Bill’s death was celebrated with all the food they could cook—hits from whatever was left of Jimmy’s vape and generally talking trash about his behavior as a co-worker. It was not really an elegant way to celebrate what had been essentially an execution.

But damn, was it fun.

Colt buzzed with the inebriation, with the joy of his coworkers for their survival. This was it, then, the home stretch, and they would be out of the dungeon. After tonight they would go into the dungeon and spread out like spiders weaving a web—documenting and testing doors. Marking on Colt’s map(now taped to the inside of the kitchen doorway) which alleyways they had thoroughly checked. A methodological and inevitable method to find the exit.

Any danger here was too far below their levels to worry about.

In a complete and utter sense, they’d won.

So Colt let himself ride the wave of emotion through the kitchen. He danced with Sarah as Jimmy found a mix tape and shoved it in an old stereo—he shared a smoke with Nate just outside in the alleyway for old-time sake. He relaxed with Jimmy, who’d had the decency to patch him up after the last stand with Bill.

They kept going until they were all fat, full, and tired.

Then, when they settled down for the night, they settled with the promise in their heart that this experience would soon be over.

As Colt settled his head down on the pile of towels he called a pillow. He couldn’t help but think about the things that had gone unsaid during their little get-together. The after. After they went and opened the exit to the dungeon, what then? Hopefully they’d all end up back on earth—that’s what most of them wanted. A return to the normalcy that made up how they’d grown and lived before now.

People were creatures of habit, and they hated change.

But Colt…

No, he didn’t hope for that, couldn’t hope for that.

What did he want to be past that doorway?

His answer, he suspected, was much different from everyone elses. And also, he thought, more likely then everyone else to have his wish granted.

As everyone slipped off to bed, he finally went to address the last notification he’d gotten. After killing Bill and getting experience—a dark secret he’d kept from everyone else—Colt hadn’t taken the time to see what the system meant when it said, ‘please check class screen to evolve.’ He’d been a little too busy being dragged back to Jimmy and trying to survive.

Now, though, with everyone else nodded off, it was the perfect time to check his Status and deal with the new evolution.

———

Name: Colt King | Race: Basic Human

Icon: [Empty] | Class: Edict Carver (II)

(PLEASE ENTER CLASS INFORMATION SCREEN FOR EVOLUTION)

Level: 28

Edicts:

Cut (Lesser)

Movement (Minor)

Skills:

*Inspect* (Intermediate) - Level 10

*Knives/Daggers Proficiency* (Intermediate) - Level 12

*Meditate* (Basic) - Level 9

*Phantom’s Step* (Basic) - Level 7

Swords Proficiency (Basic) - Level 6

Hide Status (Basic) - Level 4

Mental Resistance (Basic) - Level 2

Stats:

Strength: 24

Endurance: 37

Dexterity: 61

Intelligence: 10

Willpower: 15

Soul: 51

Unassigned Stat Points: 3

———

Colt took it in. Reveling in the differences he’d seen so far—then, he assigned out the remaining Stat Points. Tossing all three into endurance. A nice even forty would make a good base. It seemed that there wasn’t a major concern with anything becoming too unbalanced; the dexterity lent itself to some incredible speed, and as he leveled even further, higher Soul would amount to better use of his Edicts.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

That was eventual.

Now, though, came the part he’d most anticipated. Mentally, Colt navigated to the class screen of the menu.

———

Edict Carver (I) has advanced to Edict Carver (II)

At this rank of Edict Carver, you’ve taken the first steps on the path to understanding and developing this class. It will be a hard future ahead, yet the rewards are worthwhile. Please see the details below:

—

Class Perk:

Soul Etched (basic): Your Soul will be etched with basic pathways for Edicts to channel through, granting an increased capacity to wield and withstand the use of higher-level edicts.

Increased Soul Capacity: 10%

Additionally, the following three Skills are available to pick between to add to your Core Skills. You may only choose one, and levels added to this skill will advance your Class as with any other additional Core Skills. Pick carefully.

—

Possible Skills:

Skill: Mental Resistance [Uncommon] -> Soul And Mind Fortitude [Rare]

Description: This skill would replace Mental Resistance with the superior Skill of Soul and Mind Fortitude. Like Mental Resistance, this skill allows the user to resist or mitigate mental and emotional effects pushed onto it by other skills. It also allows the Soul to undergo a similar ability to wall and shield itself against outside influences. Moreover, this Skill additionally provides an increased ability to withstand Soul and Mental strain.

This option is available due to the possession of the Mental Resistance skill.

