Nick was immediately uncomfortable when he realized that, just like when he visited his grandfather’s office, he was now on the top floor of the building, and the entire floor had been converted into a single office with a large old man sitting behind a desk. Unlike his grandfather though, this slightly plump seven-foot giant of a man lit up like flood lights when Nick walked into view.

  “Nick! My boy! So good to see you again! It feels like it’s been forever!”

  “I . . .” Nick blinked. Even in his last life, he couldn’t ever recall seeing the man before. However, given where he was and the fact that either of the two bodyguards flanking Nick and Seo-ah would be more than strong enough to turn the two of them into dust, he thought he would play along. “I know! It’s been so long. I would have come by earlier myself, but you know how things are with school, the family, the guild, and training.”

  “And saving the world from the crimson catastrophes!” the man said with a jolly laugh.

  “You know him?” Seo-ah whispered to him.

  He gave her the smallest shake of his head he could before continuing his conversation with the DungeonSafe Insurance president. “Crimson catastrophes? Do you mean the dungeon breaks?”

  “Dungeon breaks! That’s it! That’s exactly the name they need to be called! Dungeon breaks! If we can pop that label on them, then who wouldn’t turn to us, DungeonSafe Insurance to cover their insurance needs in case of a . . . ‘dungeon break’? Excellent. Excellent indeed. If we could get that to stick, instead of that ‘crimson catastrophe’ nonsense, then we’ll show up first on the SEOs when people go to look it up on the Internet. This is what I like about you, already thinking about how to solve a problem no one even pointed out yet,” the man said with an ear-to-ear grin as he stood up, walking over to a large set of comfy-looking chairs—each big enough to fit a man as large as the president—and sitting down as he gestured for Nick and Seo-ah to sit across the desk from him.

  “Thanks.” Nick gave a small nod as he walked over and sat down, but he didn't know what the man was talking about. “Crimson catastrophe” was a word he hadn’t even heard of before. Dungeon breaks had and always would be called “dungeon breaks.” “But, I’ve been rude. I was so eager to catch up with you that I completely forgot to ask what I can do for you, Mr. . . .” Nick paused, waiting for the president to give his name.

  “Mr. Girard, though you can call me ‘Steven.’ ‘Mr. Girard’ sounds too formal, doesn’t it? We don’t need formality between us. We’re far too close for that,” the president replied, pressing a button on his chair as he talked, which made a ding and summoned a servant carrying three large root beer floats.

  “Indeed.” Nick couldn’t help but appreciate Mr. Girard’s style as he took the root beer float and took a sip. The drink was delicious, the chair was nice, the air conditioning felt great, and with another push of a button on Mr. Girard’s chair, the two chairs Seo-ah and Nick were sitting in leaned back, and the footrests extended.

  “That’s it. There we go. Now we can have a real chat,” Mr. Girard said with a smile across his face as he began to quickly devour his own root beer float. “You see, ever since that dungeon portal turned red and caused devastation to the area around it, I’ve had an issue. On one hand, everyone living close to one of those portals now wants insurance. They want to make sure that if another one of those crimson catastrophes . . . or rather ‘dungeon breaks,’ occurs, then they won’t be out of house and home. Especially since most companies have now re-written their policies to make sure these breaks aren’t covered. It’s really gotten home owners, businesses, and guilds panicked, but none of the insurance companies want to touch it.”

  “Because they don’t know which ones will explode, and they don’t want to be paying out fifty to sixty million dollars every time one of the blue portals turns red,” Nick completed the thought.

  Mr. Girard nodded. “Exactly. The last thing they want is to be losing tens of millions of dollars over and over again on policies that don’t pay that much to begin with.”

  “But you’re not worried about that because you know which dungeons are going to break next thanks to your friend?” Nick couldn’t help but admire the man’s wit as he took another spoon full of ice cream from his root beer float and chased it down with some soda. His diet had been so meticulously high in protein with no sugar added at all, that it felt like pure heaven on his tongue as he enjoyed the sweet flavor of a desert he’d normally not bother with.

