“What time you guys put that bar up across the door?” I ask Teresa as I motion to the main entrance. She’s the only one at the front desk while Fabian and the others are occupied with other tasks. I glance at the clock. It’s been a busy day, but I have too much unfinished business.

  “Usually ten,” she responds and pauses for a second. Seems like she’s deciding whether or not she’s going to say something more and so I wait, and she does. “There’s another entrance for deliveries and staff Calrik, over on the west side of the building. The door code changes every day, but today it’s 81345. We still have a scanner there, but it’s only tuned to locate weapons and drugs, or the usual kinds of things that are a threat to residents. You understand?”

  I nod, and appreciate it.

  “Go out and have fun, but leave the fun behind,” I confirm.

  “Never doubted you,” she says with a smile. Does this mean I’m one of the crew?

  For a second I consider asking Lucy to join me, but I don’t think I’ve reached those lofty heights yet.

  I leave through the front door with only a small backpack into the cool evening air. It’s dark, but not dark enough to hide the regrown trees in the courtyard that were scythed down by Jacinta when I arrived… must be someone with a pretty green thumb around, or they’ve paid to have someone with that kind of Power come by and accelerate their growth. There’s no street light right outside the hospice, but there’s plenty of light from Saint Marianne’s for me to see the nearest HoverRide hoverbike once I step out of the gates. HoverRides are cheap and convenient to use for a short trip and since there are no secure communication facilities or training facilities near here, walking isn’t really an option unless I want to be up all night.

  A few seconds later I’m zipping down the roads and onto the highway meant for slow vehicles. Slow is a relative term, since I’m still HoverRiding at almost 150 km/h while the bike’s technology keeps me stable. It’s always irked me to take the slow lanes and I spend a few seconds thinking what it might be like sometime in the future to turn onto the fast lanes and accelerate without any worry because I’ve pumped up my Constitution. Even though my physical capabilities are around normal, there are a lot of people who have enhanced physical abilities through either extreme nanite Enhancements or Powers - and those people rocket up and down the fast highway at many times my speed. Their reactions and Enhancements prevent crashes, but even when one happens they can all shrug off the damage or recover so quickly from it that nobody gets bent out of shape if an accident happens.

  I glance down at the GPS built into the handlebars and accelerate just a bit more down the highway. It’s a good quality road and there aren’t many people around so I get a free run. It’s only a couple minutes later I’m on the outskirts of town and I pull into a slightly rundown Storage King location. It’s dusk as I punch my code into the tinny metal keypad at the entrance and the gate rattles open. I drive through and slowly glide through the mini streets, old streetlights showing me the way. I pull over at the stairs, then take them two at a time up to my unit and open the combination lock. With a heave the roller door slides up and I grin when the inside is revealed and the motion sensor light overhead flickers on.

  I don’t think anyone’s around; it’s quiet. Just in case I don’t want to take more time than I have to, so I stride in and open up a couple of the large black cases. I don’t have access to my parents estate and all the Credits now, but I’ve got a lot left over from a lifetime of training before the funds got cut off. I grab an armored jumpsuit that’s flexible and protective, two blasters, and a pair of short swords. The jumpsuit I climb into quickly; the blasters get holstered and my short swords snap into the magnetic holders on my back. For now I leave my backpack in the unit and then pull the roller door shut.

  Excited and hopeful, I punch some new coordinates into the GPS on my HoverRide and pull slowly out of Storage King and then accelerate down the road and back onto the highway. Twenty minutes later I pull into the only local Dungeon complex, called the Deepframe. I’ve done some research on the three story high covered building that’s the size of a large stadium. The top level is called the Upper Warrens and is full of collapsed halls and tomb-like side chambers with lots of ways in and out. The Middle Depths that start at ground floor are broad caverns that were once mines, now fractured into many caverns. The Lower Vaults are mostly sealed other than half-submerged ruins. All of it is knitted together from a central entrance and lobby area.

  There are plenty of vehicles around, more than I thought there would be. Hopefully not so many that my trip will be wasted. I hop off the HoverRide and toss up whether to release it or keep it. I decide to keep it since I have more to do tonight. If things go well I’ll make more than it costs anyway. I walk across the gravel parking lot, feet crunching on the stones, then climb the stairs to the main entrance. An expansive semi-circular setup oversees the three levels with many Dungeon entrances radiating from each.

