"Alright," I say as we enter the System Shop. "Let's look at what the letters say."

"O-okay," Lucas says.

Fea is currently flying alongside us, having joined us as we made our way here. Since I didn't feel it would be a good idea to stop on the street to read and respond, I asked the magihawk if he was okay with waiting until we reached the System shop to check the letters.

Even if I can't really "talk" to animals like Grandma probably can, her messenger magihawk can clearly understand human speech and respond with nods. The bird was fine with waiting, so we continued on our way here.

I pull off my bag as I sit on a bench and Fea lands beside me, Lucas sitting on my other side. The bird has three letters, two of which are addressed to Lucas. At a guess, I'd say his mom and his dad each wrote him something.

Opening my letter from Grandma, I begin reading.

Carter,

We managed to travel faster than expected, likely because we went first along the highway, then down Main. With as many fighters as we have here, dealing with the weaker monsters that showed up was easier. There were some tougher ones like breezestep deer, some coyotes, and one particularly strong magihawk, but we were able to protect everyone.

Since we were making good time, we went on to the elementary school instead of the middle school. Only a little bit more walking than if we branched off for our original destination, and is further south as well. With the school's playground and the public park right beside that, there's plenty of space for the kids to play as long as some of the fighters are keeping watch. That's helping with making the kids happier. There was a lot of complaining on the walk.

The pavilion here has turned into a System Shop, so we've sold some stuff and purchased more. Make sure to keep yourself supplied as well.

How are things going there? The System Shops don't sell lube but yours should still be good for at least a few more days. Don't trust old condoms, and the shops don't sell them. If you two are using them.

If you need any supplies and can't afford them or source them, I may be able to send some via messenger bird if they're light enough. Fea's getting stronger by hunting on his way between us and helping protect the group from monsters so he's going to be able to start carrying lighter packages soon.

Lots of love,

Grandma

I don't have my stationary stuff in the backpacks that we brought to the park, so I go up to the counter and turn in my Quests and sell what monster loot I have (mostly maginiite), then I purchase another stationary kit. If this letter exchange is going to keep up between Grandma and me and between Lucas and his parents, we'll need more soon enough, anyway.

Sitting back down, I get to work writing my response.

Grandma,

It's good to hear that you guys made it there safely. The further you get, the easier things should be so stress should be lighter. Hopefully there aren't any big internal conflicts in the group during the travel. Good luck with the kids, though. I'm sure they'll complain a lot from all the walking.

Things are going well here. Lucas is a surprisingly good cook and turned the basic foods from a meal kit into a pretty nice meal last night, though I made the brownies since I knew how to do dutch oven cooking already. We did the beef stroganoff kit. The food tasted like what we'd get at a normal store so nothing high-end.

Today, we investigated part of the sports park. I received another Quest, this one to clear a specific Rank 0 Standard Dungeon, and made a guess it would be there. There's an incentive for just trying it within the next six days (almost down to five, now) and in the next twenty-four hours (more than twelve left). Based on its name, I guessed it would be there and we went. It was, as was a sign that someone had been chased in, probably by the nearby monsters (water slimes; tough fuckers).

I now suspect the Quest is targeted towards getting me to rescue this person more than benefiting me, though I do hope there's some benefit for me in the end beyond just the reward. However, this seems to be more god-person interaction than you suggested would happen. In just two days, I've received two Quests and three incentives between them (with one of them getting upgraded five times).

Well, I think the second incentive for the second Quest is targeted toward rescuing this person. It popped up and gave me twenty-four hours I'd get a reward for entering in. Do you have any thoughts on what's going on?

Don't worry about my sex life, Grandma. It's just fine. Could you tell Koda not to wait the six months for me? We weren't boyfriends anyway but I know he was a bit attached. If he wants to be with someone else, he can be. I don't own him or anything. He deserves to be happy, too, and you can still tell him that he's your honorary grandson.

Lots of love,

Carter

Lucas finishes reading his letters as I finish writing mine, so he takes the stuff when I'm done and writes his responses. As I tie all three of our letters to Fea, Lucas confirms that his mom and dad wrote separate ones. Beyond that, he doesn't say what they wrote and I don't ask. It's not my business and if it were important to me, he'd say.

Fea flies off once the letters are secured and we watch him until he's out of sight, then head over to the golem I've been favoring for asking for information.

"Hello, Carter Elm, Lucas Nash," the golem greets us. "How may I help you this evening?"

