Bob entered the chamber through the arch presided over by the statues of Billy and him.

  Billy gasped, “Oh, my god.”

  “What is the matter, Billy?” Jenna asked him.

  “This chamber; it is filled with Essence, not much. The amount a rank-one dungeon would release if destroyed. But it is not dispersing. It keeps to this room. How does Governance manage to do things like these?”

  The new chamber was empty, save for one giant curtain at its farthest end.

  No glass half-dome, no magical circle on the floor...only some written instructions hanging on the wall.

  Create permanent rank three perks for each one of your Pantean skills in under an hour.

  Now it was Bob’s turn to be angry. How was he supposed to do that? The Cup of Belona would not help at all, as it created only temporary ones.

  He could not just cram restrictions into them, as that would also reduce the rank. He had to speed up his ranking.

  There were only three known ways to do that: he could swear an oath, just as he had done during Uncle Gus’s final wake, he could drink some experience tonic, but Jenna had spent it all during her own task, or he could perform dangerous feats inside a dungeon.

  If he wanted to master rank three perks in minutes, he would need at least two of those.

  The Oath of Correction was potent enough to achieve the same result by itself, but it had been a rank four perk that wanted to be sworn.

  He was supposed to achieve this with Billy's help; that left only one viable choice.

  “I think the purpose of this chamber is clear. Billy, you are going to have to design a dungeon for me, much like one of those boot camps we did at the danger room,” he told him. “That is the reason the chamber is filled with Essence.”

  “I only have one hour to achieve this; you can use your dungeon reaper ability to create a transitory dungeon. That will reduce the cost of achievement points to one-fifth. I think it will also lessen Essence cost. You will also use Kingmaker to create the dungeon without becoming its core.”

  “That is a brilliant idea, Bob,” Billy said, looking excited. “By adding the symbiotic tag, I can ensure you train your perks without risking your life. We will also enter with you and help you run it.”

  “You are not going to do any of that,” Bob calmly asserted. “I am going to enter it alone, and you are going to use Labyrinth instead of Symbiotic.”

  “What is the point of that, Bob?” Jenna confronted him. “You could die there by doing it that way.”

  “Because it is the only way I am going to speed up the process enough to master rank three perks in minutes,” Bob answered.

  He assumed War Form and spoke in a loud and clear voice: “I, the Skillmaster, swear that I will complete the dungeon that Billy will create for me. I vow to achieve this on my first attempt, without any assistance, and in under one hour. If I break this oath, I will age seven years in an instant.”

  Oath-sealing had specific rules: an oath is created instantly, but it must hold significance for those who swear it. The rank of the oath depends on how momentous the occasion is.

  You have created the Oath of the Lone Adventurer.

  Oath of the Lone Adventurer (Oathsealing 3): Complete a dangerous dungeon alone in less than one hour. Any rank three perk you create will be mastered as if it were one rank lower in level. This will add to any benefits gained from taking risks inside a dungeon. If you break your oath, you will magically lose seven years of life.

  “What have you done, Bob?” Billy shouted. “That counts as your first perk. The clock has started. I do not have enough time to properly design the dungeon now.”

  “And that is the way it should be, Billy,” Bob answered. “You would be tempted to create a safer dungeon, and then it would not add any extra benefit. You must choose only the Motif and the rank, which must be at least rank three, as powerful as the perks to be obtained. Use Labyrinth and Transitory as the only tags.”

  “Bob, please take care,” Jenna begged him. No one had mentioned it, but her using up all of Bob’s experience tonic had turned this into the only viable solution. She looked deeply ashamed.

  “Do not worry, Jenna, it is only a rank three dungeon,” Bob assured her. “We are the Losers. We have been taken down a Tribulation. This should be a piece of cake.”

  “You had to jinx it,” Jenna sighed.

  Billy disappeared in a flash of blue light for less than a minute. When he respawned, there was a rift floating in mid-air behind him. “I did as you said: Labyrinth and Transitory as the only tags, and rank three. I used Train Your Skills as a Motif and called it Bob’s Ride.”

