When the solitude of reading in his apartment lost its luster, Hans relocated to the dungeon.

  Unlike last year, indoor classes for children were a rarity for the Gomi chapter of the Adventurers’ Guild. With the library complete, the town’s children went there for lessons three times a week. Hans missed the activity, but a more well-rounded education that included reading, writing, mathematics, and history was more practical than adventuring skills. Probably not as fun, but definitely more useful.

  Up the mountain, the dungeon training room still saw plenty of drills and sparring sessions, but it had become a communal space where adventurers and harvesters could congregate, away from the weather. The dungeon’s temperature held steady despite the ice on the surface, and the room was far larger than the dorms or any singular cabin.

  Card games were the distraction of choice for nearly everyone, but Terry had begun whittling a chess set for Izz and Thuz. Eventually, they’d have that to pass the time as well.

  Though they had returned home before Hans arrived, he was pleased to hear that the residents of Luther Land spent some time on the surface, sharing in the same distractions. Luther and the two retired Mikata adventurers had yet to betray any signs of side effects for their prolonged isolation, but Hans still worried. Especially for Luther.

  Surrounding himself with adventurers made Hans feel like he belonged, and he enjoyed alternating between the privacy of his cabin and the fellowship of the training room. When he tired of one, he could switch to the other.

  Late one evening, Hans found himself alone in the training with Izz and Thuz. Lacking the fourth person for a game of Karniffel, they played a half-hearted game of five card draw. They used rice and dried beans in lieu of chips, but not betting real money made the game much less interesting, Hans soon learned. But they had nothing else to do, so they kept playing anyway.

  They told him about their progress with the diamond elemental. In short, they believed a high potency Resist Magic potion would preserve the entirety of a limb when the monster died, functionally disconnecting the leg from the rest of the elemental’s mana system. Their experiments dousing limbs with various strengths of the potion suggested as much.

  Requesting such a potion from Olza was their next step, so they sent their request down the mountain with Tandis. The brothers seemed astute enough to not ask Hans to deliver that message on their behalf. Even the mention of her name had the Guild Master shifting in his seat.

  Quest Update: Use a high-potency Resist Magic potion on a diamond elemental.

  “What are your plans for the thaw?” Hans asked after a while.

  “We suspect we will resume traveling with Miss Mazo, if she’s available,” Thuz said. “Ultimately, we are unsure. We had expected to hear from her well before winter.”

  “A few years after that, we will return home,” Izz said. Though he didn’t mention it, Hans knew that move would be permanent.

  “Yes,” Thuz added, “that crossroads will arrive quickly, I imagine.”

  Hans asked about their plan for improving their homeland. The brothers had been taking notes of their observations and posing a variety of questions to Charlie, Galad, and Olza. They could never replicate the dungeon and the benefits it provided, but they were hopeful many of the communal ideas had merit in spite of that.

  “Though our people are different in many ways,” Izz continued, “we are most hopeful for how Gomi’s approach to education will improve the lives of lizardfolk. According to Galad, their initiative of providing farms to newcomers was a success in part because those newcomers could learn from the other farmers in Gomi. A path to improving one’s self is a theme that carries through the benefits provided by the dungeon as well. Our people would grow if they could spend fewer hours surviving. They'd have a path.”

  Their conclusions were valid, Hans confirmed. Izz and Thuz were able to articulate a piece of Gomi’s culture that Hans had, until then, struggled to put into words.

  “I’ve been thinking a lot,” Hans said. “I want to propose something, but I need you to promise to be openminded.”

  The brothers listened.

  “If Mazo doesn’t convince the Guild to give you your Diamond quests, I’d like to solve that for you. With the Takarabune.”

  “Mr. Hans…”

  Hans held up a hand. “I know all of your concerns, and I could probably repeat them back to you word for word. That’s why I said this is a proposal. Mazo and I both agree you’re ready. If you ask Theneesa, she would tell you the same. Hells, I know Gret would have agreed as well.”

  “What brought this topic to the forefront of your mind?” Thuz said.

  “You showing up in Gomi with the manual. Been on my mind ever since. If we can’t sort the rank part of it out, you could at least go home with your boons. You’d have more power to help, and you’d live longer to do more of it.”

  “Without informing the Guild?”

  Hans nodded.

  The brothers looked at one another. They spoke to each other briefly in their native tongue, which they rarely did around other races, feeling it was rude to exclude someone from a conversation in that way. Hans thought he recognized a few words here and there, but most of it sounded like various pitches of the same hiss.

  “We have lived according to our code without exception,” Izz explained. “We believe that code has been of great importance in our lives, and that it has made all of our interactions with others more meaningful. At best, perhaps the code improved other lives in some indirect way as well.”

