Pos raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  “That’s the plan.” Claudio walked back with Bezal, their talk conventionally over. “The Adventurer Guild has classified you as an important asset, Pos. As such, we wish to offer you a commission.”

  “What commission?” A puzzled Pos asked.

  “A long-term employment contract.” Claudio answered. “You are an adventurer, and the Guild wished to have you on our payroll. The salary is negotiable.”

  “Now, that’s finding gold in a tin mine. The Guild want to give me gold? To do what?” Pos carefully said, not quite liking here this was going.

  “To do what you were going to do anyway.” Claudio said as he handed a scroll to Pos. He pressed on as Pos opened it. “You are an adventurer, and we all know you are going back into the dungeon. The Adventurer Guild wishes to hire you to do just that, along with our team.”

  “I already have a party.” Pos quickly said.

  “The party you were in was created by Maglor Goldenaxe for the purpose of getting a first clear in one of the rooms of the dungeon. The Adventurer Guild had spoken to your employer, and he was more than happy to consider the quest done when you reach the third floor.”

  In short, the Guild paid Maglor off. Pos wondered how much it cost considering Maglor was an agent of the dwarven king. Whatever it was, whether it was in gold or information, it would be a high price. Pos could read between the lines. The Guild was not taking no for an answer.

  “You still haven’t said what you want from me.”

  “The new dungeon technique you gained. [White Tiger Movement]- Second Movement? It requires you to be at Level 15, right?”

  “That’s what the scroll said.” Pos admitted.

  “You are two levels away from Level 15, and the Adventurer Guild wishes to employ you till you reached that level. We will provide you a party, a high level one. They would record everything that occurs to you in the dungeon, including if and when you receive a new Dungeon Quest from the Tomb of Ten Thousand Techniques. When you reached Level 15, you can read the scroll to gain the Second Movement, with our supervision. The Guild wants to record exactly what happens when someone gains a dungeon technique.”

  The speech by Claudio caught Pos by surprise. It was a good deal. Protection, pay, and levels. The dwarf had to admit that nothing the GuildMaster offered was objectionable. So, what’s the catch? As the dwarven saying goes; mines that were full of minerals usually come with monsters.

  “That’s…one hell of an offer. Why? I had a dungeon technique for months, and though interesting, no one wanted to study me. So, why the sudden interest now?”

  “Because you are now important,” Bezal replied with a rueful smile, “more important than even you realize.”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I don’t understand.” Pos said truthfully. His curiosity was further piqued when he saw Bezal and Claudio shared a look.

  “It would seem that the Tomb of Ten Thousand Techniques is not as unique as we believed.” Claudio finally said.

  Pos’s eyebrows rose further. “What do you…wait, you mean-”

  “The Adventurer Guild has credible knowledge of another person gaining a Dungeon Technique. The Challenger Arena, a dungeon in the Kingdom of Steel, had given a local noble a dungeon technique. And he may not be the last.”

  “It’s spreading.”

  Claudio nodded. “We know that the dungeons cores trade with each other. In fact, the whole Dungeon Supplier profession is based around that. Do you remember that dwarven supplier with the magitech carriage?” Pos nodded, and Claudio continued. “We understand that the supplier came with a delivery from the Hollow Vaults.”

  Pos gasped. “The Hollow Vaults! That means-”

  “The greatest dungeon in the world, the Hollow Vaults, is trading with the Tomb of Ten Thousand Techniques. Now, what does a new dungeon like the Tomb have to offer the biggest dungeon in the world?”

  The answer was obvious. “The techniques.”

  Pos’ answer was a whisper, but it sounded like an avalanche to everyone in the room. Claudio nodded solemnly. “Now, you understand why the Adventurer Guild is so anxious to know about the techniques. We need to know more about them before The Dungeon Master starts offering its own Dungeon Techniques to adventurers.”

  Pos had to take a deep breath at that. This was big, huge enough to change the world. The Hollow Vault has a thousand floors, countless adventurers had died in its depths, no one can even be certain how old it was. Now, the greatest and oldest dungeon in the world was going to offer adventurers dungeon techniques. Who knows what kind of techniques it would offer? Considering how old it was, and how many had died in its depths, it could be anything!

  “Well, that’s one dungeon everyone will be going to.”

  The other three adventurers looked at Pos strangely. “You don’t look surprised?” Fabiana finally said.

  “Because I’m not,” Pos shrugged. “Hearing that another dungeon was offering dungeon techniques was…well, surprising but not fully unexpected. I got lucky, but I’m no one special. I never thought I’ll be the only person to ever get a dungeon technique. Someone was bound to get another. If not here, then from another dungeon. Considering its age and size, The Hollow Vault makes sense.”

  Bezal chuckled, Fabiana smiled, and the GuildMaster just shook his head. “You constantly surprised me, Pos.”

  “I am a dwarf of deep depths,” Pos joked. “So, what’s the plan? You want me to just keep going back in there till I reached Level 15?”

  “Oh, no, no,” Fabiana said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “That’ll take forever, and I'm not wasting my time like that. You must go back in there, but I think it is important to figure out how best to level you quickly.”

  Pos cursed, knowing where this was going, and Bezal confirmed his worst fears. “The best way to level is to go deep and be first. So, we’ll need you to complete third floor, then the fourth, and even the fifth if there’s one. We shall keep going till you reach Level 15.”

  “That’s suicide.” Pos complained.

  “If things get too tough, we’ll use the Recall Stones to come back. The party will reset, maybe change members to match the floor, and you can go back in.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll keep you safe.” Fabiana commented after Bezal.

  “Bezal will oversee the party and Fabiana will oversee the recording and analysis of the information.” Claudio immediately added. “Not only will they be with you when you enter the dungeon, you will also be surrounded by trusted adventurers from the Guild. You will need to do your share of the fighting to level, but you will be as safe as someone can be in a dungeon.”

  Pos’ thick black brows furrowed deeply, and after a short time, Claudio asked the important question.

  “What do you say, Pos?”

  “This is the gold,” Pos answered after a pause, “what’s the axe? What will happen if I say ‘No’.”

  The Guildmaster told him, and the dwarf had to agree to the deal. As he suspected, the Adventurer Guild was not taking ‘no’ for an answer.