With Salazar's direction, Alex sketched out a quick map of the aetherology campus on a small scrap of paper, along with key rooms of interest in two buildings. Archie had disappeared, with Zack promising to make some quick modifications to help prepare him for the task ahead.

"Anything you guys say, I'll make sure he knows when I respawn him," Zack assured them, his focus drifting as he got to work upgrading Archie with new spells and powers.

"First things first: Snow's office is in the main building. Third floor, room five," Salazar explained, writing room three-oh-five on the building in question to denote the office. "That is where he will be if he's on campus working. If you want his cane, you should check there. He lives off-campus, so I don't advise trying to break into his actual home. He may be keeping some of those cores you're after in his office, if he has any, but I wouldn't know if he does. The only core you claim to know he has is the one in his cane. He has used that cane longer than I've known him, and so you have to assume he knows what it is."

Next, Salazar drew a star on one of the squares that represented a building. "This is the aetherology lab, the one you need a keyed ID card to enter. You can get an ID card either from a researcher, a post-grad student, or from the cleaning staff. Whichever you think is easier is the one you should go for. Just be warned, a cleaner's ID might not have access to every room in the building. A post-grad student might also be barred from some rooms. If you can, grab multiple IDs to be safe, but be prepared to break some locks."

"Where do you think cores would be stored in the research building?" Alex asked.

"Impossible to say. Don't forget, I never did a post-grad study. My time in the aetherology research building was incredibly limited, mostly to tours under close supervision so I could see what the masters program was like," Salazar explained, crossing his arms. "Each lab likely has their own cabinet of supplies and specimesn. I don't advise checking all of them, it would be a colossal waste of time."

"I got that covered," Zack assured them. "One second."

Archie suddenly reappeared beneath Zack's wisp, staggering as he was respawned in place. He was still dressed in the looser, more casual clothing he was wearing when Zack despawned him, and quickly rubbed the wrinkles out of his shirt as he checked to make sure he was all in one piece.

"Archie, can you confirm the two new spell nodes I gave you?" Zack asked.

Archie nodded. "Wicked Strike and… Command Undead? Why on earth would I need that?"

"You won't. But I think you can extrapolate a modifier that makes it more useful, something to sense mana and aether," Zack explained. "The way Command Undead works is by linking the commander's mana to that of its subordinate units, ergo you should be able to downgrade it into a basic magical sense power. In theory. If not, I'll despawn you and remove it, since it won't be worth the mana investment."

Archie frowned, then his eyes unfocused as he stared off into the distance. "Huh. You're right."

"As always, why do you sound so surprised?"

"I have to go down a few tiers on the tree, but there are two potential downgrades that fit this need. Detect Mana and Detect Aether. Functionally the same, save for the magic they detect."

"You're going to want Mana specifically. Cores will be drinking in aether and spitting out mana, if they're spitting any out at all," Zack said. "Hmm… Actually, you'll want both, since gaps in the aether might be a sign of hidden cores with no influence. Pick one. I'll despawn you, give you Command Undead again, and then you can grab the other."

"Zack, are you sure? That is a very large investment of mana into me," Archie noted.

"I can spare it," Zack assured him.

While the dungeon and his mob were having a back and forth discussing how best to empower him, Salazar and Alex watched in mild fascination. The display done, the two returned to the map.

"Where should I best park to avoid detection?" Alex asked.

"The farther from campus, the better," Salazar said. "Ideally you should remain hidden in the fields outside of security range. Archie has mobility and stealth powers, yes? It should be little trouble for him to move undetected through the fields and campus."

Alex nodded, and Zack bobbed in place as he respawned Archie.

"Will security have ID cards capable of accessing every room in the research building?" Alex asked.

"Yes, but I doubt it's worth the risk to get one. There are always multiple security guards on duty, and it won't be easy to access the security offices undetected. Much safer to go for custodial staff."

"I have both detection powers," Archie declared, as he finished taking shape once again. His eyes briefly unfocused as he poured a few points of mana in upgrading his other abilities, then joined Alex and Salazar around the table. "Where are the custodial offices?" he asked, quickly jumping into a question to fill in gaps in his knowledge.

