Ben stepped forward, took a deep breath, and raised his axe. “This is going to hurt,” he whispered to himself, clearing his mind.

  This time, it was harder to count. Thirty, maybe more. But at the back of the swarm, one stood out—twice as large as the others. Text appeared over it:

  Pack Rat Leader. Energy-Born. Tier 1. Common Challenge.

  Rats swarmed from every direction, but Ben’s forward position drew most of them. The leader held back but watched.

  Ben swung wild and hard—no finesse, just brute strength. One rat fell. Then two. A third staggered away, wounded. Still they came.

  Jamal roared his [Beast Taunt], pulling their attention. Rats began to push past Ben toward the new threat.

  Ben cut down four more and then stepped into the path of the pack leader. It lunged for Jamal, then turned—recognizing the greater danger.

  Ben’s axe caught its flank, spraying blood. The rat reared up, slashing with claws. Ben ducked left, shielding his neck with his shoulder, and drove his axe upward into its belly.

  The creature screeched in pain, claws tearing Ben’s shoulder. But it was dying. He finished it with a clean blow to the neck.

  Then turned—bleeding and furious—to help finish off the rest.

  A few seconds later, they were done with the wave.

  Jamal was bleeding heavily from a chest wound, and Michael was dressing it with a strip of cloth.

  "What happened?" Ben asked, concern in his voice.

  Allison clapped Jamal on the shoulder.

  "Two rats tried to sneak past and get to me. Jamal threw himself in their way and held them off until Michael took them down. Thank you, Jamal."

  "Thank you indeed, big man. Both of you saved our lives out there. You're true pillars of strength."

  Jamal grinned through the pain. "No worries, boss. You and your family gave us a chance when no one else would. We won’t forget that."

  Michael said nothing, but his steady gaze made it clear he shared the sentiment.

  Just then, a familiar message blinked into their vision:

  Congratulations. You have cleared the dungeon. It will reset within 6 to 12 hours.

  Ben received a second prompt as well—an opportunity to harvest the dungeon core. He accepted.

  Once again, a marble plinth rose from the ground, revealing a fist-sized sphere of golden stone crisscrossed with glowing blue lines.

  Ben picked it up and waved to the others. "Come on. Let’s harvest the core from the big rat and get out of here."

  As they headed back toward camp, Ben asked, "Did you guys receive perks?"

  He paused, thinking, then continued, "Actually—scratch that. I think we should make it a rule that no one has to talk about their perks. It could help if we keep Adam’s list updated, but sharing should be voluntary."

  Allison nodded. "A good rule, though personally, I don't mind sharing. Within the team, it makes sense to know each other's strengths. My [Nature’s Bond] perk evolved to [Growth Caller]. Should let me affect a larger area and use sturdier roots—we’ll need to test it. I also gained [Magic Control], which should help me steer them better."

  "Wow, that sounds great." Ben smiled.

  Michael simply nodded. "[Agile Body], [Perceptive Mind]."

  "Thank you for sharing."

  Jamal added, "[Guardian’s Sense]—I can now sense danger to allies. And I chose [Strong Body] instead of [Close Combat]. I hope to get that one later."

  "That’s all great progress." Ben grinned. "I doubt we’ll keep getting perks this fast, but it’s fantastic for now."

  Allison looked at him expectantly. "And what about you, son?"

  Ben opened the golden blinking icon in his interface.

  Congratulations for clearing a wild dungeon. You are awarded one perk. Please choose from the following:

  [Mind]

  [Breathing] – Accelerates recovery from physical and mental exertion. Common

  [Calm] – Improves composure in high-stress situations. Common

  Ben thought for a moment. "Not an easy choice," he said aloud.

  "But I’ll go for [Calm]. My [Resilient Body] already helps me recover physically, and I think staying calm under pressure will be crucial to protecting all of us."

  He explained his reasoning, and the others nodded in agreement.

  A few minutes later, they returned to the settlement. Barry and Damien opened the gate.

  "Anything happen?" Ben asked as they stepped inside.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "No attacks," Barry replied. "But we butchered the boars you brought. They taste great—guess what’s on the menu tonight."

  Ben laughed. "Excellent. Thanks."

  After thanking Jamal and Michael for the dungeon run, Ben and Allison headed to the office.

  Inside, they found Adam sitting in a chair, staring blankly into space.

  "One day on the job and you’re already slacking off?" Ben teased.

  "Ha-ha-ha," Adam replied dryly. "You wouldn’t understand, but I was thinking."

  "About what?"

  "A couple of things." Adam straightened up. "First, good news: the Energy-born creatures you fought? Edible."

  "That is great," Allison said. "We need every food source we can get."

  "Second," Adam continued, "we should talk to Carter—he got a [Leatherworking] perk. I think we can make protective gear from the hides."

  "That would be amazing," Allison said enthusiastically. "Just think how much better we’d have fared if we’d had armor today."

  "Agreed," Ben nodded. "Let’s explore that soon. What else?"

  "I’ve been exploring the settlement interface. Even at Level 1, it’s clear we’ll eventually be able to build a truly remarkable place here."

  Ben swallowed. "Then let’s take the next step."

  He retrieved the dungeon core they’d collected and walked outside.

  Almost everyone had gathered, eager to hear about the dungeon run.

  Ben addressed them. "The run went well. We took a few hits, but nothing too bad—and we completed the objective."

  He held up the glowing dungeon core. "Before I add this to the infrastructure, I have one request. Not urgent—but something to think about. As you saw when registering as citizens, we can define settlement values. I’d like this to be a joint effort. If you have ideas over the next few days, please share them with me, Adam, or Mom. I want us to shape this place together."

