James reached for his sword and remembered that it was in the Backpack of Holding. Connie stood with her hands spread. "We agreed that we would not act upon the offer, James. Even if it was for a hundred times that."

"Why?" James asked.

Connie sighed, "None of us want to be that person. Someone who sells out their friends for money. Even an acquaintance. Or anybody. It puts a price on Friendship that we didn't feel was right. Also, none of us want to be a tool of a god that doesn't have the guts to sign his name. So, we think it was fake."

James nodded, not trusting his voice.

"May the gods watch over you, James." Connie moved to the door to leave. Pausing, she looked back, "If you need anything, you can leave messages for me with Robert. He works as the stable hand at the tavern where we met." Connie turned and left the room, heading back to the entrance with the others.

James watched her leave, lost in thought. Part of him was surprised that there were people who would defy a god. Part of him was surprised that there were people who would pass up a small fortune.

Turning to the portal, James started to check for traps. He knew he would have trapped the hell out of the room, but James was surprised when he didn't find any. Still, he didn't approach the portal directly but stood on the bed and reached over the end table to touch it. An instant later, he vanished.

----------------------------------------

James reappeared in the room with the Dungeon Core. The room appeared the same as when he left except for the addition of a humanoid who looked like an elf with wings. James instantly disliked him. The being was male, muscular and tall. The wings were like angel wings and added another half meter to his height. He wore armour that looked like bronze, and it covered most of his torso and arms. It reminded him of Soloman's armour, except not as stylish.

Glezda stepped forward when James appeared, "Welcome back. I am pleased you returned."

James put the sack down on the ground and pointed with his chin, "Who's your friend?"

Glezda turned and presented the other person, "This is Rastafic. He is here to speak on behalf of the Grand Council."

"Who are the Grand Council, and what stake do they have in all of this," James asked.

Rastafic stepped forward and smiled. It was a condescending smile one gave when speaking to a child. James hated him even more. "The Grand Council is the name given to the eight Greater Gods. The Grand Council is responsible for the Challenge and ensuring that it is conducted fairly."

James laughed. "Fairly, he says. And with a straight face, no less."

'What's going on, James?' Rocko sent him.

James was glad that his friend was here and that their communication worked. He quickly filled him in on the goings-on.

Glezda frowned, "Please, James. If we want this to work, we need the blessing of the Grand Council. They have the authority to end these negotiations."

James nodded. The asshole had all the power. James shook his head to clear it. "One moment, please. Glezda, can I have some water, please?"

Glezda rose a table and three chairs from the ground. The table was three-sided and had a chair on each side. Before, each chair was a challenge.

'I don't understand my reaction to this Rastafic guy.' James sent Rocko. 'There is no reason for me to compromise the mission because of how I feel, but I have an overwhelming distrust for him.'

'I have never heard of this person before, but he sounds like a Celestine. Their race is known to work with the Divine. Besides a personal dislike for elves, I see no reason you would distrust him.' Rocko sent back.

'Do you think that Zeta may have left behind modifications to my behaviour? It would explain why some of my behaviour doesn't correspond with my training.' James asked.

'You mean why you sometimes act on impulse and recklessness?' Rocko fired back.

James sat down in his chair and took a sip of water. It was refreshing and cold. 'Yes. Something like that.'

'I will look into it.' Rocko replied.

Once everyone was seated, Rastafic started, "As a representative of the Grand Council in the matter, please be aware that I am not permitted to influence the proceedings. I am only allowed to advise you of any rules or restrictions you may be violating."

James looked to Rastafic and tried to detach his feelings from this voice, "I was unaware of any rules or restrictions."

Rastafic smiled, "There are now, as of yesterday. The Grand Council convened specifically for this issue and issued rules and regulations on the interaction of Champions and Dungeon Cores."

Glezda was the next to ask the obvious question, "Can we see these new guidelines?"

Rastafic shook his head, and his expression changed to sadness. "I am sorry, I can not. We had not issued any written copies of the guidelines by the time I journeyed here." James fought the urge to punch Rastafic in the face.