  “See? You’re very smart, exactly like my grand-niece Jennifer said about you. She said you knew an opportunity when it knocked and that you’d help me out without a problem.”

  “Your grand-niece?” Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Well, not by blood, but her grandfather has been like a brother to me. His coming to the States was one of the greatest blessings of my life, so when he told me that his granddaughter was insistent that you knew more than you were letting on and that you might be able to help me out, I just had to ask you myself. It would sure beat the alternative.”

  “Which is?” Seo-ah asked before Nick could agree to anything.

  “The alternative was that I assume you caused the dungeon to explode, take you to court with every lawyer on my staff as I try to prove it, and bar the pair of you from ever stepping foot into the building again, as well as make sure you can’t repeat that trick of yours again by simply following after the other insurance companies and canceling similar policies,” Mr. Girard said, his jovial mood turning to ice as he stared down at Seo-ah as if she had committed some heinous sin. Then a moment later, after he finished telling her the dreadful “what if,” he went back to smiling as he said, “but I know if Jennifer recommended you, then you two aren’t going to be the type to turn your back on an old friend. Especially after all the work I did to make sure that the cops didn’t investigate why the very same man found on the scene of the incident took out millions in insurance the day before it began.”

  Nick was incredibly thankful that, while he wasn’t the brightest person in history, he at least knew how to hide his emotions as he resisted the urge to gulp or let the effect of the man’s intimidating presence show. “And you’d be right. I can definitely see how you got so wealthy,” Nick said.

  “Exactly, so let me tell you how I can make you rich, and you tell me what I need to know too.” Mr. Girard laughed, snapping his fingers and summoning a map as well as three contracts over to the table. “Moreover, once we are able to verify the authenticity of your predictive abilities, I’ll even give you more if you can figure out a way to stop most of them from breaking. We still need one or two to break, you know; otherwise, who would pay the insanely high premiums we’re going to ask for insurance? But it’d be best if most of them didn’t.”

  Nick nodded slightly. “Yeah, I can help you, but what’s the price?”

  “Hmm . . .” The large man leaned forward in his chair, putting the fully destroyed root beer float on the table in front of them. “I stand to gain enormous amounts of money if I’m the only one taking this risk . . . so why shouldn’t I share it with friends and family? How about I give you ten million dollars for every portal you correctly warn me about—if you can give me a month’s warning. That will be plenty of time to halt my policies in the region and tie up loose ends. Though if you tell me your secrets now, and I confirm them, then I can give you another fifty-five million, no questions asked, and you can be on your merry way.”

  “What about her?” Nick asked, looking over at his cohort in crime.

  “She will get what you share with her. It’s not my party. Why should I be the one to split the pot?”

  “Can we think about it?” Seo-ah asked but then quickly followed up by saying, “not about whether to take the deal, but which option to pick.”

  “Ah, of course. I figured you might need some time. As long as you can assure me nothing will break before the month ends, you can take that much time to figure it out,” the president said. “I’ll even pay you for that particular assurance according to this short-term contract I have here. After which, you can pick either of the two long-term offers, here and here.”

  Seo-ah looked over at Nick with eyes that flashed dollar signs. “Take it,” she advised.

  “Yeah. Then I can promise you nothing will break this month in this city,” Nick said, understanding exactly why Seo-ah was so eager.

  “Great, then sign the first paper in front of you, and I’ll arrange ten million to be transferred to your account as a reward for the knowledge you’ve given me,” the large man laughed.

  “Wait,” Nick said, pausing the conversation before it could conclude too quickly. “I need something else from you, something involving your grandniece.”

  The conviviality in Mr. Girard’s expression suddenly vanished. “Is it related to the pest she has been trying to get me to take care of?”

  “Yulian? Yes. I need to know what you know about him. I think telling me now is your best option too. If I die, you won’t find out anything related to the dungeon outbreaks,” Nick replied, clarifying his position.