  I used both Kingmaker and Dungeon Reaper, which brought the cost down to less than 500 ap. I hope they are worth it.”

  “Rank three implies a level 30 core, two level 21 bosses, and mobs around rank 9. If they are based on Avatars, that is, they could be based on progressors, for all we know,” Bob answered.

  “I am fairly sure it's Avatars. We have been exposed heavily to them; they are part of our identity,” Billy answered.

  “Good luck, Bob,” Jenna told him as he entered the rift, which appeared as a black circular screen hanging in mid-air, not revealing anything about its content. “The dungeon is going to fight as dirty and hard as it can.”

  Bob entered the patch of darkness, only to yelp as he instantly slid in total darkness down an invisible toboggan.

  Suddenly, light surrounded him again, and Bob was dumped unceremoniously inside the dungeon.

  He stood up, swaying slightly, and activating Restoration Touch to heal his bruised body. “Not a good start,” he thought. Then he studied his surroundings. He was in the middle of an empty and sinister amusement park. All the attractions were active and swinging in full mode, but not a single soul was to be seen. At the center of the park, he could see an enormous Ferris wheel.

  A glowing circle of light hovered over the wheel's tallest point—the way out.

  Wonderful. Creepy amusement park. There were bound to be killer clowns, too. You can’t have a haunted park without killer clowns.

  His mind focused on the name Billy had given to the dungeon: Bob’s Ride. That simple choice had created the Ferris Wheel and the whole park around it.

  He started moving towards the wheel. There were dangers to face, perks to create, and time was running out.

  He activated Staying Power and sprinted toward the center of the park at full speed. Every minute, he triggered Burst of Speed, which tripled his velocity for 10 seconds.

  He felt the wind rush past his face, the smell of popcorn and hot dogs lingering in the air. The sound of lively carnival music surrounded him.

  He finally saw something moving towards him when he was still at the outer edge of the park. It was a minuscule car, not much larger than a coin-operated kiddie ride. It even had flashing lights and music. The vehicle suddenly braked when Bob was still 100 feet away.

  Its tiny doors opened, and clowns started to climb out of it—an enormous number of clowns.

  The scene would have been funny and even endearing if the clowns were not six feet tall and armed with bladed weapons. Their mouths were filled with filed teeth.

  They all charged towards Bob, brandishing their weapons as they cackled with laughter.

  Of course, it had to be clowns.

  “Share the joke, please,” Bob grimly said aloud. There. He could also do one-liners.

  Twelve gaudy murderers jumped on Bob, but he activated Dance of the Butterfly and dodged among them, as hard to hit as a wisp of smoke. He summoned his elven scimitar in his right hand. He felt the Sword Mastery perk he had in training mode instantly complete itself.

  Perfect Defense (Sword Mastery 3): Triple your body stats only for purposes of blocking attacks with your sword. You can’t move or attack while using this perk. If you do, it becomes inactive for one hour.

  Bob’s sword seemed to take a life of its own as it blocked expertly all the attacks aimed at him, while the clowns surrounded him, trying to blindside him.

  He had them now. He felt his flamecraft perk complete itself.

  Living Volcano (Flamecraft 3): Emit flames that inflict heavy damage all around you, covering a small area. The caster will not be able to activate Flamecraft perks for one minute after using it.

  He smelled the flesh of searing flesh as fire erupted from his body and swallowed the clowns. They cackled even while they burned.

  Bob heard the car’s merry music as its doors opened and more clowns climbed out of it, fifteen of them this time.

  Gaze of the Eternal Warrior: The car is the Boss. It attacks by consuming the Essence generated during fights to create more Clowns. One out of two combat patterns was detected.

  Damn it, he was going to get clobbered if he did not get that car. He ran towards it, but it turned around and ran away, leaving a wall of clown warriors between him and Bob.

  Gaze of the Eternal Warrior: The car fights through the clowns it generates. It will attempt to avoid direct physical confrontation. Two out of two combat patterns were detected.

  Weakness detected: Its tires are just as vulnerable as those of a normal car.

