When Keith awoke, the first thing he did was bolt upright and check for Nathan, then quickly averted his gaze. Nathan's shirt and tie were nowhere to be seen, his backpack was resting under his head as if a pillow, and his erection was not bound by his pants, which had their zipper and button undone, his belt pulled off of him and boxer-briefs pushed beneath his tool.

"What the fuck?" Keith asked as he pulled a shirt out of his Clothing Box and carefully placed it onto Nathan to cover up his state, before registering that Nathan's Health wasn't full, despite his own Mana having been restored, which meant he could not have been out more than an hour or three. "Hey, what-"

He cut off as he realized he couldn't sense his familiar's conscious state, even though he could sense the familiar itself. When he looked around, he found Nathan's wind elemental holding his own in its recovery mode. When he looked at Nathan again, he noticed how bloody several parts of the warrior were, and the injuries in them.

"What kind of healing power does he have to stay alive after that?" Keith asked, then got to work cleaning the wounds and assessing which ones needed patching up, before then working on that.

When he finished, he sat back and looked at Nathan, before scanning the surroundings and finding the charred state of the remains of the wolf. He turned his gaze to the wind elemental.

"I know you can communicate with me," Keith said. "Because I have a storm elemental. Even in that form, you can connect to it to project your thoughts. What happened?"

"The Master," a young-sounding voice entered his head. "Drew on Icthvar's power and triggered a spell that manifested a phoenix state. It only half-worked, though, as the Master didn't know what he was doing and simply let the spell run its course when it triggered and fell unconscious before he finished as a result. Even using Stoneskin, The Master suffered immense damage from the wolf of the shadows, and it was a desperate last-bid hope that he could tap into the phoenix's powers that worked and allowed him to slay it. Since your familiar had performed a power infusion to help slow down the wolf of shadows, it drained him and caused him to fall unconscious as well. I have been watching over the three of you. It has been three hours."

"If Nathan was unconscious," Keith said. "Who undid his fly?"

"He does not have a fly."

"Who unzipped his pants?"

"That was me. He got hard around ten minutes ago, and it did not look comfortable to be contained in those pants, so I decided to let it free so that he would not be in pain when he awoke. I estimate he will be unconscious for at least two or three days. I do not recommend drawing His Greatness into you, or you will likely enter a state similar to the Master's. The monsters are keeping their distance after the Master's show and His Greatness's effects, so you should be able to complete the quest you have undergone without worry. You will likely have noticed several notifications regarding Points earned through His Greatness's attacks as the Master lost against the wolf of shadows."

"Yeah," Keith muttered. "I do. Thank you… Breezy?"

"I enjoy the name the Master gave me, do not be so hesitant about it."

Keith nodded, then dismissed the notifications regarding Points he had earned. It seemed his familiar had slain more than one hundred beasts during the power infusion, a state he had heard of only in myths. If the heavenly storm elemental could perform it, then it was nearing the point where it would ascend to the heavens as an angel.

Though after hearing Master Torzin mention the truth, Keith wondered if they truly became angels, or were like all other creatures that ascended to the heavens. Deciding to ponder that some other time, he walked over to the two halves of the talisman and picked them up.

He placed the two pieces together and began to pour his mana into it, noticing that it as he did, it seemed to require less than before. Theorizing that it was due to being only two pieces rather than three, he let his mana flow as the talisman's enchantment guided it.

When it repaired, he moved the lantern and placed the talisman into its slot. Two things happened immediately. First, he received a message. Second, each and every last pillar lining the paths of the island, each and every undamaged set of runes lining the inner lip of the waterways, and runes around the top of the altar began to glow with light. Enough light that the darkness that pervaded the island was pushed back, yet not bright enough to blind them unless he looked at one of the pedestals too long. He sensed the same sort of holy power in them as his familiar possessed, so he knew that many shades and phantoms had likely just lost their lives.

So that is what those were for! He mentally exclaimed.

Keith turned his attention away from the pedestals and looked at the notice in his vision.

