Adam and Josh were joined by an NPC woman that seemed to have more life experiences than the both combined, a demon teddy bear who was once some great commander, and a goblin beast tamer with a pack of wolves at his command. To Adam it was unreal. It was crazy really. He was level three in the world. He had been here for maybe a full day. Everything was moving so fast.

Josh nudged Adam in the side lightly trying to get his attention. He still hadn’t adjusted to his new strength and Adam yelped. “Ow, What?”

“Psst.” He tried to whisper, but was never really good at controlling the volume of his voice. It had not gotten better with his new body. “Have you had the, you know, urge to go?”

“What are you talking about?” asked Adam. The rest of the group had stopped to stare.

“You know, the call of nature. Drain the main vein. Take the Browns to the super bowl. Anything?”

“Ohhh, now that you mention it. No, I haven’t felt the need at all.”

“What are you two yapping about?” asked Drox. He was riding on top of Snowball with his paws planted firmly on his round waist. He would have looked indignant if he wasn’t a teddy bear.

“I’m worried,” said Josh. His face looked more red than usual. “I haven’t had to go to, um, relieve myself for a long time.”

Mina laughed. It was so unexpected and sudden that all the wolves' hackles rose. “I’m sorry, that was just unexpected. We have noticed the phenomenon as well. Since the change nobody has had to relieve themselves. There seems to be no need anymore. One of our local butchers ate enough meat to make his belly swell to the point of bursting. By the next day he was back to his new and improved body.”

“Oh, sweet!” Josh was smiling ear to ear now. The thought of never having to go to the bathroom again was awesome to him.

“What else have you noticed that has changed?” asked Adam. “Josh and I haven’t been in contact with anyone since the crystals fell. Any information you can give us would be great.” He didn’t like having to skirt around the topic, but it seemed like he wouldn’t have to do it forever. He just wondered how long it'd take to get level 30 so he could tell them the truth.

The group continued up the mountain as Mina talked. “The villagers have discovered that you can no longer accidentally get pregnant. Both parties involved have some sort of message that interrupts them before the, um, act.” Mina felt her face getting hot as she spoke, but she continued. “People have also discovered that doing things will grant you the skills. Such as cooking, carpentry, trading, and other things. Combat seems to give skills based on the weapon you choose. When I got my first skill in both sword and shield knowledge seemed to rush into me. I knew how to use my weapons. I was as competent as a veteran soldier.”

“So if I cook something I’ll get a cooking skill?” asked Josh.

“It seems that way,” said Mina. “The biggest change we have seen is in strength though. At least for us women. Before a man would always have more natural strength than a woman. That was the way of nature. The way of the world. Now though, it is no longer the same. A level one man and a level one woman have exactly the same strength. If they are both equally skilled they will be evenly matched. There is no longer a divide between us.

But everything is so new. I think the highest level person we had was level four. They were a carpenter that kept fixing up the village after each attack. Before we started meeting the goblins in the valley.”

That comment jogged Adam’s memory. He had asked Himoka about classes and she had said they’ll be offered one at level five. He looked over to Skyeyes and mentally slapped himself. “Of course. Skyeyes you have a class don’t you?”

The goblin glanced back from his perch atop Porkchop. "Yes class. I was hound trainer. When crystal fall I get skill. Beast mastery. Help with hounds. Then bad goblin appear. I fight. I level. I get class."

“Wow,” said Josh, “I wonder if I’ll be able to have an army of demons.”

Adam wasn’t sure how he felt about an army of Droxes running around, but he didn’t voice his concerns. They could deal with that if Josh actually got some demon summoning class. Instead, Adam focused almost blinding light ahead of them. He knew the forest was finally coming to an end, but the harshness of the light was shocking. He hadn’t realized how much the forest canopy had blocked out the light.

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The group were all trying to block the sun with their hands as they stepped out from the forest. The land was so different that Adam almost lost his footing as his feet met hard, packed dirt. As his eyes adjusted he looked around and saw they were indeed on near the top of a mountain now. The peak was maybe another hundred meters up, but in clear view. The cliffs leading to the peak of the mountain were so steep they looked vertical.

