"Let's head to Woe," Lauri made it sound matter-of-fact, rather than like a suggestion, as he mounted his bull.

"Maybe I look okay to you but look at my health bar," Ken complained as he got on his horse and trotted after, none the less.

By using a couple Cure Wounds Lauri fully healed Ken, "there."

"You're a Priest? I thought you were a Ritualist."

"All holy men have access to healing. Didn't you know?"

"So you don't need to be a Priest to be a holy man?"

"That's one way to take it. Another is that it doesn't state exclusivity."

"Hang on..."

"Wait until we're further away, for all we know Peter has hearing abilities."

Once they had travelled a while towards Dungeon of Woe Ken figured it out. "You wanted that skill-book for yourself. Meaning you can learn any skill and now you'll be able to use any item to boot."

Lauri can't help but grin stupidly. "Don't be silly."

"Oh right. That really was silly."

"Yeah, saying it out loud like that. Those are the sort of secrets that get people silenced."

Ken feels like he was smacked in the head with a figurative brick. It wasn't the idea itself that was silly but the act of saying it out loud? "Then it's true?"

"Ken, I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you."

"Now that you have the book you wanted, you're taking me to Woe to kill me, aren't you?"

"No."

"I've only just reached level 5 and you're taking me to a dungeon with level 15 monsters, that's famous for killing adventurers, that was used by Rebecca to kill her party."

Lauri stopped his bull and Ken came to a stop as well. "Nani?"

"And you're friends with Rebecca... oh no, now that I know, you're going to kill me right here and now..."

"What did you say about Rebecca killing her party?"

Seeing Lauri's look of confusion, Ken started to calm down. "Um, what's nani mean?"

"Reincarnations say it all the time, it mean 'what did you say?' more or less. So, why do you think Rebecca killed her party?"

"When someone's killed by monsters their System Points disappear but Rebecca had her entire parties points when she returned."

"She's a tank. It's common practice to transfer most of the money to someone who's not going to die. Or least likely to die."

"Maybe but Rebecca was a temporary member until their main tank got over a flu. You wouldn't have a temp member carry all the money."

"She seemed rather too upset about their deaths to have had only a passing relationship. Besides, they must have transferred her the points willingly or how would she have them?"

"She'd get the points if she killed them herself."

Lauri had to think about this for a while before he came up with another rebuttal, "the dungeon can speak and can see everything that happens. Did nobody ask the dungeon?"

"They did."

"And?"

"Woe said he'd tell all if certain items were left in the dungeon for him to make patterns from."

"Well, what did he say?"

"Guild of Adventurers is taking their time gathering the items. It's considered a waste to feed a dungeon anything but low endurance items. They'll get them eventually and then Woe will confirm what everyone already knows."

"Unless someone kills Woe first."

"Hah! That's not going to happen, Woe's core has never been found. Since you're not trying to kill me, you really think we can get bags from Woe?"

"As much as I'd absolutely love to farm Woe for bags and Potions of Toughness, we're heading to Woe to confirm it's dead."

Ken looked like he wanted to ask questions but the more he thought about everything the more he decided that was a bad idea. He'd feared certain members of Scout Guild because of their threats to kill him and now decided he didn't want to live like that anymore. There's no way he'd trust Lauri, and especially not Rebecca, but unless they threatened him he refused to live in fear. Ken checked System Market for Escape skill-books and found them for 6,499 SP, this would be his goal for now. Ken had no doubt that this was a skill he'd want to have and that would be useful no matter what the future held. The two of them arrived at Woe and Lauri waved at the man stationed there, "hey Dick."

Ken looked at Lauri with shock, "you must know him very well to hurl insults like that."

Richard waved back, "hey Lauri, who's your friend?"

"This is Ken. Ken, this is Richard."

Ken waves, "nice to meet you Richard."

"You can call me Dick, it's not an insult. At least not when calling me by name. If you said for example 'you're a dick' then once inside I'd ask the dungeon to off you."

