“Ben, I was wondering,” Deepika said as they ate, “do you think fighting like we did today is the only way to grow in this new world?” Tracy’s head shot up, clearly eager for his answer.

  “I really can’t claim to be an expert on the System. Just a couple of days ago I was stumbling through this forest alone, so take this with a grain of salt: I don’t think fighting is the only way to grow—or contribute.

  “If it were, the System wouldn’t award perks like [Instructor: Fitness]. My good friend Adam, whom you’ll meet once we’re back in the settlement, has a perk called [Ledger Savvy]. You can’t get much less fighty than that,” he added with a chuckle.

  “My interpretation is that the System wants us to apply ourselves in whatever way suits us best—because only if all of us grow can we withstand the changes to come.

  “Think about it: if we all had only combat perks, who would build our armor?” He pointed to his tattered leather shirt. “Who would train us?” He gestured to Tracy. “I don’t think the System wants just battle maniacs. It wants us to retain our civilization. That only works if people come together and do what they do best.

  “That’s what I want the Protectorate to be.”

  “And that vision is why I want to be part of what you’re building,” Anne said softly.

  Sarah sat with shining eyes, looking between her mother and Ben.

  “I hope you’re right,” Deepika said. “Our family will do our best to contribute to that future.”

  Even more tired than the night before, everyone not on watch quickly lay down to catch as much rest as possible.

  After a quick breakfast—mostly leftover boar—they resumed the hike.

  They had been walking for nearly two hours when Sarah called out, “Do you see that light over there?” She pointed slightly ahead and to the left.

  Ben squinted. At first, it looked like sunlight piercing through the canopy—but as they cautiously moved closer, he recognized what it really was. “I think this is a dungeon portal. Let’s stay alert, but theoretically it shouldn’t be dangerous.”

  They stepped into a small clearing, devoid of animals, and in its center stood the now-familiar white marble arch veined with gold.

  Ben signaled for the others to stay back as he approached, feeling the faint pressure of Energy radiating from the portal. A moment later, a transparent blue screen appeared in his vision:

  You are about to enter a dungeon.

  Theme: Mine

  Tier: 1

  Min / Max party size: 1 / 5

  Instances: 1

  Levels: 2

  Average days to break: 4

  “It is a dungeon,” he confirmed, stepping back. “It’s still Tier 1, but it has two levels instead of one. And the average break time is four days—that’s less than we’ve seen from wild dungeons before.”

  He frowned. “Not sure if that’s due to the increased Energy levels the System warned us about, or just something specific to this dungeon. Either way, the two levels suggest it’s significantly tougher.”

  Tracy stepped closer. “I’ve seen dungeon portals in pictures online, and Damien told me about the two you have in the camp… but it feels different to see one in person. So far, city life hasn’t changed much. I know I’ve seen real magic—but this makes it feel like we’re in a real fantasy world.”

  “I know what you mean,” Deepika agreed.

  “Wait till you see the settlement!” Sarah added excitedly. “It’s got a marble plaza, a magical pillar, and everything!”

  “Are you planning to enter this one?” Julia asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Definitely not now. First priority is getting everyone back safely. But afterward, yes. Adding it to our infrastructure will help us, and leaving it alone will only lead to it breaking…”

  “What does breaking actually mean?” Anne asked.

  “Well, I haven’t seen it happen yet—but I assume a whole bunch of Energy-born creatures would swarm out and head for the surrounding countryside. And since we’re not that far from home, they’d likely come our way.”

  “Can I come along?” Anne asked.

  “Let’s discuss it once we’re back. But in principle, I’m grateful for anyone who wants to help.”

  Before Sarah could speak, Deepika placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Dungeons are for grown-ups with perks.”

  Ben nodded emphatically, cutting off any potential protest from Sarah.

  “Let’s keep going,” he said. “Only half a day to go.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  It was early afternoon when they faced another obstacle—a big one. A moose, so large its antlers scratched the boughs high above them, stood squarely in their path. And it was in no mood to let them pass.

  “This thing is truly massive. We can’t afford to get hit by it—but its size is also a weakness. Let’s use the terrain. Anne and I will try to flank it and draw its attention. Everyone else, stay back and use the trees for cover. Damien, Deepika, if you can do something from range, go for it—but don’t take risks,” Ben instructed, then took off running to the right, hollering at the beast.

  The moose took the insults personally and charged at him. Its long, slender legs moved fast, carrying the ton of muscle and bone with surprising speed. But Ben managed to dodge behind a tree. Turning that much weight wasn’t easy, and as the moose tried to reorient, Ben struck at its side with his axe. The blow landed but failed to cut through the thick hide.

  They repeated the maneuver, with similar results. Ben couldn't land a decisive hit without taking a serious risk.

  On the third charge, the beast was clearly enraged by its inability to land a blow. This time, Anne stepped out from behind a tree just as it thundered past and slammed a powerful lateral kick into its hind leg joint. At the same moment, Deepika [Displaced] the earth beneath its hoof. The combination worked. The moose's leg buckled, crashing it onto one knee as it scrambled for balance with the other three.