  Izz stopped speaking, as if that explanation were sufficient.

  When Hans continued to wait, Thuz added, “We agree that Diamond boons would enable us to better serve, but we worry that making an exception for our values now will tarnish the work we have already done. Sven’s surprise arrival and swift departure has made that more clear.”

  The Guild Master argued that Sven ranking with another chapter was different from the brothers taking a Diamond quest without the Adventurers’ Guild approval. The brothers disagreed.

  Hans’ first instinct was to push back, to do everything he could to convince them to change their minds. He thought of how Devon reacted when Hans attempted to impose his opinions on him. He didn’t want to lose Izz and Thuz too.

  “Okay,” Hans said. “I respect your choice and won’t challenge it again.”

  “Thank you.”

  Yotuli, Buru, and Chisel returned to the training room, finishing their cull a full day early. Hans felt his stomach harden and sink. The adventurers grew more efficient with every run, but not that efficient.

  Something brought them back to the surface, and that something was unlikely to be anything good.

  “The dungeon grew,” Yotuli said simply.

  The training room went quiet. The harvesters knew as well as adventurers that the dungeon expanding on its own was significant.

  “Where?” Hans asked.

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  “The road out of the Shit Shrooms. The gate used to open into a wall. Whole new corridor there now.”

  “What monsters did you see?”

  “None,” the Cleric answered. “We came back up here right away to alert you.”

  “That was the right call,” Hans assured her. “I’ll rally our Silvers and Golds. Within the hour, we’ll escort you back down. I want you posted at Luther Land until we come back, so pack what you need for a long stay.”

  “We could help you,” Chisel said.

  “No, absolutely not. We don’t know what we’re walking into.”

  New Quest: Investigate the new dungeon expansion.

  Thirty five minutes later, Hans, Lee, Bel, Izz, and Thuz began the hike down to the Shit Shrooms. Hans was in front with Lee as his frontline shadow. The mages brought up the rear. They walked down the stairs of the tavern’s second floor to find a town filled with dead mushroom monsters.

  As the Gomi Irons had said, the gate out of town was now a dungeon corridor.

  Hans reached under his tunic and pressed two wooden medallions together, activating a Nightsight enchantment. The corridor ran straight for a hundred yards or so and then split to the left and right. Assuming their formation, the party ventured deeper. Hans was on point to spot traps. Lee would do the same while marking their route with chalk.

  In lieu of someone mapping the dungeon, Izz and Thuz could do so in their minds without compromising accuracy. Hans had always been jealous of their memory skills.

  At the T, they turned right, this crawl feeling much like his first foray into the dungeon so many months ago with Becky and Roland. The halls were long and plain, making the search for traps a challenge of focus as the monotony goaded him to drop his guard. He resisted.

  A familiar scent reached his nostrils–the sour smell of a musty cavern with a sort of sickly sweet perfume smell mixed in.

  Hans dropped his sword and his shield and stepped backward. He bumped into Bel and then Izz as he continued to recoil. The lizardman grabbed Hans.

  “Mr. Hans!” Izz said. “Mr. Hans, what is it? Are you ill?”

  “We need to leave.” Hans squirmed, trying to escape Izz’s grip. His wide eyes didn’t stray from the hallway ahead, as if looking away would invite certain disaster.

  Thuz put a hand on Hans. “This affliction is not the result of a spell or a curse,” he said to Izz.

  “We have to go. We have to go.”

  “Mr. Hans,” Izz said, crouching to look Hans directly in the eye. The adventurer began to shake. “What troubles you so?”

  “Terathans,” Hans stammed, gasping for air. “Terathans are ahead.” Visions of his failed Diamond quest flooded his mind, the giant spider-humanoid hybrids running him down with razer forearms and fangs dripping with venom.

  The rest of the party looked down the hall. “Are you certain?” Izz asked, gently.

  “I smell them. I’ll never forget the smell. We have to go. We have to leave.”

  The party backtracked to the town gate. Hans sat on the ground with his head between his knees for a long time. The brothers asked if he would prefer to return to the surface. The Guild Master shook his head but otherwise sat still.

  When Hans finally lifted his head, his eyes were bloodshot and snot had dripped into his beard. He wiped his face as best he could.

  “I waited too long,” he said. “I let the core expand on its own. I could have, should have, prevented this.”

  As he apologized, he noticed his hands quivering. He held them together, trying to mask the weakness, hoping the other adventurers had not noticed.

  “Before we decide on a course of action,” Izz said, “am I right to believe that culling this new area is necessary to prevent such monsters from escaping the dungeon?”

  Hans nodded.