Salazar marked the building with an X. "They're close to the west entrance of the main building. Locked with a conventional key, though."

"Not a problem," Archie assured him.

"Why? Can you pick locks?" Salazar asked.

"Something like that."

Salazar frowned suspiciously, but brushed passed his silent questions as he continued. "The last line of defense on campus are the wards placed periodically throughout ever building. Magical enchantments designed to keep hostile forces and undesirables out." He grabbed another paper and started to sketch a circle and triangle configuration. "Most will look like this. They're simple detection spells linked to the security offices to alert them of intruders. There are other defenses specifically designed to prevent monster incursion or manifestation, but I'm not sure how they will react to your presence."

Archie scratched his chin and glanced up at Zack's wisp. He said nothing as he narrowed his eyes, then glanced back down at the paper. "I think I can handle the detection wards, but it's a toss-up whether or not the monster wards will detect me. Most likely they would be keyed to aetheric manifestation—elementals and spirits, so to speak. I am composed of mana, not aether. It's hard to tell whether they'll see me or not without properly examining them myself."

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Salazar nodded, and returned to the map. "I think that is everything I know that might prove useful in your endeavors. Is there anything else I can give you?"

Archie scratched his chin. "Better armour for a stealth user might be nice…" He mumbled.

"Oh, I've got that covered," Zack chuckled. "Follow me!"

Zack's wisp bobbed excitedly in the air to draw attention to him, then zipped over to the forge area where the towering stone draconid was already hard at work. Her craggy fist was hammering away at something that looked like a trench coat, but the fibers glittered with a rainbow sheen when she held it up.

"Try this on," Zack advised, as the draconid held the coat out to Archie.

The hare slipped his arms through the sleeves and adjusted the coat, making sure it fit him properly. His eyebrows shot up as he realized that it was perfectly sized for his body. The sleeves hugged his arms without restricting movement, while the hem draped down to his knees. "This feels of remarkable quality, but I'm unfamiliar with this material."

"It's one of the materials I got from Ember when I absorbed her. It's called aetherweave," Zack explained. "Basically it's a fiber spun from magical plants instead of regular ones, then woven together with thin strands of glass and metals. The resulting fabric is incredibly expensive to make—well, expensive for anyone that isn't a dungeon—but is incredibly good at holding enchantments."

Salazar's eyebrows shot up. "You got a material that potent? From absorbing one of those cores?"

Sensing his concern, that Zack might simply want the cores to absorb from himself, Alex quickly stepped in. "Please understand, it was a life or death scenario. Zack doesn't want to absorb other cores, but at least he's putting what he got from that core to good use."

"I am not judging, I'm just impressed. Aetherweave is monstrously expensive to make because aether-infused reeds don't grow well in captivity," Salazar said, crossing his arms. "If you can produce a steady flow of aetherweave armour, you will have a ready customerbase in adventurers everywhere."

Zack made a noise like clearing his throat, drawing everyone's attention back to Archie and his new coat again. "As I was saying, this coat is very good at holding enchantments. In this case, enchantments are just spell nodes I've already got access to. I've taken the liberty of putting two on it: the first is a spell you already know, Archie, which is your upgraded stealth ability. This way, you won't need to keep it constantly running and burning your mana."

"I appreciate that. What is the second?" Archie asked.

"Defensive reinforcements. No offense, you're kind of squishy. I would like you to come back to me in one piece."

A smirk tugged on Archie's lips. "Aw, Zack, you really care?"

Zack sputtered in response but made no attempt to deny the teasing remark. While the others were snickering at Zack's obvious discomfort, Ember had already pulled out a new pair of daggers for Archie to take.

"These use a spell node I got from Ember," Zack explained. "They'll turn super heated when mana is run through the blades."

Archie took the new weapons appreciatively, replacing the daggers belted at his waist with the new blades. Salazar was chewing his thumbnail as he eyed the weapon, and before he had the chance to ask if he could have a pair, Zack already answered him.

