Grandma Cynthia decided to give up her laptop to Arthur. He was very happy as the old laptop made it tediously long to get anything done.

With the upgraded laptop, Arthur put it in airplane mode and downloaded the program from the external hard drive again.

The next three days went by quickly. Arthur's parents noticed how close Cynthia and their son were getting and were very happy about it. She was the last grandparent he had left. They didn't know that the duo had been discussing the program and what it could do.

Arthur wasn't your typical RPG nerd, he was also a bit of a tech enthusiast. He tinkered with computers and code if he could figure out a way to sneak in to look. His old laptop was used to load old games, and he would tweak files to see what it would do in the game.

The program didn't perform the way both of them remember. "Grandma, was there anything unusual with the server room that this program was stored in? Do you remember anything about extra hardware or power source?"

Cynthia was sitting on his bed staring out the window while in thought, her hair in a stereotypical grandmother's bun. "There was a room that was locked. I remember they had some sort of diamond or crystal about the size of a pea. It looked more like a display case but I remember getting a glimpse of wires coming from that case but I don't know where it went to."

The grandson slowed down his typing as he was changing part of the code that he saw. He didn't care that he was changing it because the original was still in the external hard drive. "Diamond? Was it pulsing with light?"

"I think so, but it was a glimpse so I can't tell for sure."

Just as Arthur was about to ask another question, his phone buzzed. There was a text from Belrog to meet him and Longtusk in their usual spot. Arthur asked if his grandma wanted to come along. She agreed. She wanted to thank Belrog for helping with her condition.

They told Arthur's mom that they were going for a walk. Cynthia brought a grocery bag that had a zipper in case she wanted to pick up small things from the store.

Fifteen minutes of walking through a small park into a forest was all it took to go from human territory to the wild. Everyone knew that there were animals in the forest including wolves and bears. Who would guess that the non-humans are also traveling so close to them?

Belrog and Longtusk were waiting at the designated boulder where a tree had somehow split its roots and looked like a wooden man.

Arthur shook their hands. Cynthia gave them both a big hug and handed out two ziplocked bags of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. The two orcs grinned. They couldn't just walk up to the store to get cookies and these were homemade.

"The orc mage said to give you the key. It is a bracer that you put your forearm into a hole and the labyrinth will open for you. We decided to make a pair of bracers and hid the key inside one of them. The leather has been spelled to resist some physical damage and fire. The key itself as far as we know is indestructible. So at least even if the leather parts of it got damaged, the key would still be on your arm," explained the tall warrior as he handed over a pair of black leather bracers that use velcro to keep them closed.

Arthur grinned, he had brought velcro over as a trading item. It looks like the Shieldtusks have been trying to figure out ways to use it other than just in clothing. He glanced over to see Belrog give Cynthia a checkup.

"The potion is doing its work. Your symptoms have lessened but they are still there. Mostly inert for the time being. I wish I could do more."

"You have given me extra time. You have done more than I could ever hope," replied the older human.

The two orcs didn't take too much more of their time. They wanted to minimize being this close to human territory and they still needed to find a new home.

Arthur put on the bracers and could feel the left one was slightly heavier.

Cynthia looked at the new accessories. "I guess they look nice. Maybe if you were wearing some sort of leather armor like that guy with the beard that was protecting two little people in that very long fantasy movie."

Arthur laughed, "Yeah maybe. I just don't know about armor. On a different note, do you think the... people will still look for you because of the program?"

"I hope not. If they knew anything about the tracking spell or if they were the ones who did it. We would have more problems. I have been avoiding using any technology and already closed all my accounts from back there. Everything is cash. My parents would laugh at me 'cause I hide it in the mattress where I sleep now."

They stopped by a fruit stand and got some bananas and apples. On the way home, the phone buzzed again. "Grandma, will you be ok getting home alone? Holly and Frank want to meet up."

"I will be fine, go meet up with your party members," she chuckled.

He sent a text back, "Omw, meet you both at our corner yogurt place."

Holly was sporting faded blue jeans with a light blue shirt that had butterflies on it. She was spooning a frozen yogurt with strawberry topping into her mouth. She was the one called Moonglow the healer. She chose that as her adventurer name when she created her profile on the Guild Ministry Registry (GMR) app. She had an aptitude for healing magic and was tested at one of the GM testing offices.

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Frank devoured what remained of his cone when he saw me walk up. He had the look of your stereotypical jock football player and he did play as a linebacker in the school team. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt that showed his muscular arms and black jeans. He didn't like bullies and made friends with the nerds and geeks of the school. It made him likable on both sides of the social groups. He had registered as Argent. Officially he was classified as a warrior but he called himself a knight and even joined a local larping group to learn how to use a sword and shield. He was still a rookie but he can hold his own because of his strength and reflexes.

"Hey Arthur, glad to see you are still among the living. I reported Paul and Ben on the incident in the labyrinth. I hope they do something about them. This isn't fun and games. Going into a labyrinth is a real danger. This isn't some prank at school."

An old man with a cane was walking nearby when he heard what Frank said. He scowled and kept walking. While humans knew about the labyrinths, they were still shielded from the non-humans. Most know that there are monsters and traps in the labyrinths and the lucky ones come back out with loot that can fetch a pretty penny among the collectors and the rich.