"The dungeon's not dead then?" Lauri was a little surprised but it was a relief, lots of Potions of Toughness awaited him inside.

"Oh, it's dead all-right. I've told that joke so many times that it's a habit. That's not to say the dungeon never took my jokes to heart."

"I'm sure Woe tried to kill everyone equally."

"That's true."

Ken asked "how do you know it's dead?"

"The monsters stopped respawning. Also it spawned an overpowered Nemesis Minotaur."

"Wait, if they can't spawn monsters after death then how did it do that?"

"When its life was in threat it must have spawned the beast then. Don't know why the dungeons killer had time to destroy the core and escape but that monster ended up making a dungeon break."

"What's a dungeon break?"

"Way too complicated to explain. Suffice to say its when a monster leaves its dungeon. Easy for them to do but not something dungeons usually allow anymore."

"That can happen? How easy?"

"Any time someone enters and doesn't kill the boss then the boss can leave and can bring any minions it likes with it."

Lauri wondered why he didn't face more monsters from the dungeon break. "Why wouldn't a boss bring all its minions with it?"

"It does. If you mean the Nemesis Minotaur, that was following orders to kill a specific person. While it counts as a boss, it's not one that controls minions and the other boss received no such orders, or it would have been a bigger break-out. I heard the town guard saw the Nemesis Minotaur slain. A surprise as Nemesis monsters always win their battles."

"That was me, as you may have guessed."

Richard looked him up and down. "Makes sense but I never would have guessed if you hadn't said it. You look the type more assured to die than anyone."

"It was tough to beat but only because it was backed up by a Nemesis Ankheg. Did I cost you your job?"

"Hah. Only cost me this station. I'll get paid wherever they have me stand. There used to be a maximum of 8 hour shifts and a minimum adventurer competency for each dungeon entrance. Point is, there's not enough manpower as-is, so I'll be fine."

"Where can I go to kill minotaurs now?"

"If you mean for dimensional bags, go to the main dungeon and kill monsters level 15 and up. If you get EXP penalties then kill higher level monsters because the drop rate suffers too. Somehow EXP and loot are related."

"We're off then. Good luck. Wherever you end up I hope we meet again."

Luari really wanted those potions so did specifically mean minotaurs but he knew better than to tip his hat. Arriving back at the city, Ken and Lauri were getting close to the main dungeon when he spotted an information broker with analyst services. "Ken, wait out here, I have top secret matters I need to look into before we continue."

"Being close to people who know the secrets is new to me but it means I'll be high ranking in the new guild, right?"

"Not just that but you'll be in the heroes party. You'll be high ranking in the whole continent."

"As if anyone cares about the other two kingdoms."

"They're probably too small to survive anyway."

"Survive what?"

"The great evils return of course. Is that even a secret? Hmm, don't spread it around just in case."

Ken gave Lauri a look like 'why would you tell me that?' but Lauri just shrugged and headed inside the information brokers little shop-front.

"Welcome to An Information Broker With Analyst Services."

"Wait, that's the shops name?"

"Reads so outside, doesn't it?"

"I thought that was just the services offered."

"What brings you to AI-BWAS?"

"Huh? 'I was' did you say?"

"It's an acronym and it's what most people call my shop. AI-BWAS. Now what brings you here already?"

"Oh, I got a drop from a dungeon core and wanted it identified, please." He fetched the gem from his bag and put it on the counter.

"Sure, identification costs... wait, dungeon core?"

"Yes. This dropped from a dungeon I killed."

Without having said the price or even given her name she started analysing the item. Once done she scratched her head and got jewellers tools out, starting a new round of analysis. This took a while and Ken wandered in, "what's taking so long Lauri?"

"He with you?"

"Yeah, this is Ken, he's with me. I'm Lauri by the way."

"Oh, I'm Sarah."