"Can you tell me about Standard Dungeons?" I ask. "You've given me a little bit of information and so has a Quest for them. They're a type of pocket dimension with varying terrains, climates, environments, et cetera, along with varying monsters. Their Rank is also determined by the strength of their ambient Mana and the difficulty of the monsters within compared to the Levels of people outside. They're meant as challenges and trials for people, as well as a way to provide additional resources. What else is there to know about them?"

"Rank does not necessarily equal to size when it comes to a Standard Dungeon," the golem responds. "However, there is some degree of relation between the two. Each Standard Dungeon has a number of Stages equal to its Rank plus one, and each Stage can be of varying sizes. The Dungeon remains the same from one run to the next, but it also resets when exited."

"So the design and layout is the same," I say. "But anything slain or removed is restored?"

"Correct," he answers. "In many Dungeons, the terrain may also be a part of the challenge, though everything within a Dungeon can be harvested, including the terrain. Outside of its boundaries is a void that equals instant death, so be cautious if mining."

"Okay," I say. "Is there an average time for taking on a Dungeon?"

"The time it takes to clear a Dungeon or any of its Stages varies," he answers. "Including based on the size of the Stage or Stages. For a Rank 0 Dungeon, its sole Stage can take anywhere from an hour to two days on average based on size alone. A stronger person can clear it faster, as can a bigger group. How much of the Stage you explore also matters."

In other words, there's no real way to say for sure, though since I'm Level 1, I can probably do a faster speed for it. Not knowing the layout of the Dungeon will affect completion time, though.

"Okay," I say. "Is there a maximum amount of people who can enter?"

Knowing this is important since depending on if it's just one person or multiple people in the Dungeon, a cap to how many can enter might mean that Lucas and I can't both enter.

"A Standard Dungeon may hold up to five people at once," the golem informs me. "However, if a Party enters and there isn't one already inside, only members of the Party may enter after, though non-members already inside will not be forced out. They may also be invited to enter the Party if they so choose.

"If the capacity has been reached," he continues. "And someone within the Dungeon dies, a new person may not enter. A Standard Dungeon is locked to a total of five people per run."

As long as whoever was chased into that Dungeon wasn't a group of more than three people, Lucas and I should be able to enter just fine. Unless those within it aren't already in a Party by the time we try, that is.

"Okay," I say. "Is there any urgency while in a Standard Dungeon? Does the Dungeon try to force you to continue?"

"It does not," the golem answers. "However, nothing replenishes while someone is inside so you will eventually run out of monsters to kill or items to harvest. You are able to stay in a Standard Dungeon as long as you wish and have supplies to survive off of."

"T-t-this doesn't sound t-t-too good," Lucas says. "W-w-we don't have the s-s-space to bring a whole lot in t-t-there and i-i-it might t-t-take a couple of d-d-days."

"Yeah," I say. "That's a bit of a problem. Backpacks just aren't it for something which might take a couple of days. An hour? Sure. A couple of days? Not at all. That's even when factoring in the incentive for trying it within twenty-four hours of the incentive notice. That storage only works for while we're in the Dungeon.

"If we factor in potentially needing to rescue someone as I expect we do," I continue. "We may not even have the supplies from what I have and have bought to take care of them. We forgot to buy potions earlier and we've already burned through quite a lot. Even if we stocked up on more, we wouldn't be able to carry them properly. The ring would only hold stuff sourced in the Dungeon, too, so that's another negative."

All of that was me trying to see how the god or gods would respond. My expectations of a response are met with a notification popping up in my vision.

The incentive for trying the Dungeon within the one-day time limit has been increased. [Storage Ring]; 6 [Basic Dungeon Supply Pack]s; 6 [Alchemy Basics Pack]s; 6 [Basic Monster Loot Storage Pack]s, 6 [Meal Kit]s; 6 [Meal Pouch Pack]s; 6 [Cooking Basics Supply Pack]; 6 [Jars and Bottles Pack]s; 6 [Basic Tools Pack]s; 6 [Healing Basics Kit]s; 6 [Health and Hygiene Pack]s; 5 [Water Kit]s; 7 [Clothing Pack]s; 2 [Starter Pack Token]s; 6 [Recovery Potion Pack]s; 2 [Dungeon Guidebook]s You will receive this incentive automatically upon entering the Rank 0 Standard Dungeon [Ezrelnim Island Grove] before the twenty-four hour time limit has expired.

