Jan 7th 2027: Utopia

[Universal Update: Item category 'Simple' has been renamed to 'Crappy'. Caretaker Meme.]

Bo re-read the prompt, shook his head, and blinked it away.

He stood before a massive pile of treasure in the flickering torchlight. Copper Coins glinted alongside previously [Simple]—now [Crappy]—weapons and armor. Bo was more interested in the blueprints and recipes scattered throughout.

The dim light also revealed several boar carcasses that had not disappeared.

Bo paced back and forth in front of the impressive hoard.

How the hell are we going to move all this?

Bo let out a long breath. His brain started organizing and prioritizing the treasure. Thankfully, there were ten [Crappy Leather Packs] in the loot pile; one for each person. However, they would still need to make several trips.

The rightful 'owner' of each item had lifted it off the ground when they gathered the loot, so that was no longer a problem. However, this raised another question in Bo's mind.

Can treasure be stolen? How am I gonna keep track of all this?

Kate, Hana, Brad, and the kids were doing a final sweep of the rooms to make sure nothing was missed. Tom had stayed behind, under the pretense of helping Bo organize the loot. He was hunched over on the floor beside a leaning pile of books, and had barely moved from that position.

"Hey, Bo, you look at these yet?" Tom slowly held up a book.

[Tanking for Dummies: Volume I]

Bo watched over Tom's shoulder as Tom flipped the pages; there were tutorial pictures demonstrating defensive stances and tactics, but the pictures were fuzzy and none of the words made sense.

"Clearly, these books were not meant for reading," said Tom. "Have you touched one yet? I'm getting prompted to absorb the knowledge. It has a warning saying there's a difference between gaining the knowledge versus practicing. I get the feeling it's not exactly a 'Matrix style' upload."

"Still, I bet they help."

"They will, and we have a lot of them too." Tom pointed at three stacks of books. Bo brushed his fingers over [Road Planning for Dummies: Volume I] and a whopper of a book called [Magical Material Logistics and Distribution for Dummies: Volume I].

He flipped through the distribution guide; it had a few pictures that looked like they addressed the storage needs of rare materials. Some materials had warning signs, and one even had a skull on it. The middle section was full of diagrams and lists of resource names, types, weights, rarity, and so on. It also had a section with pictures of interesting interactions between core professions, such as [Haulers], [Quartermasters], and [Wagoneers].

Holy shit.

Bo dismissed the prompt to absorb the book. He placed it down and resumed pacing, his mind racing with possibilities.

Their small community would soon take a big step forward. They were now able to build permanent structures; this—combined with the information in the guidebooks and blueprints—would allow them to make some serious upgrades.

And in the nick of time, too. They had spent a week sleeping on the solid, frozen ground. They needed shelter for a lot of people, and there were still newcomers arriving every day—many of them injured or frostbitten.

The rest of the group returned.

Amber poked around at the different loot piles. "I still can't get over how much there is."

"Well, Room 1 alone consisted of ten waves, each with a minimum of ten creatures in it," Tess said. "I would guess we killed well over 150 monsters in that room alone."

"That's true. You guys killed a lot of shit." Bo suppressed an unexpected pang. "This Dungeon was scary as hell, but you all handled it, and it paid off. I'm proud of you guys. Let's pack up the Leather Packs with the most important stuff and get out of here."

"Once we're back at camp, I think we should have a serious talk about these books," Kate suggested, holding up [Alchemical Poisoning for Dummies: Volume I]. "After we absorb these books . . . well, maybe not this one . . . I think we need to offer to teach what we learned to anyone who will listen."

"Oh, no way," said Chloe. "I don't want to talk to—"

"Honey, it'll be good for you. It's important. You'll do great."

"Agreed," Bo said.

Chloe's eyebrows creased, and she stared at her feet.

"Well, let's discuss it more later," said Bo. "If you find a book that was assigned to you, it's yours to absorb if you want. However, I'm seeing a lot of tutorials that have nothing to do with our professions or classes. I suggest we give or trade those out to the relevant people."

Most of the group had gray-tinged, heavy faces. Loo stumbled around and dragged her feet. Tom was still scrunched up on the floor. Even Brad was quiet and deflated.

Bo injected some energy into his voice. "Let's pack up, guys! I think we should prioritize the books, then the blueprints and recipes, then the Coins, and then the gear. I'm ready to get out of here!"

Though he was weary, the new possibilities had re-energized Bo.

Everyone else moved slowly. Amber dragged herself through the loot piles, searching for blueprints and recipes. Tom—still curled up by the books—let them 'fall' into his Pack, moving as little as possible. Kate and Hana were the most organized; they packed their bags to the brim.

