As a general, Simon was on rotation to oversee matters at the dungeon, as the soldiers had recently taken to calling the system of caves.

The three generals each took a half month shift overseeing the camp that was quickly becoming a permanent training base.

The dungeon was proving to be a national treasure, both for the fact that it churned out gemstones at a faster rate than any mine known to the kingdom, and the fact that it had shown itself to be the most effective training ground for new squads. While there was risk of death, it was far lower than a soldier’s first battle. The numbers were proving the training was effective, as the casualty rate of greenhorns on the battlefield had dropped significantly. Every life saved was evidence to Simon that the dungeon was worth using.

As grateful as Simon was for the dungeon, the fact was that there was little for him to do when stationed there other than mindless administration work. Instead of a break, his shift at the dungeon felt more like a punishment, and nothing seemed able to relieve the endless monotony of the task.

Just as Simon was trying to force himself to go through another pile of reports, there was a knock on the door to his office.

Naturally, given Simon’s peers, quarters and an office for the general on site had been among the very first permanent structures built outside the entrance to the dungeon.

“Enter.”

Simon’s aide-de-camp opened the door just enough to poke his head through. “General, there’s a delver team insisting they make their report directly to you. Say they’ve found something new.”

That instantly drew all of Simon’s attention. The dungeon trainings had been operating for months, and during that time, the only new things that had been discovered had been the cavern guardians that needed to be defeated before collecting any rewards from a cavern. Those reports had become so standard that there was even an official process to deliver such reports, which meant that this team was claiming that they had discovered something else.

For the time being, there were only a few priests on site. The dungeon had proven to be less of a threat than anticipated, and so the temples had recalled their high priests and only kept a few healers in the camp out of courtesy to the army, just as they did at the camps for the army’s basic training.

Only occasionally would Aaron stay in the camp, as he was at present. While Simon appreciated having the man’s mystical expertise, it was best for Simon to pick and choose what was shared with the temples, and so Aaron was never present for the initial reports, aside from the first delve.

There was nothing more to be done, so Simon waved a hand for Frederick to send the team in.

A standard team of five entered the room, though it was immediately clear that something was off. They had the typical make up with two defenders, a scout, and two attackers, yet Simon could not make any sense of their behavior. One shield bearer was holding back, clearly hesitant and nervous, while the second shield bearer and the team’s sergeant were both either protecting the first man, or escorting him like a prisoner.

As for the other two, they looked like they were about to flee.

What was this? One nervous soldier, two terrified soldiers, and two who looked like they were committed to possibly executing a comrade. Even odder was the fact that the soldier at the center of all of the discomfort was clearly the team’s veteran who had been assigned to them to keep them safe.

Simon remained silent and simply arched a brow and gestured with a hand for the team leader to proceed.

The man swallowed nervously, and visibly braced himself before starting. “Lieutenant Sean Markfeld, General. We’ve come across a few things in the dungeon that need to be reported to you first, sir, as the implications are more than we can handle.”

A Markfeld? This indicated that the information was even more important than Simon had believed. The Markfelds were a noble family who had gained their title through accomplishments in a previous war, and they had always maintained a great deal of pride in the fact that every man from their family would serve at least a few years in the kingdom’s army. If this lieutenant was a Markfeld, then he absolutely understood the implications of reporting directly to the commanding general.

“Start from right before you encountered the anomaly so that I can have a bit of context.”

Sean nodded at the general’s words, and then proceeded, “This was our third delve, and we felt good about our chances to graduate from the training program. We passed through all three caverns, and defeated the third guardian without much issue.”

Simon remained silent, but his brow furrowed. If the report started at the end of the third cavern…

“As we walked up to collect our reward, two things became immediately apparent: first, the third cavern is no longer the last, as there was another tunnel, and second, the message on the wall has changed.”

Simon’s hand rose to stop the man from continuing. He rose and walked to the door. “Frederick, clear the building, now, and place guards at fifty paces out. No one gets close until I leave. You have a 100 count.”

Frederick had worked with Simon long enough to know both his orders, and his time limit. He started running to clear the building while counting in his head. The man was fully aware that Simon expected competence from his men, and would begin whatever he needed after the count of 100, not waiting for confirmation that his orders had been carried out.

By the count of fifty, the building had been cleared. By eighty, people had pulled back fifty paces, and by 100, Frederick had the guards taking their places. He was panting, as were the people who had evacuated what was essentially the camp’s headquarters, but the general’s orders had been carried out.

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Back inside the office, Simon indicated for Sean to continue his report.

“Um… Well, I read the writing, and given the message and the tunnel, it seemed quite clear that the dungeon’s expanded. On top of that, the message claims that there are now greater rewards further in, so after a short discussion, we decided we would at least proceed far enough to see the next section so that we could make a more complete report. We also decided to proceed based on what we found there.

“Gavin, our scout, moved up to check the section first, but after he came back, we felt it was important for all of us to check it out, as what he reported simply didn’t sound possible.

