The texts from Milla came in a stream of disjointed messages. "Hey, brother. So, don't be mad, but I got a great idea. I'm heading into town with Mom and Dad now. I'm going to touch the orb. Maybe becoming Integrated will help me breathe a little easier. Dad isn't happy about it, but he caved."

  The timestamps of the next messages showed they'd been sent two hours later.

  "Getting into town was a nightmare, but I'm here now. Got my travel oxygen tank in a backpack. Just waiting in line. Was hoping to hear from you, but you're probably still in there. That's what you're doing, right? Heading inside."

  Then, a lot later, judging by the time and the contents, she’d emerged from the tutorial dungeon when Luke was already inside the pink portal.

  "So the oxygen tank didn't come with me into the Tutorial Dungeon. Not a great time. Breathing is difficult. Becoming Integrated didn't help, unfortunately. There's a huge portal here. Are you around? Lots of people in the park still. Mom and Dad are coming to pick me up. Luke, I picked a healer class. Thought maybe I could heal myself, you know? It didn't work. Dammit! Integrated have health bars, well I suppose you know about that already. Are you there? Well, my health bar tops out at about three-quarters full, at most. So it's like this system thing recognizes there's something wrong with me."

  Soon after, Milla texted again. "Oh, here's Mom and Dad. They brought another oxygen tank. Thank god. I couldn't even fight inside the tutorial without going blue in the face. God, I hate this."

  Luke texted back. "I was in the portal. Out now. Coming home soon."

  "You went in there, you crazy bastard?" Milla texted back right away. "Good thing you made it out. We were getting worried about you."

  "Have to talk to the DIA," Luke texted. "I'll be home after that."

  Milla sent a thumbs up and a heart emoji, and Luke put the phone back.

  "Trouble?" Hannah asked.

  "My sister touched the orb," Luke said. "I don't want her to go through anything like we just did."

  Mateo walked up and wrapped his arm around Luke's shoulders. "I don't think that what we just went through is normal, my friend."

  Ray took a step back and gave a little wave. "I'm not going to bother talking with the DIA. I'm out. See ya, suckers."

  He disappeared into thin air, going into stealth.

  "What an asshole," Hannah said.

  Penny took Colt's hand and pressed herself against his side. "At least he killed the boss."

  "I did say sorry about him," Luke said with a sigh, turning back to the DIA person. "Let’s get this over with."

  "Thank you," the agent said. "I am Marston. If you'd come with me, we'd like to sit down with each of you individually, if you don't mind."

  "As long as it's quick," Colt said. "I need some sleep."

  "I hope you prepared another burger," Luke said, his stomach growling. The sandwich had been woefully inadequate.

  The group exchanged numbers as they headed back into the DIA barracks in Lazarus Park. Luke soon found himself alone in another gray interrogation room, wolfing down a burger, trying not to think of the writhing flesh and the many other creations from Relian they faced in the dungeon.

  The notification about choosing a profession tickled at his vision in the interface. He dismissed it for the moment. That, he figured, was a decision for later, when he had a little more time to himself. Using a skill point would have to wait a little while longer as well.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Agent Marston entered the room and sat down opposite him.

  "Where is Stevens?" Luke asked. "I liked that guy."

  "Stevens is home with his family," Marston said, checking his watch. "He will be back in the morning."

  "So what do you want to know?" Luke asked.

  It turned out Marston wanted to know everything. But first, he shared some information as well. The governor had refused to follow the president's executive order, and people were once again free to touch the orb and become Integrated. Similar stories played out in most states, and the president walked back his orders. A large contingent of police officers had gone through the tutorial dungeon and now made up a special squad meant for dealing with other Integrated and for helping if any new portals emerged. Thus far, there'd been none.

  Portals had opened in most major cities throughout the world, and as far as the DIA knew, they all worked the same, with a party of six Integrated allowed to enter. All other portals, however, had been dealt with in an hour or two, with the parties reporting no major issues or difficulties. In the US, most dungeons hosted goblins or other easy monsters, with the bosses often being a Groll or a more advanced type of goblin.

  "Then there's the color," Marston said.

  Luke raised an eyebrow. "Color?"

  "Light blue, all of them."

  "Except ours," Luke said. "Why?"

  "The going theory right now is that the color is somehow based on difficulty," Marsten said. "But we cannot be sure. There are tools in the Integrated Shop that can classify a dungeon’s difficulty and the strength of an Integrated. They are expensive, but with pooled resources, we have been able to acquire one. But it is in Washington. Soon, though, we will have one here as well. Then, we'll be able to tell how difficult the dungeon is going to be before the party enters it. That way, we'll know how strong the party needs to be."

  "That's good," Luke said, emptying the water bottle in front of him. "Judging by color sounds a little too imprecise for my taste."

  Luke then told Marston about what they had faced in the dungeon: what sort of place it had been, and what he had learned from Relian, including finding humans from other systems. What everyone needed now was information. They knew so little and Guide hadn't appeared again to share information, news, or any sort of knowledge. Humanity was on its own. At least for the time being, so they'd need to work together. Marston's face grew paler as Luke described the horrific things they'd fought against, and shook his head at the Flesh Howlers, and rubbed at his temples when Luke described the knights and the Fallen Shepherd himself.

  "It sounds like you had a rough go of it," Marston said, standing up and extending his hand.

  Luke took it and shook. "It wasn't great."

  "The DIA is setting up an Integrated registry backed by the White House, so that we can have systems in place to get in contact with Integrated and handle any more portals showing up."

  "You guys work fast," Luke said.

  "Sometimes the wheels of government can spin fast. If they have to," Marston said.

  "Well, you have my number," Luke said, heading for the door.

  "Good night, Mr. Quinn."

  Luke was through the exit in the back a moment later. He drew in a deep breath and savored the silence. Then he spotted journalists racing across the park, heading straight for him.

  "Oh no," Luke groaned, turning to run.

  Checking the time, it was still too early for the buses to run. Luke settled into a steady pace he could keep up all the way back home, thinking this was not a workable situation in the long run. With everything that was happening, perhaps it was time to move out of his parents' house again, time to stand on his own two feet.

  As he ran, struggling a little more than he expected because of the exhaustion from the dungeon, Luke checked his interface, scanning the long list of available professions.

  Some were grayed out, like Armorer and Weaponsmith. He figured they might be restricted due to his class. Still, the list of available ones was long, and some spoke to him more than others.

  Cartographer: Map out areas with a thought and activate a mini-map in your interface, along with a host of other map-making abilities.

  Gem Crafter: Craft magical gems to slot into equipment, adding new abilities and boosting bonuses.

  Scribe: Create scrolls and use them to cast devastating magic or protective spells.

  Alchemist: Brew potions, salves, and toxins from ingredients found in dungeons.

  Tinker: Build gadgets, traps, tools, and even bombs. The tinker specializes in dungeon utility.

  Imbuer: Fuse equipment with elemental or effect-based buffs. High-level Imbuers can permanently upgrade items.

  Contractor: Create contracts that bind the Integrated.

  Refiner: Extract and purify monster parts and dungeon cores for added value.

  One profession stood out among the others. The rather unclear description meshed well with his choice of class.

  The profession was called simply: Seeker.

  Changes: