The three siblings all nod in agreement. Nancy says, “Yup. We all gained a couple of levels.”
I check my Character Sheet.
Anthony Tinoco
Level 8
Unspent stat points: 4
Unspent skill points: 57
Health 170
Mana280
TP300
Strength8
Dexterity12
Constitution9
Intelligence20
Wisdom22
Charisma9
Also, I note that I need only need 2993 XP to get to level 9 and that the skills Throw, Ranged Combat, Rifle, and Firearms have all gone up a level.
I decide to use the four new stat points to round out my stats and add two to strength, and one each to constitution and charisma. That’ll put them all at ten and raise my health to 180.
“You ready to go back now?”
Frank’s voice brings me back from my contemplation of my character sheet. I quickly save and answer, “Yes. I’m ready to leave when you guys are.”
He points to the glowing door at the far side of the room where Nancy and Joe are already waiting. I hop off the table I’m sitting on and walk over. I’m still a little unsteady, but Frank lends me his shoulder to balance myself.
Nancy opens the glowing door, and we all walk through.
After a flash of light, I find myself standing in the hallway of the hotel. On either side of us are numbered doors.
We’re back at the hotel that serves as a cover for the User controlled dungeon. I feel Frank pull away from me and see him run towards his parents along with Nancy and Joe. Behind them is Lillian. She’s wearing rolled up khaki pants, brown wedges, an open denim shirt with long rolled up sleeves with a black tank top underneath.
The sight of her makes my heart beat faster, and I can’t help but wobble over and hug her. I think I hear her moan a little, but when I release her from the embrace, I just see a smile on her face. She tucks a loose bit of hair behind her ear and asks, “What’s that for? You couldn’t have missed me that much. It’s only been two days.”
Two days? That can’t be right. I know for a fact that it’s been at least six.
She must see the confusion on my face because she explains, “Don’t forget about the time compression in dungeons. In the one you were in, it was a 3:1 ratio. So even if it felt like six days have passed, it’s only been two.”
I nod, remembering that aspect of this dungeon. “Even if it’s only been two days in the real world, it’s felt like more to me. When I saw you, I just realized how much I missed you.”
I may be imagining it, but I think little red creeps into her cheeks. She takes a step back though and asks, “How was your training? I see that you gained a few levels.”
I’m about to summarize what happened when Little Joe yells, “I’ll tell her what happened!” Before anyone can tell him no, he starts to tell the story of our adventures. When we get to the part about the city, Frank takes over since Joe wasn’t there. But Joe takes up the tale again when we get to Safe Haven. Joe heaps praise onto me for not only saving him from the boss but also for building all the traps that made it possible for us to beat the zombies. I try to interrupt him and explain that I didn’t do anything special, but Nancy stops me with a hand on my chest and declares that I’m her hero for saving her brother and making it possible to complete the quest.
I quickly take a step back from the doe-eyed Nancy and turn to see Lillian staring daggers at me, arms crossed. There’s a definite redness in her cheeks now, but I don't think it’s because of any attraction.
Lillian turns and uses the nearest door to create a portal, and I have to run to keep up and not get left behind. Once through the portal, I find we’re in Lillian’s office. I try to explain what happened and that Nancy is just a kid who has a little crush on the guy who saved her brother. However, she silences me with a single raised finger and a look.
“I’m going to order dinner. There’s a nice Indian restaurant a couple of blocks away that delivers. What do you want?”
Surprised by the change of topic, I admit that I’ve never had Indian food. Lillian nods once and takes out her cell phone, dials the Indian food restaurant and orders for both of us.
I don’t know if this is a magic Indian food restaurant or something, but the food arrives in only twenty minutes. Lillian uses her System menu to switch out her huge desk for a small dining table and some chairs. She has the table face the windows, and the two of us eat looking out over New York City. After her first few bites, Lillian asks, “So, you want to tell me what actually happened in the zombie dungeon?”
I have to chew and swallow the yellow rice and chicken quickly. The spicy brown sauce makes my eyes water slightly, and I have to drink some water before I can start talking. However, once I’m able to speak again, I tell Lillian what happened in the dungeon. I tell her about the survival aspects of the zombie dungeon, the chain quests we got, and I admit the mistake I made in trying to hotwire the truck and bringing a horde of zombies down on us. I tell her about all the things I learned and how I felt trying to protect not only the survivors but also Nancy, Frank, and Joe. I also try to make it very, very clear that Nancy just has a crush on me and that nothing happened. I’m not entirely sure why it’s so important to me that Lillian knows nothing happened with Nancy, but it is.
Lillian tilts her head as she considers my story and just when I’m about to reiterate that nothing happened with Nancy, she nods once and smiles. And just like that, it feels like the clouds have parted and the sun’s come out again.
Lillian tells me about what she’s done the last two days. She’s established some contacts with the Scout’s Guild, a group of Users that specialize in finding and analyzing dungeons. The guild then sells that information over to the System or private institutions like hers. With their help, she and John were able to clear a dungeon and got some nice loot and credits for the company. She also got a new plasma rifle. She pulls it out of her inventory to show me, and it’s a huge futuristic looking thing that glows purple. Lillian strokes the weapon and looks longingly at it, and I find myself jealous of the rifle for some reason.
Once the meal is over, I stand up and give my goodbyes to Lillian. She holds out her arm, leans in, and I do the same hugging her. Only while giving a hug do I realize that she isn’t hugging me back and was likely holding out her hand for me to shake. Still, it’s nice to hug her, and after a second I feel her arms wrap around me too.
I relax my arms a little and see Lillian staring up at me with a certain look in her eyes. In this light, her normally blue eyes look like grey storm clouds, ready to burst any minute. I feel an indescribable urge to lean down and press my lips against hers. Unfortunately, before I can, I hear a cough and turn to see John standing there dressed in stained overalls.
“Sorry if I’m interrupting something, Lillian, but you have a call from Shanghai.”
I feel Lillian slip from my arms and when I turn to look at her, she’s standing several feet away speaking to John, looking composed and professional.
As she picks up the office phone, I turn and walk towards the door. I take my port key and insert it into the door’s lock. Turning the key causes the door to turn green and connect to my home base. As I step through the portal, I glance back, and for a brief moment, I think I see a look of regret on Lillian’s face. Then she turns away, and I think I must have imagined the look.