"Wait, no, back up a second," Andy said, shaking his head. "So you're a Dwarf for real? Like, Lord of the Rings Dwarf? I always thought you were just tiny, dude! That's awesome!"

They were back in the kitchen, sitting around the table. Derek was trying to tell Andy about what he had gone through since going back into the mine to retrieve Mjoolnir, but it was hard for both of them to hold back their enthusiasm.

"Yeah, I thought it was crazy too. I'm a Royal Dwarf, apparently," Derek answered. "I'm not so sure what that means though, since I haven't met any other dwarves."

"Wow, Royal Dwarf, huh?" Andy said with a grin. "Don't expect me to call you Your Highness or whatever. You're still just a dweeb."

"Haha, very funny."

"I wonder though," Andy continued, more seriously, "if there are more like you out there. I mean, you were born here, right?"

Derek looked around the table anxiously, and the Exiles looked back at him. They had all come together to meet Andy—Greg hadn't been very enthusiastic about it—but mostly they had let the two friends catch up. Now, though, they were getting back into their earlier discussion.

With a big sigh, Derek answered: "No, I wasn't. I mean, I'm not really sure what happened, but I think I'm from Kimevis, like these guys. It's kinda hard to explain, but apparently a Fairy Queen saved me from someone who was trying to kidnap me or something and sent me here to protect me. I don't know much beyond that."

Andy whistled, his eyes wide. "Dude, that's messed up. How did you find out?"

Derek gave a short, humorless laugh. "That's a long story. Basically, I'm now the host of the last generations of Fairy Queens. Their spirits live inside me. When their last host died, they asked me to become their host so I could help them revive the last host by becoming a True Spirit."

Andy sat there, gawking at Derek for a few moments before he answered: "If it was someone else, I'd say you're taking the piss out of me, but you don't have the imagination for a prank like that. I barely understood half of what you said."

"I wish I was," said Derek, shaking his head. "The last host, Elle, was a good friend."

The mood lowered with that. Even Cree, who had been in high spirits since waking up, lowered his head.

"Oh, man, I'm sorry," Andy said sorrowfully, reaching out to place a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Thanks, man. She meant a lot."

A few moments passed where they all sat like that, letting the grief be felt. Then, suddenly, Andy clapped his hands loudly, calling everyone's attention. "Okay, that definitely sucks, but you said there's a way to bring her back. So, what can I do?"

"What?" Derek asked, confused. He looked around at the Exiles and they all had the same confused expression, except for Cree, who seemed to be smiling.

Andy grinned and patted his bicep comically, like a gym bro. "Well, you don't think I'm going to sit around watching while my best friend goes on a quest to save a Queen, do you? Who do you think I am?"

Derek couldn't help but grin back. Andy always had a way of cheering him up.

"Guess I forgot who I was talking to for a moment. Before that though, I need to talk to these guys a bit," Derek said, pointing to the Exiles. "Do you mind waiting outside for a bit? My room is the third door from the left, you can wait there if you want."

Andy nodded. "Sure man, take your time." He turned to the other Exiles and said: "I'm sorry if I disturbed you guys. If you want, you can take it out on me after you've finished up here. Don't go too hard on him though; he may seem rough, but he's just a big softie." He gave a big smile to the other Exiles and left without waiting for an answer.

Derek sighed. Now for the hard part, he thought, bracing himself.

"Okay, guys. You can ask me anything you want now. If you want to punish me for lying, I promise not to fight back."

They sat quietly for some time. The seconds stretched, making Derek's heart pump with anxiety.

"Derek," Neri said, softly. Derek turned to look at her, and she had a small smile on her face. "It's okay. It's like Cree said—it makes sense for you to have kept this hidden. We're not gonna punish you." She spoke the last phrase while glaring at Greg, who still seemed to be rather angry.

"Big Bro," Grig started, turning toward his brother. "We've had to hide too, remember?"

That made Greg's expression soften. Seeing this, Grig continued. "Remember how everyone kept calling us smart-ass and chasing us around before they expelled us?"

