This time when Zapper pressed the button for the elevator, a pleasant voice spoke from the ceiling.

“Elevator descending, please wait.”

[Guess we’ve got a minute,] I said, dropping onto my haunches. Zapper plopped beside me.

[Hey, Boss, guess what? I managed to level thanks to that quest!]

Now that he mentioned it, I realized I also had a message blinking to one side. I pulled it up.

Level Up!

You are now Level 9

5 stat points available

XP to next level: 5,500

At this rate, I’m going to reach level ten before we leave the dungeon. The thought reminded me of something the system had mentioned, way back when I’d first become a canid. About how eventually I’d have the ability to evolve into something else. Would that be happening any time soon?

And when it did, would I like what happened to me? I was still coming to terms with being a canid. Heck, I still hadn’t entirely figured out what being a canid even meant. I wasn’t certain I could handle being something else already.

But I was getting ahead of myself. I’d bark at that bridge when I came to it, as the saying goes. In the meantime, I had a few stat points to distribute.

Taking a look at my interface, I noticed my Power stat had increased another two points thanks to my collar, to a total of fifty-one. That was continuing to prove to be the nicest gift anyone had ever given me. Though I doubted Crunch would appreciate me calling it a ‘gift’, were he here to criticize. Or, you know, alive.

I ended up putting one point into Mind, and the remaining four into Speed, which brought it into parity with my Agility. I wasn’t certain how much those two played off each other, but until the rat rot was gone, it couldn’t hurt to keep shoring that up.

That only left my gains from using my two remaining rare cores. One went into Presence (no surprise there) and the other into Power. That one was a bit surprising, since it so far the RND (random number dogs) had preferentialized my lower stats, but I wasn’t going to complain.

Afterwards, I was left with the following distribution.

-Stats-

Power: 52 (+28)

Speed: 15 (-5)

Agility: 15

Presence: 7

Mind: 25 (+18)

Points Available: 0

Rare Upgrades left: 3

Oh! Huh. A new line had appeared at the bottom of my stat screen after I used those cores. It hadn’t done so last time, but maybe that was because I’d used up all available upgrades in one go?

Whatever the reason, I’d need to try and get a few more rare cores before leveling up again, which meant before leaving this dungeon. The odds of that seemed low.

Sad.

But then again, I did have a shiny new blue loot box to open. I set about pulling it from my inventory. Seeing what I was up to, Zapper did the same.

Upon opening, I saw the interior contained a pair of uncommon cores—so close!—along with a pile of papers showing weird chicken-scratch on it. I nudged them with my nose, giving them a sniff to see if they were leftover burger wrappers, and thus edible. Nope.

(4) Scrolls of Magic Missile Barrage

Ever notice how every D&D group has that one dickhead player that loves to shout “I cast magic missile!” every time he uses his basic starter spell? Or was it just me? Wherever you are Jeremy, fuck you.

Ahem, anyway, think of these scrolls as crack for the manic magic missile monster in your life. Using a scroll immediately casts a level 10 ‘Magic Missile Barrage’, which strikes up to a total of ten targets, dealing damage based on your Mind value. More missiles means more value, which should leave you with more time to spend in the tavern instead of fighting monsters—where you can continue to watch the bard repeated fail his Charisma check to seduce the barmaid.

Alright, those would come in handy once we left the dungeon, given the limitation on accessing inventory during combat. I tucked them away and turned to Zapper. [Get anything good?]

[Just some uncommon cores. Ooh, and this!] A stick materialized in the dog’s mouth, one covered in spikes on its far end. The spikes were leaking some sort of viscous fluid that hissed whenever it dripped onto the carpet, leaving little holes behind in its wake.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

[Isn’t it neat?] Zapper said, the stick disappearing again. [They’re called Disintegration Grenades! I got ten of them!!!]

[That is useful, Zapper! More so when we get out of here, but I’m sure they’ll come in handy.] For a minute, I considered having him carry one in his mouth to circumnavigate the system limitations, but ultimately decided against it. Knowing Zapper, it would just end with one—or both—of us getting hurt.

The elevator chimed, and the doors slid open. Giving a bark, Zapper darted forward. I stepped in front of him.

[One last thing before we go on. Best heal up.] Since we were limited to only one heal per floor, I intended to take advantage when I could. Following my own advice, I pulled an uncommon core from my inventory and used it on myself. My shoulder shifted back into place with a satisfying pop.

In addition to healing my wounds, I also received the Glancing Shield blessing for the next two hours, which made it so there was a 25% chance of an attack being turned aside slightly. Good for changing a lethal blow into a nonlethal one, but that was all. Still, I’d take it.

