As Stephen was about to talk to Comtess, he had this sense of deja vu, for he was about to ask her to wait for a while more. Like all those times when someone’s busy doing this or that, and upon being called, they often say, “Be right there! Just five minutes.” Only to repeat it again and again. Or the times it happens when shutting up the alarm over and over again without ever waking up before it’s too late.

Stephen was in a similar situation, which made him feel ashamed for disappointing his canine companion, who was now almost writhing on the floor. She looked torn between her revulsion for the putrid smell and her stubbornness for not wanting to let Stephen delay their outing any longer. The sudden appearance of a text hovering in the air interrupted his thoughts.

[Comtess – female dog (rough collie) – 8 years old]

Unlike the previous screens appearing as large blue panels just within reach, the prompt was above Comtess’s head this time.

It took Stephen an embarrassing amount of time to realise it resulted from his [Identify] skill. After pushing away the surprise felt by this text showing up, all he wanted was to identify everything around him. Thanks to his companion’s loud inquiry, it was a very short-lived idea.

His mind was back on track. The young man was forced to acknowledge he had a straightforward solution being provided yet spent most of his time exploring other facets of the system screens. The last happenstance with his identity skill was yet another example. It was an annoying reflection, yet valuable because it allowed him to review his priorities.

He should’ve immediately purchased the facilities upgrade for the “Garbage pit” and “Home-World Safe Room” the moment he saw them. It wasn’t too late to solve his more urgent problem and spend quality time with his dog. Yet, now that he had to decide, he knew he wouldn’t do that. He knew he would have to tell her he couldn’t come yet. She needed to wait for some more time.

Seeing Comtess in front of him, in an uncomfortable state, reminded Stephen of the snake lady he had left behind. Who had to suffer the decaying smells getting stronger by the hour ever since he left the dungeon some fourteen hours ago. Without food, water, or anything but a roughly made cage and the company of death.

No matter how much he cared about his dog and wished to make it up to her for not spending time together, he couldn’t let another being suffer for his fault. After all, he had intended to save the snake woman, not to torture her by turning the safe room into a putrid hell.

There was but one problem with that. Ensuring that Comtess wouldn’t have any chance of going through the portal.

Partly because if she did, she might hurt herself because of her acute sense of smell. But also because no matter how much Stephen was willing to trust the system, he was still afraid it might change his furry friend.

As such, Stephen waved away all the screens before him, trying to make them disappear so he could focus on the task. It did work, although Stephen wasn’t sure if it was because the system could read his mind or because his swipes were effective enough. It wasn’t the time to ponder on that.

He then went to look for a rope or something similar among the shelves lining his basement’s walls. The first thing he found was a tightening strap, which he tried to tie to Comtess’ collar. It was a struggle, one of the rare times Stephen had so much trouble getting close to his dog. The last time it happened was when Stephen had used cleaning products with a citrus scent. The mix had convinced Comtess to stay outside the house for several days. Evidently, this time, it was because he reeked of decay, which was a definite no-go for the dog’s sensitive snout.

When she saw she wasn’t forced to leave the basement but instead got tethered to the space at the bottom of the stairs, Comtess let out a probing bark. Then, satisfied by Stephen’s non-answer, she laid against the door. Only she was facing the wall opposite the smelly room.

“I’m sorry ‘Tess, I need some more time. I will make it up to you later.”

While he felt bad for how it went, Stephen still turned back towards the otherworldly gateway. He wasn’t going to delay any more. There was a simple problem and a simple solution. Might as well get on with it.

And if it meant spending most of his tokens at once before perusing all options offered by the shop, that was fine. He hadn’t planned to not delve any more, after all. His only intention initially was to find an efficient way to spend a valuable resource. Catering to the needs of his captive may not have been the solution.

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However, seeing Comtess’ reaction to the smells changed his mind. If he planned to care for another being, he might as well do it properly. Leaving the alien lady behind in the safe room was a risk he had forced on her. Something he now felt ashamed of, as she could’ve ended up in the same condition he found her, or maybe even worse. Only now that it was confirmed he could make the safe room independent from the dungeon did it give credence to her safety.

As he accessed the System shop and its facilities upgrades section, Stephen reasoned that instead of seeing it solely to provide comfort to his captive, he should see the independent safe room upgrade as an investment. He had a small home and couldn’t feasibly expand outside. To have access at all times to another room, one as large as the safe room, would be a boon. It was also necessary for any other facilities he might buy in the future. However, he would’ve preferred to take the home-world safe room upgrade. Expanding his basement would’ve been much more practical.