"I have a friend called Sarah. Anyway, Ken, it seems this could take a while."

Ken nods and is turning around when Sarah says "yeah, this is my first time analysing a dungeon core."

Ken stopped, a bead of sweat forms on his forehead and he says "I didn't hear that..." and walked back outside.

Lauri watched him leave and chuckled slightly. "So killing a dungeon drops a dungeon core?"

"No, they don't drop anything. Given your level and how much you've been farming Tutorial I would," she emphasises the word, "hazard a guess that this is the core of Tutorial Dungeon. Except it's well known not to have a core."

"All dungeons have a core. That's common knowledge."

"Right. Except for Tutorial Dungeon, which is special."

"Or maybe only one of its instances has the core and it's well hidden to boot."

"Maybe? Can you confirm that?"

"Maybe for 500 gold." Lauri jested. He'd basically already told her so it's not like she was going to pay for what she already knew.

"Here, 500 gold if you'll confirm," it seems Lauri was wrong. What she put forward weren't coins but looked like bars.

"This is 500 gold coins?"

She put them on scales with a weight reading 500 on the other side. "Yeah. It's not in coin form but it's 500 gold exactly."

Lauri took the gold, not sure why she was paying for him to repeat himself. He tried to add all he knew in case that's what was expected of him. "I can confirm that Tutorial Dungeon was no exception and had a core. It's only on one floor or instances as they're called. The entrance is hidden by illusions. People entering while level 4 or 5 currently have a 1 in 5 chance of landing on the floor or instance the core is on. No matter how many levels 1 to 3 enter they have no chance of landing within the floor the core is on."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Oh wow, this could really help in advancing dungeon knowledge."

"Can the core be used to make a new dungeon?"

"No. People have removed cores and replanted them before but, well, no... plants make for a good example in that if you transplant them somewhere else they often wither and die. This is like a plant with most of its roots cut off or damaged and none of the original soil. They don't stand a chance."

Lauri was thinking about this and wondered if an Amnesia Potion might help. "Say, Info Sarah, could it be placed back where it came from?"

"That would be Tutorial's best chance for survival. You should at least try."

"I never said this was Tutorial Dungeon."

"Hmm. 500 more gold to confirm this is the core of Tutorial Dungeon?"

"Can't confirm, sorry."

"How about 2,000? What's your price?"

"It's not about money. This isn't something I can confirm."

"Everyone and everything has a price. 10,000 gold? 5,000 System Points?"

Lauri had heard this saying before and it was one of his many pet peeves. So he offered his proof against it. "If you had no children, no loved ones, nothing to leave behind. What would be your price for committing suicide?"

"Oh. I see what you mean. My apologies."

Lauri was surprised she was convinced of his counter argument so easily. These information broker sorts certainly seemed, to him, to be more open to new ideas than most. Or maybe just Info Sarah, as he'd nick-named her, was open minded. However, while Lauri had meant that he couldn't confirm something that's not true, he didn't realise that Info Sarah had taken it a different way. Having assumed Lauri's argument to be related, she now reasoned that there'd be many angry people if they found out Tutorial Dungeon had been killed and it's not like there's any certainty that returning a core would be successful. Therefore if the dungeon doesn't survive, and he'd confirmed that to be his fault, then that was basically suicide. She realised that without thinking it through she had been asking him to damn himself and this is what she had apologised for.

"Oh, you never said how much the identify cost."

"Standard rate of 100 gold per item." Lauri nodded and passed her back 100 gold, then picked up the gem core.

"Um, I should find more party members, could I buy a lead from you?"

"Yes. They usually hang out in front of the slave trade. If you can't form the party you need there then I charge 1,000 gold for a contact of appropriate level or 5,000 gold for a contact who fills a specific need. Such as a healer."

"5,000 sounds like a lot."

"Sure but we often need to get kids to custom select their professions and the system doesn't like that sort of persausion. Other times we use the slave trade to find them and slaves aren't cheap."

