Liam stretched his arms out as he walked down the road.

The Yooperlite Stone had already dimmed out, giving the town a night time feel.

Liam could feel how quiet the Tutorial Area had become since so many people had left after finishing the sixth floor to the dungeons they were assigned to.

There were still people that were transported to this place that either needed to finish or had already done so, but wanted to stick around and do some training before leaving. However, the amount of people that had left was noticeable.

“Man, Nabal really doesn’t know how to hold back,” Liam muttered, complaining as he felt his body ache a bit.

Nabal spent a few hours going over the first couple of Weapon Art skills he had taught him to make sure Liam had the muscle memory down. He had repeated doing them so much he felt he could do it in his sleep.

Repetition is how one masters something, but you can only do something so many times before it becomes boring. Liam complained mentally. Oh well, it’ll be a great asset once I get it down completely.

Back Stab and Counter Stab weren’t the only things Nabal had him train. He had shown him a Weapon Art skill called Crescent Spin. It was a technique that made the user twist their body as much as they could before swiftly stabbing their daggers in the side of the target. The amount of spin they used from twisting their body was in the shape of a Crescent moon.

Apparently there was another Weapon Art skill called Full Moon Spin that made the user spin three times. The point for this move wasn’t to stab, but to slash as much as they could before getting countered or struck. However, Nabal told him not to worry about learning that yet because it required a certain amount of Reflex, Agility, Speed, and Power to pull it off.

After training Crescent Spin, Nabal taught him another Weapon Art skill called Sinister Strike. This move had the user try and aim for either the eyes, knees, elbows, wrists, or any spots on the body that could be potential lethal areas to attack. The goal for this was to try and cripple your opponent by taking out a vital spot on the target.

The early stages had the user focus on the eyes, elbows and knees since the user could see those spots easily. At the higher understanding of the Weapon Art, and much knowledge of the target, the user would be able to strike other vital areas with much ease.

Liam was happy to learn these and train himself to be able to pull them off in a real battle. He felt that these Weapon Art skills would come in handy when fighting either a group of monsters or an elite type monster.

Even though Liam was glad to learn these, he couldn’t get the Mana Weapon Art skill out of his mind. He was excited to know he would be able to use the Mana Types he was trying to manipulate and control on a different scale than crafting.

After Nabal had left, he decided to try learning how to control the other types of mana from his Field of the Elements. He was able to train Gravity and Lightning to level four, but he wasn’t able to grasp Lunar Mana.

He felt like every time he tried to learn how to manipulate it and control the mana, it was too much for him to handle. Each time he was about to grasp it, the lunar mana would go haywire or just fizzle out.

He decided to not try it for now until he was able to get a better understanding on the Lunar Magic.

As he went over everything he did with Nabal and when he was alone in his mind, Liam almost didn’t realize that he was passing his destination. The Dancing Baboon.

He came to a stop and made his way to the door. As he opened it, he looked around and smiled as he saw it was still full, despite people already leaving the Tutorial Area. However, he noticed each person had their gazes towards a specific area in the building.

Following their gazes, he noticed the direction was towards the area he and his team usually sat at.

As he looked at the spot to confirm if it was his team they were staring at he noticed two new people were sitting at the table. It was Adva and Phorge.

So, it wasn’t my teammates they were staring at, but Adva and Phorge. Liam started thinking.

While it’s not strange to find them out and about throughout the Tutorial Area it was rather strange for them to be sitting with a team at an establishment like the Dancing Baboon since they’ve never done that before.

I wonder why they are here and what they want. Liam thought with a confused expression as to why they would be there, before Liam making his way to the table.

Everyone turned to see him approach.

“Ah, Liam,” Phorge called out. “You arrived just in time.”

“Adva, Phorge,” Liam greeted as he pulled out a chair between Blair and Mercer. As he sat down he asked, “Is there something we can do for you?”

Adva looked at him and gave a concerning half-smile before replying, “We came by to tell you that there has been a change regarding your dungeon and would like to talk to you and your group in a more private location.”

Liam stared at her as she explained this.

This might have to do with what Nabal told me. Liam began thinking. They must have come to a conclusion on how they want to proceed.

It didn’t really matter to Liam what changes they wanted to make as long as it didn’t put his teammates in harms way. As hard as the last floor was, he knew the next floor was going to be harder and a lot more challenging. The difficulty could lead to a death or two depending on how much harder it was compared to the last floor.

However, he wasn’t sure if not completing the sixth floor of the Forgotten Realm would have any negative effects. Would he still be able to talk with Eri if he went to a different dungeon or not complete any sixth floor of any of the other dungeons? Would they have to start over if they had to go to a different dungeon?