James decided to focus on Glezda instead. "I brought with me some gear I was hoping you would be able to duplicate."

Glezda looked over at the sack, "I don't see anything there I can not learn once I pick up the Ability to work with steel."

Rastafic looked at the sack and nodded, "Most of that falls within the guidelines. However, you must restrict production to Quality below Very Good."

"So the leather armour is not acceptable?" James asked.

Glezda looked at the sack again, "You have four items that I would not be permitted to replicate. The Leather Armour, Iron Short Sword, Iron Round Shield and the Leather Greaves with Iron Reinforcements."

James and Rocko consulted before James spoke again, "Can you replicate the items as Good instead of Very Good?"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Glezda nodded, "Yes, but you would lose the items once I absorb them."

James shook his head, "We can decide that later. We still have a lot to cover. Taking the jewelry bag out of his satchel, he opened it up and pulled out some of the rings and broaches."

Glezda looked at the items and picked them up one at a time. "These appear common and a few uncommon. I can replicate them."

Rastafic added, "You are not permitted to replicate anything above Uncommon or artistic."

"What does artistic mean?" James asked.

"If someone creates something artistic, it is considered unique, even though it is not labelled. Those are not permitted to be replicated as they are considered the artist's own, even if the artist sells the creation." Rastafic clarified.

"So, only items that are already mass-produced?" Glezda added.

Rastafic nodded, "Exactly so."

"Are there restrictions on what you can absorb?" James asked Glezda.

"I can absorb any Enchanted item except for Artifacts. The Divine protects those." Glezda confirmed.

"What is the return rate on absorbing an Enchantment?" James asked her.

Glezda thought about it for a moment, "About seventy-five percent."

"That is much better than I thought," James said. "How many healing potions would it take to create an Elixer of Strength?"

'Elixers can only be used once, James, so the most you can get for each Attribute is 10 points.' Rocko explained after James updated him on the conversation.

Glezda finished her calculations, "Two potions of equal Tier."

'The cost for two Healing Potions is about five gold, an Elixer of Strength - Common, is about seven gold. It would not be worth it.' Rocko commented.

'Why have I not bought these Elixers already and increased things like Luck and Charm' James asked.

'It is usually a method reserved for when a person stagnates in their progression. Increasing your Attributes becomes harder with each level obtained. You don't want to artificially increase your Attribute level until you reach a plateau in your progression.' Rocko explained.

James understood what Rocko was trying to say. Get the low-hanging fruit first, then use the ladder to get the higher ones.

Rastafic looked to James, "Are you alright?"

James shrugged, "Long day, you know, trying not to die."

Glezda frowned at him, but James shrugged again, "What about making reagents and components?" This was something that Rocko had come up with—creating enchantments required reagents. Creating potions required components. Some were very difficult to find and were expensive.

Rastafic nodded, "Again, they would be restricted to things that are not Rare."

James asked a question that Rocko provided, "What about if they are listed as uncommon in one location and rare in a different location?"

Rastafic paused. He had a faraway look that James found strangely familiar. 'I think he is consulting with someone,' James sent to Rocko.

'Not surprising. He doesn't have the authority to do this independently,' Rocko replied.

Finally, Rastafic replied, "So long as it is sold in a region listing the item as Uncommon, the Grand Council would have no objections."

"What is to prevent me from buying the reagent in the area listed as Uncommon and selling it in an area listed as Rare?" James asked.

"If you wish to become a merchant, that is acceptable, and in this case, it does not involve the Dungeon, so there is no issue," Rastafic said with a smile. There was that smile again.

'He is right,' Rocko said after James updated him, 'That is exactly what a merchant does.'

'Then we should consider buying things that we know will be rare where we are going, instead of farting around with this. As far as I can see, we are not gaining anything by doing this,' James could not keep the frustration out of his mental voice.

'Don't yell at me. This was your idea,' Rocko countered.

Turning to Glezda, James tried a different tact, "What are you looking for that I can help you with?"