  Mr. Girard, despite Nick’s aggressive approach, remained unfazed as he leaned back in his chair like he would consider the request. “Fine. At the end of the two weeks, if no dungeons break in the city, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the little Bratva brat. I’ll even help you meet someone who might be able to solve your issue with him,” he promised.

  Nick didn’t like the delay, but he decided to take the deal. While he planned to use other resources to find out about this Yulian, the deal with the insurance company was a passive backup to ensure he got the information he’d need. Besides, Nick had other time-sensitive goals that, if unfulfilled, would lead to more deaths than just his own.

  As Nick looked down at the proffered agreement, he didn’t even have to read far before he saw that the details of their short-term deal, the one month assurance with a twenty-five-million-dollar penalty for failure, had already been etched into the contract.

  Nick finished reading the paper and signed it. Then, the elated company president escorted them to the elevator, and Nick and Seo-ah left the building, ten million dollars richer than they had entered.

  “Can you believe how easy that money was?” Nick said with a chuckle as the two exited the building.

  “Right?! Good thing the Azure Shores dungeon is already on the to-do list for this month, and we were already planning to stop the break. Oh, and I got the tickets and room reservations ready for the ‘training excursion’ there, enough for all the new guild members, Topaz included,” Seo-ah said, pulling out her phone and showing Nick the email confirmation for their trip.

  “Thanks. You’re the best Seo-ah,” Nick said, glad that she had already taken care of the plans for him. He couldn’t help but think that bringing her in on the planning phase and telling her the truth of the future was one of the best decisions he had ever made.

  “It’s good you know it,” Seo-ah said, puffing out her chest. “Now, are we off to show Allen how to make that new magic-crystal device and artificer weapon you mentioned?”

  Chapter 7

  “Ah, we’re here,” Elizabeth said as Will stopped the van in the parking lot of a once-abandoned massive suburban megamall. The location had now been reinvigorated after the dungeon was discovered. The lot was full of cars, trucks, vans, and several buses. With an ear-to-ear grin, she turned to Nick, “Azure Shores is the most expensive luxury dungeon there is—so no funny business this time!”

  “What do you mean?” Nick, who had been sent to the back of the van right from the start and seated between Maria and Spencer so he couldn’t even see out of the windows, played innocent, though he knew exactly what she meant.

  “Last time you dragged us away on some side adventure, we were supposed to be enjoying a nice training trip in the Ecto Sanctuary, a dungeon that, need I remind you, you still haven’t taken us to,” Elizabeth explained from the front passenger seat, spelling out Nick’s “funny business” and catching Allen, Maria, Spencer, Adele and Topaz up on the incident that had happened the last time Gold’s Guild had gone to a dungeon.

  “That was one time! And I’ve offered to make up for it. You guys just never took me up on the offer,” Nick protested.

  “When?” Elizabeth pointedly asked as she turned back to stare Nick straight in the face with the sternest “you better not lie” look Nick had ever seen.

  “I mean, I thought I offered.” Nick scratched the back of his head, thinking about how he could get out of it. “Maybe it was to one of your brothers or your dad . . .”

  “You didn’t.” Elizabeth’s cold voice felt like a clenching death grip around Nick. “And if Dad and my brothers were here, they’d confirm it.”

  Nick shook his head. “I’m sure I did. There’s no way I wouldn’t have.”

  “She’s right. You didn’t, and if you had, they would have said something. Mr. Walters even mentioned waiting for you to bring it up,” Seo-ah remarked.

  Nick looked over at Seo-ah, mouthing, “Et tu, Brute?” at the traitor as she tossed him under the metaphorical bus.

  “Well if the offers on the table, then we can go there next,” Elizabeth stated matter of factly. “I’ll reserve it for us.”

  “First thing next month then,” Nick said, remembering that they only had eight days to get as much training done as possible in Azure Shores and then clear it before the dungeon would break.

  “Then I’m penning the date for the first Saturday of next month, and you better hold the appointment,” Elizabeth warned him as she got out of the van.

