Cooper materialized in a small stone room with an odd looking woman. She was probably pretty by human standards, but like the other dungeon spirit he had met, those black eyes were unnerving.

As he came together and awareness flooded back into his mind, he could tell he had gained levels in his new class. The dungeon had been kind to him. The messages he received filled him in.

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Dungeon of Du'la'melio Race Complete

* Win the race (complete)

* Bonus experience granted

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You have reached Storm Magician, Level 3

You have reached Storm Magician, Level 4

You have earned 1 skill point

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"I won?"

"Cooper has expressed his surprise at victory," the woman said. He guessed the others could see him here. They must still be in the dungeon. "It was closer than you know, young pup. Now, you may choose your boon."

Celuria swept her hand to the side, where two chests manifested.

"Can I see what they are before choosing?"

"You may look inside the chests before selecting your prize. Since you were the first to clear my dungeon after its evolution, the prizes are quite rare and powerful. Please, go ahead."

The chests had a pair of clasps. He tried nosing it, but nothing happened.

"Do you mind? Sorry, no hands."

"Of course, I do apologize."

She waved her hand again and both chests sprang open.

The first contained a miniature anvil. He glanced at the spirit, who had nothing to say, so he nosed it.

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Spellforge

* Artifact: Magical Forge.

* Rarity: Epic

* Created by a collection of early magicians before the discovery of more advanced classes, the Spellforge is designed to allow the safe and easy construction of new spells.

* Spells constructed on the Spellforge are stored within. Once per day, a spell within the forge can be cast by the wielder.

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"I can create any spell with this?"

"You can use the Spellforge to create any spell you are capable of drawing with a ritual. Since you're traveling with a Magus, that increases the utility substantially."

Cooper almost chose it immediately. Casting once per day wasn't great, but if Olivander gave him a really powerful spell, he would be able to take on much larger threats without worry.

Reluctantly, he turned his attention to the second prize. He wouldn't rush his decision. The prize was a chain loop, with a setting for something small. An amulet maybe? He touched the chain.

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Chain of the Keeper

* Equipment: Amulet

* Rarity: Epic

* The order of Keepers has long been responsible for containing dangerous threats, the Chain of the Keeper was constructed with that containment in mind.

* Can contain the corrupting power of a planar stone, allowing the wearer to draw upon the power for a limited time.

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Cooper froze. He was no expert, but it sure seemed like this would allow him to use his Eye of the Dark Magus without being turned into some kind of monster of madness. He had no idea what kind of power that would give him. He knew Olivander could call on his grimoire for extra mana, which would certainly be nice to have. That alone could be more helpful than a single spell per day. Especially as he gained more of his own magic.

Cooper looked up to ask, but the woman preempted him.

"I know you have an Eye of Madness, yes, this would allow you to make use of it, but only for a limited time. As you grow, your ability to handle it would also grow, enabling you to use it longer without any ill effects."

He wished he could ask Olivander what he thought, but the man had said it was Cooper's decision.

He grabbed the chain between his teeth and pulled it out of the chest.

"A wise choice. Allow me."

She reached down and put the chain over his neck. It resized itself to fit like a collar. He had never wanted one of those, but he chose to put this on himself, so it was okay.

"Come forth, Gregory."

Gregory materialized just behind them. He paused for a moment, taking in the room and reading his status messages.

"I lost! Damn, I thought I had you with those traps! You caught me in a sticky trap right at the end. How close was it?"

"The two of you finished less than a second apart."

Gregory raised his face to the ceiling and groaned.

"I thought I had it! Do we get to run again? Maybe I can win next time!"

The dungeon spirit smiled at him before speaking. "I'm sorry, in my new configuration, races are only allowed a single attempt. They are less challenging to actually complete, but have some additional obstacles due to the interaction between participants, so it works out much the same."

She raised her hand to the open chest. "Come, Gregory. Your companion has chosen his prize, which leaves this one for you. As I already told him, you two were the first to clear the dungeon after it changed, so your reward is powerful and rare."

