Others before me have quested for what I seek. They failed but I won't and that is because I have a trump card to play... -88.7 Seconds Post-Integration.

  Salsa dismissed the recruits, ending the tutorial.

  Several moments later, when he and Hera were resting at a cafe with caffeinated lemonade, they received notification of them passing the special session.

  [League Rank Promotion: Rank T Achieved!]

  [League Rank Promotion: Rank S Achieved!]

  [League Rank Promotion: Rank R Achieved!]

  Seeing the notifications pop off in quick order brought a smile to his face.

  "Cheers!" Hera said. "Let's eat some savory breads to celebrate. Have something to wash down this lemonade with."

  Clark agreed and they ordered some roasted garlic and onion bread with a smoked butter spread. It was yummy and made them salivate.

  Together, they eat down the bread and lemonade while chit-chatting about life and work. The Dwarven pod-structure came up but only briefly. SIMP remained busy monitoring the progress of the ant-creatures and only said they continued to make their way throughout the pod's interior.

  "I would stay and chat but can't," Hera said once she finished her bread and lemonade. "I have some obligations to attend to: church activity and the like. Before I left, though, I wanted to ask what the process would be now that our readings appear to have borne fruit."

  "You mean, like, are we still getting together at nights?" he asked.

  "Yeah. Exactly. That's what I mean. Should we continue with our books, meet and then decide what we're doing as a team, or do whatever until SIMP has an update for us?"

  Clark thought about it. "Uh, let's wait until SIMP has more information for us. As for the evening meetings... let's say it's personal time until we have a new direction. Our reasons for reading and learning about Dwarves has reached its fruition. Until we have another direction, we can chill."

  "I like that. Our lives here can't be all work. Alrighty -- later, young leader." And Hera went off.

  He spent a little longer at the cafe and had another serving of the caffeinated lemonade. It was so good!

  When Clark returned to his dorm at the end of the day, he was beat. Yet he still had time to review his literary findings as he wanted to make sure he hadn't missed some vital detail. His reading abilities were much better now, so he could cover more information in one sitting than before.

  But he found nothing he or his team hadn't already disocvered.

  Over the next few days, Clark's life consisted of double-checking the literary sources he and his team read while practicing his League-taught techniques. He meditated -- 'Generated,' as the League called it -- practiced tiny magic missiles in his room, then spent time at an athletic track where he continued training his Enhanced Senses after buying a few overpriced Enhancement dandies.

  During this period, his normal work schedule had been colonized by training, so no progress was gained in Climbing the tower. That was acceptable. The 'Monstrous Offensive' of the plague rot continued in full force. Traveling alone was impossible without extreme danger. Traveling in a group was less dangerous but not exactly recommended.

  If there was an upside to the plague rot infestation, it was that his Qoon training had been put on hold. He remembered the notification he received:

  [ALERT: Due to Severe Levels of Plague Rot, All Qoon Training Sessions have been Postponed Until Further Notice].

  Which was fine by him! SIMP wanted him to grind out the rankings in that department, but he wasn't keen on it. Not having to deal with it until later while still receiving the pay boon of being in the department? That was a win in his book.

  And so, days went by, Clark spent a tidy sum on Dandies, and he trained.

  In order to meet the System's Quality Performance expectations on 'Training During an Emergency' and still receive pay, he had to expend such a level of energy as tracked by the System. How the System tracked his energy expenditure was a mystery, but suspected it had something to do with heartrate, sweat, and dandy drinking. His pay during this time was a little lower than normal, but not by much, so he didn't care.

  Just when he was settling into a routine, everything changed.

  Theo sent him a voice message. It read: "Bud! Great news! I found you a multi-tool! SIMP helped but I found one for you! Get me back as soon as you can!"

  He didn't waste time and called Theo using his System Link Device. It rang several times. Then, a click and Theo picked up.

  "You found me a multi-tool?" he asked in disbelief.

  "Yeah, bro! It took my sleuthing skills to the max, but I found you one. Some old codger is the seller. He retired from some high position and wants to live out the rest of his life in luxury. He's selling everything that reminds him of the store and is leaving on the first dragon out of here."

  "Wicked! When do I meet him?"

  "In a couple of days. Evidently, where he lives is quite close to a battleground, so we need to wait until the League and Containment Department handle the Plague monsters."

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  That made him wonder: they were part of the League; couldn't they help out with that?

  Clark asked the estimated time on the cleansing, but Theo didn't know. "How about this. Can you ask your contact if they would be willing to meet us sooner since Hera and I are both moderately trained Leaguers and you, dear buddy, are deadly yourself? We can offer him protection. It is only going to be a quick sale, so there shouldn't be any concern over safety."

  "I will see what I can do. He's not the easiest to contact... but I will see what's possible..."

  Before the call ended, Clark asked Theo what the price was on the multi-tool.

  "Oh, that. Yeah. Somehow forgot to tell ya, huh? So... ummm... you won't like it, but the price is ten-thousand credits..."

  He felt his head explode. He thought he misheard. But he hadn't. "Ten thousand?! Shet! I don't have that kind of money."

  "I was thinking so too. I am willing to help you out some. I'm sure Hera is willing as well. She's a kind lady, despite her condescending personality."

  Although he was touched Theo would be willing to help pay, he had to ask -- "I only have a bit under two-thousand credits in my account. Until recently, that would've seemed like a lot! Between you and Hera, I would need eight-thousand credits. Do you have four-thousand credits you'd be willing to part with?"

  Theo's voice was hesitant. "Not really... but I have more than you in my account. Not much, sure, but more. Hera's older. She probably has more than us younglings, as she would say," Theo laughed. "And even if she doesn't have more than us, she is older! Maybe she could take out a loan that you pay her back for?"

