Amaryllis' Skill [Going Strong] may have erased their weariness that night, but it wore out after eight hours. They slept the whole day and the next night. Only well after the sunrise did they wake.

Nero felt the usual constraint. Altia managed to lock both of his arms and legs this time. He tried to wiggle himself free but she grasped even tighter. He did manage to free an arm and caress her head, trying to wake her up. She usually let go once she did. He had no luck. She was still sleeping, making a cute and soft thing between purring and snoring. It wasn't bad feeling her whole body this close but the day was on and he wanted to do something. He rubbed her back and the sound turned to a happy purring.

Most mornings she felt like that. Altia woke with a deeply rooted fear that Nero would vanish. Go away, leave her. She needed to feel him. To hold onto him. It was stupid and silly and she knew Nero loved her with every fiber of his being. He lacked a basic level of deceit to lie about that. And she still feared. In those mornings she had to hold him there. So she grabbed him the best she could and stayed as still as she could, hearing his breathing, feeling his chest rise and fall, the thump of his heartbeat. Nero struggled to break free and her fear turned from just something in the back of her head to panic. She grabbed him like he was everything keeping her from drowning. Once he stopped squirming, she hummed some silly tune.

"Altia, are you awake?"

"Mmmmmmmm," She purred in denial.

"I want to check on Serena. And I should open the portal so the professors can come. I can't do it in our bedroom, we're naked."

"Mmmmmmmmmmm mmmm," She purred her objection.

"I'm going to do something to you if you don't wake up."

"M mmmmm mmm mm mmm mm, mmmm," Altia purred her challenge. He pinched her butt right where it met her thigh. "Oww. I'm awake, you jerk!"

She climbed up and bit his nose. He grabbed her and turned the other side of the bed, switching places. Then he brought her into a bear hug.

"Another bad dream?"

"Mm hum."

"Everything is fine. I'm here."

"Mmmmmmmm," She purred happily and tickled his neck with her nose.

"We should get up and start our day. Check on Serena. We have lectures today."

"Mmmmmmmm," She purred her reluctant surrender. "Mmmm mm mm?" She purred one last struggle.

"I'm getting up and going outside. If you want to stay latched to me, be my guest."

"Mmmm!"

Nero stood up with her still attached. Altia sighed and dropped down, leaving her hands still around his neck.

"Good morning, my love."

"mornin'," She mumbled, still trying to cling to her last dregs of sleep.

"Get dressed. I'm going down to the beach to check on Serena and then opening the portal."

He put on his clothes, took his bandolier from the coat hanger next to the bed and passed it over his shoulder. He was going for the door when a pink mist washed over him. He looked behind. Altia was holding an empty flask with one hand and her breasts with the other. She poked her tongue out and blew a raspberry. Nero chuckled and went out anyway. She was not much of a morning person. At least she had the discipline to not throw that kind of tantrum in the Dungeon.

Nero went outside, snacking on some gray [Bread] he summoned. Bruce came running and rubbed against his leg. Maybe he should swap badgers, but it would cost five thousand Essence. That reminded him he didn't finish his [Monster Tamer] build. Well, Maria will have to wait. he reached the stone archway and summoned the gate. There were more people than he expected.

"Welcome, welcome. Step inside and make yourselves comfortable," He said.

Bezzias, Glom, Tinkwezilsky, Amaryllis, Lamuril, and Xalazuniox crossed the portal. The draconid looked around and at the waving patterns of light, the sunlight filtering through the water above drew on the grass. Lamuril was more interested in the house-tree his brethren shaped from the tree was created with the shelter.

"This is marvelous, Nero," Xalazuniox said. "Much better to see this wonder in person than to have a card gathering dust in some vault. Congratulations."

"HA! I told you, Zuni! My little Nero is going places!" Amaryllis buzzed around the draconid's muzzle.

"Aye, he is," Tinkwezilsky said. "Lad and the missus killed nine Dungeon bosses in three days. This is their reward."

"Please come inside. Altia should..." He called the badger. "Bruce, go tell Altia we have visitors. Tell her to make tea or something. I'm going to fetch Serena. She is down there. Make yourselves comfortable."

Nero hurried down the stone path to the beach. He saw Serena swimming up to the surface. She popped just her head out.

"Good Morning, Nero. It seems we have visitors."

"That we do," He sighed. "How are you?"