"Everyone good to go?" asked Bo. "We'll leave the rest for a return trip."

The group hoisted their heavy Packs—Kate had to help Tom get his on—and they started their journey toward the Dungeon's entrance.

Hope the rest of the loot doesn't disappear. I hate to leave it.

"All right, let's pick up the pace," Bo instructed, his voice firm. "I know we're all tired, but some of us have a few more trips to make tonight."

The sound of their labored breathing echoed around Bo as they made their way through the dark cave. He had overpacked in his anxiety, and books were almost falling out of his bag. His tired muscles strained under the weight.

Bo paused to check their progress.

Finn was in the back of the line, grimacing as he rubbed a cramp in his calf. His cracked braces were barely holding on.

Tom came to a dead stop. His face was the same color as the blueprints in his Pack.

"You might have to leave me," Tom gasped.

Bo walked back to his friend. "What's wrong?"

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"I'm about to drop," he said between grunts. "Pain . . . too much." His eyes were clouded, and his entire body trembled.

Bo leaped forward and caught Tom as he toppled over. Bo slid under Tom's right arm, and Kate appeared at his left.

Holy shit, he's heavy!

"Tom, Kate, drop your Packs. I'll leave mine too. We can come back for them later."

They pulled Tom through the cave, but it was slow going. It took everything Bo had just to keep him upright.

Tom took slow plodding steps between gasping breaths.

Bo tried to think of a way to take his mind off the pain.

"How about we all go over our new Level 4 spells? Brad, feel free to share or not. Up to you. Tom, how about you go first?"

Tom spoke between grunts. "[Fortified Defender]." He sucked air in through his teeth. "And [Muscle Modification]."

Tom didn't elaborate, and Bo didn't push him.

Kate groaned under Tom's weight. "I'll go, mine are pretty straightforward. My [Mother Protector] spell is [Animal Hide], which gives a bonus to defense; even more so when in Bear form. My [Druid] ability is [Healing Saliva], which is weird. I don't want to lick anyone's gross bloody wounds."

Amber scrunched her nose.

"Makes sense, though, if you're in Bear form," said Finn carefully.

"I know. The description even says that, but it's still gross. How about you, Finn?"

Finn sighed. "Well, both new abilities of course require plant material, so until I get that figured out, I'm still stuck with my one healing spell. The [Druid] spell is called [Healing Dandelions], which sounds super weird, but I guess they float off me and form clouds of healing. The [Botanomorph] ability is . . . " Finn paused as he struggled through the pronunciation. "[Smilax Rotundifolia]. Or greenbrier vine. Or big thorns. Sounds awesome, and I sure would love to use them . . . " He trailed off significantly.

Bo looked over at Finn.

I gotta find some time to help him.

But first, he had to make sure they didn't freeze to death.

Hana put her arm around Finn as they walked, and gave him a loving squeeze. She dropped her arm quickly; Finn was staring in horror at the dead Pygmy arm she was holding him with.

"I'll go." Hana cleared her throat. "My Witch ability is called [Contagion]. I can spread my sickness spells around from monster to monster, so it sounds like I'll be able to infect everything pretty quickly. My Hag ability is [Fossilize], which makes the bones I collect more durable. I can push greater amounts of mana through them and increase the spell's potency, and it also lets me keep the bones for longer and with less stink. What about you, Loo?"

"Well, to start with the easy one, my [Mana Inundationist] ability is [Mana Brook]. It's basically the same as my [Mana Spring] spell, except it fills everyone's mana faster, but it doesn't last nearly as long as the [Mana Spring] does. Oh, and it also has a longer cooldown—"

"Sounds fantastic, Loo," Tess said pointedly.

"Yep! And my [Conjurer] ability is, erm, well it's pretty lack luster. [Summon Mana Algae] produces a bunch of extra oxygen in the area, giving the group a buff of stamina regeneration. I mean, it will certainly be helpful, but I just was hoping for something . . . well, something bigger. I wonder if I could—"

"I'll go next," Amber said.

Loo scowled at her.

"My [Rogue] ability is [Slice], which delivers a super-deep cut. I'm seeing a pattern between my abilities. I think I can use my [Rogue] skills in different orders to achieve different results. Maybe [Shiv], [Slash], [Slash], [Slash], [Stab], [Slice]." Amber counted off the spells on her fingers. "Maybe that would make the target bleed out for maximum damage. But if I just focused on [Stab] and [Shiv] alone deliver a burst of short-term damage—"

"Move on Amber!" said Kate, with a worried glance at Tom.

Loo smirked.

