I grabbed a crystal tablet and took a ton of notes while watching the sirens and naiads practice. They were well coordinated, and effective, at least in an aquatic environment. The naiads tired easily when outside a water source, and they relied on ambient water to power their spells. The sirens were in slightly better shape, they could use their charm magic outside the water, but they were still much more agile within it.

Overall they were excellent against aquatic dungeons, but better defenders against the terrestrial ones.

While I was taking notes I realized it had been quite a while since the last time I analysed the strengths and weaknesses of a dungeon. When I first started adventuring I did analyse the defences of the amateur dungeons, with the intention of helping the teams I joined. Unfortunately very few of them appreciated it, or even bothered to listen, so at some point I just stopped doing it.

I was so focused on taking my notes that I didn’t notice Kass come up behind me and look over my shoulder. “That’s a lot of notes,” she said, making me nearly jump out of my skin. “Did you really get that much information from just watching us practice?”

Once my heart rate came down, I nodded and showed her my notes. “It might seem excessive to you, but once we start facing off against other dungeons I’ll need all this information to create coherent strategies.”

Kass looked at the mass of information on the crystal tablet, then back at me, slightly suspiciously. “If you say so.”

“I do say so! You wouldn’t want to lead your staff against a desert-themed floor, would you?” I said, defensively.

“I’d like to think you’re smarter than that, even without all the notes,” she replied with a smirk.

“I AM smarter than that,” I grumbled in response, “I just like having the extra data just in case.”

Kass smiled, much wider this time. “I’m just teasing you. If you’re taking down all that information I’m sure you have a use for it. Is there anything else you need to know?” She asked, gently passing the tablet back to me.

I quickly reviewed my notes, I had everything I needed to know about the staff and the floor, so I shook my head. “I think I’ve got everything I need. If I think of anything later I’ll ask you.”

She laid one hand on my head, then gently messed up my hair. “In that case, I’ll see you later. I’m going to hold a staff meeting, and now that George isn’t pretending to be an adventurer he’s getting antsy.”

It was true. George enjoyed himself immensely, helping test the Baths’ defenses, teaming up with some of the staff in order to mimic an adventuring group attempting to break through to the next level. Unfortunately now that the fun was over he was stomping around like a grump.

I frowned as I watched the overgrown arachnid. He attempted to climb a wet statue out of boredom, slipped and fell off, then hissed at it like it was somehow to blame.

I sighed, and placed a hand against my head. I wish that was the stupidest thing I’d seen him do, but the truth is it was far from. “George, please leave the scenery alone. It's time to go.” He huffed, but finally left the statue alone and headed my way.

I turned back to Kass, and pulled the taller woman into a short hug. “Thanks for everything today,” I said softly.

She seemed surprised for a minute, but soon returned the embrace. “Anytime,” she replied before we separated. I waved to the rest of the staff, who had gathered in the pool on this level following the practice, and disconnected.

It took me a few seconds to regain my bearings after waking up in the projection room. I’d nearly forgotten that I’d started the day in Kassandra’s projection room, instead of my own. After pushing myself to my feet, I headed over to the booth to disconnect George. As soon as he came to, he made a purring noise and pushed his head into my hand.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Yeah yeah, I remember my promise. You’ll get your steak. I honestly don’t get your obsession with cow meat, but whatever.” As we headed to the door I looked down at my fuzzy little companion. “So, what should we do after lunch?” I asked. He just gurgled in response.

About two hours later I headed back to my projection room, where I found Bella studying something intently at one of the desks. She raised an eye as soon as George and I walked in. “Why is George carrying around a bone?” she asked.

“It’s the remains of his lunch, and he’s still trying to get every single bit of meat and marrow out of it.” George just purred contentedly, collapsing in a corner to continue gnawing on his prize.

“What are you doing?” Bella asked. “You gave everyone on staff the day off, since they had to work extra hours in order to prepare for that adventuring team.”

“I was looking for you, actually. Imagine my surprise when I found you in the office, on your day off.”

Bella blushed, bringing a touch of color to her pale face. “I’m not doing anything important,” she said. “You could even say I’m doing research, just like you!” I raised an eyebrow at that, then stepped around the desk so I could see the screen.

As soon as I saw the screen I burst into a smile. “You’re watching dungeon runs, four at a time.”

“It’s important work! Lanivia wouldn’t have known about you if I hadn’t stumbled across your runs,” she replied with a huff.

“Hey, I’m not criticizing, but you could just watch them in one of the lounges instead. I’m sure it would be more comfortable,” I replied.

“I don’t like monopolizing them like that… plus the lounges just have basic displays, they’re not capable of streaming multiple runs at the same time.” I didn’t know what to say to that, so I stared at her in silence for a minute, long enough to make us both a little uncomfortable. “Why were you looking for me today?” she asked sheepishly.

“Oh, right. I wanted to know how to get to the Preserve, and didn’t know who to ask. I figured I should visit it at least once; maybe introduce myself to Voss while I’m there.”

Bella frowned slightly, “I should have thought of that, made an appointment for you to visit, but if you want to just take a look it wouldn’t hurt. It’s actually not that hard to get to the Preserve, you just need to know where to look. You remember when Kass and I first brought you in, I pointed out that hallway leading to the Forest projection room? It’s down that way. Since Voss has trouble actually getting inside the building he has a booth on the surface instead.”

“I vaguely remember that, and I’m sure I can find it again. Thanks Bella! Enjoy watching your dungeon runs.”

The Banshee waved half-heartedly as I turned to leave, already getting absorbed by the broadcasts again. I signalled George, who grumbled since he hadn’t fully finished with his bone, but he still got up and followed me out of the room.

When we arrived back at the atrium I paused for a moment, trying to remember where the stairs were. They weren’t that hard to find, it’d just been awhile since I last used them. Once I was back upstairs though, it was easy to find that first hallway, and make my way back towards the employee entrance.

The hallway was actually a fairly busy place, and I passed a dozen people either coming or going. Some had shopping bags, obviously coming back from town, while others seemed to be heading the same direction I was, to the Preserve.

As soon as I arrived at the intersection I noticed I could vaguely smell fresh air down the passageway. George must have noticed too, because he took off like a shot.

“Hey, George, get back here!” I yelled, but the arachnid just kept going. I had to ignore the amused glances from the other people in the hallway and sprint after the headstrong spider. The corridor was actually a little longer than I expected, and after about two hundred meters it split into a short hallway full of projection rooms, and a stairway upwards to what appeared to be the outside.

George was much faster than I was. I’d lost sight of him when he’d rounded the corner and headed up the stairs, so I had no choice but to sprint up the stairs after him if I wanted any chance to catch him. The top of the stairs opened up into a wide open, well-maintained garden area. There were a dozen flowerbeds, and paths that led around the area to various benches and picnic areas. Right in the middle of the path, twenty feet in front of me, George was suspended in the air. The big spider struggled for a few seconds, flailing his legs in an attempt to get free, before giving up and letting out a whine of defeat.

Behind George was a massive figure which resembled an ancient oak tree, forty feet tall, covered in blackened bark, and open sores leaking a sickly green sap. He leaned closer, holding George out in front of him. “Is this yours?”