Mark's eyes lit up. One look and he could tell this Mana Core was good stuff.

Now came the decision of whether to turn this in, or to keep it for himself. There was a risk of Theodore already knowing about it. Mark would rather play along since this thing was damaged, and thus had less value compared to an alliance with an entire group. He hoped he could find more of these mana cores later.

His goblin apprentice carefully slipped the mana core into its hands. Mark then hopped into his pocket plane and took out one of his six packages of preserved magical meat. He divided up a tiny portion for the Pacified Goblin, leaving the rest by himself.

The meat was tender and juicy. It slid down his throat like water, leaving his whole body full of warmth. For some odd reason, he had no issues eating the entire piece of meat. It was as if his stomach had suddenly become a bottomless hole, and Mark wanted to eat even more. But he held himself back.

The Pacified Goblin looked unharmed by that piece of meat. Hopefully, the magical energy would help it recover. Mark continued to leave it to its own devices.

He swaddled the damaged mana core in the leftover packages of meat and stored it inside his bag. Perhaps the preservative packaging had stopped working after he unwrapped the meat, but it was worth a try. Mark then returned to the room above and saw an open door opposite the entrance. He could try going deeper into the ruined castle.

But the danger level had clearly increased. To be safe, Mark wanted to gain a few more levels first, and perhaps upgrade some more of his skills. At the very least he needed to be able to summon his portal without entering a period of concentration.

He returned back through the battlements, safe underneath his skeleton's tower shield. Before he began trudging up the tunnels, he summoned his pocket plane and had his minions hide in the shadows, until he confirmed there wasn't an ambush waiting for him.

"Welcome back," Elise said from her slouched posture on the wall. "Have you completed the test?" She still looked nervous, eyes darting behind him from time to time.

"I've done it," he said. Clutched in his hands was the damaged mana core, and Elise and James' eyes lit up when they saw it.

"That's good." She took out a potion which glittered red and gold. "This is a health potion. For you," she said. "Theodore told me to give you this if you came back with something substantial."

"Thank you. Do you know what this is?"

"Yeah. It's a mana core, isn't it? I recognize the shape."

Mark nodded. "Are these common around here?"

"No, they're not. One of the battle teams passed one around for us to look at, but Theodore says he's seen a few. I think he's built differently though."

Mark followed Elise back into the network of tunnels and returned to the cavern with the stream. Hans and Carol were standing around the pool area, chatting. The two of them walked up to them and received stares.

"You're back," Hans said. "I take it the mission went well?"

Mark showed off his mana core and nodded. The others whistled, except for a woman sitting alone in the corner.

"That's Hannah. Don't mind her, she prefers the quiet. You'll be introduced to everyone later. Right now, you should follow me instead," Hans said. The man led him to an isolated spot behind the pool, where a dirt wall blocked the others from viewing him. "This here is a spot we use to bathe. You've earned it." He patted Mark on the back and left.

Mark stared into the water and smiled. Dirt caked his entire body especially with the amount of physical work he had to do. Mark was glad to have the opportunity to clean himself. Though he'd grown used to having a tough life, he'd never refuse a chance to wash.

He grabbed the potion bottle inside his pants pocket and inspected it.

Healing Potion (Uncommon) - A potion filled to the brim with vitality and healing. Contains beneficial effects to the drinker, though some effects can only happen once.

Like Elise said, the item was indeed just a healing potion. He breathed a sigh of relief. After sending a silent command to his minions to enter the portal, it returned to his mindscape.

Mark opened his eyes and sank his shoulders into the water. The water was too soothing, and he did not want to leave. But when he heard the bustling of footsteps and loud chattering outside, he realized the others had returned. Picking himself back up, he dried himself off with some cloth Hans had left behind and returned to the group.

"Hope you enjoyed yourself," Theodore's smiling face said. He plucked the damaged mana core from Mark's hands and cupped it into his own. "Beautiful, isn't it? Shame it got like this."

"Are they supposed to be damaged?"

"Heavens, no. But I've only seen one intact." The bluish spark of the mana core slowly sputtered out and died. Theodore watched with a smile, his expression growing fiercer by the second. Somehow, the man had drained it dry of magical energy. Mark glimpsed veins protruding for a moment before it all went away, and the man looked back at him.

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"There we go. Welcome to the team, Mark," he said happily. "We've got many things planned for the future, and you won't regret this choice."

"When can we go to deal with the vine?"

"Now. We just need to wait for the other battle team to come back. Why don't you sit around and have a chat with everyone? It'll be good for team bonding." Though Theodore kept his smile up, Mark's turned into a frown.

Theodore noticed this and shrugged. "Ah, it's just a recommendation. You can do whatever you like here as long as it doesn't harm the group. I noticed you had history with Jack though. Care to explain why?"

"He was my manager right before I got fired. Then the apocalypse happened."

