Bob stood still as a rift opened in the air, revealing a very worried-looking Jenna, accompanied by Pob and three other Beli: one female and two males.

  She had teleported close to Billy’s dimensional beacon, which sat atop a hastily written letter addressed to her.

  Dear Jenna,

  I know you are going to be upset about this, but I refuse to sit back while you and Bob do all the heavy lifting.

  We need the Alchemical Dungeon, and we need it yesterday. I am stepping up, just as you have done in Belona. This will only work if we share the load. I won't be a third wheel.

  Love,

  Billy

  P.S. I know you’re still going to kill me. Who knows? Maybe I’ll gain a cool power out of this.

  Jenna frowned in concentration as she tried to reach Billy through the Blood Link. “He’s blocking me,” Jenna said. “He knows that if we talk, I’ll just enhance my Spirit and drag him back.”

  She hesitated, then added, almost admiringly, “Damn. He’s good.”

  “Come on, Bob, we need to look for him.” She turned to Pob. “Could you take our new friends to Dignity and introduce them to her? I’m sure she’ll be curious about them.” Everyone in the room recognized it as a ploy to begin her search and rescue mission with Bob, but no one objected.

  Bob waited until they hurriedly left the room before turning to Jenna. “You have to stop this, Jenna. You’re losing it,” he told her seriously.

  “Billy is the Everlasting. He always comes back.”

  “Even if he runs out of AP—which he won’t—he still gets a daily trickle while the System is active. He is, for all intents and purposes, immortal.”

  Bob exhaled. “He’s also the most powerful Loser we have.I know you have the Compendium inside your mind. Each day, I discover new ways to use my abilities. But Billy creates worlds, Jenna. He accomplishes things that change the fundamental laws of the universe.”

  Bob paused to collect his thoughts, then continued. “You must treat him as an equal, not as a kid brother who needs to be protected.”

  He anticipated an outburst from the temperamental ex-waitress, but to his surprise, Jenna replied in a mild voice, looking down at the ground.

  “I am not afraid of him dying, Bob; I know that is not going to happen,” she said. “I am afraid of him coming back changed. He may be immortal, but he is also the one most at risk. Each time he changes his identity, he risks losing his soul.”

  Bob realized she was silently weeping. He gave her an awkward hug. “Don’t worry, Jenna. We will always be there for him.”

  “That is the problem, Bob. We are not.”

  “We don’t even know where to begin looking, Jenna,” he said after holding her for a while.

  “He is going to Madison, Bob. That is the nearest seventh-rank dungeon. He is going all in.”

  “He will go in gryphon form,” said Bob. “It won’t take him more than an hour. There is no way we can reach Madison in less than a week.”

  “Where there is a will, there is a way,” Jenna answered, looking thoughtfully at Captain Beaky, who had followed them through the rift and was perched on top of the wardrobe.

  Billy landed, mounted on Ironbeak, two miles away from Madison. He said goodbye to the beast and made the final stretch on foot, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself—an arduous task when you’re a seven-foot-tall demigod clad in gold armor.

  Madison had fared better than Chicago, but it was still a long way from the relative prosperity of Babylon. Many buildings lay in ruins, and the few remaining citizens looked frightened and malnourished.

  From his vantage point in the air, Billy had spotted the dungeon just moments ago. The seventh-rank dungeon, known as the Mall, was astonishingly located inside an actual mall.

  A long line of bystanders was queuing to enter. Those who exited carried supermarket trolleys filled with groceries. A barker clad in chain mail was calling out names and handing out paper cards.

  “Morrisons, 200 gift points in cards, come get them!”

  “Barany, only 50 gift points for you, you lazy bastard. Better work your ass off next week if you want to eat!”

  Those whose names were called hurried forward, took their cards, and entered the dungeon.

  Billy noticed the absence of a rift entrance. It must be an inverted dungeon, coexisting with the real Mall, he thought.

  The barker noticed the crowd’s awe directed at Billy. He turned around and gaped momentarily before recovering.

  “High-level adventurer, looking to tackle the bosses solo, huh?” he asked, not waiting for Billy to respond. “I’m sorry, but only the Madison Delver Association can authorize that. You have to apply for a slot and wait for your turn.”

  “And how long will that take?” Billy inquired, his gaze fixed on the Mall.

  “Usually, only a couple of days. This is slow season,” the barker replied.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “Are you in a position of authority?” Billy asked, shifting his attention back to the man.

  “Yes, I’m in charge of operations,” the man confirmed.

  “I’m going in,” Billy said curtly, cutting the conversation short as he stepped into the mall.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” the barker shouted angrily, chasing after him. “You know nothing about this dungeon. If it malfunctions because of your actions, a lot of people could run out of food!”

  He tried to grab Billy's right arm, but it was like trying to stop a train.

  “You can’t do that! There is a queue!” he yelled as Billy dragged him effortlessly across the room.

  “Okay, you win!” the man finally conceded. “Just let me go with you. Please promise that if I tell you not to do something, you will obey.”

  “Will do,” Billy replied quietly.

  Suddenly, the man became much more talkative after Billy's acquiescence. He began explaining the dungeon's fascinating details as if he were a tour guide.

  “The Mall has seven different ranks, each based on shop concepts. It’s a labyrinth, but an open one. That means you earn rewards for actions taken inside the dungeon, and you can leave it even if you haven't defeated the Core,” he explained while pointing to different sections of the dungeon. “Shoe store, bookstore, security center, vintage clothing, pet store, and the food court.”