You have completed the Isles of Darkness Dungeon 1. Before you receive your reward, you have two options. All team members must be conscious and make a decision to vote. This is a multi-Dungeon Dungeon, which means that it consists of multiple Dungeons within it. Each Island is its own Dungeon, with the potential on some for having an additional Dungeon triggered. If you choose to leave now, you will receive the reward for completing 1 (one) Isles of Darkness Main Dungeon and 0 (zero) Isles of Darkness Side Dungeons. If you choose to perform another Dungeon, your reward upon completion and exit will increase by 50% (fifty percent). This will increase by 50% (fifty percent) additively until you leave the Dungeon of the Isles of Darkness for each Dungeon completed beyond the first (this one). You will have 15 (fifteen) minutes to decide if you wish to leave or complete another island's Main Dungeon from when all players are conscious and have dismissed this notice.

Keith read over the notice twice, then dismissed it. When he and Nathan entered the Isles of Darkness, they expected them to be a series of small islands the Dungeon's quests were stretched across. Instead, it seemed that it was actually a series of Dungeons, and they only needed to complete the Quest for one of them to count as completed.

The increased reward for completing them consecutively would be a nice bonus for anyone who did it. While they weren't sure what the bonus was for a single island, completing two of them would net them an extra island's worth of rewards.

It was something else that suggested Nathan's theory of the purpose of the game to be true. While most players would probably be as exhausted as the two of them were and choose to leave instead of continuing on, there was incentive for those who felt they might be able to continue rather than coming back at another time. It also rewarded those who continued on, even with their exhaustion, beyond what the normal reward would be.

He frowned as he thought over part of it. It mentioned that there were side-Dungeons on some of the islands. Was that only some, or was that all except theirs? Unless theirs had one as well, but they didn't come across another Dungeon's quest.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Deciding to discuss it with Nathan when the warrior woke, Keith settled down and rested, eating and sleeping when needed, occasionally relieving his bladder and bowels when necessary while trying not to think about another form of relief. In the end, it took Nathan three days to wake up, something Keith became aware of due to the string of curses the warrior let out.

"If it's over the erection, you've been hard for three days straight," Keith said from where he was enchanting. "Also, your sword's busted."

"I feel like weeks passed," Nathan growled. "And no, the curses were because I obviously went out for several days again. With how much sex was in that dream, I'm not surprised I was hard. I'm taking care of it into the canal, don't look."

Keith snorted and resumed working on the enchantment, waiting the couple of minutes before Nathan returned.

"How in the fuck did you stay hard without blasting it?" Keith asked, noting that Nathan had pulled on another shirt and tie.

"I've always been that way," Nathan answered. "I don't shoot unless there's physical stimulation. Also, the people in the dream are always hard, I think that's just how they are."

"Sometimes," Keith muttered. "I wonder if you're father's a god of sex."

Nathan was silent for several moments.

"I'm asking Ichtvar when he wakes back up," Nathan said. "And if he refuses to answer, Master Torzin."

Keith snorted, then asked Nathan his opinion on the System's notification. After several minutes of discussion, Keith was confused.

"Why do you want to give it another try?" He asked. "You nearly died!"

"The System," Nathan said. "Probably gives the recommended Levels based on averages of Stats across the universe."

"Yes, we've established that."

"And other than when we fought the dragon, I've never purchased any," Nathan said. "The wolf was barely better than me. Another five hundred to a thousand Endurance, and it probably wouldn't be hurting as much, or at all. I invest that much into Endurance, Strength, and Speed, and I should be okay to deal with the islands as most who show up here can."

"You'd need to adjust to the new speed," Keith said.

"Our stats are instinctual," Nathan reminded him. "It's as if we're already adjusted, and we can easily control the extra strength and speed."

"Right," Keith sighed. "Forgot about that, I'm a mage and don't use that much."

"Buy Stat Points and-"

"Put them into Endurance, yeah, yeah," Keith nodded, and then two did as planned, agreeing to put one thousand into the chosen stats. "How many Levels did you gain when you bested the wolf?"

"What makes you think it was multiple?" Nathan asked. "It was Ichtvar's power that slayed it, and quite easily according to what Breezy said."

"Because your Charisma definitely went up."

Nathan looked at the message in his vision.

You have slain the Alpha Night Wolf demiboss! +8 Levels +1 Alpha Night Wolf pelt

When Nathan fought and killed the Sand Tortoise demiboss, he received 8 Levels as well, which told him it might be a pattern and not just coincidence.