Rather than just upgrading my ring back to a storage ring, they're going to give me a bunch of items. On top of that, I don't need to collect it from the golem here. This was a much bigger incentive than I expected.

I'd thought it would be just some food and potions, not a long-ass list that's going to take me more than a few seconds to read.

"Y-y-yeah," Lucas says.

As I read through the new incentive, I let out a whistle. The god who changed the incentive really went all-in on making sure we'd have supplies for a Dungeon run. It's also extremely telling as I "know" several things about the reward. Two specific things, one of which solves one problem and the other of which answers a question.

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First, the ring will be the same as the old one, just returned to being a storage ring. Once we leave the Dungeon, I'll have seventy-two hours to remove anything not from the Dungeon from the ring. During that time, I also won't be able to put in anything that's not from a Dungeon. After seventy-two hours or once everything from the Dungeon has been removed, whichever comes first, the ring will convert to the [Dungeon Loot Storage Ring] that it was originally offered as.

Second, this is definitely intended as a rescue mission. A [Starter Pack Token] is an item which cannot be used by someone who has already received their [Starter Pack] and grants it to the user upon activation. There would be zero reason to include this in something I'd receive upon entering the Dungeon unless there's someone in there who hasn't received it yet.

There being two of those tokens indicates how many people are in the Dungeon that the god wants us to rescue. Two is less than four, so Lucas and I can both enter the Dungeon still.

This seems excessive even if we were to spend an extra day in the Dungeon – the god is definitely trying to give me more basics to help me out with supplies while I'm taking on the six-month challenge.

"What?" Lucas asks.

"The incentive for trying the Dungeon within twenty-four hours of receiving the incentive just went up," I tell him. "Though it's still from when I initially received it earlier this morning. I think the god was confirming it's a rescue mission while trying to make sure we had the supplies to do so, since it's so early into dealing with the Mana Flood and we haven't been able to build things up yet. Based on the incentive, there are two people in there."

At a guess, I'd say that the god knew exactly what I was doing and was unaffected by it. This Quest may be just as much about rescuing whoever is in the Dungeon as it is helping me out and the items picked were to ensure both our successful Dungeon run and the future of those two after being rescued.

"So we have three options now," I say. "The first is we ignore the incentive and let whoever is in there deal with things. Since there's that narrow time limit, they'll probably not have enough time if we delay longer than entering tomorrow morning. I'm no hero so I'm not really keen on saving random people, but if Grandma's right about the gods acting in ways that would make their targets happy, then saving whoever is in there is probably going to benefit me somehow."

At the core, I'm pretty selfish. That's why I was initially so resistant to accepting the Quest for staying out here. It didn't seem like it would benefit me until six months from now, when I received the reward for it. Right now, I don't see how rescuing someone from the Dungeon will benefit me.

Knowing what Grandma told me, however, there must be something in it that will benefit me.

"Second," I say. "We head back home, rest up, and head in tomorrow mor-"

"N-n-no," Lucas shakes his head. "T-t-they were wounded. I-i-it would be b-b-b-better if we g-g-g-go in n-n-n-now."

"That's the third option," I tell him. "And risks us going in too exhausted to make sure things are safe. It would theoretically increase the odds of the survival of the two in there. That said, just a little bit of rest might be enough, especially if we're able to establish a safe zone."

That actually makes me think of something else to ask the goelm.

"What about safe zones," I look at the golem. "Are there safe zones in a Standard Dungeon? Places where monsters don't enter or attack?"

"There are no natural safe zones within a Standard Dungeon," the golem informs me. "However, an area cleared of monsters remains so until the Dungeon is reset so if you clear all of the monsters in an area, it will be safe. There is the risk of monsters from another area traveling in, but some Dungeons have natural limitations to that. The area just inside of the Dungeon Gate is always empty of monsters upon entry, but follows the same rules as the rest of the Dungeon."

Which means that monsters could get to the people in the Dungeon even if the two of them stayed put after entering.

"Okay," I look at Lucas. "Then we can probably clear a safe area around wherever they're currently at. If we're lucky, they stuck near the Dungeon Gate and didn't get separated in there."

"Y-yeah," Lucas nods. "D-do you think there are things like treasure chests in there?"

"Standard Dungeons contain special loot chests and other such items," the golem helpfully responds to Lucas's question to me. "They will reset with every new run, though what items they contain are randomized from a special loot pool for that specific chest based on factors such as their location in the Dungeon, Dungeon Type, Dungeon Rank, terrain, climate, and monsters, with some items being more common than others."