These were questions he needed to have answers to.

Liam glanced at Mercer, then Blair.

They both nodded.

He then looked at Artem, Ariyana, Avery, and Roman who were staring at him waiting to see what he had to say about this.

Liam nodded. “Alright, what place did you have in mind?”

“A training room in the Mage Tower,” Phorge responded.

The others looked at him with puzzling expressions. They knew those room were protected by some sort of magic that restricted others from peering into them as well as protected them from anyone eavesdropping.

“Alright, but do you mind if we order some food to go?” Liam asked. “I am pretty hungry from training with Nabal.”

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Adva’s and Phorge’s body tensed a bit as they heard him mentioned Nabal’s name.

“That is fine,” Phorge replied and looked like he wanted to say more, but Adva beat him to it.

“If you were with Nabal then might I ask if he spoke to you about anything?”

“What makes you think he spoke to me about anything besides training?” Liam questioned.

Adva looked uncomfortable before saying, “Nabal has a reputation to pick up on things that takes others a while to no matter how hard others try to contain it.”

Liam stared at her. He knew she knew Nabal had information about things currently going on. While he did tell him some things, Nabal did leave out a lot.

After thinking it over, he decided not to out Nabal, but instead opted to say, “Nabal only talked to me about survival methods for situations out of my control while in the dungeon. He also trained me in techniques that would be beneficial to me with my daggers. So, I honestly don’t know what you wish to talk to us about.”

In one sense he did lie, but he also told them the truth. He wasn’t sure what they wanted to tell them or how much they would. Even though Nabal and Galin told him he could trust these two, it didn’t mean he would reveal any or everything he was told.

Adva and Phorge eyed Liam.

“Ok,” Adva finally said with a sigh. “Grab some food and we will head out.”

Liam nodded before looking at the others. “Did you guys already order?”

“Yeah, we did,” Ariyana answered as she started to get up. “I can ask them to put it in a to go container so we can head out.”

Liam nodded. He then looked at the two Overseers and said, “It shouldn’t take long.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Liam and the others followed Adva and Phorge into a training room.

On the way over he had noticed people staring at them and whispering to each other but didn’t pay it any mind.

After the door closed, Adva and Phorge walked to the middle of the room, stopped, and turned to face the seven who were already staring at them.

“What’s going on that requires you to bring us here?” Mercer asked with a cautious yet curious tone in his voice.

“We have brought you here to inform you that your dungeon conquest through the Black dungeon will end with the fifth floor,” Phorge stated promptly.

Taken aback by his words, Avery, Ariyana, Artem, Blair, Mercer, and Roman stared at him wide eyed and mouths wide open.

“What do you mean?” Artem questioned.

“Why is our Tutorial Dungeon stopping at the fifth floor?” Ariyana asked.

“Calm down,” Adva started, trying to stop the questions from flying out. “An issue has happened to have come to our attention, and we have decided to stop all those who were assigned to the Black dungeon.”

“Why?” Mercer quickly asked, curious as to what was going on, but also concerned. “What issue has happened to stop those who were assigned to the Black Dungeon?”

Adva and Phorge gave them a sombre expression.

“What is it that you’re not telling us,” Avery questioned as she narrowed her eyes. “We have a right to know why you are making this decision.”

“We have determined something has happened in the Black Dungeon that has changed the nature of the Tutorial Dungeon,” Adva started to say.

“What happened and what has changed for the Black Tutorial Dungeon?” Roman inquired.

“We don’t know how it happened, but…,” Adva started to say, hesitant to reveal the information.

“The magic that protects the groups while in the Tutorial Black Dungeon has been tampered with causing teams to suddenly die while taking on the sixth floor,” Phorge stated bluntly.

“What?!” Everyone but Liam shouted.

“Phorge,” Adva started to say.

“They are right that they have a right to know,” Phorge quipped.

Adva looked at the floor as she said with a defeated tone, “I know. I just wanted to not worry or scare them.”

“I can understand your wishes to not make them worry, but I feel that by not telling them what has happened will make them anxious and worry,” Phorge responded.

Mercer brought a hand to his chin as he thought about this development. Questions formed as he thought about it and decided to ask one that was bugging him. “How do you know that teams have suddenly died while taking on the sixth floor?”

Adva and Phorge turned to look at him.

Adva sighed as she answered, “As Overseers we can look into the dungeons and see how many groups are currently taking on that dungeon. It also shows what floor they are on.”

“While checking up on the Black Dungeon participates we noticed something that shouldn’t have happened since these are Tutorial Dungeons,” Phorge continued. “As we inspected the dungeon, we saw the numbers suddenly start to disappear.”