Gregory's eyes lit up.

"Alright then!"

He scooped up the tiny anvil. Then his eyes went wide.

"Oh wow, this is amaaaazing. What did you pick that was better than this?"

"You'll see!"

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Thank you so much!" he said, turning to the dungeon spirit, but she was already gone. "Huh. Well, I think we're still in the dungeon, so she probably heard that. Should we go?"

Together they walked out of the dungeon.

* * *

Gloria had booked a dungeon run and was supposed to enter just a few hours after Gregory and Cooper, but the scheduling had been thrown into chaos by the changes to the dungeon, so they were delaying her entrance for a day while guild officials did some experimenting. They weren't sure how many simultaneous races could happen at once, and the Guild Master looked like he was ready to lock Olivander inside some kind of sweat shop so he could produce more of the viewing constructs.

Gloria congratulated Gregory and Cooper on finishing their runs, and Cooper on his victory. She had grown to enjoy their company, though their antics were often childish. After observing Olivander for a while, she expected that wouldn't be changing anytime soon. Olivander wasn't strictly childish, but he had a carefree attitude that his apprentices seemed to absorb and mirror.

The group decided to separate for the day, and Olivander reluctantly agreed to portal Gregory and his family back to Demerin for the evening. Jeremy decided to join them, as he had friends in the town he would like to visit.

Helena was a kind and wonderful woman, and she made sure to invite Gloria for dinner at their home, but Gloria admitted to herself that spending a few days with the boisterous bunch had been fraying her nerves more than usual. She politely declined and Helena took it graciously and left with a quick hug. She did like that woman.

When the portal zipped shut and the room was left relatively quiet, she jumped when someone started talking to her.

"So, Gloria, would you like some time to yourself, or would you like to get into a little trouble with me?" Olivander asked. "I can't promise it will be interesting, but I guarantee it won't be too loud. You know I can conjure earplugs for you? The Temerin's are not shy about letting themselves be heard, and I may have sealed off my own hearing a time or two."

Gloria hesitated. She was a magician herself, and the opportunity to tag along with one of the foremost experts on magic in the entire world was an opportunity that she probably shouldn't miss. But she was tired.

"Wait!" he said. "I can see it in your eyes, no need to try to placate me. I can handle rejection. You just enjoy the city and relax. Can I send you anywhere?"

She almost asked for a portal back to the Golden Goose, but she stopped herself. She could relax and take it easy by herself any time. She had joined this journey for adventure, so she should waste her opportunities.

A little caution wouldn't hurt though.

"What kind of trouble are you going to be getting into?"

Olivander smiled at her and opened a portal. "I have promised to talk to a few people in the city. What we find might be interesting. Or it might not. Feel free to change your mind at any time. I can always send you back to the inn."

She gave him a nod and walked through the portal.

When she found herself in a dim underground tunnel, she had second thoughts.

Olivander's head poked through the portal. "I do apologize, can you wait here a minute? I need to collect someone else."

She nodded and he disappeared. The portal closed and she found herself alone in a completely unknown location. For all she knew she was in the sewers beneath the capital. She heard whistling up the tunnel, and a pair of men appeared out of the gloom.

"What's this?" one of the men said.

"It looks like a pretty young girl has lost her way. Perhaps we can be of assistance? What do you think, Mel?"

She jumped when another voice replied from the tunnel behind her.

"Oh, I can think of a few places we can take her."

Gloria took in the situation and calmed herself. There was no point in waiting, so she tried to scan the strangers with her perception. The first two were steel rank, like herself. She couldn't read the man they had called Mel. That either meant he was much stronger than she was, or he had an ability to mask his power from casual observation. It wasn't a stretch for the type of person who liked to slink around in the dark.

If they had been a little weaker, she wouldn't have bothered, but it was worth trying to talk to them.