"It seems that killing a demiboss nets eight Levels," Nathan told Keith as he dismissed that message, then the notice of the Dungeon Completion, causing a new message to appear in their visions.

In 15 (fifteen) minutes, you may decide if you wish to exit and claim your rewards or continue on to the next island for a bonus to your overall rewards from all completed consecutive Dungeons in the Isles of Darkness.

Nathan spent the next fifteen minutes running back and forth, testing out his new Speed. As he did, Keith decided not to be left behind and purchased more, grateful for the immense amount of Points he had due to the Survival Challenges.

He also debated adding more into Magic and Mana Stat, but knew that having a higher magical power and being able to control it or use it were two separate things. He hadn't put a single point into it so far, and nor had he put any into Mana. Throughout the game, he had been applying his Stat Points to his Endurance, to increase how much damage he could take before his Health ran out.

In the end, he decided not to add to either of those. Having a higher Mana Energy might benefit him, but he also considered the possibility that increasing either of them, especially artificially, might have negative repercussions.

If he ended up needing another familiar, badly, because of such a change, or something even worse, he would have to perform an emergency exit of the Dungeon, which was impossible. So far, they managed as they were, and as long as they weren't overwhelmed, they would manage until their familiars awoke.

When the notice appeared, Nathan rejoined Keith.

You have 15 (fifteen) minutes to decide if you wish to exit the Isles of Darkness and claim your reward, or attempt to complete another Island Dungeon for bonus rewards. You will be required to restore another talisman and place it into the pedestal to consider it complete. There is no time limit to completion. Transportation will be provided. If you do not vote within the time limit, it will be counted as a Claim vote. If the vote is a tie, it will be counted as a Claim and you will exit the Dungeon. Claim Continue

"Are you sure you want to continue?" Keith asked before Nathan had finished reading, talking almost as soon as the message appeared. "I saw you limping, and I know my patch on your side won't hold forever."

"Demigods heal faster than regular people," Nathan pulled out the fragment of the talisman they had found that didn't go to their island's, then looked at the extra piece on the pedestal. "These may be important. With this light, we won't have to fear as much, and the canals filled up to the lights once we reactivated the island's magitech. I'll be fine in a day, we can search for the last piece or pieces of this one and see if restoring it triggers another Dungeon quest."

"Alright," Keith said.

They both accepted it, finding a pair of notices appearing as an object appeared, which Nathan caught as it fell.

The Naviglobe will show you the way to the other islands. Follow it to one of your choice. There are boats at various docks around the island, do not fear the sea. To complete the next Dungeon, you must restore that island's Talisman of Light and restore it to its place on the island's Altar of Light, which rests on its center.

There are five total pieces of a second talisman on the island you are currently on, of which you possess two. You may choose to collect them if you wish. You may either bring them with you to the next island or leave them on the Altar of Light on this island. You are free to restore them if you so choose. They are not required and the talisman's Altar of Light is on the central island.

Both teens thought over the second message. Both found it suspicious that the central island's talisman was on their starting island rather than its own, and both quickly came to the conclusion that it likely had a talisman for each other island for its Altar of Light.

"Which means," Nathan said as they discussed that. "Collecting them would likely be the central island's Dungeon quest."

"Probably," Keith said. "The System wants us to either leave it here so that whoever makes it that far can easily find it when it's time, or bring it with us so that whoever does the next island if we fail finds it on our corpses."

"Speaking of corpses," Nathan looked around. "Beastkin was found alone with a fragment. Where was his or her team?"

"I don't know," Keith shrugged.

"Let's look for them," Nathan pulled on his backpack, then walked over to the pieces of his sword.

No information appeared regarding it, so he assumed it was no longer functional, a theory proven when he attempted to use the Weapon Repair voucher he had in his Item Box in case of an emergency repair requirement.

"Why?" Keith asked as the warrior kicked the pieces of the sword to the side.

"There's dirt here," Nathan answered as he walked over to the altar and picked up the lantern, which the mage had turned off while he was out. "Which means we can give them a burial. I have a shovel in one of my cards."

"Why?" Keith asked in confusion.

"To see if long items would fit," Nathan answered. "The Shadow Sword didn't enter, which could have been because it was a System-generated item, so I used a shovel."

"…did you go out and buy the shovel?"

"Yes."

"Don't you have combat staffs? Brooms? A mop?"

"…right."