Eva was staring at me all throughout breakfast. Her big eyes tracking my every movement as I wolfed down fried eggs and steamed veggies.

"Does it hurt?" She asked quietly.

"Does what hurt?"

"The muscles. Like, you got so big so fast. Did it hurt when your muscles got big?"

"Uh, no?" I answered. A bit confused as to why she would ask that.

"It looks painful." She said. "Like, I can see your veins on the muscles. It looks like it hurts."

"I'm sure he's fine." Uncle Uter cut in. His eyes focused on some paperwork Mr. Robertson had left the night before.

Eva nodded, but kept stealing glances.

"Is growing muscles all you can do?" She asked. Her voice dropping in volume until it was a hushed whisper.

"No. I can other things. Like, growing plants or turning myself into animals or, healing people."

She nodded seriously.

"And, can you turn back? To how you were? Can you turn small again?"

"I mean, I'm pretty sure I could. Eventually. Though, this feels more natural. I did try to shrink yesterday but that didn't work out so well. I still have a few issues to iron out." I struggled to find the right words for a few moments.

"It's like this. My new body feels just like my old one, only better. I can put magic into it to change it, but only if it'll make it even better. Does that make sense?"

"Not really." Uncle Uter commented. His voice gaining a bit of an edge.

Eva nodded along as if she agreed and waited for a better answer. Her big green eyes peeking through her sandy bangs and shining with expectation.

"Okay. Let's try to explain it in a different way. When I change into anything else, I feel the transformation eating up magic. Quickly, at first, when I'm still transforming, and more slowly later on when I'm keeping myself in that shape. For example, I'm pretty sure I could grow wings and start flying, but that would eat up magic for every minute that I do it. Its the same for my old shape. I think. This body doesn't need magic to stay all big and muscular, but I would need to use up magic to make myself small again. Even then, I'm not sure I could do it right now. I don't know how I know, but I know it. I have this feeling that turning myself into something smaller is going to be far harder than making myself bigger or growing wings or a tail or something else. Does that make sense?"

Eva nodded.

"I'm glad." She sighed. "All my friends say that you get the magic your family has and I didn't want my only magic to be muscle magic."

Her statement came so abruptly that I had to laugh. My lungs burning as I let the merriment out.

It felt good to laugh. It felt right.

As if a part of me had been missing for some time and I just now got it back.

'Which is so weird, because all this nonsense happened within the last two days.' I thought to myself.

Regardless, it felt amazing to smile and howl and hoot in that manner again.

Eva scowled at me. Standing up from her chair and stomping her little feet.

"Don't make fun of me! This is serious!"

I laughed harder.

Which only made her pout more fiercely. Her bubbly cheeks turning an indignant shade of red.

"Stop it! Stop it Cecil! All my friends have magic already and I'm the only one who doesn't! They're always asking me what I'm gonna get and I don't know what to tell them!"

That sobered me up a little, but what truly took me out of the jolly mood was the look on Uncle Uter's face.

He was not laughing.

Indeed, if looks could kill, that stare of his would landed him a trial at the Hague.

"Are you being bullied?" He asked. His voice as dour as the grave.

She looked startled, but shook her head.

"No. Everyone is really nice to me here. I like it much more than my old school. Its just..." She bit her lips. "I don't like being the only one there without magic. Mrs. Nielsen says we're not supposed to use it at all because we're little, but all my friends talk about it and they use their magic a little when she's not looking."

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She hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"It looks so much fun when they do it. I... I want to do it too. But no one knows what kind of core I'll get. My friend Sally says that if you get a bad core, then they send you away to another town with a smaller Dungeon."

Her eyes drooped downwards and she looked abashed.

"I...I don't want to leave. I like it here. I like my new friends. I want to get magic too and join in when they're making fire and ice crystals and gusts of wind. I... I thought that I should see what Cecil does, because I'll get the same core."

Uncle Uter remained stone-faced, so it was up to me to speak up.

"That's... not how it works Eva. When they say that you get the core that your family gets, they mean between parents and children. I don't know what kind of core you'll get. My friends did say that people who are related and delving for the first time get similar cores, but yours might be slightly different from mine."

She nodded. Her eyes sparkling at this new information.

"Then, what do I need to do to get a good core? I want to fly! How do I get a core that lets me fly?"

I stiffened. Though, not as much as Uncle Uter did.

I could imagine what was going through his head. After all, I was definitely thinking it too.

