Luke kept running for a while, thinking Hannah would elaborate. When she didn't, he did his best to coax more information out of her.

  Luke: "Are you saying you dream of what happened down there?"

  After a long moment of silence, she gave a reply.

  Hannah: "That is not what I'm saying."

  Luke: "What then?"

  Hannah: "That dungeon is still there. It wasn't created for us to explore. It was a real place with real people. Even the dragon was real. The Deep Dweller, too. It's still there, or perhaps it has left, but I think it reaches out to me when I'm not conscious, trying to lure me back to it."

  Luke: "That's... heavy."

  Hannah: "It is, but it's not getting better by me hiding out in my apartment. I'll come with you and help. And if something happens to me, you'll help me, won't you?"

  Luke: "Of course."

  They texted back and forth using the communication gems for a little while longer, making plans and joking, trying to ease back into less ominous topics. Ken answered before Luke made it to the bojutsu place, but didn't want to go, since he had checkups for his heart following the surgery. Instead, they made plans to meet up for another dungeon once Luke returned.

  For a moment, he considered inviting his sister, Milla, to come along. She needed a change of scenery. That much was obvious, but in her current state, considering who they were going up against, it would be a bad idea.

  The team now consisted of Luke himself, Curtis, Hiroki, and Hannah, since Ray hadn't answered. Four people. Perhaps that was enough.

  A grueling two-hour-long bojutsu practice followed. This time, the old man wasn't there, but the place still smelled like cooking, making Luke's stomach growl. The constant barrage of attacks from Hiroki pushed any thoughts of food away, though. The instructor was even more intense than last time, like there was a fire burning under his ass, and he kept smiling like he was enjoying himself a whole lot. Perhaps joining the group heading out on a journey had given him renewed energy or something. In any case, Luke left with a whole lot of bruises that he didn't bother healing, and a broken bone in his hand that he did heal.

  After all that work and sweating, not to mention the long run to even get there, Luke was gratified when the message popped up.

  Boon of Potential grants you an attribute point (+1 Agility).

  Once training was through and the sun had made its way all the way up, Luke got a bite to eat from a nearby convenience store, not bothering to go home and shower first, then figured what the hell, why not head to Vasilij's while he was at it? Strength training while on the road might prove difficult.

  So. Many. Squats.

  Vasilij kept shouting, "Ass to grass!"

  Perhaps the giant heap of muscles that was the gym owner felt Luke had neglected his training, since he hadn't come in to train as much as he would have wanted. There were mitigating circumstances, of course, but with their priorities so far apart, with Vasilij's number one being the gym, it was difficult to make him understand, especially since there was a small language barrier between them. Still, by the time Luke left on legs feeling like overcooked noodles, Vasilij was back to his usual, good-natured self.

  Once he was around the corner, Luke reached into himself and healed the muscle tears, washing away the lactic acid buildup.

  Ray: "Hey."

  Luke: "About time you answered. What's going on?"

  Ray: "Soooooo, I can't really say much about it, but they might have offered me a job."

  Luke: "The CIA?"

  Ray:" Yeah..."

  Luke: "So you're going to work for the government? You?"

  Ray: "They made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

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  Luke: "Like what?"

  Ray: "That's classified... Shithead."

  Luke: "Great. What will you be doing?"

  Ray: "This and that."

  Luke: "That's how it is, huh?"

  Ray: "Kinda."

  Ray: "Can't really say much, but I'll be going away for a while, so I can't come with you."

  Luke: "Alright. Guess I'll have to kill Relian without you."

  Ray: "Send him my regards."

  Luke: "You can count on it... Shithead."

  So, in the end, it would just be Luke, Hiroki, Hannah, and Curtis. Small and manageable. He had a good feeling about this, which only soured somewhat after calls to Milla, Penny, and Johanson, telling them of his plans. Penny was not happy about being left behind, but she'd come to her senses. Luke's sister didn't want him to go at all, really didn't want to come along, and really, really didn't want to go to dinner with their parents by herself. Johanson tried, in the politest terms possible, to tell Luke that he would fuck the whole operation up.

  Just as he was getting out of the shower, Luke's phone buzzed. Checking it, he saw it was Lilly who'd texted him details for what she wrote was the collab opportunity of a lifetime. A time and a place. Luke checked the date and time and realized it was that very afternoon. Checking the address, he needed to get going right away if he was going to make it. Luke cursed but left the apartment. Best get this over with, since he'd be leaving soon and didn't want there to be any bad blood between them, in case he needed more people to heal in the future. Johanson, after complaining about Luke's plans, had agreed to call ahead to the different DIA field offices and promised there would be people to heal everywhere they stopped, if Luke wanted to.

