Achievement Gained: All clear awarded for being the first to clear a section of the dungeon fully. Title gained: Trailblazer, you are the first to clear the 22nd floor, completely defeating the three floor bosses. Anything that you craft has a chance of being upgraded two rarity tiers.

  Dane felt great; he had gained so much from that last floor, but still couldn't shake the loss of Dia. She was his spirit bond; he could still feel her presence, but she was dormant. No longer chipping in with snide comments, but that silence was deafening.

  "Dane, are you still with me?" Ada asked as Dane had been staring at his loot far too long. Ada peeked over his shoulder and saw the beautiful gun belt. "That's going to come in handy." She said before letting out a long whistle.

  "Yeah, I am okay. I was just lost in thought." Dane wanted to talk to Ada about his lost friend, but knew that explaining he had fused with a dungeon spirit was one of those things that didn't translate well. He trusted Ada, but the more she knew, the more she would be able to tell someone if she was captured. They were rebels and would be hunted down. The less he revealed about where most of his strength came from, the better. You can't interrogate something out of a person if they never knew.

  They began to explore their surroundings. Ada's new dress was swaying side to side as she walked. Dane couldn't help but stare, and he was caught looking on more than one occasion, each time playing it off as if he were searching the area for new things to identify.

  Each floor of the dungeon had what was essentially a waiting room that would open up into the bigger section. Dane was unaware of this and had insisted on leaving no stone unturned as they followed the bends and twists of the giant waiting room. In the center of the room was the familiar platform, glowing light blue. It was typical architecture of the lands that the elves occupied. Something about it this time called to him. He approached the round disk and stood on top, waiting for something to happen. Fifteen minutes passed, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to stand on it.

  "Ada, come over here and stand on the platform with me," Dane said.

  "Why?" she questioned, wondering if that final fall was enough to make the strange battle junkie snap.

  "I think something will happen." Ada rolled her eyes, but she started walking toward Dane.

  "If you ask to hold hands or something, I'm healing you in reverse," Ada said flatly.

  The light blue puck began humming with power. The light started to dim and brighten, with the high-pitched whining coming from the elven tech.

  Congratulations, Baron McAlister. Your fast travel waypoint has been recorded; you have access to the entirety of the Forsaken Caverns' fast travel waypoints. Would you like to teleport? Y/N

  A list of available locations appeared in front of Dane. He had a choice to select Floor 1, or every 5th floor up to thirty. The level 22 that he had just added was sticking out like a sore thumb. He decided to see what the other floors looked like, but was left with the option of 25 or 30. He still wanted to grind up to level 100 and decided to go as far as he could. They chose the 30th floor.

  A rushing of blue and purple lights began to circle the pair. First, slowly, then faster and faster, making Dane feel like he was at a carnival. It was like the Space Ship 2000 ride, the one where the carny would stand on the railing and walk around on the walls instead of being in the operator's booth.

  When the lights stopped, Dane collapsed to the ground, retching. Portaling and teleporting were completely different things. In comparison, the portal was more like bending reality and jumping through a hoop. Teleporting felt like every part of his body was disassembled and reassembled in a different place.

  After regaining their composure, they began to walk around the new floor for the first time in years; they saw natural light. The sun beamed down its warmth like a blanket. Birds were chirping in the distance, a sound of morning doves. The clouds painted the cerulean sky floating high above Dane. There was no ceiling anymore, and for a second, he thought he might have been out of the dungeon. But one activation of his Mana eyes was enough to shatter the illusion. The plants were real, and the space was massive, but he could see the cave walls that lay just beyond the pretty picture painted in front of the stone walls. It was jarring to switch between the reality of being in a cave and the beautiful evergreen forest. Deciding that he would rather live in a pretty lie than a harsh truth, they choose to turn off their mana eyes while not in a fight.

  They wandered around the picturesque forest until they came to a dirt path. Wear from the marching of combat boots beating their imprint into the soil.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "They have walked this enough to make a trail. Do you think this is the smartest idea to keep following it?" Ada asked genuinely, scared of a confrontation with the elves.

  "It'll be okay, just in case, though, can you put your slave clothes back on? We could always play it like you're a runaway slave, and I'm just an imperial guard bringing you back," Dane laughed as he jokingly suggested subterfuge. They both knew that it wouldn't work. If they ran into a squad out here, it would lead to a fight that they weren't ready for just yet.

  The guards on the 1st floor were most certainly under-leveled, but the guards posted further in the dungeon would for sure be able to handle a couple of level 80s. It only made sense if they hadn't cleared the entire floor of monsters; they'd have plenty to grind up on. Even if they had fully cleared it, new ones would respawn and have to be removed again, just like the tiny Mantis monsters that inhabited the 1st floor.