“Disappear?” Mercer questioned. “If they disappeared wouldn’t that mean they are no longer in the dungeon? Wouldn’t it be possible that they just exited the dungeon and went to the surface? Why would you think they died if the numbers suddenly disappeared?”

Adva and Phorge shook their heads.

“That is not how it is done,” Adva stated.

“You guys saw that new portal correct?” Phorge asked.

Liam and his team nodded.

“That Portal is the only way out from the Tutorial Area and back to the surface. It is not possible to be teleported out from the dungeon to the surface without coming out from the Dungeon and walking through that portal,” Phorge explained.

“As for why we know they have died…The only reason for the numbers to suddenly disappear without them coming out from a dungeon is death. That’s how the dungeon portal screens work.”

“Dungeon Portal Screens?” Mercer asked.

“That screen you see before entering the dungeon that shows the floors accessible to you,” Adva informed. “Since we are Overseers of the Tutorial Dungeon we have the privilege of being able to see more into the Dungeon. However, it only shows how many people are in it and what floor they are on.”

“That’s interesting,” Mercer muttered. “As an Overseer are you able to see the name of the Dungeon, what kind of monsters are on the floors, or what is going on in the dungeon?”

Adva and Phorge shook their heads.

“No, that kind of access is above our rank and power,” Adva answered. “Only Deities and selected chosen are able to see that, but it is limited to peeking inside for a certain amount of time. We do not have that kind of power.”

So, they don’t know what we have been going through? If what they are saying is true then I can cross them off my list, but how do I know they are telling the truth? Liam thought as questions started to form one after another.

“How do we know you are telling us the truth?” Artem questioned with a slight quiver in his voice.

Phorge and Adva turned to look at him.

“I can swear it on my Deity’s name that I am telling the truth,” Adva stated with resolve.

Liam’s eyes widened as he heard her say that. He remembered Eri saying not to do something like that as a joke. There were repercussions for one who lied or did not follow what they were swearing about on the name of a deity.

If she is going that far then she is telling the truth. Liam thought.

“What does swearing on your deity’s name have anything to do with this?” Avery asked as she narrowed her eyes.

“Swearing upon a Deity’s name is not something anyone should take lightly,” Phorge started. “If someone were to do this and either lied or did not hold up their end of what they were swearing in the name of a or their deity then the consequences could range from enslavement to a Deity to damage to their bodies. Some have lost all the progress on their path. Worst case you could die.”

Avery was about to ask another question, but stopped as she felt a hand touch her shoulder.

She looked back to see Liam shake his head, indicating to stop.

Avery leaned in closer to him and asked as quietly as she could, “Why are you stopping me? Do you believe what they are saying?"

Liam nodded before answering in the same volume, “They do speak the truth about that. I came across some information about what they have said, however I did not know the extent of the consequences. Only that you should not swear anything to any deity so lightly.”

Avery frown as she heard what he had said but stopped asking any more on the topic.

Mercer, who was close by, heard what they had said. He then stated, “We will believe you on this, but I must ask…What happened to the magic that is supposed to stop the participants from dying?”

“We are still investigating into that,” Phorge stated. “I will tell you that this Tutorial Area is not the only one that is having this issue. Two other Black Tutorial Dungeons from two other Tutorial Areas are dealing with this same phenomenon.”

“Two other Tutorial Dungeons are having this issue?” Mercer repeated sounding confused and shocked by this.

Liam’s brows scrunched as he thought about what he had just heard. Two other Black Tutorial Dungeons? Is this a coincidence or is this something planned? If that is the case then maybe the culprit isn’t anyone here?

“Has this ever happened before?” Mercer asked. “If this is happening in two other Tutorial Areas then are there only four Tutorial Areas in total?”

Adva shook her head. “No to both of your questions. This is the first time this has ever happened. Also, there are not three Tutorial Areas in total. There are twenty.”

“Twenty Tutorial Areas?” Liam and his group repeated with surprise.

Adva and Phorge nodded.

“Three out of twenty is not something you could write off as a malfunction due to the type of dungeon,” Mercer muttered as he tried to think about it. He then looked at Adva and Phorge and asked, “Are there any similarities amongst the four dungeons?”

Adva and Phorge looked at each other, hesitating to answer.

Liam picked up on this and didn’t like their silence.

“There is one thing that is similar amongst the three Black Tutorial Dungeons…,” Adva started.

Liam and the others stared at them as they waited to hear it.

Were there others like him and his group in the other two Tutorial Areas? Did they find a Forbidden Path as well? If so, how did Adva and Phorge know about them finding a Forbidden Path? Liam thought as his mind raced.

“Each Black Tutorial Dungeon in the three Tutorial Areas only has four groups alive right now,” Phorge answered.