"Damn." Theodore's mouth was agape for a moment before he regained his smiling composure. "Well, you don't have to get along with everyone. I'll try my best to not have you two work together. How's that sound?"

"Thank you."

"No, I should thank you for still deciding to join us after seeing him. Very mature of you," Theodore complimented. "Feel free to drink that potion whenever you need it. It gives Strength and Vitality."

"What?"

But the man had begun to walk away. Mark hesitated, but still decided to store it for later considering the rarity of healing. Instead of introducing himself to everyone, Mark was content to sit in a corner with Hans, Carol, and Elise, the only people he knew.

They were quietly talking when he approached. "Where are the other two in your team?" Mark asked.

"Our team leader and Henry are off by themselves to go investigate something James found," Carol said. "Though we all work as a battle team, it doesn't mean we're glued to each other. I like working with Hans more so we usually stick together."

"Interesting. I would've expected a battle team to always be working together, to build cohesion." Mark was curious as to how they traveled in these mines. The only other human he had found was Bruce, who walked alone. He wanted to compare his minions' teamwork with the actions of other people.

Carol looked at Hans, who nodded. "Theodore believes more in letting us figure it out on our own. The other team of four, they do that. Live, train, and eat together."

"Wait. Isn't that Jack's team?"

"Yeah." Hans spoke up. "Since they're so close, you should probably avoid them. Your relationship with Jack doesn't seem to be the best. That might provoke them to be more unfriendly with you."

"What's the story, anyway?" Elise asked. "Most of us here have never met one another in real life."

"He's my old boss. Fired me right before the apocalypse happened."

The conversation stilled for a moment. Their eyes went wide, but Mark did not continue the subject.

"Well, I guess we could show you something," Carol said, switching back to his previous point. She looked around. "Let's go over to where Hannah is. She can fill in a spot."

The four of them went over to a dark corner relatively unlit by the torches placed around the campsite. Hannah was studying a map. She wore a cloak and a shroud over her head, and a dagger adorned her waist.

"Hey, Hannah, have you met Mark before? He's a new Mage scout," Carol said.

"Welcome to the group," a soft voice said. "I'm a Rogue."

"You all seem to know each other well," Mark said. "Are all the scouts friendly with the teams?"

Elise nodded. "Team A can be a bit hardcore sometimes. So we scouts tend to mesh better with Team B here."

Carol made an assenting noise, then shrugged. "We try our best to make our new lives more enjoyable. Getting out of these mines would be nice, but that might not even happen until the end of our three months." She then patted Hans on the shoulder. "Get to positions, everyone. Let's try to mimic the last battle we had."

She and Hans stood in two different spots while Hannah remained in the corner with Mark and Elise. "The two of us are fighters," she said, putting a hand on her weapon's hilt and looking very serious. Then she turned back around with a smile. "Hans carries a spear, so he usually stands as the vanguard. He's very effective at defense."

Elise carried on, "Normally, a mage would be standing behind them. Their team leader. But since she sometimes likes to go off on her own, they usually have to make do with scouts. Like Hannah and I." A spell flared to life on her fingertips, and it soared into the distance. Sparks flew along its path.

"Was that a fire arrow?" Mark asked. "Fast. I like it."

"Thank you. I learned it from Theodore," she said. "Anyway, not all the roles need to be filled during exploration, so we often end up accomplishing tasks faster than the other team. Not always, though. There are times when every role is needed."

Carol took over. "That's why we'd like another Mage to work with us. Not sure why James likes exploring alone so much, but taking a Mage has been more effective in every single one of our trips. No offense, Hannah."

"It's fine," Hannah replied. "Some of the monsters have very good hearing."

Instead of explaining what she could do, Hannah simply strode over to the side of the wall and disappeared. Then a dagger flashed in the air and her silhouette reappeared a moment later. In this state, her movements were nearly silent while her attacks flowed.

But Mark felt like something was wrong. The others looked incredibly awed whenever her dagger struck, as if they only realized she was there once she made a complete attack. But he managed to occasionally catch a glimpse of her silhouette.

Hannah looked pleased with herself. "How is it? Have I gotten better?"

Hans nodded. "It was very quiet," he said with a smile. "I could barely hear you! You're doing a great job, Hannah," he complimented.

Carol looked a little peeved. She opened her mouth to say something, but Mark interrupted, "Hey, I just had a random thought. Anyone put points into Vitality?"

They looked surprised at his question, but shook their heads. "Not really," Carol said. "Hans and I never got a chance to with all the Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance we always ended up needing during our fights."

"Me neither," said Elise. "I split mine evenly between Intelligence and Wisdom, except for a tiny amount in my physical stats at the beginning. Why?"

Mark was about to answer, but then a loud noise echoed from one of the cavern's exits. Everyone looked towards that area.