Alex grabbed some food in between locations. Sitting down at an open pavilion he took out his notes as he ate and started going through them again. The third floor had many new things for him to do and many more he wanted to catch up on. First on that list was to catch up to level 25 and go beyond that. Alex took a bite of his food and brought up his status screen.

<<<>>>

Name: Alex

Path: Magic (Sub-Path: Lightning)

Rating: G

Level: 23 (16%)

Abilities (1/1):

Manipulate Electricity [F+]

Tower Points: 5680

Percent Soul Captured: 3%

<<<>>>

“No combat recently so no levels gained. If I am lucky with the enemies I face I may be able to hit ten thousand points after the spatial dungeon. It is definitely the first thing that I need to do at this point. Everything I should be doing and will do is based on being in the best position I can be for the solo tournament and facing Rich again. After completing the dungeon, I need to visit Archer again. He will be able to find Rich. It would be less exciting to just attack him out of nowhere. I will do whatever I can to make sure that we face off in the tournament. I will show him my strength and how much better I have become. Angela is also someone I should see after Archer, maybe before. With the crafting dungeons she will have the option to gain resources and other things without buying and selling from climbers. Maybe there is something she can earn that will help in the development of the next battery version?”

Alex continued to contemplate and relax as he finished his meal. The afternoon was nice and the weather perfect outside. He missed this feeling. Throughout the second floor it was often overcast and stormy. While the weather was beneficial to his lightning magic it was not great to stand outside throughout.

“I also need to consider the development of my powers. The gnome seemed suggest that with the right dungeon and luck I could find items I needed to boost my magic power. With items like those I could improve my fighting effectiveness. Use less lightning and maybe even have something help me generate lightning. There is also the new use of my magic for use in combat. The undead weren’t creatures with organics. Now though I should find monsters that I can use ‘Alter Senses’ with. Because I removed sound from that guard I should be able to create sounds too. Maybe the same with sight. Instead of using a more forceful ‘Disruption’ I can only disrupt part of a creature for less mana. These are all things I need to test and develop while in the dungeons.”

The spatial dungeon Alex soon found out was located conveniently beneath the main square where everyone first entered the third floor. There was a stairwell leading down to its entrance with an attendant waiting to check people in.

“You can’t enter. Come back later,” said the attendant.

“But why?” asked Alex.

“The dungeon is only solo for crafters. Which you are not. Come back with more party members that can join you. After that I can add you to the schedule. Not before,” he said sternly.

It was the same message he had received at the Office of Dungeon affairs. If he wished to enter a dungeon he had to go with other people.

“Maybe Archer will be willing to join me,” he thought to himself. “No. That is a bad idea. While I appreciate his help with a lot of things we do not always work well together. He is very much a team leader and I climb the Tower largely solo. I need to find someone I can tolerate in the dungeon and will tolerate me in return.”

“Where can I find people looking for teammates for dungeon runs?” asked Alex to the attendant.

“You can go to the Office of Dungeon Affairs and look through postings there. Really you should have gone their first.”

“Damn.”

Alex returned to the place where he had started.

Inside the Office of Dungeon Affairs, a billboard hung full of postings from climbers interested in forming a team. Alex's eyes scanned the billboard, a patchwork of parchment and ink, each note a plea for companionship in the face of the unknown. The postings included their name, profession, and their reasons for being a strong candidate. They were people which for one reason or another hadn’t already found a team to be a part of.

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The first listing that caught his eye was from an 80-year-old man named Gilbert. His note was written in a shaky hand, the ink smudged in places. Gilbert claimed to be a seasoned wizard with many battles worth of experience. He boasted of his powerful spells and his ability to control the wind. But Alex shook his head. Age was not a guarantee of wisdom, and the dungeon was no place for frailty. He could tell that either the man held an overestimation of his powers or could not keep up with younger climbers. In the end it seemed that there was a reason that he had not found a team to join. He moved on.

The next listing was from a young woman named Isolde. She was a rogue, skilled in stealth and deception. Her note was filled with promises of quick fingers and quicker wits. Alex considered her note for a minute. She had written a lot with her offer. “She is a largely solo climber like me. She seems desperate and has realized that her skills now need to be applied to a team. Maybe she would be a good teammate, but she should try and join with a guild for better success.” The dungeon was not a place for solo players. He needed a team player, not a lone wolf. He sighed and moved on.

