"Good morning," Phillipe said. "Did you rest well?" "I... yeah, fantastically. I haven't felt this good in a long time. What was in that food last night?" "It's less the food and more the environment," Phillipe said. He gestured around himself with his off-hand. "Dungeons are filled with mana, especially overnight. It makes challenging a dungeon at night far, far more dangerous. But on the other hand, sleeping in a dungeon replenishes you in a way that doesn't compare to anything else. It's all the ambient mana, I think." That made some sense, I supposed. I checked my stats out of curiosity. Race: Human {Common} Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝓷𝓮𝓽 Primary Class: [Feronie's Crusader {Epic}] I had never seen my mana reserves so full. Was this how it felt to just be full of mana? "I heard that rich people have items that fill their homes with ambient mana," Tyro said. "Hmm, only somewhat true," Phillipe said. "They'll eat mana-rich foods and the like, and sometimes they use censers that give off a little mana over a long period to fill a room up. Some mages need it to replenish their reserves naturally." I nodded along. So far I was gaining more mana at a steady rate, but something told me that someone with a magic-focused class would have a lot more to use. And if they regained mana at the same pace of about one point a minute... well, if they had hundreds to regain, that could take literal hours. I imagined it would be especially important in places where spells were being cast, either for practice or for work. "Well, whatever the case," I said. "I wouldn't mind waking up feeling this way every morning." Phillipe nodded, then bent down to blow at the embers so that they flared up and caught a chunk of wood alight. Soon he was nestling a cast iron pot onto the fire and the room filled with a savoury scent that reminded me that supper had been a while ago. "We'll eat light," Phillipe said, rather disappointingly. "We don't want to be digesting before a fight. And there will be fighting." "We're heading straight for the seventh floor?" Tyro asked. Phillipe adjusted the teapot before answering. "Yes. If we do well it should only take until a bit before noon to reach the core room. We can linger around, have our lunch, then start the trek back up to the surface. If all goes well, then we'll be out of the Ditz Dungeon by just before nightfall. Not a bad time, honestly. I've had it take significantly longer, but we were lucky a number of times." While he got our breakfast ready, I checked on my mushrooms. I hadn't used too many so far, but that wasn't a reason not to restock when I had the opportunity, so last night, before going to bed, I'd placed a number of mushrooms down and left them to grow overnight. Now they were nearly completely grown. I should have found a way to wake up during the night to apply some [Aura of Growth] on them; that would have ensured that they were fully grown already, but I didn't regret getting a full night's sleep either. I refilled my satchel with all of my favourite deadly mushrooms, making sure that they weren't squeezed in too tightly around each other. Then I brought some back for the others to eat. "Will the rest of the floor be dark?" I asked. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. "Not the sixth, no," Phillipe said. "But the seventh will be. We might have to carry our own lighting." "Well, these will help again, in that case," I said as I placed a few [Blackbottle Night Watcher] mushrooms onto a piece of wood next to the fire. He nodded. "Thank you." Then, much to my dismay, he looked up to Tyro. "Go check on the corridor just outside this room. We'll be heading leftwards. There might be a few simple traps. Go slowly." "Sometimes you'll find yourself alone in a dungeon," Phillipe said. "This way, at least, you know we'll be coming for you if you don't return. Besides, Ginger and I need to have a talk." Tyro picked up some of his gear and headed out without complaint. The prospect of working on his own seemed to really wake him up. Meanwhile, I was stewing in growing worry. He'd mentioned wanting to have a talk, but that was a while ago. I didn't plan on letting the silence stretch, even if Phillipe seemed comfortable with that. "So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked as I settled down and sat with my knees drawn up. Seeing a space that he could stuff himself in, Sir Nibbles climbed in between my lap and stomach and flopped down to sleep some more. I idly began to rub his ears. "You learn not to ask questions," Phillipe said. "But I was never too keen on that lesson. I think I might be a richer man if I didn't stand up for what I think is right as often as I have. All that to say that while it's none of my business, and you are the client here, I think I have a few questions that I think I can ask before we continue with this expedition. If that's too much for you, we can cancel things here and now. I'll even refund you, if that's what you really want. I imagine that the cost of this venture was a lot for you." I frowned. "I suppose that doesn't leave me with much of a choice," I said. "Ask your questions." He nodded. "Thank you. You're a reasonable young... young person?" He shuffled. "Why are you so set on reaching the core?" "That's your main question?" I asked. "No, but the others I have I can imagine answers to. You're unconcerned with the idea of killing. I've seen people baulk at the sight of death, others who were unable to believe that they could kill. You've seen death and have killed before. You're comfortable with the idea, and that leads me to suspect all sorts of things about your upbringing." I glared. "Is that a slight against my family?" I asked. "I don't know," he said. "Is it?" My glare softened. It was too early for this. "Yes. They're good people. It's this city, this world, that isn't so good." He didn't press on that. "So, why are you so intent on reaching the core? Initially, I thought it was for the same reason I was trying to bring Tyro down. Get a good class early, and from there you might get a future as a delver. Dangerous, certainly, but valuable work tends to pay well, and I've seen the other options for someone your age." "But you don't think that anymore?" I asked. He raised the night-vision mushroom I'd given him. "No. This here is too useful. Anyone smart could find a way to make money from it. And you're smart. I asked around before taking the job, and it seems you're somewhat well known for selling mushroom skewers around the dungeon's entrance for a few pence each, and that you've since hired others to do the work for you. That's clever. Which leaves my question unanswered, why this expedition? If you wanted mushroom samples there are safer ways of getting them." I waited a bit before answering, because it wouldn't be smart to spout the first thing that came to mind. How much could I tell him, how much could I trust him? How much did he need to know? I didn't find the answers to that in the dancing flames, but I turned my attention towards Phillipe anyway. "I was once asked if I knew the meaning of loyalty," I began. "I still don't know if I do. But I'm willing to try. Right now, this world is a terrible place. There might be a way to change that for the better, but I don't have the personal power to bring that change about peacefully. So I'm going to do what I can anyway, even if there might be consequences that are too big for me to understand. I think, Phillipe, that you'll just have to trust me until we reach the core. Then, maybe, you'll see."