  "Maybe..." Clark didn't like the idea of asking Hera for such a large loan. Did he have a choice, though?

  "What do you want me to do? We could wait a bit before arranging the purchase, grind some money, secure the loan. Or I could arrange the meeting sooner and maybe you could haggle with the seller? Lower the price some?"

  He again contemplated his options. "I don't want to wait. If this guy wants to skedaddle from the tower, he's likely looking to sell the multi-tool as soon as possible. I don't want to lose the tool to some collector or whatever. Arrange the meeting. I will speak to Hera. With any luck, maybe we can use his rush to leave to slide the price lower."

  "Sounds good to me! I will reach out to him... once I have a time and place."

  The call ended soon after allowing him to call up Hera to ask her about the money situation.

  Hera said, "I will see what I can do, Clark. My church doesn't believe in moneylending. I will think the matter over, however."

  After the call with Hera, he felt embarrassed. He didn't like people knowing his financial straits. Let alone when he needed money. It made him feel awkward. Like a loser.

  Nothing I can do about it. He consoled himself lamely. If I want a multi-tool, I have to be willing to put myself out there.

  Several more days went by where he spent every second anticipating Theo's call or Hera's loan answer. Neither of his party mates spent time with him during this period. Which he was thankful for as it meant they were busy with their respective and highly important tasks. Always having been on the anxious side, though, he also thought that his friends' distance meant he had maybe screwed up.

  Of course, he hadn't screwed up. He had communicated his needs in a straightforward and clear manner.

  Yet his head...

  His System link dinged.

  It was Theo: "Hey bud," the message read. "I heard back from the seller. He wants to set up a meeting ASAP. I told him the sooner the better. We have a meet with him in a couple of days. Be ready."

  Those couple of days flew by like he didn't even know. One minute he was training. The next he, Theo, and Hera were on their way to meet the seller.

  "Any advice for me?" he asked SIMP.

  Beep. "Remain respectful. Theo and I had to dig deep to find this man. He was using multiple levels of security, so he is highly more highly ranked than he is letting on. Even if he is retired, he still has pull with whoever is currently in his department. Don't say stupid things, got it?"

  "I get it. I had parents who believed in corporal punishment. I know all about stupid words."

  Clark met Theo halfway to the advanced level. Which meant for him a prolonged elevator ride. Theo got in on floor 2307.

  "Hey, bud," Theo greeted him. They looked disheveled in their makeshift combat guard consisting of athletic pads. They should go on an armor outing together, like he and Hera did for their new League-approved weapons.

  "Had a long night? You haven't been drinking, have you?"

  Theo snorted. "As if. I stayed up late. Your seller is up at odd hours of the day."

  "Sorry you had to lose sleep because of me. I do appreciate it..." The least Clark could do is apologize.

  Predictably, Theo waved him off. "Keep your anxious 'sorrys' to yourself. I'm a night owl anyway." Theo took a sip of a stamina dandy. "Oh, gods, that the ticket!"

  Clark laughed. "I picked up a good batch of dandies on the way. Spent a tidy sum but we'll need them if things go south."

  Taking another sip, Theo nodded his head. "And when don't they go south?"

  The elevator rode for another twenty minutes as he and Theo made small talk.

  Hera strode in alongside a couple dozen others looking regal in her reinforced robes. He nodded at her and gestured for her to join.

  With a lurch, the elevator resumed its ascent.

  "How was your evening?" he asked Hera in his conversational way.

  "It was fine," she said with a yawn. "I was up a little late going over my financials. I like reviewing my assets, but I don't like the sleepiness the next morning."

  "It seems like everyone had a late night except me! Maybe tonight I will say up late to make up for it."

  His joke didn't receive the response from Theo he hoped, though Hera did politely chuckle at the notion.

  The elevator continued traveling ever higher into the tower. As it did so, fewer and fewer people got on; for, the higher it went, the more the floors were effected by the Plague Rot's offensive. There came a point where only Containment Guards and Leaguers kept them company.

  But then, with a ding, they arrived at their destination -- floor 4290.

  The elevator doors opened to reveal a connecting zone that had been turned into a war zone.

  Barbed wire encircled the four store blocks on top of concrete slabs placed before each store's entrance. Behind each slab were placements of Containment Guards with crossbows and blades at the ready. Normally, the connecting zone held many secondary vendor stalls. Yet with few exceptions, such as those specifically catering to the store security forces, none of them were open; instead, the many vendor booths were locked down tight with metal bars and chains barring entry. Between the rows of Containment Guards keeping a visual on the beleaguered store blocks, were war-machines looking for trouble.

  It was a siege. That much was clear.

  "Where is our contact?" Clark asked Theo. "Is he really somewhere in this mess?"

  "Yeah. He gave me a number to text once we were here. He is super-paranoid about security. Let me text him quick."

  Minutes later, Theo received a buzz back. He read the message. It must've been long because it took them several minutes.

  "Okay. Here's the situation. I guess the seller is here on some sort of special mission before his retirement. Since I sold us as being capable of defending ourselves, I guess we've been volunteered to help out. We need to report to someone -- a captain of some kind -- and they will give us the rundown of what to do..."

  Hera rolled her eyes. "It's going to be a long day, isn't it?"

  Not being tired like his friends, Clark had more pep in his step. "Nah. A slight diversion. We knew we would likely be fighting today. This is par for the course. Let's keep our heads high, alrighty?"

  As if to undercut his message, a massive gust of something -- wind? -- burst through the connecting zone, toppling several of the war-machines and even a few concrete slabs in the process. Glass shattered and the store block frames bent, as if some titan scrunched the frames between massive claws.

  Then, silence, except for the alarms and chaos of shouting and the surge of monsters.