The team emerged into a circular stone room easily fifty meters in diameter wide and twenty tall. The room was mostly bare with only a handful of things inside. Six pedestals were spread evenly throughout the room, each one roughly waist height and as round as a barrel. Crystals of various colors were embedded in the front of each one and a tall opaque glass tube rose from the top of each one.

  After a moment of everyone being able to examine the room, Kalicena stepped through the doorway practically dragging Fred along. The doorway vanished behind her, leaving only a faint impression of where a doorway should be.

  “Since this is your first time successfully completing the dungeon, you will all receive a unique reward,” She explained while moving to the center of the room and crossing her arms, “With the power of the Beacon system they will be customized to each of you. Don’t ask how it works, it just does.”

  She pointedly glances at Kazyk who slowly lowered his scaled hand.

  “Finding out which one is yours is easy, just match the colors of your shard to the crystal on the pedestal.” She added.

  Andro needed no further invitation and moved towards the one he knew was his. The crystal glowed softly in his unique mixture of red, bronze and black streaked white. He placed his hand on the crystal and watched as the tube simply faded away. Inside the tube was what appeared to be a spear a bit longer than his current one.

  If he was honest, he felt both elated and a tad annoyed at seeing the weapon hovering there. There was the excitement in knowing that more than likely this one would have magical properties. Yet there was also the fact he had just bought his current spear and had only taken it through a single dungeon. He supposes he could keep it as a back up, no reason to toss it aside just yet.

  He examined the spear for a moment before taking it. The shaft of the weapon was a dark grey color, with flecks of crimson spread across it. The blade was a darker shade of grey with a red vein like appearance. A short round spike jutted out from the but of the spear declaring the brutal nature of the spear.

  Satisfied with the appearance, Andro grabbed the weapon and let out a grunt of surprise. This spear was a good deal heavier than his other one, and if he wasn’t mistaken, made entirely from metal. Its length was roughly a quarter meter longer, coming up to just past his shoulder. Despite its weight he could tell it was masterfully crafted, its balance perfect.

  He took a closer look and realized just how brutal this weapon was designed to be. The blade of the spear was partially serrated on its lower half. This would easily allow him to still stab and slice without the blade getting caught, but going for deeper penetration would make the wounds worse for his foe. He was starting to have some mixed feelings about using it, but knew that he would. Even without magical identification, Andro could feel the mana thrumming throughout it.

  He took a few moments to familiarize himself with the weight and length of his new tool. The others were still drooling over their own rewards as he spun his around. Kai looked to have gained weapons similar to the dungeon lords. She grinned wildly while admiring the wicked meat cleaver and tenderizing mallet. Kazyk meanwhile was studying an archaic looking tome that looked to be made from questionable material.

  Unlike the first two, Chen just looked confused and uncertain at his reward. He held what appeared to be the black metal staff the dungeon boss used, but it had been separated into two pieces. Drailen had a similar look, but with more curiosity towards a dark metal circlet with a brilliant red gem. Fred was the last one Andro glanced towards and nearly lost his focus at what he saw.

  Fred stood next to his pedestal, a completely bewildered look on his face as he held up what could only be a head sized cauldron. Andro had no doubt that its size could only mean one thing, and he surprisingly found himself unsure if he should feel sorry for Fred, or laugh. Thankfully he didn't need to make that choice as Kalicena spoke up.

  “For some of you, your rewards seem fairly straight forward,” She told them all, her gaze moving to each of them, “While others, not so much.” She looked right at Fred as she said this last part, but also shifted her stare to include Kazyk.

  She reached into a pouch at her belt and pulled out a handful of rolled up scrolls. Instantly Andro recognized it to be a Dipo bag as there was no way half a dozen scrolls could have fit without being crushed.

  “As part of your reward, and part as a congratulations for not dying, I am offering these as a gift.” She handed one to each of them before continuing, “My team purchased you all novice tier identification scrolls so you could all see the benefits of clearing dungeons without having to wait until you get back to town.”

  The respect Andro had for the fierce, yet caring woman grew in that moment. While novice tier scrolls were by far the cheapest to buy for identification, he already knew that they were handling the entrance exams for the next month. That was a lot of coin to spend considering not everyone will succeed.

  “These are rather simple to use, probably one of the easiest magic items anyone can use,” She explained, ensuring she had everyone's attention, “Hold the scroll to the item and infuse some of your mana into the scroll. You will know it worked when the seal on the scroll breaks off. From there you can unroll the scroll and it will have the item's information.”

