Gus stared down at the stone in his palm. Afraid he had done something wrong; he looks at the rest of the group with pleading confusion. Mark finished his own wish in a whisper, he always has been a private guy, but one of Gus’ truest friends.

     Jamie looked over at the crystal. “Class? What does that mean? Like a student or… No way.”

     Billy Joe interjected, “I think it is!”

     “WHAT?!” Gus screamed out, his anger getting the better of him before he cooled it down. “Sorry, I just, I hate when someone does that, seriously. What is it?”

     Billy Joe spoke. “Class, like RPG class. Cleric, Monk, Fighter, all that. This is a Dungeon, there is a genie at the end, and there are challenges requiring at least archery and knife throwing according to Jamie. I think Will is handing out classes like a game master but… Honestly, after that, I’m just as lost as you. Any idea what it does?”

     Mark spoke up, “Maybe it’s a token, or a key or something?”

     Gus brought the stone close to his eye to look at it; tiny engravings overlapping. Symbols looking like letters making up words, like structures all layered on top of each other.

     The crystal glowed as Gus brought it closer to examine it. In a dim flash of light another scroll-like screen appeared in front of Gus.

     “What just happened?” Jamie asked, apprehension in their voice.

     Gus stared at the two-dimensional object.

     Class Stone Accessed.

     Would you like to acquire class:

     ‘Questlord.’

     WARNING!

     Accepting a class will remove the ability to permanently kill any sapient or sentient life. Measures will be taken to ensure this word becomes ‘Pact.’

     Do you accept great power?

     Yes./No.

     Gus stared at the screen. Re-read each word slowly, carefully, and for a third time, aloud to the rest of the group.

     “Huh, sounds like a trade-off but… Exactly what are you giving up?” Billy Joe asked.

     “What do you mean?” Gus asked, confused.

     “Like, how can it make you not kill? What will happen? Also, what happens if you want to one day or need to?” She thought aloud.

     Gus also thought. His mother was a butcher, his father died before he was born. They left their old home years ago to move to Barthel after…

     No, death has done nothing but harm others. Gus, just to make sure he couldn’t take it back pressed his choice.

     “YES!”

     Red energy coalesced around Gus, his form was hidden again as ribbons of red mana flaked off of him. Soon after, all the ribbons were gone yet nothing had seemingly changed.

     Gus stood with his pointed ears and light blue eyes, glowing orange heart and all. Only one thing happened.

     Congratulations Questlord!

     Skill gained:

     “Fires of Rebirth.”

     Sacrifice an equivalent amount of dead organic material to summon a familiar.

     Familiar skill gained.

     Total Familiar skills: 1

     Familiar selection will be unlocked upon acquisition of second Familiar skill.

     The two-dimensional scroll appears in front of his eyes. Only his this time; as Gus looked around the room it appeared no one else could see this one as they all look at him expectantly.

     “I uhm, I see another one of those old paper-looking things the little guy in front gave us.”

     After quickly telling the rest of the group what the screen said Jamie spoke up first.

     “Hm, maybe you’re a necromancer? It says you need dead organic material.” They said, as the entire group started walking into the main room.

     “Or what if you make an offering and some gigantic beast comes out of a portal?” Billy Joe mused aloud.

     Mark just grunted and nodded, hiding his mouth behind a hand so no one could see him snickering. Gus saw, Gus always saw their best friend. Mark stuck their hand in the gargoyle, muttering a wish for something none of the other three could hear and continued onward.

     Past the stone door, the maroon room was filled with people and penguins. Multiple tables had groups of five laughing and drinking something out of a large goblet. Large legs of turkey and other foods were brought to tables as Billy Joe let out a long whistle.

     “Dang, this is somethin’,” The Fomorian mused.

     A short penguin waddled up to the four of them. “Oh, only four, well, at least you are mostly here. I will find you a table while you find the fifth member of your group.”

     The penguin had a smile somehow on his beaked face and a glint in his eye. However, when no one asked him why they would need five or anything of the sort; his good cheer fled him and he grumbled as he brought them to a corner table.

     Ivory plates and crystal mugs were already waiting for them as the four sat down.

     “Wow, It feels kind of… wrong, this is ivory, right? My aunt had a piano made with keys from it, don’t they hunt animals for this stuff?” The Orc said, feeling up the plate.

     “Will can make a lot of things. There were some ivory canes in the old shop so I’d guess he copied it or something.” Jamie guessed, having gotten used to the magical strangeness at this point.

