“Why don’t you spend a couple days resting. You need to heal up, and with the dungeons closed for good, there’s nothing urgent that you need to do at Refuge,” Marie said as we drove back toward the apartment buildings that were Refuge’s headquarters.

“I won’t argue with that, I still feel beat up. I know it’s probably being a bit prideful, but I’d rather not go out in public with all my hair melted off,” I replied.

Being inside a giant anaconda’s gullet wasn’t the most pleasant experience, but I was far less injured than I should have been. I chalked it up to being in a mana rich dungeon environment. It must have boosted my healing a bit, and that must have continued for a while after the dungeon was shut down. There was the temptation to cast Health Bloom on myself, but the effects would be negligible. Anything other than an instant cast spell would have its mana sucked dry by our world before it could do much.

“Are you hungry, Rico? I could go for a burger. It’s got to be better than hospital food,” Julio offered.

“Sure, wherever you want to stop is fine,” I replied. He pulled into the parking lot of a local burger place that wasn’t a franchise. These types of places were all over Orange County and LA, most were pretty good as well as inexpensive. Julio seemed to have scoped out all the best ones around town.

I didn’t realize how hungry I’d become, but as I waited in the parking lot with the window cracked open, I could smell the char-broiled burgers cooking. Julio came back shortly with a chili burger for me, and a triple cheeseburger for himself. I hardly tasted it as I scarfed down the food, almost choking myself.

“Hungry much?” Julio teased.

“It’s probably from the injuries. I’ve noticed that we tend to heal more quickly as summoned beings, but it does burn calories like crazy,” Marie said.

“Lucky,” Julio complained as he patted his growing dad belly. He’d been prior military and still worked out every chance he got, but the guy had a horrible diet and ate like a teenager.

After eating, I drifted off to sleep in the car. I was jolted awake when we finally pulled into the apartment parking lot. The little nap hadn’t done me much good, and I was ready for bed despite it being early afternoon. Quinn and Elliot were waiting for us when we pulled in. It was nice to have the rest of the team that I’d cleared the first dungeon with showing up to welcome me home.

“Dude, you look like a freak of nature,” Elliot said, laughing as soon as I stepped out of the car. Quinn joined in, unable to keep from laughing as well at my strange appearance.

“Hey, let’s see how you look after getting eaten by a giant anaconda. It’s just hair, it’ll grow back,” I whined.

“Leave Rico alone, he needs to rest,” Marie said, she tried and failed to keep a smile off her face.

“Nice, you’re going to laugh at me too Marie?” I asked, joining in the laughing myself. It felt good to laugh, even if the joke was at my expense.

“We’re glad to have you back, Rico,” Quinn said between giggles.

“It’s good to be back. Maybe once I’ve rested up, I’ll summon my minions and have them shave the two of you so you can match my new style,” I joked.

“Leave him alone everyone, let Rico get some sleep. Don’t worry about fixing any dinner, Rico, I’ll bring something by for you later,” Julio offered.

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” I replied.

“Now, get to bed, it’s obvious you need your beauty sleep,” Julio said, cracking a huge grin.

“Et tu, Julio?” I said before addressing everyone. “Thank you all for coming to see me, we’ll get together later, and Marie and I can tell you about the dungeon.”

Walking in the door to my apartment, I felt at home. My old apartment, not to mention the hotels and motels I’d stayed at while on the run, had always felt like a temporary stop. Now, I felt like I belonged here, and I was surrounded by people who I could count on, and who needed my help.

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I took a quick shower, wanting to get any residual dungeon and hospital grime off me before I got into bed. Unwrapping my ribs took some time, and I’d have to get someone to help me wrap them back up after I woke up. For now, I was going sleep like a stone, and doubted I would roll around enough to hurt myself.

Dropping into bed with a grunt of pain, I tried to decide if heading to the kitchen to take some ibuprofen was worth the effort. Before I knew it, I was flat on the bed and slowly drifting off to sleep. My rest was interrupted as words flashed in front of my eyes.