  Nods and thoughtful expressions spread through the crowd.

  Having said his piece, Ben walked to the plinth on the west side, opposite the existing dungeon portal.

  He placed the core.

  A blue screen blossomed in Ben’s vision:

  Tier-1 Dungeon integrated (1 level)

  Current Theme: Rat Attack

  Confirm theme or select new theme

  As he didn’t want to experiment this early in their journey, he chose to confirm the theme.

  A pulse of golden Energy surged through the Protectorate Pillar.

  The plinth sank into the ground; a new dungeon portal rose in its place.

  Nearby, a fresh plinth emerged—ready for the next core.

  The central pillar grew taller by twenty centimeters.

  "I can’t imagine this ever getting old," Allison said softly, stepping up beside him. "It truly is magic, isn’t it?"

  "It is," Ben replied. "And I hope this buys us some breathing room—so we can plan the next steps."

  "Agreed," Allison said with a smile. "But let’s not tempt fate."

  For the rest of the day, Fate left them alone.

  Ben spent the afternoon recuperating and connecting with the other members of the settlement.

  He and Adam agreed to postpone a deeper strategy discussion about the settlement plan until the next day, but Ben made a point to check in with the crafters.

  He first spoke with Carter, who had gained a [Leatherworking] perk, and Marcus, who had a [Basic Smithing] perk. Both were eager to experiment and contribute to the settlement’s survival.

  Ben quickly agreed that Carter should begin working with the boar hides from their earlier hunt, aiming to create some basic armor.

  Marcus, though limited by the lack of a proper smithy, enthusiastically set to work sharpening their axes and experimenting with the blowtorches they had in stock.

  The last member of the team with a crafting perk was Thomas, another of their Second Chance team members. His perk, [Tinker’s Hand], allowed him precise control over tools. Though still young, he’d spent part of his time in prison learning basic mechanics and repairs.

  Thomas proposed building traps to help defend the settlement’s perimeter.

  Ben welcomed the idea enthusiastically—traps could be crafted with their current supplies and wouldn’t require infrastructure upgrades just yet.

  Adam joined all these conversations and took careful notes for the broader planning work ahead.

  Meanwhile, Ben kept close track of his body’s healing. He couldn’t resist checking his status screen repeatedly throughout the day.

  By the evening, he’d gained another two points in Body, bringing him up to 14.

  He felt stronger, faster, and more alive than he had in months—perhaps ever.

  During dinner, Ben and Allison discussed the plans for watch and dungeon rotations.

  He’d expected volunteers for the watch but was pleasantly surprised that several people also wanted to run the dungeons. The initial volunteer list had been for the Wilderness dungeon, but now they would expand it to include the new Rat dungeon as well.

  Ben suggested that the safest approach was to introduce newcomers by running the Rat dungeon first, with support from him and the other experienced fighters.

  He didn’t want to restrict anyone from challenging themselves, but for now, he offered Allison he would handle runs of the Wilderness dungeon himself.

  Since neither dungeon was due to break the next day, Allison would check with the volunteers the next morning to see which they preferred.

  They had also confirmed that, like the Wilderness dungeon, the Rat dungeon now had a one-day shorter break time as part of the infrastructure.

  After dinner, it was Ben’s turn to take a watch shift, which he shared with Barry.

  "How are you, Barry?" Ben asked as they walked the perimeter.

  "I’m all right. It might sound crazy," Barry said, "but I’m actually excited about all this. Your family gave us a chance to restart our lives already—this feels like this all over again. The path we are walking is wonderous."

  Ben smiled. "It is, isn’t it? I admit, I’m a little selfish about it. Just being able to walk again—it’s a miracle. I can’t help but be grateful."

  "We’re all happy for you. And grateful, too."

  After a short break in the conversation, Ben continued hesitantly. "Can I ask something? You don’t have to answer. I know we don’t talk about the past here."

  "Go ahead," Barry said.

  "You once told me you were a teacher—and that you taught martial arts in prison. Would you be willing to teach us? Everyone could benefit, but especially those running dungeons or pulling watch shifts. I know I would."

  Barry smiled. "I’d be honored. Teaching is at the heart of my purpose in life. One of my favorite sayings is ‘In stillness, I teach. In motion, I teach. It’s how I breathe.’"

  "That’s beautiful. Thank you. I’ll let Mom and Adam know. And if you need anything, just tell them."

  Later, as Ben finally went to bed, he felt a deep sense of accomplishment.

  They had run a dungeon as a team. They had built their first defenses. And, most importantly, he sensed that the others were truly committed to this fledgling Protectorate.

  It was a good feeling.

  It seemed like he had barely fallen asleep when loud knocking startled him awake.

  Groggy but surprisingly alert, Ben opened the door.

  Adam stood there, flushed and tense. "There’s shouting—outside the palisade, in the forest. We can hear it from the wall. Should we go out?"

  Ben nodded. "Don’t worry. I’ll check it out. Please get Michael. Let Jamal rest—he took some hits today."

  Adam nodded and sprinted off as Ben grabbed his coat and axe, hurrying toward the palisade.

  The shouting was clear now—panicked voices echoing through the trees.

  Not waiting for the gate to be opened, Ben vaulted onto the inner footboard, then leapt over the wall—his improved body making the landing easy.

  He had barely taken a few steps when he heard a soft thud behind him.

  Turning, he saw Michael already landing silently. The big man gave a curt nod.