"What did you say?" Derek asked, his voice shaking.

Greg locked his eye on Derek's. "I said that there is an intruder, a human intruder, in the Dungeon, and he's walking around shouting your name like he owns the place. Why is that?"

"I'm sure there's an explanation, Big Bro," Grig said, trying to appease his brother. "There's an explanation, right Derek?" he added, looking at Derek.

"Hang on, a human is walking in the Dungeon shouting my name?!" Derek asked, barely able to contain his excitement.

Greg stood up suddenly, glaring at Derek. "Answer me, Dwarf boy!" Greg shouted. "How does a human know your name?"

"Calm down, Greg!" Neri shouted, both her and Cree standing up.

"There is no need for this, Mr. Greg. This is a day for celebrations, despite everything." Cree added calmly. The ogre simply glared at them and crossed his arms, then looked at Derek.

Derek lifted his hands toward all of them in a calming motion. "Ok, I'll explain. This is exactly what I was about to tell you. Please, sit down." He tried to make his voice as calm and level as possible.

He looked at Neri and she nodded again, this time with a bit more enthusiasm. He sat down, with Cree promptly following him. Greg remained standing, with Grig looking at him and then at the Dwarf with a worried expression.

Derek let out another big sigh and continued. "Like I was saying, I haven't told you guys everything. I'm sorry, but I lied to you. I thought you wouldn't trust me if you knew this, but it was wrong of me to hide it.

"I'm not from Kimevis. I mean, I don't know where I'm really from—all that I know is that somehow, Elle's mother, Priscillia, saved me from being kidnapped when I was a baby. She couldn't explain much more in my dream, only that her power to protect me somehow ended, and she sent me here as a last resort to try and hide me from whatever danger I was in. I was raised by humans my entire life, here on Earth. I didn't even know I was a Dwarf until the Planet Awakened. That's why I don't know anything about the System and the Ether and everything else, why Elle liked me so much, and I think that's why there's a human upstairs shouting my name. He's probably a friend of mine, Andy.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but I have to go up there to see if he is who I think he is, and if he's safe. Can you guys let him in or something? I promise that we can talk more about it after, and then you can beat me up or whatever."

He looked at the four Exiles. He had made the entire speech practically in one breath, not knowing if he would be able to continue if he stopped. Now they all sat in silence, staring at him. Neri had a strange look on her face; it was somewhere between admiration and surprise. Cree was, as usual, very hard to read, but he seemed immersed in thought—at least that's what Derek could make of it. The ogres, however, looked like a truck had hit them dead-on. Derek guessed it must have been too much information for their brains to process in one day. Their mouths were comically open and, with their single eyes, their faces almost seemed to form two large number eights. Derek had to fake a little cough to hold his laughter at the thought.

"Wait," Greg started after a few seconds, sounding confused, "so you're human boy, not Dwarf boy?"

"No, you moron," Neri replied. "He's a Dwarf, he was just raised by humans. Come on, catch up."

"I was finding it increasingly strange how you did not seem to know anything about the customs in Kimevis," Cree said, slowly nodding. "That would explain it rather well."

"Look, I'm sorry for hiding all of this," Derek repeated, "but I have to check out if the human is my friend or not. Can this wait just a little bit?"

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"We're going too," Greg said, standing up. "I don't like strangers in my Dungeon."

"Our Dungeon, brother," Grig said, in a small voice. "And we can't leave, we still need to stabilize the Core."

Greg started to answer, but Neri cut him off. "Don't start a fight, you big brute. Let's just go already."

"Yes," Cree said, also standing up. "Let us be on our way. If it is your friend, Mr. Derek, we should not keep them waiting. If it is not, then we have an intruder to deal with." He shook his fins and even jumped a couple of times as if testing his newly cured body. His excitement was almost palpable.

Derek couldn't understand how they took the information so well. He wasn't taking it very well himself. "Thanks, guys. I promise we'll come back to this discussion."

"You bet on it, Dwarf boy. I'll keep an eye on you," Greg said, glaring at Derek, who just swallowed and nodded. Maybe not everyone was taking it so well. He didn't want to be on the bad side of the twins; he still remembered how they had almost killed him in just a few hits when he first met them. The brothers went to the Ether Core, placed their hand on it, closed their eyes for a few seconds, and two new messages appeared for Derek.

You have received the [Minor Blessing of the Core]! For the next 4 hours, all your Ether Regeneration is 50% faster, and you can ignore the penalties for losing all of your HP or AP.

You have received a Quest from [Greg and Grig, the Glock Brothers]!

[Find The Intruder!] (Normal, Uncommon)

Who dares enter our Dungeon?! Find them and bring them to us, NOW!

Objective: Find the puny human that entered uninvited! Intruder found: 0/1

Reward: Please the All-Mighty Lords of the Dungeon and don't get squashed like a bug! And some other stuff if we feel like it.

Failure: We'll squash you like a bug! Find them and bring them here in less than 5 hours!

It looked like Greg had given Derek quite the task. He could now feel the general direction of the intruder, just as he could feel his Mjoolnir when he lost it, or how he could sense the Exiles when Elleiswille told him to find them. The intruder, whoever they were, was on the first floor, a few kilometers away from him, and slowly moving.

"Now we can watch over you guys," Grig said, merrily. Greg simply glared at Derek.

"Can you guys give me the rest of the Dungeon map? Elle only gave me the map for the lower levels," Derek asked, remembering how he didn't have the map for the upper floor.

"Sure, here!" Grig said, placing his hand on the Core again. Derek checked his map to be sure, and it now showed him the full layout of the Dungeon, including the first floor. Based on the general direction of the intruder, he shouldn't be that far from the exit, but they were slowly moving further into the Dungeon.

"Why didn't she give you the whole map?" Neri asked, tilting her head.

"Don't know. Guess she didn't want me wandering around near the exit," Derek answered, still focused on the map.

"There is the matter of the Wrath Incarnate as well," Cree added. "It was on the upper floor before breaking through the ground and killing the Broodmother, if I recall correctly. Maybe Her Highness knew that there was a monster too strong for us there and did not want us to take unnecessary risks."

That made Derek look up from the map. He hadn't even thought of that. Neri nodded. "That makes sense."

"Can you go already?" Greg blurted, angrily. "This puny human walking around is making me angry."

"Oh, hang on, I forgot to check on something," Derek said, remembering how he hadn't seen what had changed since his Race Awakened.

He opened his Race tab, not fully knowing what to expect.

Race: [Royal Dwarf] (Awakened)—level 5 (41%). The Dwarf Race is a Humanoid Race that prefers to live underground and is mostly found on Awakened Planets of Gamma and Beta Grades. Dwarfs are generally known for their sturdy bodies, outstanding craftsmanship, powerful earth magic, and relatively short statures. Biologically divided into those of Common, Noble, and Royal Blood, dwarves live in a strictly hierarchical society. Though you spent most of your life Dormant, you are now an Awakened, Derek Smith! That means your growth potential is even greater than it already was! Hooray!! :DD

Racial Talents: [Dwarf Senses], [Mineral Consumption], [Stone Body], [Earth Domain], [Royal Dwarf Bloodline].

The description has changed a bit, he thought, and I've gained two new Talents. Earth Domain must be the one I used against the Wrath Incarnate, but what's this other one?

Time was limited, so he decided to take a look at his Talents as they walked toward the intruder.

"Let's go, I'll look at this further while we walk," he said, leading the Goblina and the Dolphid toward the exit of the Hall.