"I thought that this would be a simple exchange. I give you crafted items that you then sell in town. You use that money to purchase Enchanted items that I can absorb for the experience. You keep a percentage of the coin you make, and I keep the experience I gain to level up my Core."

James agreed. It was pretty simple. He had hope that he would be able to get an advantage somewhere. The Dungeon had already decided to give him living space in the Dungeon until the Challenge was over. Having replacement gear on demand would be nice, and he would not have to wait for it to be crafted. Enchanted items that can be created upon request would be handy, so he would not have to search for them and then haggle to get the lowest price. But this was not the game-winning move he had hoped it would be. The Grand Council's restriction made sense and allowed the relationship between Champion and Dungeon Core to be profitable without being game-breaking.

James had an idea, "Can't you just create gold?"

Rastafic twitched, and Glezda smiled, "Yes, I can easily create coins from any realm, so long as I have their pattern. The same for diamonds, rubies and other priceless gems, so long as they are not considered Rare. As per the Grand Council."

Rastafic held up a hand, "The Grand Council is concerned with damaging the world's economy. Allowing you to create vast wealth would be very damaging."

James couldn't stop himself, "More damaging than allowing a bunch of Champions to destroy a city and kill thousands?" James made a fist under the table. He regretted the question as soon as he said it.

Rastafic didn't consider the question offensive, "Yes, much more than the minor disruption that the Challenge causes."

James was shocked. He was being sarcastic, but Rastafic was being serious. He hated this winged-elf.

"If I limit my production to just gold, I can produce about a thousand gold coins a day." Glezda interrupted. "I don't know how much gems are worth in the world." She paused to pick up a ring with a small diamond in it. "How much is this worth?"

"I paid almost three gold for it," James answered.

"I could make about five hundred of these per day," she said.

"The value of these rings would depreciate very quickly if you flooded the market with hundreds of them a day." Rastafic pointed out, "After a week, you would be lucky to get a gold each."

James hated to agree with the pointed-eared bastard, but he was right, "I thought the same with the armour and weapons. Unless we were delivering the weapons to a kingdom on the brink of war, no one needs hundreds of swords."

"Hundreds may be an exaggeration," Glezda corrected. "I could make about two dozen swords. It does take a little more energy to make better quality items. And Steel requires more energy than Iron."

James tapped the table, "So gold coins it is. They don't require a market to be sold on."

"There would need to be a restriction on the amount of gold allowed to be produced in a day," Rastafic interjected.

Glezda raised an eyebrow, "How much was your Fine Steel Dagger, James?"

James down at his dagger. Veronika mentioned he should not have anything like this on him when he was incognito, but the blade was too good a quality to pass up in a fight. "Um, I think it was about ninety gold. But I got it as a package deal."

"When I learn to create items out of Fine Steel, I would be able to make about thirty of those a day," she stated, looking at Rastafic specifically. "How is that different from just creating gold coins?"

"Because you need a market to move the weapons." Rastafic clarified.

'I think I found the loophole I was looking for,' Rocko sent James. 'They say we can create 500 gold coins a day. They say we can create as many items as we want so long as they meet specific guidelines. They didn't say we couldn't do both.'

James held up a hand, "Can the limit on gold produced in coins be tied to the Dungeon level?"

Glezda and Rastafic looked at each other, and Rastafic nodded, "Yes. A limit of one hundred gold coins per level of the Dungeon would be acceptable."

"That would allow me to create four hundred gold coins now, but when I learn how to make Steel, it will increase to five hundred." Glezda nodded.

James smiled, "Then I agree."

Glezda nodded, "I agree as well. So long as you are okay with the first portion regarding using the Dungeon as a base of operations."

Rastafic shook his head, "The Grand Council can not forbid using a Dungeon Core as a base of operations. However, please note that it will be keeping a close eye on your activities to ensure you are not abusing or violating any of the Challenge Rules."

'There are rules in this Challenge?' James asked Rocko sarcastically.

'Be the last one to die,' Rocko replied.

"Well, if that is all taken care of, I would like to discuss this." James placed three scrolls on the table in front of him.