  At the top of the stairs is a huge area with a few desks representing different categories and relative strengths of the Dungeons at this location. It’s a lot smaller than the ones I’ve been to at major centres and the bigger Dungeon locations. In the last hundred years, towns and cities have inevitably been built up around Dungeon locations that seem to be permanent and are able to be kept under control. They provide services and places for Dungeon delvers to stay. Other Dungeons are more temporary in nature and only attract the bare minimum of infrastructure before high Level people with strong Powers or the EDF takes them out.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The lobby of any Dungeon location seems to sit like a pressure valve between civilization and the Dungeon. Banners hang from the rafters, color coded for strength and type of Dungeon; getting the Power matchup right is important if people want to emerge with their lives and their loot intact. Most of the room is taken up by vendors of different kinds. Food, weapons, bounty advertisements, services for hire, even one Powered person with an enhancement Power who offer boosts and buffs for heroes or villains who want to take these Dungeons on. None of the Dungeons here are powerful enough to attract Superheroes, so I don’t expect to see any celebrities.

  I eye up the options.

  Today isn’t a day for me to take any big risks while Dungeon diving solo and with a new Power and Auntie V on her way. I just want to know if running a simple Dungeon will gain me any Soul Sparks now that my Power has Awakened, and I hope it will, despite the evidence. My future in so many ways looks a lot different depending on the answer to this question.

  Growing up with the expectation of getting a very strong Power and having two serious heavy hitters as parents gave me a lot of foundational training I can build on now and I’m glad I’ve stayed sharp even after it was clear I wasn’t manifesting a Power.

  “None of these are really for Level 1 beginners, mate, even if you’re rich enough to afford that gear.” A rough voice to my left is clearly pointed at me. “Especially not solo.”

  I glance over and see a burly fighter in powerful looking armor and a woman more on the slender side with long dark hair and a scar through her left eyebrow. Nobody around seems to think this confrontation is anything other than ordinary and I don’t feel any tension, but I pull their information anyway.

  Vince Harbin (Mercenary)

  Level: 104

  Power: Spirit of the Warrior (Tier 1 Major)

  Conditions: None

  Lara Logine (Elementalist)

  Level: 74

  Power: Mage (Tier 3 Minor)

  Conditions: None

  For a place like this, they have high Levels and good, strong Powers.

  Vince is looking at me in expectation and for a couple beats I think about ignoring him. I can see where they’re coming from, I guess… my gear is top of the line for most people running Dungeons. Paired with Level 1 and no Power that registers - I can see they might think I’m a rich kid about to get himself killed, so the warning could be both a public service and an opportunity for them to try to earn some Credits.

  “Appreciate your concern, Vince. I’ll stick to the real easy stuff.” My voice is full of confidence and it’s true. I’m just looking to see if anything’s changed since I got a Power, not to get myself killed.

  Vince nods and Lara looks around a bit. She seems more bored than assessing the situation for something to exploit. Nothing here screams to me I’m going to get jacked up, but I’m still a hairsbreadth from triggering my portable shield generator just in case. For now I’ll assume good intent.

  “If you need some backup for something more challenging, you can get in touch,” he says, and sends me a contact I can reach him. Probably a single use, disposable one.

  “I’ll keep it in mind,” I assure him, then stride directly over to the desk set up for the easiest introductory area in this Dungeon. I’m actually feeling very excited about it, while also being fully ready for disappointment. The man behind the counter is a blond haired, bearded bundle of positive energy.

  “Calrik! First time considering a Dungeon run? It looks like you’ve saved up plenty for some new gear,” he says. “Even so… this Dungeon is a bit too much for someone Level 1 with a weak Power.” His frown is meant to discourage me. His tone is factual and positive rather than judgemental.

  Brockil Van Grogtho (Dungeon Guide)

  Level: 25

  Power: Navigation (Tier 1 Minor)

  Conditions: None

  Just a guy trying to get along and look after some folks at a Dungeon location. Maybe make the most of his Power and get ahead, once he’s strong enough to take people through more dangerous Dungeons without risking death.

  “I’m afraid I can’t let you enter alone; it would be suicide. You’re in luck though! A group is just getting ready to go in and you could probably join them. Leader named Felicity. If you don’t want to join them it may be quite a few hours or even tomorrow. We don’t let multiple groups in the same Dungeon at the same time to avoid friendly fire. I’m sure you understand?”

  I do understand and I’ve been on dozens, maybe hundreds of Dungeon runs like this, most with teams until the last few. I know it will make a difference if I pull out my F+ DRP, but I don’t want to answer a whole lot more questions than I need to.

  “I’ll see if they’ll let me join them,” I agree.

  “Seems like maybe it’s your very first time so I’ll stress if they don’t let you join their Party, you won’t be able to enter.”

  “Understood Brockil,” I confirm.

  “The Dungeon entry fee is 500 Credits,” he says. With the kind of creatures this Dungeon entry will be limited to, it’s a steep fee unless there’s something unusual about it. I grimace and pass over the fee, ready to meet my prospective new Dungeon delving partners.