Greg lowered his head and nodded.

"You were the one that stood up for me all those times, Big Bro," Grig continued. "Derek saved us and helped us become the Dungeon Rulers. Can't you let it go?"

"But he brought an intruder!" Greg wailed, which made him look just like a child trying to justify his latest playground fight.

Neri rolled her eyes and Cree gave a small whistle that, to Derek, sounded a lot like a chuckle. If the brothers noticed, they didn't comment on it.

"Yeah, I know," Grig said, still trying to convince his brother. "But he also dealt with him and even brought him here where we could end him if we wanted to, right?"

Greg sniffed. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He lifted his gaze toward Derek. "Sorry, Dwarf boy. You're okay. Here."

The ogre brothers stood up and went to the Core. When they touched it, a notification appeared for Derek.

Congratulations! You have completed the Quest [Find the Intruder!] (Normal, Uncommon)! [Greg and Grig, the Glock Brothers] are very pleased with you, and won't squash you like a bug!

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Sorry for giving you a hard time, Dwarf boy.

You've been given Secondary Authority over the Ether Core.

All Ether Regeneration is improved by 300% while within the 100-meter range of the Ether Core!

You can now use Basic Functions of the Core!

"Wait, I'd lost my Secondary Authority?" Derek asked, confused.

"Yes, because the Ruler changed," Grig answered.

"And I wasn't sure yet who I'd give it to," Greg added, looking chastised. "But you can have it. You're a good lad, Dwarf boy." Grig nodded.

"Thanks, guys. You're pretty cool," Derek said, smiling at the brothers.

"Now that that's taken care of," Neri said, joining the conversation, "go on! You and Andy must have a lot to talk about. We can live without you for now." Neri smiled at him, then made a shooing motion toward his room. "Come on, it's not cool to keep your guest waiting."

Derek smiled. "You're the best, guys. Thank you. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to be stranded in a Dungeon with."

The Exiles all smiled at that.

Derek was about to leave when he got a new message.

Hey, everyone! Enigma here!

Hope you're liking the changes to your, um, pretty world!

I'm just stopping by to tell y'all that the Grace Period is over! No more easy time for you folks ;) now you'll have to really fight for it!

Also, I wanted to let you all know that in a couple of months, we'll have a really fun event! OMG, I honestly can't wait! So work hard for it, 'kay?

See you!

Derek looked at the others, confused.

"I'd forgotten about the Grace Period..." Neri said. Before anyone asked, she continued. "It's a period where everyone raises their Level about three times faster than normal. That's how we were leveling up like crazy in here. And this event it mentioned must be the Origin Dungeon Trial."

"Things just got harder..." Derek moaned.

"Yes, but we'll manage," Neri said with a shooing motion. "Go already!"

Derek laughed and went into his room, where Andy was sitting on his bed, looking around, amazed.

"Dude, this room is sick! You've been living the high life here, huh?"

Derek barked a laugh at that. "Ha! I wish. I lost count of how many times I almost died in this freaking Dungeon."

Andy nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It's the same way up there. Did you get that message just now?"

"I did. She must mean the Origin Dungeon Trial. Neri said that this Grace Period allowed everyone to level up faster, so it should be harder now."

"Shit. But enough about that for now! I'm dying to know, which Class did you get?"

Derek laughed. It was like they were kids talking about a new game. "I'm a 'Warrior of the Forge'. What about you? Do you have a Profession?"

"Of course you are!" Andy said, laughing. "I don't think I've ever seen a Class more fitting than that. I got 'Wind Walker' for my Class because I started with my Profession, 'Taekwondo', at Level 8. I trained like hell and got it maxed out quickly enough; the battles helped a lot, too. Even got the Meta leveled a bit. I guess it's due to me being sixth dan."

"That's awesome, dude! Mine wasn't maxed but was pretty close, too. I made a smithy in here for myself though, so it wasn't hard to level it up."

"You made a smithy? How?"

"The Ether Core. Did you see that big glowing thing in the middle of the Hall? It's the Core of the Dungeon. Whoever controls the Core, controls the Dungeon itself. I'm kind of like the second in command of it, so I can make some stuff using its Ether."