  Ben seized the opportunity and swung with all his might at its exposed neck. The axe bit deep, cutting through flesh and muscle—until it struck the spine. The handle snapped with a sharp crack, and Ben stumbled back, the broken stump in his hand. Anne was also hobbling away, having twisted her leg during the strike.

  Despite the misfortune, the damage was done. The moose collapsed, drawing a final breath before falling still.

  Ben hurried to Anne. “Are you okay?” he asked, concern etched on his face.

  She shook out her leg and cautiously put weight on it. “I think so. Nothing’s broken. But I really need to rethink unarmed combat as a long-term strategy against beasts that size.”

  The others came over, congratulating them on the victory.

  Ben returned to the moose and, using the broken axe handle, carved out the Energy core from the massive creature. He felt a pang of sadness—the axe had served him well over the past few days. Hopefully we don’t run into more trouble before I can get a new one.

  Once Julia inspected Anne’s leg and gave it the all-clear, they resumed their long march, hoping to reach the settlement before dusk.

  Their luck held. No further beasts crossed their path. About five kilometers from home, the System sent a message to those who weren’t yet citizens, pointing them in the right direction—just as it had for Liz and Zack, and later the student group under Anne and Rose.

  As they neared the large clearing that marked Ben’s home, they heard the sounds of fighting. Worried, Ben sprinted ahead.

  He entered the clearing to see a group of three wolves being dispatched. His mother stood atop the palisade, calmly casting spells, while Barry, Jamal, and Michael finished off the last of the attackers.

  Ben slowed his pace. Things seemed under control.

  The rest of the group caught up. Julia stepped beside him, eyes on the palisade. “Things have changed a bit since the last time I visited, this looks a bit like a military camp” she said, sounding impressed and skeptical at the same time.

  “They have indeed,” Ben agreed. “Come on. Let’s get inside and see the family.”

  They waved over to Allison and the others at the gate and entered. Julia, Deepika, and Tracy let out audible gasps of surprise and awe at the sight of the marble plaza, the pillar, the dungeon portals, and the System-constructed buildings.

  Sarah pointed to the apartment building. “Ben built that in seconds when we were here!”

  “This is truly incredible,” Deepika said, eyes wide. “Still small, but you can feel the potential.”

  They were soon surrounded by family and friends—Howard, Robin, the twins, Allison, and many others—eager to greet the newest additions to the Protectorate. Ben let them chat and tell stories while he headed off to find Adam for an update.

  “A couple of things have happened,” Adam began. “First, most of our electronics are toast. Based on the last online reports before the internet went out, it’s a global issue and likely already hitting the cities. Second, the number of attacks on the settlement has gone up. Nothing we haven’t handled so far. And lastly, we’ve made solid progress on growth. I’ll give you a full update on perks later, but just on the dungeon front: Barry has returned from the wilderness dungeon, and your mom, Jamal, and Michael also cleared it. That same group ran the rat dungeon again—brought me along, even. I don’t think I’ll become a regular runner, but maybe I can develop some defensive magic.”

  Ben smiled. “That’s amazing—about the dungeons, I mean. Not so much the other stuff. Is the generator still working?”

  “Yeah. It’s holding up. Might help that it’s so old. But we don’t have many devices left using electricity anyway—just the water pump, heater and some kitchen gear. Eventually, we’ll probably need to move everyone into System-generated buildings. They run on Energy and seem to provide lighting and other utilities without electricity. Once we go larger-scale, we’ll need infrastructure buildings like wastewater treatment, but we’re good for now.”

  “Thanks, that’s a lot to think about.” Ben exhaled. “We also found another dungeon on the way here. Two levels, and only four average days to break. Even though I could use a break after five insane days that feel like months… I think I’ll have to go out tomorrow. We can’t risk letting it break.”

  Adam clapped him on the back. “Come have a cold drink with me first. Then take a shower while we still have hot water in the lodges. You stink.”

  Ben laughed. “You’re not wrong.” And with that, he followed his friend to the mess hall.

  After having showered and decompressed slightly from their intense journey, Ben sat in the office with his mother and Adam. They had already filled him in with a bit more color on how life had been over the last two days, and now Adam spoke up.

  “Now that it's almost certain we won’t be getting food from the city anymore, that seems like the top priority to sort out. Fortunately, we have plenty of meat from all the beasts that attack us—and from what we can tell, the meat from Energy-born creatures is both nutritious and surprisingly tasty. Even the wolves. I’ve also spent some time with Zack and Liz and checked the Settlement Interface. Between their perks and the available buildings—especially the initial greenhouse—we should be okay. At least I hope so. I’d suggest we make that a priority when we get the next influx of SCs.”

  Ben nodded. “Makes sense to me. We’re almost 30 people now, and that’s a lot of mouths to feed. How ‘magical’ is this greenhouse? Because feeding that many people usually takes a lot of space and time to grow anything…”

  “Liz and Zack are confident they can grow things in days or weeks that would normally take months. But we won’t know for sure until we have it up and running.”

  “Alright. So how much does the greenhouse cost again? And remind me—how many SCs do we have left?”