"Good day, Gentlemen. I am just waiting for some acquaintances. I need no assistance or directions, but thank you for offering."

"Who are you waiting for? Maybe we know 'em?"

"A magician, Olivander. He just portaled me here and went to collect our other companion."

The men were still steadily approaching, and she readied a spell in her mind.

"Ohhh. You hear that, Bill? She's waiting for her magician friend. He can open portals."

"Wow, must be pretty powerful," Bill said. They clearly didn't believe her or didn't care.

She decided to act.

"Divine Wall!"

Across the tunnel where the two men were approaching, a golden shield appeared, covering the tunnel so they couldn't get any closer or attack her.

She spun around on Mel. He was a short man with a narrow face and slight features, but a dagger flashed in his hand.

"Ohh, she's got some fight! Let's see if you're more than just a pretty face."

Golden power flowed into Gloria's hand, and she struck.

* * *

Olivander stepped through a portal back into the tunnel where he left Gloria.

"Thank you for coming. I wanted your perspective on a few things," he said to the man following behind him. Raz Hafsen, the Shadowhand.

Olivander pulled up short when he found Gloria hog tying a man with glowing golden rope and then using her foot to roll him over to another pair of incapacitated individuals.

"My, you have been busy, haven't you?"

She turned to him and frowned. "You were just going to leave me here? What if these three had been stronger?"

"It's fine. I sensed them when I stuck my head through. It wasn't anything you couldn't handle. And look! You seem to have handled the situation just fine. Now, I should make introductions. Gloria, this is Raz Hafsen, local criminal and man who owes me a favor or two. Raz, this is Lady Gloria Westing. She's from Serin and her family runs a manufacturing empire and, judging by what I'm seeing in front of me, hog wrangling business."

"Mr. Hafsen, a pleasure to meet you. I assure you we do not have any interests in hogs or their wrangling."

"Please, just call me Raz, Lady Westing. Looks like you ran into the underground's resident idiots. I hope they didn't give you too much trouble. They should know better than to prowl so close to my brother's shop."

"Oh, hey Shadowhand. We didn't do nothing! We were just walking along, minding our own business, and this lady here attacked us."

"Will those bindings fade on their own?" Raz asked Gloria.

"In a few hours."

"I say we leave them. A few hours on the ground like that should make them remember this."

"No."

Raz turned towards Gloria with a confused expression.

"If I hadn't been strong or had friends coming, who knows what these cretins would have done. They aren't fit to wander the dankest tunnels of the city, let alone the streets. They should be punished accordingly."

"I agree," Olivander said. "Raz, you may spend a little too much time with the criminal element. Allow me to take care of this trash, and we can move on."

Olivander opened a portal and casually tossed the three men into it. He stepped through after them into a constables office.

"Ah, sorry, my aim was a little off."

He was standing on top of a desk in a meeting room, where several constables had clearly been interrupted by the sudden appearance of three bound men. The criminals had rolled off the desk onto the floor and were groaning softly. Gloria must have given them a few bruises.

"If you wouldn't mind, these three threatened a young woman in the underground, she was forced to subdue them. I'm sure they're probably wanted for other things anyway. I trust you can handle it from here?"

He aimed his question at the man at the front of the room who appeared to be in charge. The man took a moment but nodded slowly.

"Wonderful! Carry on then!" he disappeared back through his portal.

Gloria and Raz were chatting when he returned.

"Yeah it was all my fault. We promised my brother a chat with Olivander, but that was more Burtrum's promise than my own."

"So what do you normally do? I take it selling information isn't normally it."

"I consider myself a collector."

Olivander laughed. "A collector of purses and coin pouches no doubt. Make sure to keep your eye on your possessions around Shadowhand here. He'll rob you blind if you let him."

Raz looked away, and Gloria looked like she didn't believe Olivander, but she still patted her coin purse just to reassure herself.

"Oh don't be like that. I didn't say you were a bad person. Come along you two, we have an appointment with a man who is in desperate need of a new name."