“Not that I’m complaining, but why that spell?”

  “I wanted you to feel secure that all your physical needs would be met no matter how long it takes to figure out this challenge.”

  Dave laughed out loud. “I don’t believe that for a single second.”

  “Fine, there may be something that I want you to do for me, but it won’t happen until we solve our current situation. It is moot until then.”

  Rather than push it, Dave decided to just keep it as an issue to bring up in future negotiations. Then he looked at the other spells.

  Conjure Dungeon Minions: summons a group of dungeon minions to act on your behalf. Number of minions will depend based on Tier of minions. Tier 1: 10, Tier 2: 6, Tier 3: 3, Tier 4: 1. No contest of will is required so long as you remain a dungeon enhanced with an active contract with the core. Duration: variable. Cast time: 40 seconds Mana: 240 Cooldown: variable. Tier 4

  Hmm… that was different from his other summoning spell. Dave kept quiet now but suspected that the variable aspect of the spell had to do with the other thing that Altracia wanted from him.

  The final spell was something he had been wanting. He got the teleport spell as part of the Tier 5 spells downloaded, but it was more for longer-range travel. This spell was something he had wanted for a long time.

  Major Shift: This spell alters space at a metaphysical level so that your current location becomes a new location. The new location must be visible to you and within range. This is not teleportation as you never move. Your current location simply becomes a new location. Since you never move, there is no disorientation associated with the spell. Once the duration expires, you are returned to your original space and location. Mana Cost: 150. Cast Time: 1 second. Duration: 1 tick. Range: 20’+ 2’/level. Cooldown: 10 minutes – 1 tick/level. Tier 4

  Dave grinned. It wasn’t even a conjuration spell like he had expected for a movement spell. Instead, it was more like his Minor Binding spell, which caused two surfaces to temporarily become one object. It wasn’t dependent upon any understanding of physics that Dave had. Rather it simply moved space so that he would be in a new location.

  He was already thinking of uses for this spell. The fact that he could cast it while making an attack and then end up behind the target would mean that his attack would still be in motion and almost impossible to avoid. That truly made him happy.

  The biggest downsides were the high mana cost and the fact that he would return back to the starting point after six seconds. That meant this spell couldn’t be used to escape danger unless that danger was fleeting since he would be put back in the same location.

  For just a moment he wondered if he could combine it with a teleport spell and travel hundreds of miles only to be pulled back after six seconds. That might be a truly broken application if he could make that work. It would only be good in certain limited situations, but in the right situation, it would give him the ability to drop off a nuke and then be pulled right back. Proverbially speaking, of course.

  Altracia coughed. “There is one thing. You may have noticed that two of your level one spells are missing from your list. I had to wipe them out from our spell list because you apparently have a limit of 50 spells. How awful it must be to be such a limited flesh and blood creature. If you ever come to your senses, we could talk about turning you into a full-fledged dungeon-born creature. You aren’t completely clueless, and I could always use a general of sorts.”

  Dave glanced at his spell list and realized that he had lost Minor Binding and his Endure Elements spells. Neither was one that he really used anymore, but it still irked him. If the core could mess around in his mind and make those changes then what else had she done?

  As if anticipating his complaint, she said, “Our contract obligated me to not harm you or try to take control of you. Don’t think I wasn’t tempted; I simply wasn’t able to act on that temptation.”

  Dave could only laugh at that. She might be the bloodthirsty heart of a dungeon, but at least she was being honest with him. He looked through the descriptions of his new spells, but none of them solved the problem here. Of course, if he was honest with himself, he hadn’t expected they would. This problem seemed like one that had to be figured out rather than simply smashed.

  Crushing problems was certainly more fun, but Dave just had the feeling that this wasn’t one of those times. Eloria was trying to teach him something. He needed to penetrate the barrier to succeed. Altracia needed the barrier penetrated too, but doing so was going to have unacceptable consequences.

  There were definitely times in battle that Dave could charge right in and take out a foe, but in doing so he would be opening himself up to dire injuries, sheathing the sword as some might call it. He had to apply tactics.

  Since he didn’t believe in coincidences, Dave thought about all the things that he had encountered recently. The meeting with the Sage was probably important at many levels. Then there was the emotional balance he found in spilling his guts. Finally, there was the description of his class.

  He was supposed to prove that there was nothing that magic couldn’t do better than a sword. With that thought in mind, Dave walked over to the barrier and put his hand up against it. It squished and felt like it would pop if he pushed too hard. This was very much a bubble.

  If he were to apply a sword to it, he would undoubtedly puncture it. Then if it reacted like a bubble, it would explode everywhere, leaving a mess behind. Magic wasn’t going to be able to pierce this barrier any easier than a sword. But, his class wasn’t just about using magic to make it easier. It was about using magic to make it better. And there it was.

  The idea went off in his head. It couldn’t be that simple, could it? Then again simple didn’t always mean easy. Only half of his plan was something he could accomplish. The rest would rely upon the core.