With that, we stepped into the elevator.

The doors closed behind us silently, leaving us standing inside a well-lit box with metal sides, soft music playing overhead. Huh. I think this was my first time ever being in an elevator before. Weird.

A panel nearby showed a series of buttons, labeled from one to five. There was also a sixth button labeled “B”, with a keycard slot next to it that was identical to the one back at the dungeon entrance. Only the lights on the “1” and “2” buttons were glowing.

Even though I knew what would happen, I still tried pressing the five button.

Warning: Floor inaccessible until lower levels cleared.

[Eh, worth a shot,] I said, selecting the “2” button next. The elevator shook and began to rise.

[What do you think is waiting for us upstairs?] Zapper asked, his tail wagging. I considered a minute before answering.

[This place might be a dungeon, but I suspect it was actually CGI headquarters before the system activated. So it’ll probably be more themes along office lines. Maybe the next section will be nothing but lizard people, or goblins, sitting around at desks wearing pressed shirts and fancy ties.]

[Maybe!] Zapper seemed more excited by that prospect than I felt. I sighed and sat back, waiting for us to reach the next floor.

Riley: Help. I spilled milk.

I blinked at the message that appeared in front of me. What... did that mean? Had she tried to pour some milk for herself? Was she drowning in it, that she needed help?

Riley: Help. I spilled milk.

Riley: Nvmind, found towels.

Riley: I cleaned it up!

Zapper: Woof woof!

Riley: Good dog!

For a moment, I debated messaging as well, but what was the point? As long as Riley was in the chat, it wouldn’t show anything but ‘woof woof’. At least Zapper seemed to be enjoying himself, and Riley knew we were still alive out here. That was enough.

The elevator chimed again, and the doors slid open. I rose to my feet, wondering what sort of lobby we’d find. Probably similar to the first floor, if they kept with the theme. Still, I wouldn’t mind a little variety. Maybe if this floor was designed to look like a grocery store, we could—

Bright light hit me in the eyes as the doors parted, and I squinted against it, the pain searing through my skull.

Then my eyes adjusted, and I beheld the room outside.

If it could even be called a room.

We stood in the bottom of a canyon. Sheer cliffs stretched away from us, leaving a path ahead to follow that was barely wide enough for the two of us to walk abreast. Stepping out of the elevator, I saw that it was contained in a sort of old shed building, made of aging wood and a stained copper roof that barely went any higher than the elevator doors.

Where exactly were the cables that supported the elevator hiding? I couldn’t even begin to guess.

[Oooh, outdoorsy!] Zapper dashed out of the elevator and started sniffing around. He glanced back at me. [It smells nice here. Where do you think we are?]

[Still in the building?] I guessed. [This has to be some illusion created by the system. No way this could all fit inside.]

Now that I thought about it, the hallway we had explored below did seem like it stretched further than the building indicated. I’d just assumed there was more structure behind what could be seen from the front door, but now I wondered. I stared upward, squinting at the sun that was blistering overhead. The heat here was stifling, the air dry.

It all felt exactly like a hot summer day in the desert should feel.

[C’mon,] I said, starting along the path leading through the canyon. [We aren’t going to solve any mysteries standing around here.]

Dirt crunched under our paws as we followed the twisting path of the canyon. At one point, a small brownish scorpion skittered by, disappearing into a small cleft, but otherwise it was quiet around us. Even Zapper lost most of his enthusiasm the further we wandered.

Just when I was beginning to wonder if the canyon even had an end, I noticed the light around us growing brighter, the walls widening. The next moment we stepped out and beheld a wide, barren plain, stretching as far as the eye could see. It was mostly rocks and a few tufts of brown grass, but far in the distance I could just make out a flock of birds circling over... something. Something big.

[Woooooooooooooowwwwww...] Zapper said, stopping beside me. [We could run forever across this!]

[Not without water, we couldn’t.] Already my throat was feeling parched. I still had a few MREs we could open if it came to it, but that felt like a waste of good food. [We should see about finding a river or spring.]

[What about over there?] Zapper indicated where the birds were circling, echoing my own thoughts. At that same moment, a notification filled my vision.

CGI — Oakland Branch

Level 2 of 5 — Redemption, Arizona

I dismissed the message, then started moving forward. Whatever those birds were interested in, it was the only hint we had to go on. Good enough.

[Onward, then. Maybe those birds know something we don’t.]

[They might be vultures. Don’t those usual circle around dead things?]

[Not helping, Zapper.]