  This time it was Bob’s turn to run away. He headed towards a narrow alleyway to his right, followed by the cackling horde of killer clowns.

  They had almost caught him when he reached the end of the alley, but his new Palooga Perk had also activated.

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  Cannonball (Palooga 3): Throw a powerful Palooga strike at an enemy. You will gain two points in Body for each enemy placed in a straight line after the first, up to double your original Body.

  He threw Curtis’ golden palooga ball, which was specially effective against supernatural creatures, with such strength that the whole Clown pack was turned into a shower of blood and remains. He ran out of the Alley and saw the car running away again. It had to approach to absorb the Essence generated during the fight.

  He transformed his elven baton into a spear and executed a Death Throw at the speeding car. For an instant, the car seemed to be only a few meters away. The elven spear pierced the front left wheel, causing the vehicle to lose control and roll onto its side.

  He triggered Burst of Speed and ran towards the car. He could see arms and legs of new clowns starting to emerge from the car’s upholstery, as if they were being born inside the vehicle itself. He put his hand through one of the broken windows and activated Flamethrower.

  A manic chorus of cackling emerged from the inside of the car. Bob used Instant Grasshopper to jump thirty meters away from the car just as it exploded.

  The first boss was out, and he had four of the twenty-one perks he needed.

  He had to do better.

  He had to win, but he could not rely on his old tricks; if he did, he would run out of opponents and time before he got the seventeen perks left.

  He started running towards the wheel again. How much time had he left? He was going as fast as he could, but one hour is not much, and running fast inside a dungeon could be hazardous to your health. He would not see an ambush coming.

  That gave him an idea; he could use the gaudy carnival music to his advantage. He closed his eyes, concentrating, and a few seconds later, he had the perk.

  Original Soundtrack (Harmony 3): This perk only works when music is present. If danger approaches, the music will take a sinister quality. It can be turned on and off at will.

  Only sixteen perks left. He kept running and pushing himself. Staying Power was on cooldown, as he had to stop moving to fight the clowns, but the next Perk came almost on its own.

  Energy Vampire (Fatigue Resistance 3): Become immune to fatigue for one hour. You can exert yourself as much as you want without getting tired. Before the duration ends, you must transfer your fatigue to someone through physical contact. This counts as a Spirit Attack. If the target resists or you run out of time, you feel the effects of all stored fatigue.

  Once activated, it has a one-hour cooldown. Requires Healing Palm (Restoration 3)

  He felt renewed energy pouring from a black hole in the center of his chest, invigorating his limbs and sharpening his mind. He knew he would soon need to feed that black hole, or face consequences. But for now, he resolved to expend as much stamina as possible, determined to transform that void into a weapon.

  Suddenly, the lively music turned into the ominous score from Jaws. Bob instinctively dropped to the floor and slid along it like an ice skater.

  Slide (Athletics 3): The floor will act as a frictionless surface if you activate this perk while running at full speed. It will last for up to one second for every full minute you ran before using it.

  A steel pipe swung over him, and it would have hit him square in the face if he hadn't used his sliding maneuver. The attack came from a faceless, brutal carnie. There were eight of them in total, led by a towering figure who stood at least eight feet tall, a veritable bundle of muscles. He wore a stringy tank top emblazoned with the phrase "The Strongest Man in the World." This was the second boss.

  The carnies and the strongman attacked as a well-coordinated unit. Dance of the Dragonfly was out of cooldown, and that protected Bob from the first attacks, as he nimbly danced among his attackers.

  “Remember, you are not only trying to survive-you are trying to learn,” Bob told himself. The dungeon’s denizens were resources for his training, and he had to spend them wisely.

  The mobs formed a circle around him and charged at him simultaneously. Bob blinked out of existence and reappeared twenty feet away, behind the boss.

  Blink (Waycraft 3): Teleport up to a short distance, to a point you can see. One-minute cooldown that scales down with Mind.

  First Fireball, now Blink. Oh, he was loving this. He just had to have a Magic Missile someday.