"Better. The reef is lovely. Too bad it looks dead," She saw Nero lower his head and quickly corrected herself, "No, not the coral. It's just that a real coral reef is very lively with all sorts of creatures."

"I can't put creatures in the walls or the roof. But we can get some fishes and crabs and water bugs if you want and put them to live there. I'm thinking of buying a dairy cow or two. Now come on. The Dean is here."

"Draconid [Fire General] Xalazuniox?" Serena asked, flustered. Nero nodded, at least the race and name matched. "Oh, my. I don't have... clothes, makeup. Jewelry... No, the tiara and the ring. Oh, Nero, what should I do?"

That request made Nero confused. He felt responsible for fixing her problem somehow and fumbled with his words. "Just go and meet him? Your dress is nice. He knows your situation. Maybe Altia has some... who am I trying to fool, her luggage isn't even here. Sorry, I don't think Altia has a dress for a princess. Erm, I don't know? If you give me a few minutes, maybe I can find some illusion Skills. No, they'd see right through them."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Nero's overreaction calmed her down. "Yes, I think it won't matter how I'm dressed. But I have water and sand all over me."

"That part is easy. Just hop out and back in through the portal. Should clear the water and sand immediately. Materials created by the shelter can't be brought outside. Some Essence conjuration stability bullshit."

"Oh. I got it," Serena dove, got some speed, jumped out of the water, did a full front flip and landed on her feet on the sand. They walked up the path and she hopped out, put on her boots and right back.

"Did the sand and water stay behind?" She asked.

"No. They just vanish. No puddle, see?" He pointed at the portal and then dismissed it. "Come, let's talk to our guests." He walked three steps and then noticed she stayed behind. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I just want to tell you I made my choice. And to thank you for cheering me up. It meant a lot," She sniffled.

Nero crossed his arms and forced a frown. "Stand tall, Your Highness. It is not over yet." Then he smiled. "Whatever you chose, it will be fine."

She stood a bit taller. "Would you please escort me, milord?"

Nero offered his elbow, "My pleasure."

----------------------------------------

They found everyone sitting in the couches. Well, if you don't count the squiig on a tall chair that matched the couches and the pixie moving around. Nero knew she was capable of hovering in the same spot but for some reason, Amaryllis couldn't bear to stand still. And that Xalazuniox was sitting on his side with a whole couch for himself to have room for his tail.

"General. Greetings," Serena curtsied.

"I'm retired, Your Highness. I'm glad to see you healthy," the draconid answered.

"Dean," she corrected herself. Xalazuniox nodded.

Nero sat next to Altia and Serena on the other side. Nobody spoke for a few minutes, maybe trying to figure out the protocol. At least that was Nero's impression. Everyone was looking at Serena and the attention wasn't bothering her.

Xalazuniox was the one that spoke. "We found Holmes' Coriander liaison. If there's any message you want to pass Coriander, now is the time. Bast is searching for the ones that raided the army stores and he won't stay in town for too long. On the plus side, they exhausted their resources and even sabotaged the army effort. On the downside, this channel of communication will close soon."

"I know the diplomatic solution would be to surrender my cards and bargain with them to leave me alone, but it won't be the end of it, because that's half of what they want from me. As long as I stay alive, I'm a liability. I made a decision. I won't give up anything I have. My life, my Skills, my friends. I've already used some Essence to level up to twenty and used the cards. They are no more. Amaryllis probably already knew that."

The pixie nodded. "Yup."

Nero froze trying to do the math. If Serena went from four to twenty, that meant a lot of things, but she couldn't enter Rafflesia's Meadow anymore. And she spent a lot of Essence crystals, but he couldn't care less. He was hurt because their group was broken. Serena would need to delve into rank-III and up Dungeons now. But he shook those thoughts away. It was her choice. He paid attention to what she was saying.

"So, I need pens, paper, and a lot of ink. I'm going to write three copies of everything I know about Bast and Coriander. Every single little dirty secret. While I was prince Tyre's captive, I managed to charm him once. I couldn't escape because he knew that could happen and ordered the guards to not let me out under any circumstances. But we spent a whole hour talking, and he told me everything. One copy goes with the guildmaster, another to the dean, and the third will be split and sent to their respective countries. If something happens to me or to my two friends here, I want you to send them the documents of the other country. If you think you can use that as leverage to stop the war, please do."