Just like in a video game.

"Thank you," I tell the golem, then look at Lucas. "Wanting treasure?"

"I-if they s-s-saw one," Lucas says. "T-t-then they might h-h-have gone for it."

"That's a good point."

If a treasure chest or something like that was visible from the entrance or from wherever the two of them ended up, then they might have gone for it. A person who plays video games might hope that it contains healing items or a weapon or piece of armor. Since the Dungeon is a grove, visibility should be high so it might be a decent way into the Dungeon, which might have led to the duo finding themselves attacked again and being chased into another area.

Since the god's changed the incentive, we can assume that two of them in there are still alive.

"Let's wait to see what Grandma says," I suggest. "That should give us time to check out the shops again and think on it more."

Lucas and I start looking at the shops and after about ten minutes, Fea arrives with more letters. I hand Lucas his, then sit down and open up the one Grandma wrote to me.

Carter,

The gods are not different than I know. They do not change. Again, do not think of them as people. They are fundamentally different from us.

Each god has an allotment for issuing Quests and incentives and the like per month per world. My father didn't know the precise amounts, but you and I very likely have used up an entire god's allotment for this month for Earth each from our first Quests and incentives. This new Quest of yours and the incentive is probably a second god acting. It's the incentives specifically that are eating them up, as the allotments for Quests are based on the Quest itself rather than its reward.

At a guess, I would say that when a world initially enters into the System in a manner like ours has, it's possible the gods' allotments for it may also be temporarily higher in order to help people rebuild and recover. However, it still follows the standard – meant for nudging people into doing things which will make them happy.

And only focused on them. Others being helped would be purely a side effect of this. My father was very clear on this and as someone who convinced a god that allowing the portal to Earth to exist, I'll trust him on this matter. Your Quest to rescue someone is meant to help you be happy, not actually to rescue them. That's just an extra benefit of it.

Whichever god sent you the incentive probably originally expected you to encounter that person or those people on your own. Once they entered the Dungeon, the god realized it would be impossible unless you would need nudging.

There will be no negative consequences to you refusing that incentive. However, do know that once a god's allotment is used, it's used. Whether or not the reward is received or Quest is taken on is irrelevant.

Because of what gods are, they will also not hold it against you. It would take you showing that you'll rarely or never take their offers for them to stop issuing you things. And based on what you said, it seems like there are at least two gods watching your channel, possibly more, so even that won't make too much of a difference for you.

Do expect the Quests and incentives to slow down as well. As I said above, this may be an increase because of the rush of magical energy bringing out the apocalypse. It does also seem to be more than nudges, probably for the same reason.

Regarding you and Lucas: Fea says he's very cute and likes holding your arm. Treat him well.

Dakota made no comment about what you said but I could tell he had some sort of thought. No idea which way it goes so I can't tell you what it is.

Lots of love,

Grandma

Dakota wanted to say something but didn't? There's something I can think of but since he didn't tell Grandma (or at least, she didn't tell me), I'm not entirely sure so won't focus on that.

It seems that Grandma is actually able to communicate more efficiently with her familiars than I expected. Either that, or she's making up what Fea said about Lucas.

As for the rest of her letter, it boils down to this: the Quests and incentives may not all be from the same god but multiple, and this higher amount is probably to encourage people they find interesting to do things that will benefit them and make them happy in the aftermath of the Mana Flood. If Grandma is correct, then rescuing the people in the Dungeon isn't for their sake but mine.

I start writing a letter back to her. Upon finishing, I read through it to make sure it's got everything I feel important for now.

Grandma,

Lucas is concerned about their survival and wants to go in as soon as we're ready so we'll be doing that. I don't know how long it will take us to find them, save them, heal them up, and clear the Dungeon. If we're lucky and it's smaller, we'll be back in a few hours. If not, then it might take a day or two.

Just wanted to give a heads-up in case you send Fea back I don't respond or he can't find us.

Regarding Lucas, I'm no hero, but I'm not a villain. I'm just selfish. He's attractive and seems a nice guy so unless he gives me reason not to, I'm going to treat him like a friend.

Lots of love,

Carter

Lucas takes some time to finish reading his letters, then writes responses to them. I let Lucas know that we can go in now since there's concern for the people in the Dungeon, that way he can let his parents know before we go that there might not be responses for a couple of days.