  He decided to hobble the boss as the first order of business-he struck with his scimitar at his heel, severing the tendon; the strongman fell howling to the ground, as the carnies turned around and charged at him.

  The first one to reach him was holding a metal pipe in his right hand; he raised it over his head to hit Bob with it.

  Exchange of Goods (Bartering 3): Win a Spirit attack and exchange an item your adversary holds in his hand for another you are holding in yours. One minute cooldown.

  The carnie looked amazed as a palooga ball appeared in his right hand instead of his weapon.

  Bob used The Match Begins to call the ball to him. The carnie was gripping it so fiercely that it took him with it, in an unexpected and short trip to the point of Bob’s spear. Bob charged through the group, spear in hand, using Incoming Death to disperse them. He did not want to kill them too fast; he needed some to keep training up his perk.

  That decision almost cost him his life as the mighty right fist of the Strongman struck him so hard that it threw him into the nearest wall.

  Gaze of the Eternal Warrior: The Strongman heals any wound caused by a weapon in less than ten seconds. One combat pattern out of three was detected.

  The Strongman gains three points in Strength for the rest of the fight for each wound he has healed through the use of this power. Two combat patterns out of three were detected.

  Bob felt several bones break at once. His vision grew blurry as the Strongman approached him. He would surely be dead by now if he were not in War Form. He needed a powerful healing perk, and he needed it now.

  Second Chance (Restoration 3) Your body is instantly restored to peak condition, but becomes immune to magical healing for the next 24 hours. It also causes significant physical fatigue and pain.

  Bob howled in pain as all his bones reset and his wounds closed. He had paid a great price for this stunt, as he would not be able to heal himself for the rest of the run. He felt a profound exhaustion settle into his very bones.

  He felt the Strongman grab him by the throat and lift him as if he were a child. Bob used Energy Vampire to feed his inner void with the Strongman’s life force. All the fatigue he had accumulated through the last ten minutes, plus the use of the restoration perk, was injected into the Strongman’s body, who let Bob go as he swayed on his feet.

  Bob seized his chance and speared through the Strongman’s right foot.

  Steel Thorn (Spear Mastery 3) If you pierce your enemy’s body with your spear, nailing him to another surface, a magical thorn will be conjured when you retract the spear, keeping him nailed.

  The Strongman howled as he saw that he had been effectively immobilized. The carnies threw themselves at Bob, including the one he had speared through, now totally healed.

  Gaze of the Eternal Warrior: Carnies are under a powerful regeneration effect emitted by the Strongman. They can’t die as long as he is still alive. Three combat patterns out of three were detected.

  Weakness detected: Killing the Strongman destroys all the carnies.

  The carnie he had speared through gave a second try, going for Bob’s head with his pipe. At the last moment, Bob exchanged his body with that of another carnie, who took the hit full in the face.

  Target Pi?ata (Gamble 3): Exchange your position with that of another nearby being of about your same mass. The being will be randomly chosen among all possible candidates. Requires knowledge of Blink (Waycraft 3)—seven-minute cooldown.

  The stunt bought him a few seconds of respite as the carnies tried to make sense of what had happened, giving Bob time to create a new perk. It had to be a Pugilism one, as using weapons against the Strongman just made him more dangerous. He decided to copy Paul.

  Storm of Fists (Pugilism 3): Hit with your fists as many targets as possible for the next seven seconds. When they are over, all targets will suffer the same wounds. Hitting the same target twice will end the duration sooner. One hour cooldown, reduced to seven minutes if the pugilist manages to hit at least seven different targets.

  He attacked the surprised carnies with perfect fury, managing to land several powerful blows on six of them. He placed the last one on the Strongman, a powerful kick to the base of his throat.

  The Strongman and six of the carnies died as soon as the seven seconds were over, their necks bent in odd shapes. The surviving carnies fell dead one second later, their vital energies no longer sustained by the Boss. Only eight perks left to create, but he was running out of ideas.