As powerful and necessary as magic was, the thought of Eva strolling down the Dungeon steps was enough to make me sick to my stomach. I imagined a pack of Rippers surrounding her. Their terrible eyes tracking her movements as warm saliva dripped down from their fangs. A chill ran up my spine and I felt my stomach twisting around as if trying to escape. It was almost too much to bear.

I was sure that he would stand up then. That he would lose his cool and demand that Eva stay away from magic.

But, he didn't.

Instead, he schooled his features and went back to eating his breakfast.

"Its too soon to talk about that." He said, with grim finality. "Your teachers haven't told you about it because they don't think its time yet. In this case, I have to agree with them. We'll talk about it when you're older."

Eva pouted. Said something about how it wasn't fair and went back to her breakfast as well.

I could do no such thing.

It was my turn to stare. Wondering who this stranger was and what he'd done with my uncle. I mean, there was no way that the man who had been so vehemently opposed to me going down into the Dungeon would be okay with letting Eva learn about it from some local townie. The uncle Uter I knew would move heaven and earth to instill a deep primordial fear of the place into Eva and he would lash out with pure venom at anyone that even suggested the notion of her getting a core.

'So, why is he being so casual now? Does he think its still far off into the future?'

In some respects, that was right. But uncle Uter had never been one to skip on lectures when it came to us. Both me and Eva had been taught all the do's and don'ts of school before we attended and we'd both been instilled with a healthy suspicion of strangers by the time we set foot into a classroom.

Which made his calm demeaner all the more worrying.

It was as if he didn't think it was a problem. As if he didn't think Eva would have to step into the Dungeon at all.

'And maybe she doesn't need to.' I thought with a start. 'If I get good enough at making monsters, she could get a decent core while beating them up in the safety of the surface. There would be no need for her to delve.'

The more I thought about it, the more realistic the idea became. Until the plans were swirling in my mind and shoving all other thoughts away.

'Its decided then. I can't spend another day lounging around. I need to get stronger and I need to get stronger fast. Not just for the future Mr. Robertson predicted, but for Eva as well.'

I finished off the rest of my plate and stood up. Making for the door without another word.

"Where are you going?" Uncle Uter called out without raising his head. His voice oddly monotone.

"I'm going out with my friends." I answered. Not untruthfully.

Uncle Uter grunted, but said no more. Focused as he was on his own plate and the papers in his hands.

Eva was complaining that it wasn't fair. Bemoaning the fact that she wasn't allowed to go out with friends as I exited the house.

But my mind wasn't focused on her pleas. All I could think about was the Dungeon and the creatures that I would unleash therein.

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

"Why is she here?" I hissed at Marco as I dragged him away from the group.

"Okay, first of all. Cool it with the attitude man." He said, as he brought up a hand to forestall my complaints. "Second of all, you asked for a volunteers and you asked me to keep it on the down low. So, I went around asking people I knew wouldn't snitch. Third of all..."

He looked me up and down.

"Nice going with the core." He said. Grinning like a fool. "You really hit the jackpot. As in, you're big as a water tank and super jacked. Its a good look on you."

"Thanks." I answered, momentarily caught off-guard by the compliment.

"Wait, no! Never mind that! Why would you think bringing Elsie along was a good idea?"

He looked at me in the same manner as he would a recently lobotomized gorilla with drool dripping down its face.

"Because she was willing to go and wasn't likely to snitch. Like I told you. Also, she's level 3, so she's way, way stronger than most of us put together."

He pointed out.

"Don't let it be said that I don't learn from my mistakes. That episode with the boss was a serious eye-opener. With her coming along, we basically guarantee that nothing below the seventh floor can scratch us. This way, you get to train longer, in deeper floors and you can really test out your limits. That's what you asked for wasn't it?"

I held my breath. Seeing his point.

"But...but!" I sighed in exasperation. "Why would she even come in the first place? She hates me."

Marco gave me that look again. The disappointment in his face beyond anything I had seen from him up to that point.

"You know, Cecil. For a smart guy, you can be pretty stupid sometimes."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

This time, it was his turn to sigh.

"Never mind that now. Look. This team is as good as you're going to get on short notice. Maybe even on a long notice. I don't know. Even if we leave Elsie aside, Yuann's core is [Time]. Emma's core is [Sun]. Sean's core is [Dinosaur]. His has the added bonus of being similar to yours. On top of that, we got Fernanda and Julian. Coach Russell's kids by his second wife. They're both our age but they're both monsters. Together, we can reach as low as the eighth floor without breaking a sweat. Are you really going to back away now? When we're all ready to get some serious training going? Is this what your determination amounts to?"

His words were infuriating.

But he had a point.

There was no backing off now.

It was time to delve.