The pile of guns and ammunition began to dwindle as Jimmy, Kara, and Lazaro hauled them out in an assembly-line fashion.

“Alright, I think everyone’s armed now,” Jimmy said, rubbing his hands together.

“Please be careful Jimmy. If it’s not looking good, then just get the fuck out of there, alright?” Rick said.

“Well, yeah. I’m not exactly useful in a fight, but I can at least help the wounded get back here for Penny to heal up.”

“Good point. Still, don’t be a hero and get yourself killed trying to help.”

“You know me, Rick. The selfless hero of Phoenix, Arizona.”

That earned a laugh from Rick. Jimmy wasn’t a coward, but he also wasn’t one to take a bullet for someone else.

“I’ll have Penny ready to heal, but she can’t do it all. How many people out there have healing skills?”

“Just a handful. We’re making sure they stay out of range of the golfers but those bastards can hit from a huge distance. Lazaro says the Cartel has a few things up their sleeves and Kara convinced a few of the people in the Eagle Empire to create some chaos when we attack. She’s going to be the one to break your parents out.”

“I don’t know how I can thank you and everyone else for doing this,” Rick said. Sure, they were getting paid but the risk was still immense.

“It’s better for the Cartel if the Eagle Empire is humbled. Could start a long-term war, but I think that was inevitable. This gives them extra resources and another excuse to fight them,” Jimmy explained. “Anyway, it’s time for me to leave. I’ll see you soon.”

Rick watched Jimmy leave and wished he still had his old human body to pace around in while he waited. To pass the time, he watched the new wolf pups. They were growing rapidly, nearly half the size of their parents.

Finn and Stella had taken them out of the den and climbed one of the taller hills to show them the dungeon floor. Of course, the pups had already spotted the frolicking bargles. They yipped at their parents, wanting to go see the critters up close, but the older wolves grabbed them by the scruff of their necks to keep them atop the hill.

“Think of any names yet?” Rick asked Billy who was sitting near the glacier.

“Nope. I can’t tell them apart no matter how closely I watch them. Even their personalities are the same.”

The pups all ran down the hill at once while their flustered parents ran after them, confirming Billy’s thoughts. Anytime Finn or Stella would grab one of their scruffs, another would run under their legs to trip them up.

“I feel bad for Finn and Stella,” Billy said.

“Why?”

“The cubs don’t belong to them. They’re their own pack. Already outgrowing their parents. The rapid growth the dungeon provides doesn’t give them enough time to bond.”

“It’s not like this place is that big. They’ll still be with each other.”

“True enough. Together, but separate,” Billy said with a nod as he watched the pups frustrate their parents enough to let them go down the hill by themselves toward the bargle herd. Finn and Stella trailed behind, keeping an eye on them.

Before the pups reached the bargle herd, Rick felt the door open, drawing his attention. He figured it would stay closed until the assault on the Eagle Empire was over. Maybe someone stumbled upon the dungeon and decided to challenge him. He could use it too. Only a few hours left until the full integration and he would miss his goal of reaching Level 5.

“Oh, it’s him,” Billy said, also watching the door from where he was by the glacier.

Adam entered, twirling his baton around like an old-timey cop.

“Hi, Rick. I saw Jimmy and all those people head out to attack the Eagle Empire. Fun stuff, fun stuff.”

“You know what? Go ahead and kill that dickhead. He started all of this bullshit,” Rick said.

Billy jumped up and made his way to position himself on one of the hills with the bulletproof glass panels. “My pleasure,” he said.

“Finn, Stella. The pups will be fine over there. Come help here please.”

The wolves whined for a second but complied and found two separate tunnels.

Adam casually waited near the door, looking around, “What have you been doing all this time? You should have grown more than this. Has that idiot, Jimmy, taught you nothing?” he spat.

In reality, Jimmy hadn’t taught Rick very much about being a dungeon. But, there hadn’t been that much time, had there? In any event, it enraged Rick to hear Adam insult both him and his friend after thrusting them into this situation in the first place.

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“I mean, honestly. Just forty miles from here, a snake became a dungeon not long after you, and hers is already more impressive.”

Even Billy had heard enough and fired a couple of rounds at Adam.

Adam swatted the bullets away with ease with his baton, barely even taking notice.

“Cute. Billy was it? My turn, kid.”

Rick scoffed but decided to use Identify on Adam.

Adam - Level 38 Core Hunter

“What in the actual fuck?” Rick blurted out.

Billy’s face didn’t show any panic, but he began rapidly firing off his pistols. None of the bullets came close to harming Adam as he spun his baton around like he was waltzing in a parade.

“I said it was my turn, Billy. Don’t be rude,” Adam mocked.

At that moment, Adam stomped down with his foot. A crack of lightning appeared to have hit him. At the same time, another crack of lightning struck behind Billy where Adam appeared. It was some type of teleport ability. Much louder and more flashy than what Rick would have imagined the Core Hunter to use.

