And so! With the clearing of the 2nd floor, James’ life changed drastically. Before, he would wake up, go to school, hang out with his friends, do his homework, and grind in the dungeon. Now that he’d advanced a tier in life, he would wake up, go to school, hang out with his friends, do his homework, and grind in the dungeon.

Sarcasm aside, James did feel like a new person. A week after he’d cleared the 2nd floor, he’d been checked up by the doctors once more, for his injuries from wrestling with a demonized bear (to the general public, it was a regular bear, but his public image was tainted). The doctors were a bit surprised and thought he healed pretty quickly. James didn’t feel the need to tell him he healed himself using potions immediately after being injured, so he was able to take off his casts and kick the wheelchair away. 

James had separated the dungeon and his regular life in his mind, so he was surprised at how good his body felt on Earth. The strength and agility orbs he’d collected gave a massive boost to his total physical abilities. James felt like he could dunk on the top basketball players in the world with ease.

He was soon educated that he did not even have the capabilities to dunk on the top basketball players at his school. However, he finally had enough strength to lob the ball across the court.

After the bear incident, James had seen that his parents had been really worried about him when he was injured. Thus, he was thinking that it was about time to start converting the magic stones he got inside the dungeon into money. He’d treat his parents to something. Recently, he’d been feeding a lot of the magic stones to Leonardo. James just couldn’t say no to that little bear with its pleading eyes and cute whimpering sounds. But James knew that was kind of a waste. Each magic stone was one Benjamin Franklin’s worth of money. 100 dollars was a lot, especially since they would add up.

James decided he would talk to his senior dungeon explorers and set up a front for the money he was getting. He couldn’t just plop down a stack of cash and expect his parents to not wonder there the money came from. It wasn’t as simple as telling his parents he was investing in stocks either, since they knew very well that he had no idea how to do so. But he could pretend to have learned how to, or even actually learn how to. Or he could find some other way.

His parents would be suspicious no matter what – their 17-year-old son would be pulling out thousands of dollars out of nowhere. But, as long as they didn’t think he was acquiring the money through illegal means, it was all good. They would have no choice but to accept that their son was making more than them.

James finished the last problem of his calculus set and checked that he was missing no school assignments. Then, he closed his notebook and placed it back into his bag. 

When he first discovered the dungeon, part of his excitement was at the thought that he could drop out of school. However, to do that, James would need to convince his parents that he had a stable and large enough source of income to forego school – he had to set up his “alibi” first. Besides, James didn’t exactly hate going to school. He wouldn’t be able to hang out with his friends Jack and Mo as much if he dropped out. Plus, he thought that finishing his high school education wasn’t a bad idea. The famous business tycoons all dropped out of college, not high school.

James yawned and turned out the lights before plopping down on his bed.

“Fuck.”

James still hadn’t figured out how to change the keyword. If he said that particular word, he’d automatically be warped to the dungeon. His body on Earth would immediately go limp, as if he’d passed out. James had discovered this at his home, so he’d avoided any incidents, but James had held back on saying the F word during the last month and a half.

At least the keyword wasn’t something like “the”. Then, he’d have no way to speak English without fainting in the middle of it. 

====================

“Wait, I don’t understand how the dungeon converts magic stones into money. Is inflation not a thing?” 

James, the economist, presented a question to his table at the dungeon shop.

“Good fucking question, mate.” Mike’s British accent flared up slightly. “No dungeon explorer has a clue either. All the money we get can be transferred to a bank account, not just cash. I’m assuming that’s how the dungeon bypasses verification on the money it gives out. Plus, it means it probably isn’t stealing the money from others.”

“Oh, that’s good.” James had never really thought about seemingly mundane questions such as the one he just posed. He’d been distracted by the thought of magic and money. So, he was relieved to find out he wasn’t going to be a thief.

Beck spoke next. “About inflation…I doubt dungeon explorers really make a difference. Nobody, even top dungeon explorers, pulls out enough money to affect that greatly. You just don’t need that much money. You pull out a billion dollars once, no, not even a billion dollars, and you’re set for life. You can live just off of interest. But, explorers don’t pull out that much at once, since it would get a little suspicious.”

James looked at Mike. “I’m assuming your company was started with funds from the dungeon, but generates its own revenue now?”

“Yeah. I don’t need to exchange money from the dungeon anymore. I make enough from the company. Although I’m not really living luxuriously.”

James wasn’t surprised. His senior explorer was a considerate, generous, kind-hearted person – something James could never be. Mike started his company, MaxMeds, to deliver more accessible healthcare products and life-saving medicines. He wasn’t after money at all. If he wanted, he could just be like Beck, who used the money for himself.

“Hey! I take out some money to splurge a bit here and there, okay? I still go to work and I make actual money , since I can’t exactly tell my wife about the dungeon, you know. I just happen to make a bit more than expected.”

James stared at him. “You’re married?”

“Yeah.”

“You look like a college student.”

“I will take that as a compliment. Anyways, Leah’s the one who does the most shenanigans with her wealth.”

“Leah?” James switched his gaze over to the Korean girl who was quietly eating pastries while the 3 guys at the table bickered around.  “Oh, I never asked. What does your company do?”

“Sports stuff. Equipment, training, courses, and similar. My dad, he took control of it from me. It will be fun, he said. I don’t mind. No work.” Leah responded in her usual, hesitant English.

James didn’t understand why running a company was fun. Making money with the company was fun, but running a company? Oh, well. People could have their own hobbies.

“Hmm.” James nodded. “It seems like starting a company with funds from the dungeon is the easiest way. The thing is, I don’t exactly want to do that yet. I have no idea how to run a company. I don’t even know how to file taxes. Plus, the main problem still stands: what do I tell my parents when they ask me how I started the company in the first place?”

James continued thinking about the problem, until he straightened in his seat and looked at Leah.

“Wait Leah, how did you convince your parents?”

“They never asked.”

“?!?!?!”

James’ confusion increased visibly. Mike took the opportunity to step in.

“James, what if you become an ‘intern’ or something at my company? Or Leah’s company. We could ‘pay’ you a smaller amount at first. Eventually, we ‘raise’ your position. I don’t mind that.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Beck.

James agreed. It would allow him to slowly build up the amount of money he was “making”. James was just looking for an excuse to drop cash on his family, not build a corporation, so this suited him just fine. He was about to express these thoughts, when Leah’s plate suddenly clattered on the table.

“Mike. Genius.”

Leah’s eyes were open wide, and her expression was slightly eager. This was the most emotional James had ever seen her. She turned to James.

“You. Work at my, my dad’s company.”

“Uhh...oka-”

“I will come over. Within a few days.”

James started sweating. He had a bad premonition.

“What do you mean come over-”

“I will go prepare paperwork. Don’t worry. It will be fun.” Leah left the dungeon.

James stared at the spot where Leah disappeared.

“‘It will be fun?’ What was fun about preparing paperwork for someone else or running a company?”

It ran in the family, huh?