  Chapter Ten

  “Practice often. Practice wherever you can. Practice so that in that moment it will be second nature.” —Daichi, Moon Elf Founder and Master of the Dragonfist Style

  Tier Challenge- the place between- David Nelson

  “The solution is simple. We need to split you from the bond with Sara. Well, scratch that, I don’t think that is likely to do everything, but it would be the first step,” Dave said.

  The colors in the core began to rotate. At first, there was a crimson red and then many hues of yellow and orange before fading into some purples and finally ending on the brilliant blue. Dave really hadn’t known that so many colors existed in the world.

  What was more, with his connection to the dungeon as a dungeon enhanced, he could feel something behind the colors. Proximity probably helped, but he was sure that those colors were a visible display of the core processing his comment, especially the emotional aspect.

  “Explain yourself further. Severing my connection with Sara would absolutely allow me to absorb that divine spark, but we already discussed that I don’t want to risk it harming Sara.”

  Another light bulb went off for Dave as he put together the sensations he had experienced from the colors in the core along with the reticence he heard in the core’s voice. “You don’t want to lose your connection with her either. Now things make more sense. She expanded you to be more than you were before, opening your eyes to more than just prey and predator.”

  A moment of silence full of flashing colors followed. This time the colors were mostly various shades of blue with some purple and green thrown in. “This is true. Her bond is most directly with my drake form, but it still affects me.”

  “Then if you permanently separate that drake construct, her bond can solely fix on it. You will be freed to absorb the divine spark then. Unless you think that wouldn’t work.”

  “If I did that the drake would only be loosely connected to my dungeon. I don’t know if I would be able to recreate it because it would become separate. And I know I couldn’t control it.”

  “Would that harm Sara?” Dave asked.

  “I do not believe so. The risk of something happening that I can’t foresee is minimal. But I still care about Sara.”

  “If you get a soul then you will become what you call a person, regardless of whether you remain a dungeon core or not, correct?”

  “What does that have to do with—”

  Dave cut the core off, “Just answer the question.”

  “Yes. I would.”

  “Then let me give you your first lesson on being a person. You can care about other people without some magical bond. All the world does that. You can care about other people without getting something from them. In fact, that is at the core of humanity, or at least what we are meant to be.”

  The core went silent while colors flashed in a muted form. Dave sat and waited, but the seconds turned to minutes, and after half an hour he decided to stretch and exercise. The core apparently had some thinking to do.

  The space in here was only about ten feet across, but there were plenty of combat situations where he would be fighting in tight confines. So he began going through some forms. It had been a long time since he had been able to do this.

  Dave started with unarmed forms. He took from the martial arts of Earth but expanded them to real-world applications in Eloria. Then he further modified them to adapt to his body, which was stronger and faster than any Earth human had ever been.

  It felt good to string together kicks, punches, and blocks as the melody against a rhythm of movement. As always stances were the foundation of any effective melee combat. This type of exercise brought to mind many errors that Dave had made in recent battles. Inefficient movement, opening exposed on his part or left unexploited when made by his enemy, but even more, failing to get the most out of his body.

  He had won all those battles. Yet, as he reviewed them in his mind, he realized that it wasn’t because he had been perfect. It was simply that he had made fewer mistakes than his enemy. He also had come to rely upon his overwhelming might.

  Other than the fiends he had fought to end the rebellion in his dutchy, nothing much was his equal now. He could still be killed by being stupid. This time was becoming more valuable to him as he processed through that.

  Hours passed, and Dave lost himself in the simplicity of physical exertion. He pursued perfection, even though he knew he would never achieve it. Each motion he made or stance that he settled into was open to critique. A foot might be a fraction of an inch too far forward. The angle of a kick might be a single degree from the optimal. All those things and more he strove to correct.

  Eventually, once he was sure he had control of his body and wouldn’t accidentally damage either the core or the gray bubble surrounding them, Dave pulled out his sword. He had thought to use a training blade, but if he wanted to be the best then he needed to practice with his actual sword.

  The use of the weapon only made the small mistakes in movement that much more precise. Dave actually smiled after a few sequences. It was too easy to lose this in Eloria. When you had a character sheet and gained stats or skills from leveling up, one could forget that power and the application of power were not the same thing. Hard-won skills could only be honed with careful practice.

  Then, after more than a dozen hours, the core spoke again. “I will make a trade.”

  Dave quickly sheathed his sword and turned to look at the core. Even after hours of training at speeds beyond anything a normal human could do, he wasn’t sweating and had a barely elevated heart rate. It would take some true effort to push his body to its limits.

  “What sort of trade?”

  “Simple. I am now absolutely certain that I can free the drake—Altracia—as a dungeon-enhanced and keep Sara’s friendship bond with it intact. It would have the same benefits as a dungeon enhanced while still being an independent creature like you are.”

