“Wouldn’t that stem your Experience gains?” Eli asks me after I tell them the plans. The two of them have switched to Eli talking in Karus, and Dylan silent, trying to learn it. “Since you’re gaining is so much faster here?”

“Probably not,” I shake my head. “It’s possible the Grind Arenas would be affected by my Experience bonus, and that I’d actually end up gaining more Experience there than I do here. A thousand points of Experience a day here could be two or three thousand there. The difference between here and the Grind Arena, other than functionality, is that Experience isn’t granted until after a Wave is completed – it tallies it up, then applies it. According to Michael, it was determined that every kill is guaranteed Experience, not you’re guaranteed Experience from each Wave. There’s a good chance kills have higher base Experience as well. We won’t know until we try, though.”

“Okay,” he says, then talks with Dylan for a few moments in silence before looking back at me. “If you want to do that, we have no issue with it, but we’d rather stay here. We’re still getting used to this place, and going to a new one would probably be a bit tough for us to adapt to.”

“We adjust just fine.”

“Michael’s been to most of these places and has barely adjusted,” Warren says. “He only knows the ones he’s actually stuck around a couple of months, and even then, he still doesn’t know a whole lot. I mostly rely on the two of you. You’re really the only one who adjusts quickly, Gavin.”

“Oh,” I say. “Well, we can stay here, then. We’ll be returning when it’s time for me to advance Archwizard, anyway.”

“Why?” Eli asks.

“The eighth Boss is a Scaled Wyvern,” I answer. “And killing it will count for the Advancement. All I’ll need after that is to clear a Tier II Dungeon by myself. I’m going to get a few Classes up to Tier III before taking on the Scaled Wyvern first, though – make sure I’m strong enough to actually kill it.”

I’m a bit worried, though. Completing a Tier III Dungeon by myself is no doubt part of the Advancement to Tier IV… but so is killing a Dragon by myself. No one can kill a Dragon – not even teams of Tier III people have succeeded. At least, that’s what Chief said. He said that only three times in history has it been attempted, each with ten or more Tier III warriors, with at least one who had two Tier III Classes, and not one of the Adventurers survived.

Not only that, but the Dragon’s apparently the Final Boss of the Dungeon. That, alone, speaks to the difficulty of it, considering no one’s made it halfway through the Dungeon and survived.

And I’ll have to do it alone.

I want to make sure I’m as powerful as possible before taking on Jozan. I don’t need Archmage to do it, I don’t think. The Blood Quest simply said a Tier IV Class, not Archmage.

Archmage will definitely be a boost, though. Just how many stats will I gain per Level? Five? Ten?

Not as much as Dekami, but it will still be immense. There is a reason I’ll have to kill a Dragon for it.

I lean back in my chair and think about this, coming to a decision after a few moments.

“How about this,” I lean forward. “We stay here the full six months of individual training – or split up and do our own thing – and meet up at the appointed date and time. I will do what I can to become strong enough to slay the Scaled Wyvern on Floor 47 before then, and reach the Class of Mage.

“After the six months,” I continue. “We will make our way to a Grind Arena and spend six months there. If I’ve reached Tier III, I will focus on bringing that up to Level 24. If not, I’ll focus on my other Classes. After six months, we’d return here, and I’d go after the Scaled Wyvern, as I should be strong enough, then, to kill it. Especially since it probably won’t be too long before I advance Human to Tier II.”

“Seriously?” Eli asks.

“Nothing should surprise you about his growth,” Michael says. “How many days of solid training do you think it will take you, Gavin?”

“I’m at Level 22 now,” I answer. “Halfway to Level 23. Figure a day or so for each Level, and I’d say three days, overall, before I reach Level 25 and can see what my Advancement Quests for it are.”

“Okay,” he says. “According to Father, various things can unlock various options for Tier II. Depending on what you have available, it might be a good idea to wait. You’ll also be able to select a Subspecies once you reach Tier II.”

“Subspecies?”

“Yes,” he nods. “It’s exclusive to Humans, the ability to take on a Subspecies. It occurs when you bring Human to Level 25 each Tier. You can take on the Species of any Species you’ve befriended a major leader of. As a Subspecies, it will grant you all the benefits of that Species, though you cannot advance it to Tier II. As far as Papa knows, you can take on a new one every time you bring your Species up to Level 25. It’s probably to aid you in the Advancement, since they’re generally not easy things, Advancing your Species to a new Tier.”

It can’t be any harder than Advancing the Wizard line of Classes, even if it takes more to Level a Species.

“I don’t think I’ve unlocked any for that,” I say.

“Papa says you’ll probably have the wolf line of Beastborn,” Michael says, and I raise an eyebrow. I hear a swishing noise, and just know that doing that got him excited. “Since he’s one of the major leaders for Beastborn in general, and you befriended him.”

I threatened to kill him, and he considers us friends?

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“What are you excited about?” I ask.

“Huh?” He looks confused.

“You’re displaying your usual signs of being excited.”

“Papa and I made a bet on whether or not you could raise a single eyebrow,” he breaks out into a smile. “I won it! Next time I go home, Papa has to let me sleep with him one night!”

Uh… what?

“He has to… what?” Eli asks in shock, and Warren looks like he’s probably blushing under his glamour.

“Ya, ya!” Michael nods. “See, in most families, the papa can sleep with the kids, but Papa has to sleep separately because he’s the Chief and all. Well, Thomas gets to sleep with him at night, but that’s because Thomas is his heir, so he has to get used to sleeping away from the rest of the family. But Papa’s warmth and scent is so much better than the rest of my family’s, so we all try to find ways to get him to let us sleep with them one night. Papa agreed to the deal because he didn’t think you could raise just one eyebrow! I’m so happy! I’ll get to sleep with Papa and Thomas next time I go home.”

