Chapter Twenty Five

Breathing in a breath of fresh air, Jason took a coke from the fridge and went to the porch overlooking the misty back yard. Steam still rose from his glistening skin from the shower he had taken. His muscles had just begun to loosen when he took his first sip from the can. He sat down on a porch swing he had brought with from his grandfather's house. The familiar creak from swing gave him a sense of belonging, even in this beautiful house between worlds.

"You gained two levels in one clearing." Selena said from behind him. She didn't sound surprised, but she couldn't disguise that she was impressed.

"This dungeon was tailored to my wisdom growth." Jason said as he stared out into the mists. "The stat more than doubled while I was in. Are all dungeons like that?"

"It depends if you can find the hidden training within them." Selena sat next to him and took the can from his hand. She took a sip of the chilled beverage, savoring the fizzy feeling on her tongue. "You've been more perceptive than others I've seen do the dungeons."

"Can everyone do dungeons?" This was a question that had been bothering him for a while now. Rukil had been too weak for his level, and Steve hadn't given away whether he could do dungeons or not.

"Yes and no." Selena handed him back his coke. "Typically only guild leaders can send their subordinates through dungeons. Either that, or they can go to power level themselves. No solo leveler can access dungeons."

"So someone like Rukil?"

"I'd say he would have to prove himself capable of leveling himself before he can be admitted to a dungeon. You are able to do one, then go back and do it again. Others can do the same thing, but they need to request permission from their guild leader before they can. That means that you can level up ten times as fast as anyone else, plus that twenty percent bonus to your experience gain."

"So that means that I'm likely the same level as him now." He smiled at that. Though Rukil had been a leveler for enough time to call Jason a newbie, he had now caught up to the man. In the next few days he could even outpace him if he wanted.

"That doesn't mean that you should be complacent." A note of sternness entered Selena's voice as she said this. "You still are new to all this, and it's because of the temporal tome that you're able to excel as much as you are, but there will always be someone stronger. You will have to work for a hundred years to catch up to the power someone has been building for a thousand."

The way Selena had phrased that statement got him thinking. "You really think that Trusky is that strong?"

"I think he's someone you need to be wary of."

"I've known him since my parents died. I can vouch that he's as good a guy as we can find in this situation."

"He might be a good guy in your memory, but that's just a memory of someone less than twenty years old. He's at least a thousand years your senior, which means he could be hiding his true self behind what you perceive of him."

"You aren't too quick to trust, are you?" Jason watched her expression darken as she turned to him.

"Trusting someone easily is a quick way to lose your freedom in this immortal world, you'll do well to remember that, Jason."

"But I can trust you?" He couldn't help but ask. "You fell out of my phone and asked for food, meanwhile sicked killer bunnies on me." He smirked at the ridiculousness of his statement. "Aside from that, I don't know much about you except that you were the guardian of the temporal tome from a few thousand years ago."

"Thinking like that might just save your life one day." Selena brought her gaze to the misty sky. "Trust comes through action, Jason. If at any time you see me betray your trust, you will have your answer."

He didn't know why, but he felt that more than anyone, he could trust this girl. No matter how ridiculous their meeting was, and no matter how events had transpired, he felt like he could trust his life with her. It felt crazy just thinking about it, but he felt like he should have known her before all of this started, like they had always been connected.

"Oh," A thought occurred that he had almost forgotten. "I don't have to sit and absorb experience anymore. What's up with that?"

Selena's eyes widened at that. "You don't have to cultivate the experience you gain from battle?"

"No, it all just gets added to my stats now."

"That's not supposed to happen until you are at least level twenty." She thought as she looked at his stats. "Maybe being the temporal tome master gives you an upper hand. Don't get used to it though, if you ever defeat an extremely difficult opponent, you may still need to absorb the experience the way I showed you."

"Another perk for being a keeper." Jason shrugged. "They just keep adding up, don't they?"

"That just means that your hardships are going to be many." She took the coke again and drained it. "You need to get to my level soon, or I won't be able to continue growing." She threw the empty can into the garbage on the porch. "I'm getting bored, so get to work."

"Yes, ma'am." Jason gave a middle finger salute before getting out his phone and went to the dungeon menu.

"I mean it, Jason. Hurry up and gain some levels. We have five days left in here before we continue on, and I have a feeling we'll be reentering the world into a difficult situation, so work hard, okay?"

Jason gave a serious nod before selecting [yes] on the dungeon prompt. He faded from sight and Selena went back into the house to take another nap.