  As if on cue, Luke's phone rang when he hailed a cab, got in, and told the driver where he was headed. It was an unknown number.

  "Hello?" Luke said.

  "Is this the Lifeweaver?" a woman's voice asked on the other end.

  "Uh," Luke began. "Yes? Who is this?"

  "I'm Dot," she said, her voice hesitant.

  "Dot?"

  "I'm a Lifeweaver too."

  "You're Dr. Marlene?"

  "Yes," Dot said. "Dorothy Marlene."

  "How are you doing?" Luke asked. "Recovered?"

  "I'm fine. A little bruised, but fine. What is your last name, Luke?"

  "Quinn."

  "Dr. Hastings, Tim, I mean, spoke about you a lot."

  "Only nice things, I hope?" Luke said.

  The call was silent for a while as the taxi drove off.

  Dot then cleared her throat. "He didn't have many nice things to say about most people."

  "But you still went with him," Luke said.

  "From what he told us about Lifeweavers, how could we not?"

  "Fair enough."

  "Do you know where he is? I heard Dr. Stergios... didn't make it."

  "He was taken over by a monster. I'm going off to hunt him, and it's unlikely Tim will survive the ordeal."

  "...What?"

  Luke sighed. "I know it's hard to believe, but I'm telling you the truth."

  "I... see. Can I come with you?"

  "You want to come with me? I don't think that's a good idea."

  "You promised Tim you would train us. Maybe we can save him together?"

  "No. You will slow me down too much, and it will be too dangerous."

  "Just like that?" she asked.

  Luke sighed. "Just like that. You're not coming, but I will help you practice."

  Her voice sounded clipped when she spoke next, like she wasn't happy about Luke's decision. "How will you manage that if you leave Chicago?"

  "What are you doing right now?" Luke asked.

  He gave her the place and told her to hurry.

  About thirty minutes later, the cab driver dropped him off at a building near the University of Chicago, just a few streets over from the Griffin Museum. Luke's dad used to take him there as a kid sometimes, and just being near the park where it sat, near the water, was nostalgic.

  The address led to a lavish two-story house surrounded by a tall metal fence. Beyond, people were laughing and playing around in a pool. Luke squinted, looking between the bars, seeing what he thought to be ring lights.

  Lilly came jogging up to the gate wearing workout tights and a revealing top, and her cheeks were red. When she opened the gate with a pin from the inside, she cried out in a fake-excited, shrill-sounding voice. "You came!"

  "Were you working out?" Luke asked. "What is this place?"

  "Just finished up a yoga video for the patrons," she said with a wink, then turned and gestured to the house. "This is my house. Well, I live here with some friends."

  "Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Fancy."

  "It's a streamer house."

  "A what?"

  Lilly frowned at him, as if he'd just uttered the dumbest question in the history of the world, then moved past it. "We live here and make content. Anyway, people will start arriving soon, and I have everything set up for filming. You ready for this? It'll bring me a billion views, I just know it!"

  "Yeah, sure. I'll be leaving soon, though, so I won't be able to do this again for a while."

  "Yay!" She bounced up and down several times and clapped her hands. "Let's go!"

  Rather than inviting him into the house, she came out to him and waved for Luke to follow along the outside of the fence, to a spot of grass where they'd erected a large party tent. Several people with cameras were standing at the ready, and Luke shuddered at their fake smiles and excitement. Perhaps this had been a mistake after all, but it was too late to back out now. This had better provide great experience gain or at least a couple of attribute points.

  A line was already forming, but before Luke could follow Lilly into the tent, a woman turned up, maybe 25 years old with red frizzy hair, round, thick-rimmed glasses, pale skin, and a face full of freckles. She wore a conservative white dress with small blue flowers on it and white Converse shoes.

  "The line starts over there, honey," Lilly said, pointing to where the others waited.

  The woman's mouth was half-open, staring at Lilly, Luke, and then the tent. "I, uh. No? I mean. What?"

  Luke recognized the voice. "You're Dot?"

  "Luke?" she asked, leaning forward a little.

  "That's me," he said, waving for her to follow. "Come on, we're going to heal a bunch of folks."

  "N-now?" she asked, sounding shocked.

  "Well, yeah," Luke said. "You said you wanted to learn, didn't you? This is learning by doing! Let's go!"