“Does your mom not get to sleep with him?” Eli asks.

“Mama?” Michael looks confused. “Of course she sleeps with him. That’s a silly question, Eli. Why would Papa let his heir sleep with him, but not his mate? The only time Thomas isn’t allowed to sleep with them, or anyone else, is when they did the mating rituals.”

“The what?” Eli asks, and Warren giggles, earning a glare from him. “I’m confused.”

“Mating rituals,” I say, and Eli looks at me, still confused. “Mating. Rituals.”

“What’s going on?” Dylan asks Eli.

“They’re discussing mating rituals between Michael’s parents,” Eli says. “I’m confused. What are they talking about?”

“Seriously?” Dylan looks at me. “How did that come up?”

“What is it?” Eli asks.

“I can’t believe you don’t know,” Dylan sighs. “You’re fourteen, for goodness sake – watch some porn sometime.”

“What does porn have to-” Eli cuts off as his eyes widen in realization. “Sex. The nights they’re having sex.”

“Did he just figure it out?” Warren asks me.

“Yeah.”

“I’m confused,” Michael looks at me. “What was Eli confused about?”

“Your terminology confused him,” I say. “I suppose growing up in another world, they use different terminology, and probably never referred to sex as mating rituals where they grew up.”

“Ah,” Michael nods. “So other than those nights, Thomas sleeps with them, and if one of us wins a bet, we get to sleep with them, too. There’s nothing more comforting than Papa and Mama’s warmth and scent surrounding me.”

He misses home more than he’ll admit to.

“Let’s get back to our topic,’ I say. “How does that sound as a plan?”

“Sounds good to me,” Warren says, and Michael nods.

Eli whispers with Dylan, then tells me that they agree.

“Also,” Dylan adds. “Would you be willing to allow Eli and I to stay on this continent?”

“You’re only bound to not betray me,” I say in English. “You’re not bound to serve me or do as I command.”

“However,” Dylan says. “We have agreed to join your Order, Gavin. Eli and I agree with your mission of creating a haven. We would like to stay here until you have your own headquarters, continuing to train in the Dungeon, here. Once you have established your headquarters, we’d like to move there as both guards and teachers.”

“Teachers?”

“I know more than sixty different magics,” Dylan nods. “And while I’ve only used four Mana Expansion Techniques, and Eli has only used five, we both know of ten, with a combined knowledge of sixteen. I can assist in the unlocking of four different Affinities. There are some benefits to having been in the Ancient Order, before Dad went crazy. Eli and I would be willing to teach members of the Order various magics. After all, what’s a haven without a place for people to learn?”

“A haven without a place for people to learn,” I answer. “If you two want to stay here, you’re free to. Also, I never asked you to join my Order, and if you’re doing it just because-”

“We’re doing it,” he says. “Because we want to. We agree with your view on the Order, and what you want it to be. That’s why we want to be a part of it.”

I’m not detecting any lies, and they’d be useful as teachers, with their knowledge of magic. I can’t be doing that, not if I’m going to be the leader of the Order. Maybe every now and then, but I’ll have more important things to do.

Like killing Christopher, removing the Boundary of Sages, getting stronger, and so on.

Whatever comes up that I need taking care of.

What am I going to do after I establish the Order? I can’t count on problems coming up all the time that I need to deal with, like right now.

“What are you discussing now?” Michael asks.

“The Order,” I answer.

“Speaking of that,” he says. “Papa said he’s fine with me joining it.”

“I’d like to join it as well,” Warren adds.

“I was going to wait until I had a headquarters before asking anyone,” I say. “But it’s nice to know you two would be willing to join. Back to the training plans we have. Michael – I want you to focus on overcoming your fear of spiders. By the end of our six months here, I want you able to fight on at least the sixteenth Floor by yourself.”

“But spiders!” Michael shivers.

“Why are you scared of them?” I ask.

“I’m not scared!” He shakes his head. “I just don’t like ‘em! They’re creepy and crawly, and their webs are all sticky! They’re so disgusting, and-”

“Undead.”

“Huh?” He stops talking, looking at me in confusion. “No, they aren’t undead. Well, there might be undead. Bones shouldn’t move, though. Those are just weird.”

“I’m terrified of the undead,” I explain. “Every Floor past the fourth Boss, excluding Bosses and safe Floors, has undead on it. In order to get to the Scaled Wyvern, to Advance Archwizard to Mage, I will need to fight against something I have had a fear of since I was six years old, when I had a bad encounter with them. Did you have a nasty encounter that scarred you, mentally? Or do you just not like them because of stuff like their webs being sticky and icky?”

It’s harsh, I know, but I really am terrified of the undead, after what happened to us back then. It’s one of the only times I saw an unnatural death of someone before gaining access to the System. It’s not like I’m asking him to get over his fear of fire – which he’ll have to do at some point. I’m asking him to get over his dislike of spiders to the point that he fears fighting them just because they’re creepy, crawly, and icky.

Yes, they are. Yes, I have an issue with them. I can also kill them without issue. I also did not nearly die fighting one of them when I was eight years old, and suffer nightmares anytime I even think about fighting them.

“You… are scared of something?” Michael asks, eyes wide.

“Yes.”

“What… happened?”

“I’d rather not talk about it,” I respond. “When the time comes, we’ll be going into the territory filled with flaming spiders to retrieve the Grimoire Tristan hid there, going past whatever else he’s got guarding it.”

“All-alright!” He exclaims, tail swishing again. “I’ll do my best, Gavin! I’ve got about four months, right? Four months!”

“Alright,” I stand. “You four should probably do whatever you’re planning on for the day – I’m going to go and look for a house or something for us to stay in, since we’ve got people going to be here awhile.”

+1 MNA!

My world turns black.