  Not wasting any more time, Andro pressed the scroll into the shaft of the spear and fed it his mana. He could feel the miniscule pull on his reserves as the scroll fed. A moment later, the wax band seal holding the scroll closed dissolved away. Full of eagerness, he unfurled the scroll and read the results.

  [Identification successful.

  Item designation - Scarlet Bite.

  Item classification - Weapon, Spear.

  Material composition - Steel, Essence of Blood, Novice core of a Blood lasher.

  Two enchantments detected.

  Enchantment one - Blood Bond, Infuse your blood to this weapon to bind it to yourself. Once bound; this weapon will attempt to return to its binder if called as well as resist the hands of all but the one bound to it. Enchantment two - Sanguine conduit; skills connected to the concept of blood can be channeled through the weapon with only a small mana cost.]

  Andro instantly lost any and all doubt he held towards the weapon. He couldn’t have imagined a more perfect item to have gotten. There was still a slight hesitance towards getting rid of his first spear, but there was no way he would ever use it over this new one. Even if its capability was limited, acquiring a weapon that could be called back to one's hand this early was worth its weight in gold. The second effect was even better, as he had been working on how he could incorporate his corrosive blood into battle more efficiently.

  When he finally pulled himself away from looking over the scroll, he could see everyone else had matching pleased looks. Even Fred was looking at his cauldron with anticipation, but still looked rather hesitant. Chen looked as pleased as Kai originally looked, going through a handful of forms with the twin metal rods. However Andro was caught off guard when after a fluid looking twin strike, Chen slammed the ends of booths rods together. A brief arc of electricity flashed, then his friend continued into another set of forms, only this time he spun the metal staff around him in one solid piece.

  It looked as if the dungeon had been more generous than Andro had expected. Despite only being novice level gear, the rewards they all seemed to gain was normally the kind of stuff one would expect to see on apprentice tiered adventurers. Part of him wondered if that was something to do with him, perhaps the beacons recognized he wasn’t a normal novice tier. After all, the dungeon had felt difficult, even for a high end novice tier one.

  He shook his head at that train of thought. There was no point in trying to figure that out right now. Even if every dungeon he went into from now on was on the more difficult side, as long as the rewards kept up the same way he would not complain. He would have to be more vigilant though. If something was making dungeons more challenging, he would have to give it his all .

  That did eventually bring him back to his conversation with Obidai. For one he still had a hard time believing he had truly spoken with one of the old gods, let alone the very first one. On the other hand, if his message was true, him using the tablet had already made countless changes to the future. That was something that worried him as he was counting on his knowledge of the next thirty odd years to be used to his advantage. But if everything was already starting to change, he wasn’t sure just how much of that knowledge he could count on.

  He supposed he should at least be grateful for getting a heads up on what to do next. He had originally just been planning to do nothing but train and League jobs. He was still going to partially be doing that, but the quest given to him by Obidai gave him the perfect reason to leave Venilar for a while. Not to mention a way to get in contact with the Vidloren, something that had taken him over a decade in his past life.

  However, even with the benefit of getting close to the Vidloren, Andro wasn’t sure how to feel about this so-called stranger from another world. If what Obidai said was true about what this man could do in the future, he pondered the idea that perhaps killing him outright would be the right choice. He would need to spend some time thinking this over. Who knows, maybe him attempting to kill this man is what leads him down the path to scour all life from the surface. Time was a tricky force like that.

  “What did you get?” Chen asked from right beside him, nearly making Andro jump in surprise. He had no idea he had been that deep in thought, but quickly recovered. Chen still saw through him and raised an eyebrow asking, “You all right?”

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  “Yeah,” Andro answered with a nod, “Just a lot on my mind. That fight had been more intense than I was expecting.

  Chen nodded in agreement, gripping his new staff tightly. He had kept it in its joined form. His more serious mood faded away into a grin as he held up his scroll.

  “Ill show you mine if your show me yours.” he said

  Andro rolled his eyes at his friend’s joke but held up his own scroll as he took Chen’s. Taking a moment to read it over, he almost felt a little jealous. Unlike his spear, Chen’s new staff possessed three enchantments though one of them is what allowed it to split from a staff into twin batons. The next one was similar to his sanguine conduit, allowing Chen to channel any of his electricity skills through it and even bypassing normal restrictions that would prevent that. The final one was the true surprise as it increased the power and efficiency of all skills used by the wielder by a full ten percent as long as they had the caster core class. That bonus was doubled for his electricity skills.

  Chen's reward was no doubt the better of the two, perhaps even out of everyone. Thinking on it more, perhaps that was done one

  purpose considering he had taken out the dungeon boss with a single hit. Something like that is bound to be rewarded, even if he did get an achievement as well.