“The entire cavern’s filled with fire. There are waterfalls of burning rocks, rivers and lakes of the same, and even the monsters themselves are on fire.”

That definitely caught Simon’s attention, as that meant that every last creature in this fourth cavern was a magical creature, and that sounded impossible. Magical creatures were known to be rare, and while there were certain species, such as dragons, which were all capable of using some level of magical abilities, one would never come across such a large group of magical beasts.

“From the entrance, we could see birds, lizards, and dogs in there that are somehow alive despite literally being on fire. The beasts that were closest to the entrance were some hounds that were covered with flames instead of fur. They were spaced out enough that it looked like we could engage one without pulling all of them onto us.

“We did just that, and Gavin pulled one hound over. The flames were rather intense, but the beast didn’t seem capable of actually controlling any of the fire. The beast attacked like any other dog, going for Jake’s throat, and he put it down instantly with a single stab.

“That was when things got… strange.”

The lieutenant glanced over at the older shield bearer, and Simon looked at the man as well. Despite his evident nervousness, the soldier maintained his composure, and started his own report, “The hound went down easy, and as soon as it died, the flames on its body died. While we were checking my shield and each other for burns, the body started to fade like normal, but instead of leaving a body part like normal, the dog left a book behind.”

“A book? What do you mean, it left a book?” This was too much for Simon to accept without a bit more of an explanation.

“After the body was gone, there was a book lying on the ground. Looked just like any other book I’ve ever seen, except this one one was glowing. Sean here told me that since it was my kill, I should bring the book back here and get credit for finding it, but I couldn’t do that.”

“Why not? Was it too hot to touch?”

“No, sir. It’s ‘cause the book disappeared as soon as I touched it.”

“Disappeared? You mean it faded like the rest of the body?”

“No, sir. It… it went inside of me.”

“... What?”

“Well, sir, when I tried to touch the book, it turned into a stream of light and shot into my head. Gave me a bunch of information and understanding about different things I don’t quite get, but it also gave me some magic.”

Simon was too confused and shocked to even ask a question at this point. Instead, as he stared at the soldier in disbelief, the lieutenant nudged the man and gave him a nod.

Everyone watched as the soldier put a bit of distance between himself and everyone else in the room. After a moment of hesitation, the man took a deep breath, and then was surrounded by a hollow sphere of flames.

Simon was so startled he leaped to his feet, knocking his chair backwards. This was not something he had never seen before, as certain mage priests with a fire affinity were able to use this spell.

However, the soldier had used no chant, no gestures, nothing at all to summon the flaming shield.

After about ten seconds, the flames sputtered and died, exposing a panting soldier who looked as though he had just finished a race while wearing full equipment.

Silence filled the room. The soldiers nervously shifted about, as Simon tried to process what he had just seen.

A human, a soldier, had just either been made into a magical beast, or granted the ability to use a spell like a mage priest. Regardless of which possibility was accurate, the possible ramifications of this matter were enormous.

Magic had just been stolen from the gods.

Simon tried to process what this would mean. While it could be a massive boon to the army and the kingdom, how would the temples react? How would the gods react? Such a possibility was terrifying to any mortal.

Simon quickly came to a decision. “This needs to be reported to the king. Lieutenant Markfeld and you, soldier, will accompany me to the capital to deliver this report. As for the rest of you, this matter is too sensitive, and thus you will all be confined to quarters and prevented from speaking to anyone at all until the king comes to a decision.

“We leave immediately. All of you, wait here while I make the arrangements.”

Simon walked out of his office and the headquarters. The moment he emerged, Frederick and the camp’s colonel ran over.

“I need to make a trip to the capital with two of these men right now. Prepare horses and supplies for as quick of a journey as possible.

“All delves into the dungeon are canceled indefinitely. Anyone who returns who has visited the labyrinth section is to be incarcerated in isolation. Do not allow them to speak to each other, or even their guards until I return.”

As Simon spoke, he flashed a quick hand gesture to Frederick. The man twitched, but nodded at the order to silence everyone from the team who remained behind after Simon departed. Clearly, things were far more sensitive than anyone had guessed.

As the colonel and Frederick both went to carry out their own orders, Simon personally stood guard to the entrance of the headquarters. Absolutely nothing could be leaked before word reached the king.

Within thirty minutes, horses had been readied for three men, as well as spares that could be used to expedite their journey as much as possible.

As Simon, Jacob, and Sean left the camp, Frederick carried out his gristly duty, and the colonel hurried to cancel all delves and arrange for prisons to be set up for the returning delvers.

Confusion and questions filled the camp, as no one, not even the new commander of the training base, had any idea as to what was happening.

***

Deep, deep underground, the recently christened dungeon core eagerly awaited the humans’ response to its new rewards. With stronger, more capable humans, it could create better, and more diverse, “dungeons” with which to farm the humans, and harvesting a better crop was an incredibly appealing opportunity.

The core just hoped that the reward it had chosen for the first human would prove adequate bait to entice more of the humans to dive into its depths, hopefully to never leave again.