  “The area our citizens are entering is the supermarket. They can exchange gift cards for groceries at the cashier. It resembles a massive supermarket staffed by demonic creatures, and currently, it has no boss, making it a safe zone.”

  “The mall generates those gift cards using the Essence created here. The Delvers Association awards them to citizens based on their contributions to the community. Almost all our goods come from this place,” he said proudly. “By the way, my name is John,” he added, waiting for Billy to introduce himself, but Billy remained silent.

  John continued blabbering, seemingly undisturbed by the silence. “This dungeon has the Expendable tag, meaning the Bosses can be killed multiple times, and the dungeon eventually regenerates them. This does not apply to the Core.

  Defeating the Bosses grants great experience and elite quests. Many high-ranking adventurers come here to try their luck, although not all of them return. Here we go; this is our destination,” he pointed at a hall where several rough-looking people were lounging and playing cards. They all looked at Billy with curiosity.

  “The first boss is behind that door. Someone like you defeated it last week and received an epic item. Maybe you could get lucky too,” he said, an oily smile spreading across his face.

  “What is the boss like?” Billy asked.

  “We don’t know; it changes each time it regenerates,” John replied. “Okay, stop right there, that’s enough.”

  Billy obeyed. He found himself at the end of a large shop with empty shelves, facing a massive armored door. Suddenly, the door began to tremble. He heard a loud noise behind him; when he turned around, he saw that an enormous steel grill had fallen from the ceiling, cutting him off from the way he had come and separating him from John and the rest of the bystanders.

  John’s hand rested on a lever on the left wall, indicating he had activated the gate. The thugs all remained on the other side of the gate.

  “And the gaaame is ooon,” John announced in his best barker voice. Suddenly, all the previously idle thugs stood up and rushed toward the gate, laughing at what seemed to be the best joke in the world.

  “Dear public, here we have a moron in golden armor. The current record for solo survival is six waves, held by that sorceress eight weeks ago, may she rest in peace. Who wants to bet on Goldie’s chances of breaking that record?”

  The mob started making bets, enjoying what was clearly a great show. One that they often watched.

  “Better get ready, Goldie,” John told him, his oily, insincere smile back on his face.

  This section of the dungeon is known as Black Friday. When that door opens, waves of ghouls start entering the dungeon. They are pretty hungry. The initial one has a single ghoul, but the number doubles with each consecutive wave. Let’s see how many you can survive. As I said, the record is six waves, or 32 ghouls for single competitors and eight waves for groups.”

  Something was troubling John: Goldie did not look afraid at all.

  “Do you know why I asked you if you were in a position of authority?” he asked John.

  Not waiting for him to answer, he explained. “I can sense honor. There is not a trace of it in your soul. I noticed the fear with which the citizens look at you and your boys. They did not even dare to look at you.If you are the one in charge, I am not the least interested in the laws you uphold. This dungeon is going to fall. It does have the Expendable, Inverted, and Labyrinth tags. That is the only truth you have said. Before the day is over, it will have new ones.”

  “Better watch out, Goldie. The gates need three minutes to open for the first time, but once they do, they spew out monsters each time you finish the last one in a wave. You have about thirty seconds left,” John cautioned him. “If you are a religious man, I suggest you start praying.”

  “I have a better idea. If I break the individual record, you all take my place in the dungeon and try to break the group one,” Billy said jovially.

  “What do you think about Goldie’s genius idea, lads?” John howled with laughter. “Do we go along with it?” The thugs cheered. It was a great joke.

  “Go ahead, Goldie. Survive seven waves, and we will get you out of there and fight in your place,” he jeered.

  The door suddenly opened, and a gaunt creature with glowing red eyes and terrible claws, dressed as a soccer mom, entered the room. It saw Billy and charged against him, screaming in a voice so inhuman it was almost unrecognizable: “He is mine, he is mine, I saw it first, I saw it first…” Her tirade was cut short as the spear of Belegrin ran her through, teleporting back to Billy’s hand before it could hit the far wall.”

  Wave after wave of ghouls appeared after the first one, doubling in number each time. It made no difference at all.

  -Army of One x3: Create a mental composite image of all the enemies you are fighting at the same time. This image will feature the group's highest stats in each category and all its powers. You will enter a sleepwalking trance in which you will fight this composite creature. Your body will fight the real enemies. The results of both fights will be very similar.

  Army of One had been the late Belegrin's greatest power. It was highly effective against a horde of creatures sharing the same stats and powers.

  To Billy, they all merged into one.

  John watched Billy move with the grace of a shadow and the speed of thunder. Ghouls fell by the score with each blow, not one of them even coming close to hitting him.

  “And seven waves,” Billy finally shouted. “The individual record is broken. Your turn, now.”

  “What kind of moron are you?” asked John. “Do you really think we are going in there?”

  “I am afraid you have no choice — you made a deal,” Billy answered.

  -Bound by Oath x4: You can magically sanctify oaths sworn in your presence. They must be freely accepted, with no coercion. You can design a competency, based on up to four ranks, to enforce those oaths, once their terms have been met.

  Suddenly, a massive flash of lightning blinded them all. Not bad, considering they were indoors.

  When their vision returned, they realized that Billy and the thugs had swapped positions. They were now inside the gate, while Billy was outside.

  The thugs screamed in horror, pressing themselves against the gate as a horde of 128 ghouls emerged from it. They tried their best, but they did not break the record.