A week has passed since Glyn’s arrival on Jubert Island. And while starting in not the most ideal situation, thanks to the help of his allies, he made a suitable foundation for his plans. However, even in his newfound status as acceptable to the island residents, he still lives on the outskirts of the village. But his ultimate goal remains the same to survive the War Game long enough to beat at least one person in the game.

 

            “Let’s see. It should be ready today if we were to try it out.” Glyn sits at his makeshift desk in his room.

After securing his position, his next task was to renovate the compound he took as his base. Remodeling and restoring parts of the building with emphasis on fixing up the rooms to make them livable. For his purposes, Glyn renovated the room he occupied to fix the walls and put down a decent carpet while also getting decent furniture.

He sits at his desk looking over maps and notes he’s gathered, hoping to have a full map of the Aloock Islands. However, thanks to the islander’s isolation, a full map of the islands continues to allude to him.

            “Damn it. There are way too many islands on this archipelago. If I had a way to narrow them down, I could find where all the other candidates are.” He whispers to himself.

As he stares at his maps, a knock comes from the door. A red-haired fox girl opens the door with her tail waving as she looks at Glyn.

            “Good morning, Mila.”

            “Good morning!” She yells out.

            “Mila, how many times do I have to tell you to calm down in the morning?”

Mila nods. “Sorry, I was coming back from training.”

Glyn smirks. “Come now Mila let's take a walk around the campus.”

            “Yes!”

Mila, a girl raised on the outskirts of the island under the care of her loving grandparents and protective older brother. A hard-working girl burdened with an incredible power she cannot control. She now serves the role of Glyn’s ‘Queen’ in this War Game.

She smiles as she follows Glyn around, and they leave Glyn’s office to check around the compound.

 

Glyn takes a stroll around the compound once every day in the morning, as a way of taking in observations of his surroundings. He makes notes of any changes done during the ongoing repair work and any recent damages. Mila follows him every day, trying her best to keep up with his observations and adding in her own as they make their way across the compound.

Their daily stroll eventually takes the pair to the training grounds where the ‘Pawns’ are hard at work.

Leading the ‘Pawns’ is a black-haired dog man barking orders at the group as they swing their weapons. Miller Gill, the older brother of Mila, and a former commander of the village’s guard. Deciding to protect Mila above all else, he joined up with Glyn to stay close to her side and consequently watch Glyn’s back as well.

            “Come on, you have to put your back into the swing. Rufus, you’re supposed to be getting better with this.”

            “Sorry captain.” A blond-haired young man says as he swings his sword.

            “I’m thinking the sword isn’t for him,” Glyn says, approaching.

            “Well, he’s trained with a bunch of weapons, and none of them seem to fit him at all. Maybe we should take his training back to square one.”

Rufus sighs. “Come on guys, I’m right here.”

            “Well, we can work on that later. Gather the crowd today’s the day.”

Miller nods as he walks away.

            “Today’s the day for what?” Mila asks.

            “Today’s the day we open the dungeon.”

            “The dungeon? You mean that place the monsters and the Demon spilled out of?” Mila asks.

Glyn nods, opening his book. “Dungeons are tears in the very fabric of reality into a different space. However, they aren’t stable until we seal them and give them time to gestate. Until then, unstable dungeons are just monster factories.”

            “But why is it important to go in?”

            “Two reasons. One the monsters inside will make great fodder for some live training. Second, the treasures inside.”

            “Treasures?”

            “No one can explain it, but dungeons often have special items that you can use to make all kinds of things, including powerful weapons. So, we’re going on a dungeon dive to get some of this material and make a powerful weapon.”

            “Right, we still have the war to deal with.”

            “And we only have two more weeks to get ready for it. We’re up against a time crunch and we don’t have too many allies.”

            “I’ve brought the others.”

A crowd of eight, including Miller, stands before Glyn. He smirks as he relays the plan to the group.

The ‘Pawns’ are former guardsmen brought into the fold by Miller as a volunteer force. The seven were hand-picked by Miller out of those who volunteered. Each joining for their reasons, they now serve as the font like in Glyn’s war. Now, with a fighting force, his newest goals are to increase their strength to make them his ideal fighting force.

            “Okay, everyone, today is finally the day.” He says excitedly.

            “It’s about time we’ve been playing around on this beach for days now.” A young man with long black hair says. “I’ve been wondering if there was any point in joining your little war.”

Sam Ward, a young warrior seeking strength, who looks up to Miller and holds little respect for Glyn.

            “Come on, Sam, you have to be nice.” Rufus Burns, a fledgling trying to find his place in the world.

An orange-haired girl with cat ears laughs behind Rufus, pointing at Sam. “Oh, Sam always with the stick up your ass.”

            “He can’t help it. He’s too serious for his own good.” A young man with fins and scales says, looking at Sam.

Faye Stone and Ivar Bjor. A pair of wild cards as guardsmen, the pair seem almost impossible to read. For reasonings known only to them, they joined up with Glyn, although everyone monitors the pair.

            “Can we get back on the actual subject? I’d rather we do this before we lose time.” A young man with a shiny black carapace says as his mandibles move with every word from his mouth.

Otso Ilves is an odd insectoid warrior seeking to move away from his rather small colony. He seeks power and changes, seeing the path laid before him as an opportunity.

A young woman with bright red hair and feathers shakes her wings nervously as everyone turns to her. “Um. Is this going to be long? I had some plans for today.”

Tan Zan, a strange girl whose head is perpetually in the clouds. Following Faye, she joined Glyn’s forces, but she often wanders off on her own.

The last of the ‘Pawns’, a young blond-haired woman, rolls her eyes, looking at Tan. “Why are you even here if all you ever do is run off?”

Fiona Tapio, a warrior to her core and someone who follows the rules to the letter. She seeks a challenge and sees Glyn as a way of finding one.

Glyn smirks, looking at the group. “Okay, my motley crew. Today we’re going dungeon diving. This will be an exploratory mission so we can get a rough shape of the dungeon and maybe dig into its core.”

            “So, we’re all going?” Miller asks.

            “No, we’ll split into two teams. One team will remain here and the other will come with me. It goes without saying I’m going to the dungeon with Mila and Miller, of course. Next Ivar, Fiona, and Faye, you’re coming with us too.”

Sam glares. “Why?”

            “Why what?”

            “Why am I not going on the expedition?”

            “One simple reason. I need you to keep the others in line while Miller is away. I know you guys won’t listen to me, but you, you’re an authority figure. Isn’t that right, co-captain?”

            “Co-captain?”

            “Yeah. How about it?”

Sam blushes and coughs into his hand. “Well, if you say so. I’ll take the lead over everyone while the captain is away.”

            “Good, good,” Glyn says with a smile on his face.

As Glyn smiles, Mila and Miller shake their heads, watching him. The others laugh secretly as Sam stands absorbed in his own little world.

            “Alright team. This will be a somewhat dangerous mission, so prepare any spare potions you might have on hand and let’s get ready for a little adventure.” Glyn says, addressing the group.

            “Glyn, are you sure this is a good idea? We haven’t worked on fighting as a team until now.”

            “Well, we won’t learn anything unless we try, so let’s get out there and try,” Glyn says happily.

Mila sighs. “You get like this when you have your eyes on something.”

            “Well, at the very least, he has focus and we can at least get this done. Whatever can help us before the fights start-up can only be a good thing after all.”

            “That’s right, we’ve got a lot of work to do. So let’s get out there and do it!” Glyn yells out.