  “I’m almost jealous,” Andro admitted, looking back at his friend, “This staff is amazing. The amplification effect alone makes this a weapon desired by even Journeyman Tier's.”

  Chen was nodding along as glanced at his staff, having already finished reading Andro’s scroll. As if it were becoming a habit, he idly spun the staff around a few times before bringing it to rest in the crook of his elbow.

  “What you got is pretty good too,” Chen replied nodding his head toward the metal spear, “That blood bond can be really useful, maybe even allowing you to mix spear throws in without too much fear of losing your weapon.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.” Andro agreed, before looking around and noticing that everyone seemed to have finished with their own examinations.

  “We need more dungeons,” Kai said eagerly as she approached them, “If this is the kind of stuff we can get from them, I say we challenge them all. Maybe even that advanced thing they told us about.”

  “Absolutely not.” Kalicena declared from right beside Kai, her hand gripped firmly on the wolfen berserker's shoulder. The three of them jumped at the sudden appearance of the examiner. Andro was more shocked than the others considering he had been keeping temporal perception active in order to adjust to it. Even with his mind and senses perceiving and calculating everything around him many times faster than the average person, he never saw her move.

  “Arrogance is the leading cause of death in all adventures and dungeon runners,” Kalicena stared at them with a severity that left no room for argument, “I explained to you all earlier of the dangers of challenging an Advanced Scenario not so you can get a big head, but so that you would live long enough to appreciate the advice.”

  Kai looked as if she wanted to make a remark about that, but the unwavering stare from Kalicena had her shrinking back. That is when Andro felt the chill permeating the air, as well as seeing his breath come out in white puffs. The presence Kalicena exuded in that moment made him feel like he stood before an unbreakable glacier of unending cold. That simply touching it would, or even daring to look upon it would freeze his very spirit.

  That feeling confirmed his suspicion that Kalicena, if not her entire team, was well into the Adept rank. Someone being able to push out the power of their concepts like those could only be done while in Adept. The power and control one held over such a presence could provide an indicator to how powerful one was. If someone tried to use their presence in the way Kalicena was without the necessary control, it would only feel like spiritual weight pressing down on you. To be able to get such a precise image, as well as physically affecting the world around her all but declared Kalicena as an elite among Adepts.

  “There will be no attempts at the advanced scenarios.” She repeated, her words heard by everyone this time. Once she was sure everyone understood her, her chilling presence vanished. The room returned to a normal temperature, but that didn’t stop the involuntary shudder running up Andro’s back.

  “If everyone is ready, we should depart the dungeon and return to the caverns,” Kalicena announced, turning towards the now open misty door, “We can discuss everyone’s performance there, bother individual and group effort.”

  To almost no one's surprise, there was some vocal protest about this.

  “Judging us on our team performance isn’t fair as we were not able to choose who we were with.” Fred whined, his face twisted in confused annoyance as he crossed his arms in a way only a spoiled child could pull off.

  Kalicena had turned to move towards the doorway, but had stopped at his words. Once more that chill spread throughout the air, and whether it was ignorance or defiance, Fred ignored it.

  “How do you know I couldn’t have done this dungeon better if I had formed my own team?” He demanded, even going so far as huffing out the last word.

  “Because this isn't the perfect world you dream it to be where you get everything you want,” She snorted, only turning her head enough to look back at him, “This is the real world, where choices have consequences and everything goes when you need it to go right.”

  She turned back to face him as she said the last part. Taking a few steps towards him, her tone calm and even as she spoke without the slightest hint of emotion. Her figure seemed to grow more intense the closer she got to him, her words carrying more weight without changing tone.

  “This is the world where you watch your team mates die because you failed to spot a trap. This is the world where you clean up the bodies of caravan guards and merchants because you failed to prevent the dungeon break. This is the world, Mr. D’lavick, where in this line of work your name is nothing more than a bunch of letters.”

  By now Fred had noticed the cold, something that seemed to be focused around him. He had involuntarily been stepping back as she advanced, shrinking down as if to disappear.

  “In this world you work with whoever you can. Failing to do so means people die. Your team dies, the guards die, women die, children die,” By now she loomed over him, mere inches from his face her eyes blazing with that promised a slow and cold death, “Are you willing to live with that knowledge Mr. D’lavick? Knowing that your arrogance and preferences were the cause of so much death?”

  The rest of them could only stand back and watch as by now Fred was pressed up against the room's curved wall. He had shrunk down to the point he was nearly sitting on the ground as Kalicena continued her advance. Her presence had been homed in right onto Fred, frost and ice beginning to gather on his robes. His quick panicked breathing was visible from the rapid puffs of mist.