Just as quickly as he appeared, Billy’s head caved in with a brutal swat of Adam’s baton. Rick could tell that Adam hadn’t even used a skill then. Billy was nothing more than an insect to the Core Hunter.

“Oh, I am fucked,” Rick thought aloud.

Finn and Stella came bursting out of separate tunnels at the same time. Adam didn’t even bother with them and teleported to the door with another crack of lightning. He opened it and stepped into the shop floor area, surprising Rick. Apparently, he only needed to kill the floor boss to advance to this level or Core Hunters just played by a separate set of rules. Rick wasn’t sure.

Penny immediately stood up and bared her fangs, hackles up. Rick had never once seen Penny act aggressive, but even Jimmy said she tore out someone’s throat on that first night when they came to the shop. When he looked at his sweet Penny, he couldn’t imagine her doing that. Still, she was no match for Adam.

The Core Hunter whistled, “A Kaiju Egg? Do you know how much I could get for this tomorrow?” He sighed, “Of course, I can’t take it or sell it. This System forsaken token strips me from any gear or credits earned when I use it.”

The dungeon physically rumbled as Rick let out a giant sigh of relief.

Adam laughed at the reaction. “Yeah, I bet you’re happy about that. Anyway, I actually came here to give you a gift. But seriously, you need to put up some more precautions to protect this Kaiju Egg. If anyone else gets their hands on it, they’ll either be rich for life or just conquer Earth altogether.”

A barrier of bulletproof glass immediately went up between Adam and Penny. He’d need to figure something out quickly. It was way too easy for Adam to get in here and potentially hurt Penny and steal the egg. He knew the barrier wouldn’t hold Adam, but it sent a message at least.

Adam watched with an annoying smirk on his face. “Eh, like I said — I can’t use the egg. I won’t touch it. Anyway, I have no use for these anymore,” he said and laid a small leather pouch on the store’s counter.

Rick probed the pouch and found various gems inside. They appeared to look like many of the common gems that Rick had in the shop, but he knew that these were different. These were other Dungeon Cores.

“I hadn’t found any compatible souls for these ones. I considered just scattering them about or selling them when the shop opens. But again, it’s pointless for me.”

A paper and pen appeared on the counter before Adam.

“Adam. Why the fuck would I absorb anything you gave to me?” The sick feeling washed over Rick and he even sensed the wolves whining. Communicating with anyone other than Jimmy or his minions caused his Core physical pain just like it had on that first day.

For the first time, Rick saw Adam’s face fill with surprise, “Wow, Rick. That’s the first time that I’ve communicated with a Dungeon Core outside of either a quest notification, a Dungeon Attendant, or a random chatty minion. Honestly, I thought there was some rule against it, so bravo.”

Adam waited for more, but Rick wasn’t about to hurt himself again just yet.

Realizing he wasn’t going to get another message from Rick, the Core Hunter continued, “I can see why you wouldn’t trust me. And to be honest, it’s good that you didn’t just absorb all of them at once. But, let me get to the point,” Adam said and pointed at a gem resembling a topaz.

Yes, please do, thought Rick.

“See, the reason I’m a Core Hunter is because I work for a Dungeon. It’s a true Dungeon that never needed a soul to combine with. It always had a soul. But, it has an appetite for other Cores. From what I understand, they give tremendous experience, along with other benefits,” He said genuinely excited.

Rick could tell that this was a topic that Adam was passionate about so he let him continue.

“Of course, the Dungeon I work for is eons old. In fact, entire galaxies reside within him,” he bragged. “Anyway, there is also a chance that you can inherit some traits from these, even if there is no connected soul. It’s a long shot, but possible.”

Rick saw the excitement in Adam’s eyes but still had one burning question, so he made himself sick one more time to ask it.

“Why give these to me?” the paper read.

“Honestly? I liked you when you were human. You were one of the only fair pawn shop owners I had ever met, unlike Jimmy. Even though I could tell you didn’t like me, you always treated me the same way you did with everyone else,” Adam said with a small smile. “I always thought that you’d adjust well when the integration happened. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel bad about your condition. Your potential is unlimited. Truly.”

Rick thought about that. It felt like this was the first time Adam had been honest with him and he had a hard time staying mad at the man. Maybe since Adam was in a giving mood, he’d consider one more gift. Rick wrote on the paper one last time. There was no way he could do it again. The act caused some of the bargle critters to begin dying. All the wolves were now howling and crying.

“Can you save my parents?” he scrawled on the paper.

Shaking his head, Adam replied, “Probably, but I won’t. I imagine I could kill everyone there, but the risk is not worth the reward. A single unexpected counter to my build could kill me and I’m too close to returning home — Not to mention that the experience I get from people level ten and below is negligible. Now, choose one of those Cores and absorb it already.”