Ultimately, Stephen bought Independent Safe Room, Ice-Chest, Garbage Pit and Armoury for a total of 5,500 tokens. Armoury was sorely needed, as all of his gear was in a pitiful state. It wouldn’t be enough even if he could pick one free armour part. As for the 2000 tokens he has left, he would care about it later.

His purchase done, Stephen waved away the screen to make it disappear, then moved his arm once more to touch the stone frame and see if there were any visible changes to the system screen. After all, the last time he entered, he had to reach the portal to the next floor before being allowed passage back to his world.

However, the prompt had already appeared before his finger reached within an inch of the stone.

Dungeon Portal #MW-SOL-EARTH-PIGMED-QUEEN

Status: Free access to the anteroom

Inner door: Unlocked

Dungeon Breakout: 3d 19h 13min

He wasn’t sure how or why it happened. For all he knew, waving away the screen as he did was the equivalent of asking for the last displayed screen. On the other hand, the previous time, he had another screen appear to ask him if he wanted to access the shop, but this time it didn’t.

The change was enough to stress out Stephen, as it might mean it was a one-time offer. This would make his purchases a deplorable decision regarding planning for the next delve. Especially with the 2,000 unspent tokens he still had. Unless those were also lost because he didn’t want to purchase anything else.

Fortunately, his worries were quickly assuaged by asking to display the system shop, the prompt working without issues. His tokens were also still visible on his status screen, and nothing seemed to indicate they were locked from use. It gave credit to his idea when he was still preparing for his little adventure of the system being a convenient helper.

At that time, it had been because of the leeway he was given until the dungeon break and how the first prompt had saved him from entering the dungeon unprepared.

This time, it was because the system had included the system shop screen to be visible once when acceding the portal. The many hints provided inside made it possible to explore the obscure way each panel could be displayed.

In any case, the new information he hoped for was there. He could indeed walk to and fro the portal. The new threshold with the dungeon was, in all likelihood, the inner door mentioned in the new line.

There was just another change happening to the portal, a visual confirmation of the change in status rather than one granted by the system. When locked, the energy vortex was purple and green when it switched to an open state. This time, with the free access, the portal had become blue. While the colour was the same as during the transition between the two other states, its dark shade quickly lightened until it reached a more lively nuance, like a magic blue or lapis lazuli.

Despite the visual and textual confirmation that he shouldn’t be in danger, Stephen was still nervous about going through the vortex again. Both from the faint possibility of being forced to go through the dungeon and from the genuine one that his captive might not be cooperative.

Hence, he put one of his less damaged spears on the sledge carrying the corpses and then searched for clothes. One for himself, to put around his mouth and nose to mitigate the smells. And some others for the captive, also for the scent, but mainly for modesty.

It could have been easier to go upstairs to look for them, but Stephen didn’t want to upset Comtess by giving her false hopes. As such, he made do with what was in his basement, the laundry room included. Rags to cover the face were easy to find. However, something large enough to wrap around the body, especially considering the snake lady’s height, was another problem. In the end, Stephen found some old sheets which were lying around. They seemed to have been used as cover for painting works if going by the sprinkling of paint visible on it.

His last couple of steps before going in were about health. Stephen added to his bag some medical supplies from what he had left next to the table – where was his phone and the letter of warning should he not make it back. Then, the rags were dampened with water from the dungeon, which he fished for in the loot’s sledge. One was immediately wrapped around his face, the other in his bag pocket. Another couple of flasks were picked and put in his bag.

After which, Stephen finally crossed the portal. This time, without risking his life, if his trust in the system wasn’t unwarranted.

Crossing the portal felt just as odd as the first time. He hadn’t much memories of the second one. On the other side, the Lone Wolf found out his worries weren’t unfounded. Comtess would have very probably died. He was forced to keel over, emptying his stomach on the floor while lamenting his poor decision-making skills.

His earlier worries about inflicting a fate worse than before on his captive were proven true. The third circle of hell might not be as horrendous an experience as what torture was inflicted in there.

Looking for the captive was a dreadful thought in Stephen’s mind. After being abandoned in this place for about fourteen hours, her probable state scared him. It was the third time in the day he felt ashamed of something he did, to a degree that made any other time negligible in comparison. This time, though, the human also felt pity for the being he had wronged.