“There’s no time to waste.” Levi pushed back Gordon’s hand — and the stamina restorative it held. “I’m not leveling fast enough; the world isn’t leveling fast enough. We have to keep moving.”
Gordon sighed. “Look, this... obsession, it’s not healthy. You’re acting erratically, and I can partly understand it, but you have to relax or you’ll get yourself killed.”
“I don’t know if I can relax even if I could afford to. This is the most important thing for anyone, ever.”
“No, it isn’t. You don’t have to save the world on your own. You know the future, great. Let’s get you a wiki set up, go open source, share all the information you have with the world. You said yourself you want people leveling dungeons for you, right? I’ll get you started, then you can type it up while I sleep.”
Levi forced himself not to argue immediately, letting Gordon’s words sink in.
And... yes, he realized. Gordon had a point. Levi had neglected the internet and its potential to reach people. The fact that it would be destroyed in a few months didn’t mean he should underestimate its value now. In fact, its brief remaining lifespan only made using it more urgent.
“I don’t have a computer.”
“Mine’s in the back. You can borrow it.”
Levi nodded. “Good.” He nodded to the potion. “Drink that and start driving. I’ll type while we move, then you can help get it submitted once we arrive. Skarm, can you find the laptop?”
Skarm squeaked in uncertainty.
“Rectangle, this size or so, thin. Be careful with it.”
“No, no.” Gordon hastily put out a hand to stop Skarm. “I’ll get it.”
“He can be careful.”
Gordon reached for the door, then noticed the stamina restorative still in his hand. He gave it one suspicious look, glanced at Levi for confirmation, then shrugged and swallowed the contents in one long gulp. Then his eyes widened as the potion rushed through his system. “Wow.”
“Yeah, they can take some getting used to.”
Gordon sat stunned for a moment, then climbed out, rummaged in the trunk, and brought out the laptop. He typed in his password and brought up a blank document for Levi to start drafting his infodump to the world, then returned to the rear of the car. When he returned a minute later, he'd changed into undamaged clothing.
“You keep spare clothing in your car?”
“Old habit.” Gordon sighed, then muttered under his breath, “We are so getting fired.” He started the car anyway.
“It doesn’t matter. In another year or two, the economy will be dungeon-based, anyway. We’re investing in the future.”
“Assuming we survive that long. How am I supposed to find food?”
“Oh, yeah, food.” Levi laughed softly. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten anything. “Dungeons. Health restoratives are a sufficient substitute until you get enough regen to compensate. Around threshold three or four food should become unnecessary, if I remember correctly. You’ll be able to sustain yourself with mana instead.”
“I’m not sure I like your liquid diet,” Gordon said, tossing Levi the empty bottle. “Are you planning to give up on eating?”
“Why would I care about food?”
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“How can you not care about food? It’s one of the great pleasures in life.”
Levi snorted. “It’s been a very long time since I could afford to worry about things like that. And, speaking of time, it’s time we got back to driving.”
Gordon sighed but shifted into reverse and backed out of the motel parking lot. “I don’t even know why I’m doing this,” he muttered. “By all rights, I should be taking you to the airport right now. Instead, we’re playing VR movie hero.”
“You know this is more important than anything else we could be doing.”
“So you’ve said.”
Levi stared down at the blank document on the computer screen. It had been so long since the internet had been part of his life, it felt nostalgic, like remembering how fax machines were once the way to send documents. “Thank you. For all your help. I couldn’t do this alone.”
Then he stopped talking and started typing.
It surprised him how quickly he got used to using the computer again, how readily he remembered the flow of keys beneath his fingers, how naturally the words filled the document.
It started as a jumble, lists of dates and events, creatures and their strengths and weaknesses, sometimes with gaps where he'd forgotten details. Then detours into defining terminology as he realized he had a whole vocabulary from another time, items and crafting and equipment upgrades, spells and abilities, classes and evolutions.
He wasn’t more than well begun before his ping returned another dungeon.
Gordon found the next exit and followed Levi’s directions without complaint. They drove around for almost a half hour before Levi could pinpoint its location, but it was well worth it.
Stone Dungeon: Level 1
Levi grinned. A specialty dungeon type! He’d been hoping for a chance to get some minions aside from gremlins to improve his team’s flexibility, and this looked like it’d be a perfect opportunity. Now he had two free minion slots to fill, he couldn’t wait to... Well, “go shopping” sounded a bit strange, but this feeling of anticipation did resemble having a gift card for someplace exciting.
“We’re going to have to move very carefully,” Levi warned before they entered the dungeon. “Stone dungeons tend to have heavier and tankier creatures, and some of the deadliest traps of any dungeon type. At our level, a single misstep could be fatal.” He glanced at Skarm. “That means you, too. Stone is a bad matchup for your low health total, so be careful. I can only revive one of you a day, and if you get taken out too often, you’ll never catch up to Two.”
Skarm nodded, with a sly grin.
Levi narrowed his eyes. “If I thought you had anything to do with Two being knocked out... ”
Skarm shook his head hastily, spreading his arms in a gesture of innocence.
“I’m watching you.” Levi gave him one more pointed glance before continuing. “At low levels, Stone dungeons contain burrowers that like to come at you from unexpected angles, whether through the floor, out of a solid wall, or down from the ceiling. They can move freely through the stone that makes up the outer shell of the dungeon and the walls tend to be thick enough to conceal them completely.”
“Through the stone? How?”
“Magic. They swim through rock like it’s water.”
Gordon shook his head helplessly.
“Stone centipedes are also commonplace, ranging in size from about the length of my arm to twice my height. They have a deceptively fast bite attack though they usually move slowly to lure you into a false sense of security and can cross a room in seconds. Do not get cornered, they’re heavily armored on the head and chest, but vulnerable from behind.”
Nods of acknowledgment from Skarm and Gordon, then they all stepped forward into the dungeon.
Gray stone greeted them, set in a grid of blocks, each about a stride across. Some were raised, others depressed into the floor. The walls were similar, some jutting out, others sunk in. All the same uniform size and shape without variation.
Levi exhaled slowly. “Definitely be on the lookout for traps.”
Some of the blocks were raised or lowered only inches, others were high enough to block sight further into the room, but most were low enough to resemble a tumble of spilled blocks rather than a maze. They slowed movement to a crawl. Each block had to be tested for traps before the group could advance, and Levi refused to let them cut corners. Stone dungeons, even low-level ones, could not be underestimated. At their level, a block of stone falling from the ceiling would be enough to kill them on the spot.
He found several traps of various types as they climbed on. Three taller blocks formed an almost-wall, then another tall one nearby coincidentally presented an easy route through... which was a trap. They had to climb over the taller block, which necessitated a collective scramble.
“And don’t touch those either.” He pointed to two slightly discolored stone blocks. “I don’t know if they’re traps or not, but if something looks even the slightest bit suspicious in a dungeon, you avoid it.”
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