     Soon, a much taller penguin comes buy, a comical handlebar mustache branching off of his beak as he twirled it with a flipper. A bad rendition of a french accent came out of his mouth, “Hello Mademoiselles and Monsieurs…”

     Jamie and Billy Joe both gave the penguin a look that would have buried him eighty feet underground if it could have killed.

     The penguin, rethinking his cheesy act, continued in a much different accent, “Alright, fine, welcome adventurers…” The once fancy and prim sounding penguin said in the deepest of southern drawls. “I’m louis, What can I get you before your journey? Also, what kinda member you lookin’ fer, I can go to the singles area and find someone who should be adequate.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

     Jamie’s mouth fell open for a second or two as they listened to the deep southern yet well-spoken penguin. “I uhm, whatever the chef recommends I guess…” They looked around to the other three at the table but they all nodded as well. “And, I don’t know, find someone you don’t think could make it on their own?”

     Gus boisterously said, “Yes, find us someone small. We are mighty warriors and I am a Questlord! Let this be my good deed of the day! Ah HA HA!” The high elf said, clasping a fist to his chest as he raised a boot up to the table to pose.

     Mark quickly pulled him back down into his seat, “Behave, you ninny!”

     ***

     Ned waited in the cordoned-off area. A long bar on the side of the room with some stools as well as some singular tables off by themselves. The bar wasn’t that packed anymore though. Within the first ten or so minutes almost all of the singles area had partnered off into squads and left to try the dungeon.

     “I knew I should have brought someone… If I just… who cares, I’m not getting in today.”

     Just as Ned was about to get up and pay whatever tab he had accrued for his three Shirley Temples; a taller penguin with a handlebar mustache let himself into the area, around the velvet ropes. Speaking to the walrus behind the bar in hushed tones before leaving, the Walrus then waddled up to Ned.

     “Looks like it’s your lucky day kid.” the Walrus said, wiggling his mustache-like bristles. “Some strong-looking folks want a charity case and I said you would fit perfectly.”

     Ned laughed softly, he knew he wasn’t much to look at, mostly skin and bones. But dangit he had just gotten out of the intensive care ward days ago. The docs had told him he would die, then, some magic lady with silver hair showed up and poof, he was all better.

     Ned was no stranger to charity, but just once he would like to be helpful instead of being helped. “Sure, where can I find em?”

     ***

     Soon, the snooty penguin returned to the table with five small goblets, each holding a red liquid inside. As well as a short, thin, pale boy who would look seventeen if he had any amount of muscle.

     “I have brought what you requested.” The penguin said in his fake french accent, then hurriedly waddling off.

     “Uhm, hi, I’m Ned,” The thin boy said.

     “I’m Gus, that’s Mark, Jamie, and Billy Joe,” Gus said, standing up in his seat again and once more placing his dirty boot on the table cloth.

     “Welcome to the table… and… Anyone know what that flipper-brain brought us?” said Billy Joe.

     “Ah…” Ned said, lifting up the fifth goblet, not in front of anyone and drinking it, licking his lips. “This stuff supposedly gives you an advantage in there, but no one has been able to get more out of the penguins.”

     Both Billy Joe and Gus saw a small two-dimensional screen, However, they both chose to ignore it for now. I mean, there’s no way something like that would be right. The group downed their potions and tasted the fizzy fruit concoction as it tickled their throats.

     Potion of Insect Friendship.

     Insect and arachnid NPCs in the dungeon will be friendlier and will not attempt to bite you. Does not apply to shellfish.

     Duration: 8 hours.

     Jamie, upon hearing the little information gatherer smiled, not seeing the item description, “Anything else you’ve heard from them?”

     “Not much, there is talk of there being a new boss. I don’t think they mean the genie though, I think they mean like a game boss.” Ned replied unsuriedly

     “Well then, Everyone ready?” Gus said, getting out from behind the table and flexing his lack of muscle.

     The three at the table all nodded and so did the newcomer Ned, So the newly formed group of five walked to the other side of the Maroon Room.

     Taking a deep breath, Billy Joe opened the door and the five of them strode forward.

     Inside the room, it was almost entirely different than how Jamie had seen it earlier.

     Marble columns lined the walls, a large tree stood in the middle of the room, somehow planted in the ground and stripped clean of branches. Two average targets stood side by side on the far end to the right. A smaller target was on the wall to the left, surrounded by glass; making a long shooting range for darts.