Once all of that is taken care of and Fea is sent off, I find myself surprised with a new notification as we pull our backpacks back on.

A special offer has been given to you! You can be teleported to the entrance of the Rank 0 Standard Dungeon [Ezrelnmin Island Grove] at a cost of 1 of each item from your incentive for entering it within a day except for the [Storage Ring].

"Now that's curious," I say.

"W-w-what is?" Lucas asks, and I explain. "S-s-so we can speedily go in there i-i-instead of taking an e-e-extra hour, but at the c-c-cost of s-s-s-some supplies?"

"Yes and no," I say. "If we subtract one from each item except the ring… most items drop down to five in quantity, a more 'normal' number for things. We'd also only get only one [Starter Pack Token]. At the same time, we'd receive six sets of clothing packs. That's two per person if there's only one in there already, which would match up with the sole pack."

"W-wait," Lucas says. "T-t-then…"

"Then the plan the entire time was to offer us this," I say. "And there's only one person in the Dungeon. They better be a fucking builder or contractor for that sort of thing, if we're going through this much effort to rescue them and it's just for me."

I tell Lucas about what Grandma said about gods and their allotments. Shifting our perception of gods is a little bit difficult to do in such a short time so it's hard to accept this "fundamental difference" between them and us but I'm trying. The human part of me is still doubting things but I'm also trying to convince myself that Grandma is right and this is for my benefit.

And if it is, it better be something that will help with building the house.

"You're right that it's best we go save that person as quickly as possible," I say. "So if you're up for it, I'm going to accept the special offer for the teleport. It'd take us an hour to walk there from here and we'd get there faster but out of breath if we jogged. The incentive change means we should be well-prepared for this."

We've caught our breaths with how long we've been here and if we're going to rescue someone, it's better to be refreshed upon arrival than out of breath again. On top of that, the teleport will still get us there faster, meaning we can save them more quickly.

"Okay," Lucas says. "T-t-then let's g-go."

"Alright," I say. "Then I accept the special offer."

A glowing, purple-grey spell circle begins to form on the ground with me at the center. This spell circle is quite large and intricate and I'm more than certain it would require a significant amount of Mana for me to cast on my own.

It continues to stretch out, more parts forming. Without knowing the spell, I can't tell how large it is but it takes twenty seconds to finish just the center area. At the very center of it is a space only two and a half feet in width with fewer glyphs and markings and that's what I'm standing on. Instinct tells me that it's only designed to teleport whoever is standing within that portion.

Upon realizing that, I grab Lucas and pull him in tightly.

"W-what?" Lucas asks.

"The special offer was for teleporting me," I tell him. "Not me and you. I just realized that while examining the circle and I think it's only going to teleport whoever is in this center circle. If you aren't in it, we're getting separated."

"O-oh," Lucas wraps his arms around me to hold me tightly, even slipping his hands under my backpack just for extra closeness.

The spell circle ends up being nine feet in diameter and the moment it finishes, the glow it emits rapidly intensifies. Right before it would be too bright to see through, our location changes and we're outside the Dungeon Gate, the spell circle beneath us fading away.

I relax my grip but find that Lucas is still holding me tightly.

"Lucas?" I say. "The spell's over and we're here in one piece. You can let go of me now."

Very shakily, Lucas lets go of me, then quickly turns away and takes a few steps to the right before bending over and puking. He's looking pretty pale as well. Either that's for joining in on a teleport that wasn't meant for him or teleport sickness is a thing.

I pull water out of his bag and hand it to him, and he uses it to rinse out his mouth, then drinks some (clean water, not the water he rinsed with).

"Still feeling sick?" I ask.

"A-a little."

"Let's see if it passes."

We move away from the puke and sit down, with me keeping an eye on our surroundings. I give Lucas a granola bar from his backpack to help put something back in his stomach.

Since I traded in the backpack items, the food that was in them also got converted. They didn't just have tools and medical supplies in them, the purpose of the backpacks was to be a ready-to-go item with supplies in case I needed to quickly leave, such as in the case of a tornado.

I did remove the cans from them since those add a lot of weight but the granola and breakfast bars were kept and I added in a few things from the [Starter Pack]s, including two meal pouches and some of the meal bars.

"F-f-feeling better," Lucas tells me after about five minutes. "I-I-I hope I d-d-don't get sick going through the p-p-portal."