"Fine," Amber huffed. "Something to think about, anyways. My other [Flair] ability is a passive [Balance], which obviously boosts balance. I mean, it's nice, but meh. How about you, Bo?"

Bo shook his head. "Mine are lame, as always. My Bardic ability is [Encore Bonus]. A perfectly played song can double or triple the bonus of the next song, and resets the cooldown on a previously played song. My soundtrack ability is [Volume], where—you guessed it—I can increase the volume of my voice and give it a stronger bonus effect. Yay. Tess, how about you?"

"Pretty happy with mine actually! My [Fighter] ability is [Reflexive Guard], which is a short-term heightened level of defensive fighting. My [Tactician] specialization gave me [Tactical Insight]. My [Battle Map] is now updated with areas of tactical advantage, such as high ground. I'll need to really practice with it, as I barely used my [Morale Insight] and missed out on several strategic opportunities. Chloe, what you got?"

Bo had to lean in to hear Chloe's quiet voice.

"Under my [Psychic] abilities I now have [Trauma], which will trigger the monster to flee, freeze, fight another monster, or break down crying. The [Tormentor] side has [Paranoia], which can cause my fear spells to spread. That's it, I think that was everyone."

"Unless you want to go, Brad?" asked Bo.

"Sure thing! We're all friends here. My Level 3 [Bard] spell is [Beatboxing Dirge], so enemies that get too close to me while I'm beatboxing will take damage. My [Fanboy] spell is [Rap Battle], which heightens my buffs' effectiveness. But it has a warning that it pulls a bunch of threat. So, I'll have to be careful with that one."

Tom sank further into Bo's and Kate's shoulders.

"Tom, is it still getting worse?" Kate whispered.

Sweat rolled down his face, and his breathing was labored. "Just keep moving," he gasped.

Bo glanced at Kate. Her muscles were visibly swelling as she took more of Tom's weight. A [Maternal Instincts] icon activated over her head.

"I've been thinking." Kate said. "Maybe I should talk to Job about specializing in medicinal plants that could help with pain relief."

"Mom!" said Amber. "Are you talking about, like, weed?" She exchanged amused glances with the other kids.

"Actually, yes," Kate replied, her tone serious. "I know it was used by a lot of people for pain, and it was nearly fully legalized before all this happened, so how bad can it be. Maybe it will help your father."

Tom managed a weak smile. "I'm down to try anything at this point."

"Dad hittin' the doobie. Puff puff pops," Amber said.

The other kids laughed.

"Enough, Amber!" Kate snapped. "Look at your father. Do you think this is something to joke about?"

"All right! Sorry, Dad."

"I'll speak with Job about it, but it'll only work if the specialization comes with some starter seeds for the plants."

"It's a good plan," said Bo. "I'll help you look into it if you need."

Bo's heart rate increased as they approached the Dungeon's entrance; it was still sealed shut.

Thankfully, as they got closer, the boulders that had initially blocked their path slowly rolled back with a loud rumble and cloud of dust, exposing the outside world.

It had just turned dark when they entered the previous evening. Now, the Moon shone overhead in the pre-dawn night.

Bo took a deep, refreshing breath of the chilly air. The cold helped blow away the smoky decayed stench that had settled into his lungs.

"Freedom!" Amber shouted. She thrust her fists into the air and dashed outside. "We made it!"

"Shhh, Amber!" Chloe hissed, glancing around nervously. "We don't know what's waiting for us out there."

A sudden rustling in the trees jolted the group's attention.

Tess threw down a well-practiced defensive formation. They dropped their Packs and formed a protective circle, weapons at the ready.

Bo let out a sigh of relief as familiar faces emerged from behind the trees and bushes. A group of neighbors had gathered outside the entrance, armed and ready to fight: including Mike; Jill; Bridget; Jeannie; Charlie; even Blake.

"You're alive!" cried Bridget. She pushing through the crowd to greet them. "We were worried sick!"

"Thank God," added Mike. "We tried to move the rocks to get in, but they wouldn't budge."

"Well, it wasn't easy, but we made it," Bo said. He pointed to the bulging Packs. "And we have some loot to show for it."

"Thank you for coming for us!" said Hana. She gestured at the bags. "Speaking of loot, please could you help us get this back to camp?"

"Of course! We'll carry everything." Jill stepped forward.

"Thank you so much, everyone," Kate said, her voice drained.

"Thank you all," Bo said. He cleared his throat.

Mike clapped Bo on the back.

"Right," Bo murmured, smiling through his exhaustion. "Okay, everyone! There's this stuff, and lots deeper in the Dungeon, including boar bodies. It's cleared for six more days so it's safe to enter. It's creepy as hell, but there are torches on the walls. Can a couple of you help support Tom, if you don't mind?"