  “Whenever you want next month,” Nick promised as he stepped out of the van behind Maria and Topaz.

  “So, since the almighty slave driver himself, king of ‘just one more rep’ and lord of ‘you still got another set in you,’ great ruler of ‘you’re not done yet!’ and mighty overseer of the—”

  "Don't forget: fine tuner of the 'better than before,' master of the 'just one more lap around' and emperor of the 'you can do it!'" Nick interrupted Maria's list of titles for him. "Oh! How could I forget? Grand overlord of the 'give it your best shot.'"

  “Fine, fine. So since you spent some of that insurance cash rewarding our hard work with a vacation, what are we doing first? Checking into the hotel? Hitting the beach?”

  “No,” Nick shook his head as he went to the back of the van and began unloading the equipment he had brought with him. “Our schedule is going to be simple. We set up our area in the gym, then train, then eat, then train, then eat, then train, then sleep, and then wake up and train. Then we go into the caves for some monster fighting and leveling.”

  Maria looked mortified. “What . . . What do you mean?”

  “I mean exactly what I said.” Nick didn’t get the confusion. He turned to her and pointed at the bag he had just unloaded. “Get your stuff. I made sure to pack a bag of equipment for everyone.”

  “Actually, I’m curious as well,” Spencer said. “Do you mean to say that this isn’t a vacation you’re treating us to for all of our hard work?”

  “Yeah! What Spence said! I thought this was a reward for all the late-night training!” Maria protested.

  “Give it a rest and just think positively. This is going to be just like camp used to be!” Adele seemed to be the only cheerful one as she grabbed a big purple backpack that Nick had just unloaded. “We’re off on a camping adventure! We even have big camping backpacks!”

  “For supposed friends of Nick’s, you two don’t know him at all. Lately, if it isn’t about work, working out, or working on some project or scheme, he doesn’t do it,” Topaz chuckled. “Unless food is involved. Food, women, and alcohol—those are the only weaknesses he’s ever had.”

  “Him? Weak to women? And does he even drink soda anymore, much less alcohol?” Allen asked as both he and Seo-ah looked at Nick in surprise.

  “All strong men fall to such vices,” Spencer just said with a sigh. “Maybe he’s just better at hiding them from you, but not his bartender.”

  “I call shenanigans. Forget women or alcohol. I can safely say Nick is more likely to turn his head for a new Olympic power bar, a set of weights, or a discount on protein shakes than a pretty girl with a short skirt,” Seo-ah insisted, making Nick seriously question what type of impression he was giving off these days.

  “True, which is good because, when it comes to women, he’s about as dense as the weights he lifts,” Allen added.

  “So you have to be really, really forward if you want to catch his attention?” Adele suddenly joined the conversation with an intensely interested expression.

  “Wait! Stop getting distracted! Is he serious that we’re just here to train and do the dungeon? Who the heck goes to Azure Shores to actually fight monsters?!” Maria protested.

  No one. No one does. Which is why the dungeon overloads and breaks this month: because no one is fighting monsters and clearing the boss, Nick thought. He could understand Maria’s confusion though. After all, the Azure Guild, which managed Azure Shores, had originally built simple huts on the easily defensible beach portion of the dungeon when adventurers took to dawdling in the tropical sun and ocean breeze instead of leaving after they explored the massive coral caves and harvested the resources there. The place was just that beautiful and relaxing. Then other supporting industries arose, and eventually, the beach became a resort town—the only such luxury getaway inside a dungeon.

  Nick recalled reading the blurb on their website: Welcome to Azure Shores, a luxurious seaside resort that caters to both relaxation-seekers and adventurous dungeon-delvers alike. Perfectly placed along a gorgeous stretch of breathtaking coastline, Azure Shores offers a unique getaway experience where sun, sand, and swordplay converge.

  “This is a training excursion, not a vacation,” Seo-ah mocked Nick’s voice, adding a more serious, whiny tone to let anyone listening feel her disapproval.