His eyes fell on a note from a 16-year-old boy named Finn. The note was simple, almost meant to be unnoticed among the many other postings. Finn claimed to be a warrior, strong and brave. He wrote of his dreams of glory and his desire to prove himself. His words were filled with youthful enthusiasm and a touch of desperation. Alex paused. If what was said was true then Finn was a motivated individual. One who had worked hard to be on the third floor when most could not say the same.

Finn was young, but he was eager. He was willing to learn, willing to fight. He was not a seasoned veteran like Gilbert, nor a lone wolf like Isolde. He was a team player, a potential comrade-in-arms. Alex felt a spark of hope. Maybe Finn was the teammate he was looking for.

Alex took a deep breath and reached for the note. He pulled it from the board and turned it over. On the back was a simple list of instructions for where to find him. It was an inn that Alex was unfamiliar with, but he decided then to find it. Alex smiled. He had found his teammate. He took the note and walked away from the billboard.

The note sat in his pocket as he searched the city. Alex asked for directions and was pointed toward the district next to the crafter’s quarters. They were sectioned off because of noise at all times of day and smells that would often come from the heavy usage of chemicals within alchemy products.

The inn was tucked away in a quiet corner of the district, a quaint establishment that seemed to exude a sense of warmth and welcome. As Alex pushed open the door, the noise from the outside world seemed to fade away, replaced by the soft murmur of conversation and the crackling of a fire. He scanned the room, his eyes falling on a young boy seated at a table in the corner. The boy's eyes were bright with excitement, his hands around a drink.

The boy had long blonde hair and golden eyes. His feet were bare, and his hands were wrapped in some sort of cloth. Tattoos full of color marked his arms, feet, and bare chest. It showed off his forming muscles and lean frame. Alex noted that no weapon was at his side. He sat down next to Finn and extended a hand.

“Hello Finn. I’m interested in working together with you. My name is Alex.”

“What do you want with me?” The boy asked while sitting up a little taller.

“I have this,” said Alex while presenting the written notice. “I need another teammate and I thought maybe that would be you. We could take on the spatial dungeon and if things go well we could continue our working relationship to other dungeons.”

“Tell me about yourself. To me we are strangers. Why should I join you?” asked Finn poignantly.

“I won’t try and offer platitudes, grand offers, or threats. I have just been put in this situation where I now require a second person in the dungeon and as do you. I’m a lightning mage and decent with blades. We would work just the one time and be done. I need to get my level up past 25 otherwise I will have to continue searching through the scattered listings. You should join me because you probably need me more than I need you. I’m not sure how you got the third floor, but it probably required some skill, luck, and deception. I haven’t seen any teenagers in the Tower. It is quite brave of you to be here. Now enough about me what about on to you.” Alex glanced down. “Where is your blade?”

“Don’t need one.” Finn answered. “My fists will break stone and monsters. My path is fighter, but I am a monk. I am level 25 unlike you. As for your assumptions they miss the mark. I made my way to this floor the same as you and everyone else has to right now. I worked hard, fought monsters, leveled up, kept fighting, and when the time came I was ready to join a caravan. I fought with the caravan, and we made it through the undead until we got here. The trip was one way though and the don’t want to help me out further. I made no other friends so here I am now.”

“Then are you opposed to joining me or not?” Alex asked bluntly. “You will be our front-line fighter while I will watch our backs and deal with ranged enemies. It should work out since I am a lower level, and you can better deal with the oncoming enemies.”

“I suppose we could work together. What about other people? The two of us aren’t really a complete dungeon team. We need others.”

“I already looked through the postings from the Office of Dungeon Affairs. There weren’t any notable postings. Maybe a few more have been added to the board since I left and as more people enter the floor but there had been none I’ve liked except you. I’ll tell you what. Maybe you are right, and we do need another person or two. Meet me with whoever you can find who will join us and we will enter the dungeon together. Meeting at the dungeon entrance?”

“I’ll meet you there. I’ll see if I can find anyone else who will join us, but we already make for a weird team and a weak team at that.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes, it's the weird teams that surprise everyone. And as for being weak, I've learned that strength isn't just about levels or brute force. It's about strategy, cooperation, and trust."

Finn looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, I'll give you that. But trust is earned, not given. Remember that."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Alex replied. "And I promise, I'll earn your trust."

The two of them parted ways, each with their own mission.