Everyone was equally shocked. Serena was giving the two institutions a lot of clout against the two countries.

"We'll fulfill our side of the bargain, Your Highness," Xalazuniox said with a head nod.

"I should also abdicate of my title," Serena declared after pondering for a while. She put a hand over her heart and raised the other to swear. "With those assembled here as witnesses, I abdicate of my rights of succession to the throne of Coriander."

"Duly noted," the Dean replied.

"Acknowledged, captain!" Amaryllis saluted with her hand against her temple.

Nero had mixed feelings. Serena was growing, becoming her own person but she put a huge distance between them. She couldn't go to Rafflesia anymore, he realized. And maybe that was one of the reasons she did it. He held Altia's hand.

"What's wrong?" She whispered next to him.

"Come outside with me for a moment," He replied.

It was impossible to be inconspicuous when the three couches were arranged in a U-shape. Nevermind the fact everyone there had high enough perception to overhear the whispers. They respected the couple's privacy though and kept talking about some small issues while they went outside and down to the beach.

"What's wrong, Nero?" Altia asked again.

He rubbed his hands even though it wasn't cold. The temperature inside the shelter fluctuated with the day but never left the pleasant range. "I didn't like it," He said, looking at the column of ocean water that seemed to be the walls of the shelter. Altia walked to his side but he didn't look away from the illusion of a water column.

"Serena leveling up all of a sudden?"

"Yes. At first, I thought it was because she didn't talk to us, but now I know it is because she will miss on a lot of easy Attribute points. If that's the case, I want to do something to compensate for it. I want the three of us to delve together."

He turned sideways to face her. "Altia, I don't want to stay here. I need to go somewhere, finish a task. You know what I mean."

She turned around and looked at the inert archway. It was a decoration and the portal didn't need it, but it was the symbol of the portal.

"You want to go farm Rafflesia, don't you?"

"Yes. Until that Dungeon's grade become gray. And when we go home, I'll do the same for the goblin. The reason so many of our tribe died in there was that the novices do not clear that bloody Dungeon. I can see it now. That's one thing I want to do. Knock all of these Dungeons down a peg. Make them safe. Starting with Rafflesia."

"Okay," She said right away. "Let's go. It's morning yet."

"What about Serena?"

"She made her choice. We make ours. We're not tethered together," Altia answered. "And now we need to grow in power to match hers. Each purple Skill gives twenty-five Attributes. She just got a hundred of 'em."

That seemed like a good goal. Farm Rafflesia until they got a hundred Attributes. Nero nodded. They were Adventurers at their core. The Dungeon was their home. And in a way, even the shelter was a pseudo-Dungeon.

"Plus the sixteen points she got from leveling," Nero remembered.

"Yes. Plus sixteen. Round it to a hundred and twenty?"

"Good. I guess I need to ask everyone to get out of the shelter."

They turned around and saw everyone halfway down the path. Serena ran to meet them ahead of the pack. She seemed distressed.

"I'm sorry," She said.

Altia walked the rest of the distance and held her right wrist. "There's no need to apologize. We said you could choose anything, and you did. If anything, it motivated us to grow."

They hugged and Nero walked past them. The best person to deal with Serena was Altia. He addressed the two figureheads.

"Dean, Guildmaster. I want your permission to go delve at Rafflesia's meadow. I want to keep killing that Dungeon's boss until its grade drops to gray. That's something I can do. Make that Dungeon a bit safer for the novices. But the Kingdom won't just let me waltz in and out of there."

The pixie and the draconid just shared a glance.

"Adventurers Nero and Altia. We assign you a named mission," Amaryllis said without her usual goofiness. It resembled the person that intervened in the fight with the knight. "Go and drop Rafflesia's Meadow grade to gray. Your reward will be one purple Skill for each of you from the guild's vaults. Tiers I or II."

With that said, she hovered backward to let Xalazuniox talk.

"Research assistants. I task you with the measurement of the energy levels of the Dungeon as you complete the task the guild master gave you. Professor Glom will be your chaperone in this endeavor. Carry an Essence meter with you. I want a full report of the kills and drops. Maybe we can improve our theoretical models."

Amaryllis returned. "Dearie, would you open the way out for us? We have a lot of work to do now that we have a joint project! And I so love your idea. Novices move onward too fast, indeed."

Nero opened the portal and everyone went outside. If they were going to delve, Serena couldn't stay inside the shelter.