Holly listened while finishing off her yogurt.

"Yeah, I've been wondering if those two did this more than just to us. Did they do anything to the two of you?"

"Yeah, they left us with the others in the group to go for the treasure and we were forced to fight the animated dolls. We suffered some injuries but thankfully not fatal. By the time we caught up to them, they already run off with their choices of loot. The remains gave us a small return. It barely covered our expenses to go into the labyrinth. The GMs marked that labyrinth cleared."

"I wonder if they marked it cleared, does it mean we can go back and look around?" said Arthur as he pulled a chair out and sat on it.

Frank pulled out his phone and opened the app to see if there was any info about cleared labyrinths.

Holly licks her spoon which Arthur catches from the side of his sight. He pointedly looked at Frank to not think of the image that was forming in his mind.

"Nope, nothing in here about returning to the cleared labyrinths. Why?"

"I am thinking of going back to the one where I was pushed into a crevasse. I want to look around. You two up for a field trip in say two days?"

Holly looked over and ran her hand over her right ear to tuck her blond hair back. "I'm game. Where do we meet?"

"I'm in," replied the black-haired jock.

"My place. I want to discuss before we head there. There are some things that the GM NDAs prevent us from speaking in public."

The two friends nod and the group dispersed to go home.

Arthur looked at his watch and had to fish it out from under the bracer. He had enough time to visit the orc labyrinth before going home.

He reached the hidden labyrinth gate for the Shieldtusks. The archway was made of stone. The two statues stood beside it as usual. There was a pedestal near the archway that had a bowl on the top, but under was a hole where his forearm could go in. He inserted his arm with the heavier bracer. A face that looked like a hologram appeared, it was devoid of hair and looked like the head of a mannequin. "This labyrinth has been sealed. You are recognized as the bearer of the key. Do you claim ownership of this labyrinth?"

"Can I open and close the labyrinth at will instead of leaving it open like the previous owners?"

The bald face looked at Arthur as if it had never been asked that question before, "Yes, that is possible. Do you claim ownership of this labyrinth?"

"Yes, I claim ownership of this labyrinth."

"Please prick your finger and produce three drops into the bowl."

Arthur didn't bring his dagger, so he pulled out his keys for his small pocket knife and did as instructed. The blood gets absorbed into the pedestal and the hole for the key closes. "Ownership granted. Dungeon access is allowed. I cannot be summoned again until you wish to lock the labyrinth like the previous owners. Your offering shows your worth and access to open and close the gate is allowed. You can command it to do so. Good luck defending your labyrinth."

A field of shimmering light covers the archway indicating the activation of the gate. Arthur walked across the threshold.

He didn't know how large the space was inside the labyrinth. He only visited the settlement area but he had the feeling that it might be much larger. He called out to the archway to close and the shimmering light disappeared. "Well, at least that means I can close it like a door. I guess unless you are the owner, no one else can just walk right in. Defending won't be the problem when it's closed, it's when it is open or someone sieging the gate."

He started to walk towards the settlement and then glanced over at the dungeon entrance that had never been there before. "Wait, this labyrinth isn't considered a cleared one. Is there treasure here that hasn't been found?" Arthur's mind stared at the closed double doors with excitement. He could bring his friends here to train and find things without anyone betraying them.

He turned around back to the archway. Calling it open, he crossed through and closed it again. He jogged the rest of the way home. Yelling out that he was home, he went straight to his room.

He looked at the program that he was modifying and ran the command to compress it. He wanted to try it out on a phone. He pulled out a cell phone that someone had lost at school and never collected. He removed the SIM card and already added a memory card that could house the compressed program. He plugged it in to charge.

He opened the GMR app and looked through the list of equipment to rent. He didn't have a lot of funds, but he will need at least a sword and a bow. He grimaced at the price and it would use up most of his GMR funds. He selected a sword and a bow with a quiver of arrows that he would pick up tomorrow. The rental duration was for a week.

After dinner, he went to bed early. He found out that he could communicate with Kelrick but only when he was asleep. "Kelrick, I have a question for you. How did you get stuck in a computer program?"

The elf acknowledges Arthur's presence while he appears to be exercising. "I'm not too sure either. I was looking for someone with enough mana capability to sustain me and the next thing I knew I was stuck in a dark place for a while. When Cynthia activated the program, I was able to see because of the webcam that was attached to the computer. It took a bit longer to figure out how to use the microphone and speaker to communicate. A computer should not have any mana capability."

"Mana crystals are the solidification and compression of mana. So what if a computer was powered by a mana crystal?"

"I wouldn't think that someone would create a computerized soul phylactery, but I guess in this day and age it is possible."

"So if that is possible and mana crystals are mana. What about the diamond that went into me? Is that a mana crystal?"

"I am not sure about that. I have never heard of a mana crystal that size. Most mana crystals are rough in form, looking more like shards of ice or carved into a desired shape. Not a spherical diamond."

"I'm planning to go back to where I fell to look around. Oh, and the Shieldtusk gave me their labyrinth. It said I had access to the dungeon. I think I might just have a personal uncleared labyrinth. I wonder what we could find there."

"You have access to my memories. You just need to focus and get the information. Maybe it will help you figure out some things. If you need to ask, you know where I am."

Arthur nodded and watched Kelrick do more exercises until he fell asleep.