Some of the neighbors slowly crept into the cave.

Bo was truly humbled. He wasn't quite sure if it was a good thing or not, but he was really starting to care about these people.

"Hey Bo," called Mike, who had moved forward to help Tom. "You have to tell us more about the Dungeon. What was it like in there?"

"Oh my God, yes! What was it like?" Bridget took the heavy backpack from Chloe.

Hana led the way with her [Radon Light]. Bo and the kids launched into a long account of their adventure as they meandered back to camp.

"It was awful."

"The Boss was a big mother fucker!"

"We had some close calls."

"It stunk worse than the ape house at the zoo."

A couple of neighbors overtook them with armfuls of loot.

"Sounds intense," said Mike, shaking his head.

"Shit-your-pants intense," agreed Bo. "But the good news is, now we've defeated the Dungeon, we can build! Long story short, we touched a weird Dungeon crystal, some Caretakers showed up, and we were made nobility and put in charge of this Dungeon Block." He gestured around them.

"Nobility!" Blake said behind them, his voice sharp. "Like a king, or something?"

"Since we were the first to defeat the Dungeon," Hana held up her undead hand and mimed air quotes, "this 'Dungeon territory' was split among us. Brad chose to receive a special reward instead of accepting a fiefdom, but the rest of us are Lords and Ladies of this area. The Dungeon crystal selected Feudalism as our best government fit—"

"Feudalism?" Blake scoffed. He crossed his arms and glared at Bo. "You're telling me we're in some medieval society where you guys are the Lords calling all the shots? And what are we, your peasants?"

Hana stepped toward Blake, her hands placating. He flinched away from her.

Bo locked onto him like a bird of prey.

"It's not like that, Blake," Hana said softly. "We didn't choose this situation."

"Exactly," Bo added. "Our priority is survival. We need everyone's skills and strengths to make that happen. I've worked with most of you, one way or another, in the past week. I think you know I'm not about to sit on my ass and do nothing like some fat greedy king. I just want to keep my family, my friends, and my community safe."

"No wonder you're so happy here," Blake grumbled under his breath. He pushed ahead, and left the rest of them behind.

Charlie pushed forward and pointed at something above Tom's head. "Hey, look!" he exclaimed "Focus on Tom like you would an item."

There were murmurs of surprise.

Bo followed Charlie's suggestion.

[Lord Thomas Damascus]

"I'm gonna try something," said Brad. He stepped in front of Tom, gave a low bow, and put on an awful English accent. "Lord Thomas Damascus, welcome to your domain! May your presence bring prosperity and peace."

"Uhhh . . . thanks, Brad," said Tom.

"I'm not sure that's quite how you would—" Charlie began.

"Cool!" Brad squinted at something in the air. "I gained some [Kingdom of Raintree Reputation] for observing proper court etiquette."

"Really?" Charlie said.

"It says reputation is earned through contributing to the community, using proper profession and nobility titles, and defending Raintree against enemies," Brad explained as he read the prompt. "There's, like, a hundred other things on the list too. There are benefits unlocked at different reputation levels, including tax breaks, craftable upgrades, increases to stats and skills when inside the Kingdom . . . it goes on!"

Bo turned to Tom and—with a flourish—gave a deep bow. "My Lord Thomas Damascus. It was an honor to delve into the Dungeon with you, sir. May your reign be long and prosperous."

There it was: several prompts appeared in Bo's vision, just as Brad said. He skimmed them, but it was too much information to take in.

"Did it work?" Tom asked.

"Yep, got an extra small reputation gain." He patted Tom's shoulder. "Hey, Lord Broski. That Dungeon rocked. Let's do it again sometime."

Bo paused.

No notifications.

"Seems like formalities matter," Charlie chuckled.

Their group moved slowly, and multiple people passed them—some bearing loot. Bo side-eyed the neighbors he was less familiar with.

As word spread, a few of them bowed before the family members and gained small reputation gains.

The kids thought it was hilarious; except Chloe, who looked like she was trapped in her own special hell with all the attention. The adults tried to get them to take it at least mildly seriously.

*****

As the Sun appeared above the campsite, Bo was wide awake and sifting through the stack of blueprints. His fingers traced their intricate designs.

His stomach sank at the sheer volume of work contained within the pages. His [Micromanager] specialization would let him learn all the blueprints, but he wouldn't have time to actually build anything. If he tried to learn and build everything himself—so that he knew it was done correctly—he would create an insurmountable bottleneck that would cripple their town's progress.

He would have to delegate.

Fuck.

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