  He finally reached the Ferris Wheel. He had to climb and reach the rift to exit the dungeon. Then he heard a clinking sound behind him. Some kind of hoop was rolling towards him down the street. It was the size of a Hula Hoop.

  Suddenly, the hoop stopped, as if an invisible hand had grabbed it, and a thin man in some sort of formal dress and with a top hat emerged from one of its sides, as if the hoop itself was also some sort of spatial rift.

  This must be the Core. Bob sighed. He had no time for this. He was almost out of time.

  Penetrating Gaze (Truthfinding 3): Grants instantly all the information provided by Gaze of the Eternal Warrior, but the target learns one of your weaknesses. Can be used once per combat.

  The Ringmaster has absolute control over the creatures of the dungeon. He can use his hoop to summon them to his location. He can also summon any item not in the possession of a foe.

  The Ringmaster smiled coldly at Bob and looked at the rift over the Ferris Wheel, arching an eyebrow.

  He must have learned I have a time limit. He is not going to let me leave, thought Bob.

  He moved his ring horizontally, and a mix of clowns and carnies emerged through the ring. They all charged at Bob.

  Bob divided into seven identical copies of himself, each running in a different direction. The mobs dispersed, each one after a target.

  Catch Me if You Can (Shadowcraft 3): Creates six shadowy doppelgangers of the caster that run away, each in a different direction.

  Bob used Instant Veil to become invisible and return to the wheel, while a small army dispersed over the dungeon looking for him.

  Damn, the Ringmaster was still there, looking for him.

  He was running out of time, but there were still perks to train, and he had run out of combat skills. Only magical ones remained.

  Fae-Touched (Fleshshaping 3): Redistributes your mental stats so that you get as much Focus and Intensity as possible. Transforms your body over thirty seconds.

  Bob used his last moments of invisibility to transform into the Fae-Touched form. He looked thinner, almost ethereal, and his eyes glowed brightly. His usual +6 Mind transformed into +2 Mind, + 2 Focus, and +2 Intensity, granting him the equivalent of +14 Mind, only to cast spells.

  He sprayed the Ringmaster with a powerful blast of water that knocked him off his feet.

  Water Hose (Watercrafting 3): Creates a powerful blast of water that lasts ten seconds and scales with Mind.

  The Ringmaster reacted quickly and, without rising from the ground, conjured a horde of vampire bats through his hoop that homed on Bob—bad choice. Bats have very developed senses of smell.

  Exchange Fragrance (Tastecraft 3): As a mind attack, exchange your smell with that of another target you can see for ten seconds. One minute cooldown.

  The Ringmaster looked with horror as the bats ignored Bob and converged on him. He tried to use his hoop to dismiss them back to the place he had summoned them from, but a mental attack from Bob paralyzed him.

  Harsh Lesson (Teaching 3): As a mind attack, the target learns from the caster a terrible truth that paralyzes him for a few seconds.

  Suddenly, the master understood that Bob did not need the Ferris Wheel to leave the dungeon. He could have flown through it at any time by adopting the shape of Otra the Progressor. He had just used him as a tool to train his perks. He was just a sparring aid, not the all-powerful villain he saw himself as.

  As the bats closed on him, he had time to appreciate Bob’s two final tricks.

  “Wind Kisses the Ball!”-one of the balls hit the component that connected the Ferris wheel's gondola to its attachment fixture.

  Red Button (Disassembling 3): By striking any mechanical contraption with sufficient force, the user causes it to disassemble into its individual elements.

  The Ringmaster’s last sight was that of the wheel-gondola placed just over him, being released from the main structure and falling on him and the horde of bats devouring him.

  Bravo! Woodcraft 3: Create a rain of flowers that falls over you and covers a medium area that scales with Mind. It can only be cast after a significant victory.

  Flowers rained all over the amusement park as Bob transformed into his flying manta form, his oath fulfilled, and with twenty-one new perks in his arsenal, crossed through the rift entry and back to his friends.

  “Do you want to grab a beer afterwards?” Charlie Vaungh asked him as he drove the Progressor’s body through the rift.

  “Maybe just one,” Bob conceded.