"Then I hope I won't be needing those services. Is there a reason adventurers team up in front of the slave trade?"

"There are reasons. For 20 gold I'll tell you some of them."

"I'll just guess. Thanks, I'd best be off now."

Meeting back up with Ken they headed in front of the slave trade and sighted adventurers seeking parties. There was quite a few of them which caused Ken to wonder out-loud, "why don't they party with each other?"

Lauri shrugged, "we can't know everything. I see mages, lets go talk to them." There being no objection, Lauri headed over to the closest mage. She was a skinny woman with big breasts that she was proud of, going by her dress. She stood up front while the other mages had taken seats and otherwise gotten themselves comfortable. "Hello, I'm Lauri. I'm taking a tank role and this is Ken, he's the party rogue."

"Hello Lauri, Ken, I'm Sophie. Go ahead and send me the party invite, I'm happy to accept."

"Hang on, don't we need to know more about you first? You shouldn't just assume we want you."

"Everyone wants me," she winks.

"On second though, you're going to make my friend Sarah super jealous. Maybe I'll go chat with some of the guys over there."

"You've gotten attention Lauri and everyone knows your around level 4 or 5. I'm level 1 and they're all past level 20. You want me."

"Hmm. I suppose we could wait until level 20 to recruit a mage."

"Wait, no, please. I'm not this skinny because I'm on a diet, you know. I'm starving and I have no money. The girls who don't eat for too long... their breasts shrink. You can't let that happen to me."

"I thought everyone wanted you?"

"Every man does, it's true, but for some reason I can't find an adventuring party."

Lauri gives it some thought and sighs in defeat. "Okay, you can join, but you still haven't told me your profession."

"I'm a Shield Maiden, Mage."

"Oh! Any of the 'Maiden' professions can change to 'Sexy Magic' profession on level up, right?"

"That sounds right. Why?"

"That's great! I have 'Perverted Mage Nipple Tape' you could use then and this 'Sexy Leather of Showing Skin' doubles shields. You're a perfect fit." Lauri sent over both a friend request and a party invite.

"Thank the goddess, for a moment there I was afraid someone had castrated you or something," she accepted both. "Dress me up however you like but please feed me first."

"I'd ask you to show more modesty but, considering the items, I suppose I'm in need of someone less than modest. Why did the goddess even design items like this?"

Sophie shook her head. "You say goddess like you're talking about Dike but it was her sister Aphrodite who designed those items."

"There's more than one goddess?"

"Well of course."

"Goddesses have parents?"

"Did you think they were just born from nothingness?"

"Yes. So, that would mean there's male goddesses?"

"Only female gods are called goddesses."

"I'm the son of a priest, how do I not know this?"

"You are? Never mention it then. As far as the church is concerned there's one goddess and that's that. Dike has exclusive domain of this entire world."

"Ohhh."

Lauri opens his System screen for the church's inner circle for the first time and sees that there's huge lists of secrets and that the screen is mostly like a running forum of topics and conversations. There's a search bar up the top and after trying a few different spellings locates pictures and information on Aphrodite. "Oh goddess," Lauri blushes, "Aphrodite certainly is something."

"You have System info on gods?"

"Huh? Don't you?" Lauri bluffed, realising he said more than he should.

"Very little."

"I looked up this Sexy Leather's designer, like you mentioned, and I can hardly believe it but she just walks around fully naked."

"Yep, that's her. You can see why she's not spoken of much."

"Now that I think about it, why do we wear clothes?"

"Why wouldn't we? It's only normal."

"If it were normal, why doesn't every animal and beast wear clothes? Why don't we put pants on horses?"

"Can we talk over a meal?"

"Sure, let's go eat over there."