All around the peak of the mountain the forest had been cleared away. There were no trunks, not roots, nothing but dirt that had been stomped and packed densely. With the steep cliffs leading up to the peak of the mountain it made the area feel like a fortress rather than a mountain. That’s when Adam spotted the massive double doors literally embedded into the cliff-face.

The doors we made of wrought iron and wood. They were at least ten feet wide and half again as tall. Each door had a massive knocker of iron adorning it. The knockers were shaped into the faces of snarling goblins, each clenching rings in their mouths. While Adam stared at the doors he was met with a notification.

Small Dungeon of the Corrupted Goblin King: This is a small dungeon. Parties of up to 5 may enter not including familiars, pets, summons, or companions. You may leave at any time. If you are able to defeat the dungeon boss you will be rewarded. If you leave without defeating the boss you will not be able to enter again for one month. All party members must be level 10 or lower to enter this dungeon.

“Do you guys see that?” was all Adam could ask as he stared at the doors.

“A dungeon,” whispered Josh.

Skyeyes had stopped Porkchop and fell off the wolf more than dismounted to move up to the door. He moved slowly, almost creeping as if scared to disturb something. As he got close his hands went out and he touched the smooth wood. He dropped his head and put it against the wood as he spoke, “I-I no understand. Door was not this when left. I-I not know what this mean.” He turned and looked at the rag tag team of adventurers with his eyes shining with unrealized tears. “Am I alone?”

Adam wasn’t sure what to say to the small goblin. He was the strongest of them, at least by levels. They hadn’t known him for more than a few hours, but the pain in the goblin’s voice made him feel sick. First Mina and now Skyeyes. So much pain for these people. He felt guilty knowing that someone had created all of this. Someone had made these people suffer for no more than a playground for people like himself. For a moment he felt disgusted with himself and the nexus.

The thoughts raced through his mind. He sucked air through his nose and breathed in deep. Then he released it. He wasn’t responsible for this suffering. He and Josh were not the ones that created this world and they weren’t the ones that caused the world to change. They were just as much a part of this as the other inhabitants of the world now. No, they weren’t the cause of this, but they could be part of the solution.

“No,” said Adam, “you’re not alone.” He sent a party invite to Skyeyes.

The goblin beast tamer looked at Adam as he received the message. He nodded and accepted, and Adam saw Skyeyes’ name appear on the top left of his vision along with the three wolves each of which were sporting the names that Drox had given them.

“It says we need to be lower than level ten to enter,” said Josh. “I mean we’re lower than level ten, but like a lot lower. This might be difficult.”

“I will go. These monsters have harried my home and will not stop. There is only one thing to do.” Mina looked around. Her purple eyes were blazing with hate as she spit out the words.

“It says we can leave at any time,” said Adam. “We could always escape if we need to.”

“Then there’s a month lockout bro. I don’t see us sticking around here for a month.”

“True, but think about all the loot.” Adam had a smile on his face as he said the words. He had known Josh since they were kids. If anything would get him to go now it was the promise of fat loot.

“I could use a new shirt I guess.” Josh looked down at his bare chest. The shirt had been shredded by the Juvenile Harpy that hit him.

“Are we going to prattle forever out here or are we going to go in lads.” Drox was now standing easily on Snowball’s back. His body weighed as much as a normal Teddy Bear so the wolf looked unbothered. His paws were planted firmly on his waist.

“How do we actually enter?” asked Josh scratching his chin as he looked at the door.

“I have an idea,” said Adam. “Are we all ready?”

The group all nodded and Adam moved up toward the door. He reached his hand up to the ring of the knocker and tapped it against the door. It was a gentle motion. Adam expected nothing more than a slight knock against the wood. Instead, what rang out sounded as if he had hit a giant gong with the force of ten men.

Would you like to enter [Small Dungeon of the Corrupted Goblin King] with your party?

Y/N

Adam mentally chose yes and blackness enveloped him.