You are Summoned!

One moment I was asleep and the next I was inside my personal space. I wasn’t sure why I found it a bit disorienting this time, maybe it was because I had been almost asleep when summoned. It could also be that the appearance of the dungeons had altered the connection between worlds in some way. The mystery wasn’t something I could figure out on my own, and I had summonings to attend to.

“Melvin, how are you doing?” I asked my friend as he slid from the training center. He sent me feelings of contentedness.

“Great, I’m glad you’re okay after our last adventure. Thank you again for all your help, Melvin. You’ve been a good friend.”

Melvin sent me the gelatinous cube equivalent of no worries, bro, and slid back into the training center after I told him I was about to be summoned and couldn’t use it right now. There really wasn’t much else for me to do here in the personal space. I’d already locked in the gear loadout I wanted, and I didn’t have time to dig into training.

I also noticed that I was no longer in pain. Giving my body a few stretches, jumping up and down, and even poking at my ribs where they had been sore revealed that I was completely healed. That was right, being summoned rebuilt my body from scratch, fixing any damage that I had experienced. Even better, my hair had all grown back!

The glowing portal beckoned. Feeling like a million bucks with my newly repaired body, I stepped in to find my next adventure.

Your summoning parameters are as follows:

1. You are being summoned by use of a magical artifact.

2. Summoning tier, 1.

3. Summoning rank, 7.

4. Rewards level, moderate.

5. This summons is for the purpose of providing security services. Prepare accordingly.

6. Forced compliance is active.

7. Your armory loadout has been equipped.

As I stepped from the portal, I found myself inside what looked like a merchant’s shop. It was a simple affair, with wooden floors and walls, but it was spacious and had a surprising amount of goods for sale. There was everything from clothing and household goods, to food, weapons, armor, and adventuring gear. Many of the items practically glowed with mana, telling me they were enchanted to various degrees.

“Ah, there you are. I’m leaving the shop for the day, and my normal night watchman is ill. Here are your orders, I know you’ll follow them to the best of your ability. The device I summoned you with should keep you active here in this world until tomorrow afternoon, but I should return in the morning. Good luck, follow your list, and I’ll see you in the morning,” A short and chubby middle-aged man said, handing me a scroll before walking out the front door of the shop.

My mana link flowed from him to a small orb that was placed beneath a counter at the center of the shop. A single magical lantern hung high on the wall gave me little light to work with, but it was enough to make out the instructions my summoner had left me. He seemed well versed in how all this worked, and I had the feeling that the artifact he had summoned me with was something that he had used many times.

The shop had a freshly cleaned smell, and not the usual dusty and musty smell I had come to expect from these medieval type places. It was quiet and calm as I unrolled the scroll to see what orders my summoner had given me.

Nightly Security Instructions.

1. Make sure nobody breaks into the shop while it is closed. Use less than lethal means to subdue them, if possible, but you can defend yourself and my shop with lethal force if necessary.

2. Make a complete patrol of the interior of the shop every hour.

3. Monitor the automatons that organize and clean at night. If any are stuck, or having trouble, return them to their crates in the basement. They will automatically repair, regenerate, and continue their duties, no other efforts are required with them.

4. The city is under curfew, so please remain inside the shop, do not patrol the exterior of the building or the city guard may stop and question you. I will not be pleased if I must go to the guardhouse to sign for your release.

5. Keep an eye on the windows, I noticed several scratches on them over the last few days. If there are vandals outside, as I suspect, open letter number 99 behind the sales counter. The magic in the letter will alert the city guard that there is an issue.

6. Monitor the drains in the basement, they’re making noise again and I don’t want to return to a flooded basement. If there is a problem, activate crate number 17, it is the automaton trained in plumbing repair and water removal.

7. Should you encounter anything that is a threat to the shop that you cannot handle on your own, activate crates 7, 9, and 14.