not bad at all. I’m not normally into goth girls, but she makes it work.”

The conversation had started out uncomfortable, and it had gotten worse. Desperate, Aaron looked around for a distraction.

“Look!” He said, pointing at the screen.

“Huh?” Terry looked up.

In truth, Aaron wasn’t too bothered by a somewhat awkward conversation. He could certainly handle it. But the way Terry looked at Talia always made him more than a little uncomfortable.

“Shit! So that’s Elmira? Damn, bro! She is a hottie!”

Fuck!

Aaron didn’t even realize that Elmira and her party were on the screen. He had just randomly pointed at it, trying to change the topic. And now it looked like he had dug his hole even deeper.

“No, I-ah,” Aaron searched for words.

“Bro, bro,” Terry said with a massive smirk. “Like I said, don’t gotta explain shit to me. The assets speak for themselves.”

“Look, we’re just fr–”

“Howdy,” Ernest said with a clank as he dropped into a seat beside them.

It seemed that the cowboy had finally decided to walk over from the bar and join them at their table, and just in time.

“I’ve been thinking. You did good. Ten auction points is no doubt better than a little extra experience. But you’ve also probably painted a massive target on your back. It’s something we should probably consider going into the next floor.”

“You think?” Aaron said, happy not to be talking about Elmira’s assets with Terry.

“I know. Look at them. They’re still battling away, and it looks like they’ve got some real time before they finish up. Sure, it might have only proven your energy capabilities and not your combat. But to finish so long before the other groups is… well, it’s noticeable.”

As Ernest spoke, Raksha’s gaze narrowed on them from across the bar, and a moment later, she rose and made her way over to them.

The thick tentacles that lashed about her lower half didn’t make regular chairs particularly useful to Raksha, and so she stood between them.

“Mind if I join?”

Aaron shrugged, and Terry had a strangely excited look in his eyes.

“Anyway, as I was saying,” Ernest said with a puff of his cigar. “There’s a chance we’ll be set up against the other worlds again on the next floor. But with the entire sector against us, and a bunch of people who have seen just how much energy you’ve got.”

Raksha said. “There is a way to draw attention away from us…” Raksha said, “Do you remember the big purple guy with six arms?”

“Mo’han…” Aaron murmured.

“Exactly. Sure, winning by so much will draw attention to us, but with Mo’han and his party on the next floor, we might not have so much to worry about,” Raksha said.

“That might actually work in our favor,” Ernest thought aloud. “Mo’han is probably the one person people fear more than Aaron, even after his performance on this floor. If he’s around, which he almost certainly will be, then he’ll have the biggest target on his back.”

“And as long as we can remain in his shadow, then we can take advantage of that,” Raksha grinned.

“Yeah, maybe,” Talia said. “But that’s all speculation. It’s impossible to make a real plan until we know what the actual challenge will be.”

“She’s not wrong,” Ernest said, agreeing with Talia. “Besides, perhaps we should be focusing on other matters… As you might remember, there’s the business of cementing an alliance against a certain necromancer, and—”

Distracting the conversation away from Ernest, the screens above them flashed, announcing that another team’s timer had hit zero and that they had completed the floor.

“Already?” Aaron said. “I thought they had another four hours.”

“Time ain’t normal here,” Ernest exhaled smoke, and the others just nodded. It had been maybe half an hour at most since they arrived.

The screen flicked to the team that had completed the floor, showing Elmira surrounded by her teammates celebrating, and their portal to the Dungeon Interval appearing.

“Anyway, back to what I was saying. About the alliance—”

“Can it wait a minute, Ernest? We got a lot going on, but right now, it looks like we have company,” Aaron said.

“Company? Haha. I know what you’re thinking, Aaron! Maybe there’s a private room around here somewhere.” Terry nudged Aaron suggestively.

“What is he talking about?” Talia said.

“It’s nothing. Just a misunderstanding. Anyway, why don’t we go greet our dungeon rivals?”

“Yeah,

greet

,” Terry grinned.

Superearth’s top rankers got up and made their way over to the entrance as the rankers of Pentival’s world filed through.

Elmira led the group of rankers into the speakeasy. There were dozens of people neither Aaron nor anybody else recognized. Including a good number of ogres that surprised Aaron. There were also some weird-looking molemen with long whiskers. Just like with their world, Elmira’s group was accompanied by both rankers and a bunch of weaker support members.

“Wow, you two really have changed a lot,” Elmira said, eyeing Aaron and Talia. “You look great, by the way, Talia. And Aaron… your shorts are very short. And bear fur? An interesting choice.”

“Yeah,” Aaron winced, scratching at the back of his head. “Good to see you too, Elmira.”

“What’s his problem?” Elmira raised a brow at Terry, who was looming behind them

“Don’t ask.”

Dungeon Announcement!

Please wait for details regarding the conditions for the next floor of the dungeon!

From here on, each world may only have one Party and two substitutes to compete in the dungeon!

Please choose seven members to carry the torch of your world!

Caution! All participants will gain the same number of auction point rewards, regardless of whether or not they are part of the party!

Choose wisely, for all of your sakes!

“Huh? Just one party, and two subs?” Aaron said, almost forgetting that Elmira was there.

“And just as we were catching up. Well, it looks like we’ve got some tough decisions to make,” Elmira said. “Talia, Aaron, let’s catch up once we’re done, okay?”

“Sounds good to me,” Aaron said, turning to Talia, who nodded.

Within seconds, the top rankers of Superearth had gathered around in a huddle. It was time to decide who would carry the torch going forward.

Dungeon Announcement!

Spawning additional rooms to assist in party decision-making.

Dueling chambers, challenge, and negotiation rooms now available.