  Before he could even think of an answer, her presence once more vanished and Kalicena turned and strode towards the doorway.

  “Let's go everyone, there is one final step to this exam.” She called out, then vanished through the thick white mist.

  The rest of them looked bewildered at the sudden change but quickly moved to follow. Andro lagged behind long enough to see Fred stagger back up to his feet, fear and rage burning in his eyes. Their gazes met and all Andro could do was shake his head in disappointment before turning to leave as well. He didn’t see as Fred clenched his fist with enough force his nails dug into his palms. Nor did he see the shift in Fred’s eyes, as all the fear became fuel for the rage as his gaze locked onto Andro’s back.

  What Andro did see as he emerged through the doorway was Kalicena and the rest of the team huddled around the dungeon beacon. Kalicena was watching the doorway expectantly, giving a small nod to no one in particular when Fred finally walked through.

  “Excellent,” She said before touching the beacon and opening its soul window, “Now comes one of the best parts, something I have no doubt most of you will become addicted to. Gaining progress in your stars.”

  That statement caught everyone's attention, and even Fred seemed to momentarily forget his hatred. Andro meanwhile suppressed a knowing grin as he knew what she meant. She was speaking about the gathering of potential, the unseen energy source that the beacons used as fuel to progress one towards their next star or rank. Potential was earned in many ways, but combat was one of the easiest.

  Potential was often described as someone's measured personal experience on their path to power. It tracked everything someone did, from combat skill, training, methods of problem solving and even crafting skill. Depending on someone's concepts and chosen skills, certain actions would develop more potential than others. When someone reaches the threshold that the Beacons determine they need to be at, they can use that potential as fuel to gain their stars, and eventually their next rank.

  The part that Andro knew Kalicena was specifically referring to was what it felt like when someone gained a star. She wasn’t entirely wrong about the process becoming addicting. Gaining a star felt as if pure life and power flooded every single shred of one’s body. As if in that brief moment of empowerment, anything and everything was possible and at your fingertips.

  “While it is well known that your first star is the easiest one to gain, running a dungeon meant for a higher star rating is by far the best way to gain it.” She explained, an excited glint in her eyes.

  This time, no further explanations were needed as they could all see the new option within the beacon's soul window, Advance rank. That was an option only available or even seen when one has gained even potential to reach their next star. They knew that because they could see the option, they were all ready to gain their first star. They all reached for the beacon, only for the window to snap shut.

  There were immediate protests, even a few from Andro but Kalicena held up her hand. By now the team had learned and grew quiet, waiting for her to speak.

  “I understand your frustration, but I have my reasons,” She explained in a tone softer than her usual icy authority, “As I said the process of gaining your star can be addictive, and gaining your first one is always the most intense. You have never felt anything like it before so I would much rather you go through the process at the city beacon with the Curator present to watch over you. Once you have done that, then ranking up at a dungeon beacon won't have the same risk of incapacitating you.”

  He had almost forgotten about that, but he had also been at peak Journeyman and had grown accustomed to the feeling of gaining a star. However, when he thought about it, it was with his old body. Even if he could mentally remember what it had felt like, this new younger body had never gone through it before. He reluctantly listened to Kalicena’s advice and took a step back away from the beacon. He supposed there was no harm in waiting an extra day or two before gaining his star.

  She watched them all with a calculating gaze until each of them had stepped away. A moment later she gave them a nod of approval. No doubt she had expected more resistance from them about this, but when no further protests emerged, they were all treated to a small smile forming on her lips.

  “Before we head back up the tunnel, there is one final piece of information you must all know.” Her hand came back up and touched the beacon once more. Fingers twitched as the rank up option became visible once more, but no one moved.

  “Enter Dungeon,” Kalicena announced, but instead of the doorway of black mist changing color to white, the soul window shifted.

  [Present individuals have been registered to have recently completed the dungeon “Cannibals Temple”. All present individuals must wait a designated time period before entering base dungeon once more.

  Time until eligible to enter - 0004499.]

  Andro did some mental math and realized it was a little over a glass before they could enter again. As he watched the time, it went down by one for every second that passed, confirming his guess.

  “All dungeons have a reset period before you can reenter it upon completing it,” she explained, watching the timer for a few moments as if to make sure it was working, “The only known expectation to this rule is challenging the dungeons Advanced Scenario. Despite being part of the same dungeon, they operate on separate timers. However, I doubt I need to explain why that would be a bad idea.” She purposely eyed Kai as she said this part. Kai for her part gave an apologetic shrug and a grin.

  “Follow me,” She ordered before pulling her hand away from the beacon and moving towards the tunnel.