  “That was the part that I proposed. You still haven’t told me what you want in exchange for that.”

  “I will have to take a different name. We can’t both be Altracia after all, not if we are truly separate beings.”

  Dave shook his head. So this was how she was going to play the negotiations. “Why don’t you just pick a new name but wait till after you get your soul or divine spark? You may feel different after you get it, and it would be for the best if you picked a name that fit the new you.”

  “Agreed. I am, however, giving up a powerful Tier 4 minion and the bond with Sara—one which gave me a number of benefits. It also weakens my bond with the Nelson family and Eris’ Rise. How am I to know that I won’t be exploited now.”

  “You agreed to be bound by the oath in order to gain an extra Tier of growth potential. That oath binds me to deal fairly with you.”

  The core hummed for a moment. “I now know that I don’t need that oath or the blessing of your patron Goddess to reach Tier 7. I simply need enough time. Yet, I have to keep putting up with all these people inside my halls. I have to supply resources and refrain from killing any of the citizens of Eris’ Rise, even if they do stupid things.”

  “That isn’t entirely true. You know that some citizens have died. Admittedly far fewer than if you held back, but having a strong town built up around you makes you better protected. It is hardly as one-sided as you are describing, so just say what you want. Then we can get on with this.”

  More pulsing.

  “I want a new bond. Specifically, I want you to agree to let me upgrade our connection and change you from a dungeon enhanced to a dungeon bonded. I now believe that to be possible or it will be after I receive a divine spark,” Altracia said.

  “Why would I agree to do that?”

  “To save your daughter, to complete your challenge, and to protect your people. That is what you are all about, isn’t it? I can’t read your mind per se, but I can get a strong sense of who you are.”

  Her use of the Earth term ‘per se’—one which was commonly used in legal circles—gave Dave a sense that perhaps she could register some of his surface thoughts or at least could feel his emotions just like he could perceive hers through the colors flashing in her core.

  “So I would become another one of your dungeon minions?”

  “Hardly, that wouldn’t serve either yours or my interest. Think of it like this. There are dungeon born, those are creatures created by the dungeon. If my core was ever destroyed, they would be destroyed too. They can grow and develop but can never be free of my will.

  “Then on the opposite end of the spectrum, there are dungeon enhanced like yourself. You are completely free besides some minor obligations to me as part of our contract. In the middle would be a new relationship that we would create and call a dungeon bonded. You would still be you with all your independence, but you would be obligated to spend 25% of your time in my dungeon or performing tasks for me. The perks to you would be great.”

  “Such as?” Dave asked.

  “More of what you got as a dungeon enhanced. Truthfully, this would be a new step. Nothing in my class information displays such a relationship before. You would also completely stop aging, although you could still be killed. I would be able to create clones of you here in the dungeon, but they wouldn’t have your soul in them. Additionally, not only would you be able to gate to the dungeon anytime you wanted, but you would be able to bring up to 5 people with you at a time just like a teleport spell. Perhaps in the future that number could increase.”

  “25% is too much time. I am a husband, a father, and a duke. I have many obligations outside of the dungeon, and war is coming.”

  “Given some time, I believe there may be options for me to create an army. You know that normally dungeon-born creatures have limits on their ability to exist outside of a dungeon, but with you as a dungeon bonded, I believe I can create a workaround for that.”

  Sirens of warning went off in Dave’s head, even as he realized the incredible boon this could be.

  “I will agree to 10% of my time, but you will have to work around my other obligations. My second condition is that you don’t create any other dungeon bonded without my approving of them first. Third, you have to agree to never kill anyone who is related to me by blood or marriage for as long as I’m alive. Fourth, any clones you make of me must be made to look significantly different from me so that no one can confuse them for me. And finally, you will not use me in any conflicts or games you might play with any citizens of Eris’ Rise or any of my family.”

  The colors pulsed rapidly before the core said, “But you agree to on occasion serve as a dungeon boss and even slay other adventurer groups if it is appropriate? Our original terms would stand that I won’t go out of my way to kill adventurers except in raid mode.”

  “Yes, that is fair. If it keeps my family safe, I will fight groups of adventurers. Although you may have to alter my appearance when I’m serving in that capacity.”

  The core hummed. “One other thing. You will have to complete two tasks for me as soon as we are free of this bubble. Really it is one thing but done in two different places.”

  “As long as it doesn’t take too long?”

  “Not more than a few hours at each location. And I will allow you some latitude as long as you aren’t trying to unnecessarily delay it.”

  Dave wasn’t sure if it was leap-first him or his slow-reasoning self, but this just felt like the right decision to make. “Deal.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Good for you. You figured out the puzzle. It’s never that simple. This is Eloria. Days in a dungeon without blood will simply never happen. Puzzles or not.” —Jayfen Tarzen, former chapter head of the Theriot branch of the Adventurer's Guild

  Tier Challenge- the place between- David Nelson