  Shipments of slaves had often arrived, and these reinforcements always departed for deeper areas of the dungeon. Never seeing them after the initial intake, this was all speculation, but they had started to believe that they may have other settlements on different floors. That made sense to Dane if the Dungeon expeditions needed to refuel, and with the cost of transporting slaves from floor one every day, it would be astronomical.

  Dane wanted to run into the silent guards, not for a sense of justice to exact revenge, but because the rations he had taken from the guard camp almost a month ago had quickly dwindled. He had stolen enough food to last one person for a couple of months. But with Ada, he was running through it more than he initially calculated. They would need to start eating sparingly or risk running on fumes in a week. If they could sneak into a new camp and resupply, then they could probably reach 100 and try to escape.

  "Don't move." A small voice behind him snapped Dane out of his thoughts. He almost mistook the little voice for Ada, but this was more feminine."Take off your Gun belt and drop that pickaxe. After that, you're both going to get on your knees and explain why you have my little Brother's armor on." The woman instructed.

  Dane recognised the voice; it was the same one from his welcome to the dungeon. It set him on edge.

  They had been made, and he wasn't going to let anyone enslave him again. She hadn't received word of the theft of this armor, so as far as he knew, he could try to play dumb to buy time. Dane turned around with the confidence of a Middle manager and quickly began to gaslight the stunningly beautiful elf. She stood about 5'8" and had the most gorgeous cascading blonde hair flowing halfway down her back. She didn't wear the typical combat gear that looked like something a futuristic SWAT team would wear, but leather armor that left very little to the imagination.

  "Your brother Marcus permitted me to use it until my Armor was repaired." Dane lied using the name that was written on the door he took it from. "He didn't tell me that he had such a radiant sister."

  "Flaterry won't distract me from your lies." She said, spitting the words out rather than speaking them

  "Is it flaterry if it is the truth. My name is Baron Dane McAlister. Marcus and I go way back to our time in the academy. I saved him from a rather dreadful bully, and ever since, we have been thick as thieves." Trying to sound more noble by mimicking the douchy accent he heard the royalty use before he would receive his biweekly thrashing from the commander. "If you don't believe me, I'm sure you could use identify on me and have this sorted out before your following sentence."

  "It is as you said, and you are a Baron, but your accent sounds like mockery. I am Amelia Tudor, Daughter of Duke Marcus Tudor. Who is the slave girl? Don't tell me that you have gained a taste for these disgusting earthbound." She prodded as she pointed to Ada. Surely, throwing out her father's name to gain compliance from the plucky noble.

  Dane was glad that he was wearing a helmet that covered his features because his anger at the earthbound insult would have given him away. "Of course not, I am training this war slave for the specific purpose of being a servant once I am deployed."

  The beautiful elf drew her bow and aimed it straight for his head. "No noble would be willing to go to the frontlines. Take off your helmet and tell me what is going on."

  "Of course, but did you still want my gun belt?" Reaching for the clasp, Dane knew he would only have one shot before she loosed her arrow. Before he tried to quickdraw, Ada cleared her throat. Drawing the attention of the tense woman.

  "Forgive me for speaking out of turn, m'lord. But does a titled Baron need to answer to an untitled royal? She is barely one step above a commoner. I suggest that you don't sully the name of McAllister with such a disgraceful act as removing your helmet or gun belt." Ada said, knowing what was going to happen next, but it needed to be done to avoid further suspicion.

  "You only speak when I permit it," Dane condescended as he back-handed his friend. Ada's face reddened with anger, but she said nothing else.

  "She does, however, bring up a good point. You're not going to tell me what to do anymore. But out of love for your Brother, I will not have you lashed in front of the camp. Could you take me to the settlement so I may refuel and sort out why your Brother didn't let everyone know that I was borrowing his armor?" The elf relented, finally sheathing the arrow that she had drawn and storing her bow.

  "Come with me, I still don't believe you, but I won't be disciplined for insubordination." She turned her back.

  Dane couldn't believe that it worked, but he wasn't going with her to the camp. He activated Meteorite and closed the distance between himself and the elf in a flash. He stepped hard with his right leg, letting out a huge overhand left into the back of her head, knocking her unconscious in an instant. He gathered some ropes from his spatial bag and tied her up. He didn't want to use Exodus to enslave someone, but it would be easier to have someone on the inside for resupply, and since the elves had no qualms about enslaving Earthbound, why should he worry about them?