"Oh, yeah! We've got one of those, too! I didn't know Dungeon Cores could also do this stuff, though. Is that how you got this room?"

"Yeah, but Elle was the one to make this. I just made the smithy." He took a long look at his friend. "You're being very cool about all of this. You just saw a twin ogre, a Dolphid, and a Goblina. Shouldn't you be freaking out?"

Andy waved it aside. "Nah, man. They're your friends, that's all I need. Plus, I already got used to a freak like you, so."

"Haha, you're so funny I think I'm gonna throw up."

"But seriously though, when I saw the Race tab, I imagined there would be stuff other than Humans out there."

"Still, that's cool of you to be so, well, cool. Anyway. Do you wanna see the smithy?"

"Hell yeah, I do! Man, I've missed watching you work. You gotta tell me more about what you've been up to, dude."

"No way, it's your turn now. I've been talking nonstop, you go for a bit."

"Haha okay, okay. So, I was doing my run like normal, right..."

***

Time passed quickly as the two friends caught up to one another. Derek showed Andy around the Royal Hall and told him all about his adventures so far; how he had found his Mjoolnir just to lose it immediately after, how he had found Elle and the other Exiles, and everything that had happened since then. He went into detail about the battles with the Sin Spawns, the Broodmothers, and the Wrath Incarnate. Andy, on the other hand, had very different stories to tell.

He told Derek how the landscape above had changed completely, how he'd found some people in the same desperate situation as he was, and how they, together, had found what he called a Neo-Village: a safe zone created by the System, where monsters and animals were kept at bay. Andy had quickly climbed their ranks in terms of strength and was now the strongest person in the Village, which was called EtherealisR311. Derek laughed at that, saying the name was not very creative, but Andy just shrugged. "The system gave it, not us. There's a bunch of other Etherealis, though, so most people call it Rell, because of the numbers."

Derek also learned that there was a Guide in there; something like a hologram that Enigma had sent to help them understand the System and navigate their new life. The Neo-Village also had a Core, just like the Dungeon, and it functioned in pretty much the same way, except that the Ruler—or, in this case, Village Chief—was chosen by the Villagers. Their Village Chief was a Dutch woman named Heleen Averesch, a businesswoman of some success before the Awakening. When they all came together at the Neo-Village, she had taken the role of leader and nobody bothered to question her. She was quick-witted and charming, and a born leader. Andy seemed to trust her a lot, Derek noticed.

"We all trust each other," Andy said when Derek mentioned it. "There wasn't much of a choice; it was either trust each other or starve to death. Or, I don't know, get eaten or something."

They'd been talking for some time when Andy suddenly became serious. "Okay, man. Now I have a pretty good idea of what happened to you, and you have a pretty good idea of what happened to me. When are you going to tell me about this 'becoming a True Spirit' thing? The Guide hasn't told us about that."

"Yeah, I guess there's a reason for that," Derek sighed. "There's this thing called an Origin Dungeon Trial. Within a year after the Planet's Awakening, usually just a couple of months, Enigma will select a million people to participate in a big game or something. Everyone will compete against each other and the last three standing will become the Planet's True Spirits. They're like admins in those online games. They regulate the amount of EXP each person gets when killing monsters so that the Planet can recover some of its Ether, and they turn some people into Chosen. Those people don't have the usual limitations on EXP, but I'm still not sure how that works."

"And you're planning to be one of them?" Andy asked, wide-eyed.

Derek nodded. "Enigma will choose half of the participants based on Level and Race, a quarter based on other stuff like Professions, and the rest is random. So, in a couple of months, I'll have to be one of the top 500 thousand people on this Planet regarding Level and Race."

Andy furrowed his brow at that. "What about your Profession?"

"What about it?" Derek asked, confused.

"Why can't you focus on increasing your Profession? You said a quarter of the participants are based on that, and you're already great at it!"

Derek almost slapped himself. "I hadn't even thought of that! Come on, let's talk to Neri!"