     Finally, a small puzzle stood in the back of the room, a glass bottle with a long wooden rod and a screw and bolt through it with a large cat’s eye marble also inside of the bottle. In front that; a sculpture of a woman with both of her arms cut off just below the shoulders.

     The woman spoke, loud and crystal clear. “Come and face the trial of skills. Three of five must be clear. A time limit you needn’t fear. For those who fail are those who’ve tried. This room may be retried.” A smirk crossed her face on the last line, clearly immune to her own bad poetry skills.

     The room was large, large enough that a fifteen-foot log could be stood straight up in the middle of the room. Other smaller sculptures adorned the walls, some small lizards climbing the far side. Handprints on others… faces seeming to be pulling themselves from the stone on others…

     The group quickly learned not to look too hard at the decorations, as even in a completely safe room, Will had some freaky design choices.

     “Looks like I’ve got archery,” Jamie said, picking up the Bow as they saw Billy Joe walking toward the ax and stripped tree.

     “Hey sculpture lady, what am I supposed to do with this? Just chop it down?”

     A yellow glowing set of guidelines came to life, a large wedge shape of the room was highlighted. The Statue speaking again, “You must make the tree fall where you wish it. As a test of controlled destruction, you must prove yourself capa…”

     “I gotcha!” Billy Joe said, cutting her off as the statue huffed in annoyance.

     Gus grabbed the throwing knives, none of the options having been very well suited to him, he just picked the thing no one was walking towards. Mark picked up the three darts at the station and Ned, well ned hovered over the puzzle in a bottle.

     Over the course of the next hour, thirteen bottles would be shattered in frustration, five would be tossed away, and one would be solved. Billy Joe, however, felled the tree correctly on her first try; chopping a small weak point in the direction she wanted the tree to fall, her application of basic physics won the day for her.

     Gus however, Gus was nearly sixty knives in without a single bulls-eye. He was getting okay at hitting the target, but as to where was up to fate. Mark only needed two tries to get a passing score as Jamie…

     “What’s going…” Wheeze “On.” Wheeze Said Jamie as they pulled the arrow back one more time. They had tried multiple times to fire a shot, but by the time they had the arrow half-drawn, they would somehow fall forward, out of breath.

     After nearly twenty failed rounds, just as Billy Joe was stepping forward to the statue and the new chest somehow placed in the room while no one noticed; the statue responded. “All Projectile weapons used inside of the dungeon must have a small amount of mana implemented into them. This is to give them enough stopping power so that if one missed, it would drive itself into the trial wall rather than bounce around the room in some insane death tornado.” The statue said emotionlessly.

     “I… Why can’t I shoot then?” Jamie asked.

     “You have not been reborn. Your human body appears to be anathema to the type of mana your identity will be producing. Upon rebirth, you should find these issues negated, however.” The statue replied again.

     Jamie grumbled and looked downtrodden as Gus came up behind them, “Hey, don’t worry about it. It’ll happen.” the younger boy said, barely out of high school.

     Jamie just grumbled more and walked up to Billy Joe. “Hey, What’s up?”

     Billy Joe held up five small silvery bars marked with a large I in the middle. “These were all that was in the chest, know what they are?”

     The rest of the room, Ned included, had no idea.

     Only Gus saw the screen and text, relaying it to the rest of the room.

     Medium Indium Bar

     Used in the creation of touch screens, magical screens, and potions.

     They tossed the small bars into a sack Billy Joe had brought with her, tying it to her belt loop.

     The door to the next room slid open with the sound of rocks grinding and the group moved forward again.

     Just as all five stepped through the stone door behind them slammed shut as they were face to face with a group of five human foes. Clad in leather armor, with bandanas around their mouths, they looked like any stereotypical bandit.

     The odd thing about the room was the large lush green tree growing in the middle of the right wall. Large wooden eyes looking at the Challengers.

     “Welcome to Combat Training.” The Tree said as five large red health bars appeared above each of the bandit’s heads.

     “First to 0… Losses.” The tree said, laughing maniacally for a few seconds before coughing up a squirrel. The small rodent stood up, shook its fist at the tree, and scurried off.

     As the bandits ran across the room, a weapon’s rack with wooden implements appeared to the group’s left.

     “Isn’t Majesty fair?” The Tree smiled, gigantic and wicked-looking, the smile curled in on itself unnaturally as loud creaking laughter filled the room.