—

Skill: Soul Knife Manifestation [Uncommon]

Description: Never be without a knife. This skill allows the conjuration of a knife from the soul, whose strength and cutting power advance with use of this skill. The knife can be shaped and manipulated with later advancements in this skill. Further advancement can result in the manifestation of multiple Soul Knifes.

—

Skill: Etch [Rare]

Description: This skill allows the user to ‘etch’ soul pictures onto surfaces. It allows the storage of memories and visions that can be experienced again through meditation with the object with a soul etch on it.

———

Colt read through the options three times, weighing the possibilities in his head. At first glance, Soul Knife Manifestation seemed the most useless. With the loot he’d obtained from his quest, it was essentially the same thing. He might be able to use both. Later levels there were key. How much did the ability to customize the knife come into play? And what possibilities would lie in the power of the Knife itself if it got stronger? His gut told him there was a resonance with the Cut edict there. Despite the [Uncommon] tag that skill might be a strong pick.

Etch was the weirdest of them, and he couldn’t figure out its merits. It felt, in a way, similar to meditation and would pair with that. He had a general feeling it might lead to more Edict advancements.

But in his heart, he knew the option he’d go with.

Colt selected Soul And Mind Fortitude.

Paired with the new Class Perk, this skill would drastically enhance his combat potential—the Edict Movement was amazing, even in its lesser form. The skill and that perk had a synergy that would make it viable to leverage his biggest and newest weapon more often. And later, when it was stronger, it would help him handle the weight of that Edict.

For survival and for his future potential, it was the best option.

———

You have gained Skill: Soul And Mind Fortitude [Rare] (Basic)

This Skill has replaced Mental Resistance [Uncommon] (Basic), you have started this skill at the same level.

*Soul And Mind Fortitude* (Basic) - Level 2

…

———

It went on to repeat the same information as above during the skill selection. With that precious work done, Colt could finally exit out of his menus and call it a night. All of his effort paid off, and he sat in about an ideal place as he could be.

Now, all they had to do was find the door.

###

Compared to everything else, combing the dungeon and testing doors was the easiest task yet. With four people each day, they covered hundreds of doors, taking it at a relaxed pace. It wasn’t long before they found the door—Jimmy was the one who found it originally, tucked deep in one of the branched alleyways of the dungeon.

The doors there were whimsical, with more colors than was appropriate and twisted shapes and sizes. The door, however, was an oval thing with a bright blue wooden exterior and a weird misshapen tear-drop top, which might qualify as a pretty normal door if they were in a Dr. Seus book.

The inside of the door, however, gave away the fact that this was the exit.

Colt stared at the swirling mass of blue and silver within. The colors twirled around one another, in a child-like dance. Merging, breaking off, and rippling over the surface that could only be described as a portal.

Like it came straight from a fantasy novel.

He ran a hand through his hair as the rest of the kitchen sat nearby, staring at the gateway out of the dungeon like a lava lamp in a stoner’s basement.

“This is it, then.” Nate gruffly said.

“It’s going to lead back to Nashville, right—like this was all a dream?” Jimmy asked hopefully.

Colt set a hand on the dishwasher’s shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. He didn’t want to say what he really thought, so he didn’t.

This dungeon, this endless alley, it was a beginning. Just the tip of an iceberg for whatever happened to their world. That much had sunk in as reality here, grinding away and killing kobolds, leveling and gaining stats—a beginner dungeon, if this were a game.

But it was more than a game; this was life now; this was a new reality and world.

That portal could lead anywhere; it could lead to anything. But seeing it in the flesh, Colt felt a pull from his soul towards it. An innate understanding that he suspected the rest of them had. This was the exit from this dungeon. But there was no guarantee of just what it might look like on the other side. There was no promise that everyone else from their planet would come with them, save for the system. And to date, it hadn’t lied.

Somewhere out there would be his family. If they were still alive at all.

He knew that when the Colt he was now found them, it would not be the person they remembered.

“It’s fine. If it isn’t, we all have each other’s backs, right?” Sarah asked a little too sharply. All the betrayal and murder, losing half of their kitchen… It had taken its toll on trust. After Bill died, they began to piece together the mental manipulation he’d inflicted on them. Why none of them developed any kind of resistance to it, Colt didn’t understand. Maybe it had something to do with Soul. Maybe his encounter with Jack.

“Yeah,” Colt promised and meant it.

As the strongest among them, he’d give them that bit of safety.

They were fine people after all.

Those fine people all stared at the portal for another five minutes in silence.

“Who goes first?” Jimmy asked.

“I will,” Colt answered, beating Nate to the punch. Then strode forward to do just that.