"Archie is one of my mobs, so he gets special priveleges. If you want new weapons, you'll have to earn them in the dungeon just like everyone else."

Salazar rolled his eyes but didn't protest. Ember continued rolling out new equipment for Archie, including a light leather jack for extra protection and armoured pants. When they were done, Archie was looking like a whole new rabbit. The armour slowed him down a little bit, but not so much as to be worriesome. Better yet, the defense it offered—without taking away from its stealth capabilities—would be essential to ensuring Archie made it home uninjured.

Satisfied that his favourite rabbit was good to go, Zack told Alex and Archie to say their goodbyes and prepare to leave. Alex shook hands with Greg and Salazar, both of whom wished him luck on their endeavor. Archie took Chandra aside, holding her hands as he kissed her goodbye. Zack made a concentrated effort not to watch, but it was difficult not to notice the emotions flaring in his mob.

Zack couldn't help but wonder how Archie was able to feel emotions such as sexual attraction when he was a completely different species and lacked sexual organs of any kind, but he decided it was probably not a question worth asking. Just because Zack didn't understand it, didn't mean they weren't real.

With goodbyes and said, Zack watched his two friends leave. Felt it the moment Archie left his influence, like a gaping hole in his chest where something should have been. Before long, Alex's car vanished from sight, and they were well and truly gone.

Zack let out a long, drawn out sigh. He knew that he had done everything he could to prepare Archie for the task ahead, but that didn't make him any less concerned. He had just sent a part of himself, the one person on this planet who truly knew and understood him, into a monstrously dangerous situation.

"They'll be alright," Salazar said, trying to sound reassuring.

"Assuming you gave them good information and didn't just send them into a trap," Zack growled, sweeping his attention back into his dungeon. "You… You did give them good information, right?"

Salazar shrugged. "The way I see it, we have no choice but to trust each other. You have to trust that I gave you good intel, and I have to trust that you won't try to kill me every time I set foot in here."

"I'm not a death trap," Zack grumbled, offended.

"No, but even you are cognizant of the danger within your walls. Otherwise what point is there in having healer mobs?" Salazar smirked, but the expression looked forced and half-hearted. "The way I see it, trust begets more trust. You have something I need in order to continue my own progression, and I have something you need in order to… liberate the cores, I believe you said was your goal? It's a mutually beneficial exchange. If I didn't hold up my end of the bargain, and your friends died, I would have no right to complain when you sought vegeance."

"But what if you told the truth and they die anyway?"

Salazar shook his head. "I gave you the most up to date information I had. It's not perfect, but it's the best I got. In that instance, I suppose I would have to trust that you believed me and wouldn't seek to kill me."

Zack made a grumbling noise again, which was interrupted as Chandra and Greg joined them.

"I have every faith that they'll be fine," Greg assured Zack, crossing his massive arms over his chest. "Alex is a lot stronger than he looks, and Archie… Well, he has something to come back to."

"Yeah, a dungeon who needs him!" Zack declared.

Chandra raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Greg, but neither of them decided to comment on Zack's misunderstanding. Instead, they turned their attention to Salazar, who nodded graciously to each of them in turn.

"I still don't like you," Chandra growled. "I hope you know your quicksand trap was murder on my fur. I was dusting sand off my legs for days. No amount of bathing was enough to get it off!"

"I apologize. I was just doing my job."

"Well, do a worse job next time," she snapped, raising her nose haughtily.

Salazar nodded and turned to Greg. The two men shared a hard look with one another, before sharing a quiet, understanding nod. Greg didn't need to admonish Salazar for what had happened between them, and nor did the elf feel the need to bring it up again. Instead, he once again turned his attention to the dungeon and cleared his throat.

"If it's all the same to you, I would like the opportunity to run one of your rooms. It's going to be a long time before we hear back from Alex and Archie, so I would use the time wisely to train and prepare. Can you recommend a room that might be adequate to my skill and level?"

"The spider warren is your best bet. I recently modified it, but it should be challenging enough if you tackled it alone," Zack said. "Also, it's only now reopen for guests to run, so nobody's booked it yet for the day. Speaking of which, places everyone. We've got customers."