  I brought terathans to Gomi. What have I done?

  “We are immune to their poison,” Izz said, meaning him and his brother. “Having seen Bel and Lee in battle, I can say with confidence we are capable of clearing this area without your aid, Mr. Hans. We will return you to the surface so that you may rest.”

  “No.”

  “You are unwell. It is for the best.”

  “I said, no.”

  The brothers exchanged looks with one another. For Bel and Lee’s part, they milled about aimlessly, keeping their distance, clearly uncomfortable. “We believe, according to the standards you taught us, that you are unfit to lead the party at this time. As you often said, that is not a dishonorable result. It is the optimal choice for the party.”

  I can’t fail a fourth time.

  “I’m fine. I apologize for my behavior. The shock of it caught me off guard is all. Won’t happen again.”

  The rest of Hans’ party hesitated to respond.

  “I’m serious. I can do this.”

  Izz and Thuz stared at the Guild Master, not speaking.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Hans said, trying to restrain the desperation that turned his voice into a scratchy rasp. “From this point on, you can pull me off the job with cause. If I do something that worries you, I’ll bail. No arguments.”

  “You are already giving us worry,” Thuz said.

  “I know, and I am sorry. I am.”

  “Were you any other adventurer…”

  “I’m not any other adventurer,” Hans retorted. “Plenty of adventurers are stronger than I am. That’s a fact, and I acknowledge it. But you two know better than anyone that I’m the best at this. There’s not a person in the Guild more equipped to take lead on tactics and strategy for a run. Not a soul. Try to tell me I’m wrong.”

  The brothers exchanged words in their native tongue.

  “No, don’t do that,” Hans interrupted. “I’m a big boy adventurer. I can take it.”

  “You put us in a difficult position,” Thuz said.

  “I know, and I’m sorry that happened. Have I ever let you down, though? Even once? Let me do this, please.”

  Thuz looked over his shoulder at Bel and Lee. They nodded. “Do you have a plan, Mr. Hans?” Thuz asked.

  “Clear the terathan hive, then head to the dungeon core so I can erase this section.”

  The brothers agreed.

  When Hans confirmed that he was the only member of the party who had fought terathans before, he started at the beginning.

  “I hope you all were paying attention when they covered centaur battle tactics. Terathans aren’t exactly the same, but the proportions and mechanics are similar, except terathans have natural armor and are far more vulnerable to fire. The problem is that though they built the hive in the ruins of a castle, they covered it with webbing, which is highly flammable. I’m still in favor of using fire magic, but avoid area of effect spells, and be selective with your targeting.”

  Continuing, Hans said they would encounter drones first. They were the smallest and weakest variety of terathans. Their chitin-covered exteriors and sharp arms were their biggest threats. While dangerous, with patience, no drone should give this party difficulty.

  From there, they would encounter terathan warriors and then terathan sorceresses. The warriors were strong, but not so strong that eating one of their strikes with a shield was dangerous. The larger threat they posed was their ability to climb walls and ceilings, preferring to attack from above, far from the reach of adventurer blades.

  From sorceress up to the matron, all of the higher-tier terathans were female. In addition to their spells, all female terathans could spit their venom with the range and precision of a longbow. In close quarters, they had the same sharp arms as the warriors, and they could spin webbing to slow or ensnare their prey. Warriors would likely guard the females, and while there were higher ranks of sorceresses, they were physically identical. You could only identify them by their use of more advanced spells and a longer range with their venom spit.

  As for the matron, Hans never got that far, but she would be big. Real big.

  “Listen, I’m embarrassed by what happened back there,” Hans said. “I didn’t expect terathans down here, and the shock of that got to me. I’ve had time to clear my head and set my mind to strategizing. The surprise is behind us, and I promise you can trust me.”

  As his adventurers agreed, Hans wondered if his promise was a lie.

  Quest Update: Get it together like a real adventurer, and clear the hive.

  Open Quests (Ordered from Old to New):

  Progress from Gold-ranked to Diamond-ranked.

  Mend the rift with Devon.

  Complete the next volume (Iron to Bronze) for "The Next Generation: A Teaching Methodology for Training Adventurers."

  Explore the idea of training “dungeon lifeguards” to accompany adventurers in training.

  Await the arrival of a safe for the Gomi chapter.

  Complete construction of the Takarabune (still need diamond, scarlet steel, celestial steel, and mimic blood).

  Fix the two broken drawbridges.

  Use a high-potency Resist Magic potion on a diamond elemental.

  Make and test valorite armor and shields. Bonus Objective: Think of more cool items to test.

  Deliver the Takarabune manual to Luther for safekeeping.

  Get it together like a real adventurer, and clear the hive.