Heading to a nearby restaurant they saw that a lot of the patrons were dressed poorly and knelt on the ground rather than being seats. Once Lauri worked out those people must all be slaves, he figured there was no problem with using the seats like the better dressed ones here. They soon order food and Lauri pays up front, mentioning that he wasn't going to be covering any further refills or orders. The food that arrived was more than any of them could eat so he felt like his stipulation wasn't unfair. Addressing Sophie specifically he started to explain his intentions. "First let me say that I'm hoping you'll be a permanent member of our party. That said, we need some temporary members. A DPS, a healer and one more, just to make a full party, would be nice."

"Why temporary members?"

"You don't know them yet but Rebecca, Frank and Sarah will be joining the party. Rebecca is a Heavy Warrior, Frank is a Healer Priest and Sarah doesn't have her blessing yet but I believe will be a Paladin."

"I know a few Rebecca's but none of them are a Heavy. Oh, Party Killer Rebecca was a Heavy but I suppose I didn't know her before I was kicked out."

"You were kicked out from your guild?"

"Yeah, our stupid guild master was paranoid that I was hooking up with her husband."

"Were you?"

"I wouldn't still be level 1 if I had, let me tell you that. Besides, I flirted with everyone, that's how a girl gets ahead of the sea of other mages."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Everyone goes Mage or Warrior. Those who fail to stand out end up seated where you found me."

There was food to spare when they had finished eating so Lauri peeked into a few alleys until he found a famished old man and handed the spare food to him. "Our leftovers, if you would like them."

The man took them before grumbling, "you lot, looking down on us, feeding us your scraps."

Lauri shook his head, "my dad is a Priest and told me it's better to share food than let it be wasted."

"People like you only pretend to care."

"To care about what?"

"Whether us left in the gutters live or die."

"You've got it wrong, I'm an adventurer. Death is everywhere. Fight your fight and I'll fight mine but I care if you starve or not as much as you care if I'm killed by monsters or not."

"At least you're not pretending, that's something."

"I'm looking for more members for my party. You wouldn't happen to be an adventurer?"

"I'd never throw my life away like some sort of fool. Go off and get yourself killed but leave me out of it."

Sophie gets a little riled by this, "you're the one waiting to starve to death, only difference between you and me is I've stopped waiting."

The man now noticed that Sophie was showing signs of malnutrition. "If you want to convince me, keep bringing me food to prove that you're surviving."

Lauri couldn't help with his jokes so suggested, "you've got it wrong, she hasn't stopped waiting to starve, she's stopped waiting on death."

Nobody seemed to get the joke but with that the three of them returned to recruiting members.

There were no Healers or even Priests but lots of Warriors. Most of the warriors insisted a party have a healer or they wouldn't join. That said, not all of them were so insistent and they found one front-liner and two ranged fighters. Hero the level 5 Barbarian Warrior, Billy the level 3 Archery Warrior and Ted the level 1 Polearm Warrior who insisted on only throwing spears until higher leveled. Hero made everyone but Lauri look small by comparison and even with Lauri's 6 feet of height and broad shoulders, he was severely lacking in muscle mass compared to Hero. Ted was more muscular than Lauri as well but wasn't as tall nor as broad. Billy had a strong left arm but was on the short side and otherwise not that muscular.

"As the highest level, the front liner and the parties hero, I should be this groups leader," Hero tried to claim.

Lauri shook his head, "I'm the leader and level isn't all that. Is Hero your birth name?"

"It's the name I gave myself and so it's my only name. What makes you think you should be this groups leader."

"I put this group together for a reason and I'll point out that you, Billy and Ted are temporary members. I'm sure you'll benefit from being in my party and when you leave you can make a party which is happy to let you be leader. Until then, joining means following my lead."

"Just because you brought us together doesn't make you leader."

"Actually we'd been wondering earlier, why didn't you or the others here just create your own teams?"

"Fine, you can be leader for now," Hero spat the words out like he'd just been jabbed in a sore spot.

Ken mentioned, "I'm also level 5, just say'n."