Brett checked for a notification. Nothing. "I don't see anything?" 

"Not a notification, but a faint red." She clarified. He was glad that she wasn't insulted or anything, but was starting to get a little concerned.

"My skill wasn't even up this time. I don't know what happened." Brett wondered, still dumbfounded. He didn't feel like he was out of control or anything. The furthest thing from it. Rage hadn't clouded his mind; every motion was intentional and carefully chosen to do the maximum damage. He just… forgot that he was supposed to leave an enemy alive.

"Your skill? As in, you only have one?" Shilia asked in amazement. "What kind of class do you have?" 

The last bit was said with a sense of wonderment and Brett didn’t really feel like it was a genuine question that she wanted an answer to. She wasn't done, though. "Maybe you have class effects….I have only heard rumors about those, though." Shilia said with a shake of her head. "If this was a class effect though… then it’s on a whole 'nother level."

"Uh you want to try again?" Brett asked. Abdiel had said something about hidden abilities, but best if they didn’t talk about it. 

Shilia shook her head. "I don't know what’s coming."

Before the next wave spawned, they quickly made their way out through the exit. The portal washed over Brett, and this time, he remembered to pull up his notifications before he blinded himself.

Congratulations on completing The Endless Horde. Completion score: C, waves completed: 5 Reward: 12 coins.

"Wow, C." Shilia had a note of satisfaction in her voice. Brett schooled his face. Is C good? I guess we got further than her earlier attempts with a smaller party. Wow, life must be hard for people here if this is what they have to expect.

The reward wasn't great, but it could have been worse. From what he had seen so far, he likely wasn't going to go hungry tonight, and the day was still young. Pocketing the coins, Brett looked up, suddenly unsure of what to do next. The group of level fours was already back in line, but he didn't see the pair of level sixes. They must not have come out yet. The line had grown a little as it got later in the morning. 

Brett might have chosen the dungeon too well. Everyone else seemed interested for the same reasons he was, because it seemed like the right mix of risk and reward. The dungeon hadn't been that hard. Maybe I need more of a challenge if I really am going to get strong. If everyone is doing it, then it isn't enough to really stand out. 

Shelia shifted from foot to foot, clearly uncertain about what to do next as well. There was no way that she would try this dungeon again, especially alone. "Uh… What are you going to do now?"

Brett rubbed his chin, and noticed his beard was starting to get a little long for his taste. He pulled out the copy of the dungeon report and flipped a few pages. "I think I’ll head somewhere a little less crowded. What about you?"

He had asked more to be polite than because he really wanted company. The dungeon he had his sights set on didn't have very good rewards, but he hoped that it wouldn't have a wait time either. It was a level seven ladder dungeon, one that he should be able to run back to back, effectively treating it as a wave dungeon in a way. Looking up, he realized that Shilia still hadn't answered.

The lizard girl held her hands awkwardly in front of her, wringing them a little nervously. "D-do you mind if I… uh come along? I don't need to go into the dungeon, but I can't go home yet. I'll just train a bit. I promise I won't be a bother."

Considering it for a second, Brett shrugged. He didn't really care if she was there or not; if she wasn't ready to go home, then that was her business. "Sure, why not?"

With that, he set off walking toward the road. With hurried steps, Shilia quickly fell into step next to him. They walked in silence for several minutes before she spoke up. "Do you have a dungeon picked out?" 

"Yeah," Brett grunted, looking at the report. "It's called Hammer's Forge."

"Is that the dwarf dungeon?" Shilia asked.

"I think so?" Brett confirmed. 

"Not many people are willing to do dwarf dungeons." Shilia said in a neutral tone.

"Why is that?" Brett asked, already looking for a different dungeon.

"A few reasons, I think. They’re usually harder than average if they’re contraption based. But some don't like fighting the more humanoid races. Even though they are monsterish, it's a little too close for some." 

"Does that bother you?" 

"No, we Gilamen are more lizard than humanoid anyways. Besides, it's not like they are real, they are just dungeon monsters afterall." Shila said.

"I did a Kobold and Lizardman dungeon earlier. Is that an issue?" Brett asked with genuine curiosity. So far, everything he had fought was monster-ish enough to him that he hadn't even thought about it twice. Despite his old profession of protecting people, the thought of killing human-shaped monsters didn't really bother him.

"No, they’re just monsters, no one minds doing those. At least not that I know." Shila said. They turned off the road to start walking through the open field.

"Good to know. I didn't realize there was a stigma about what dungeons have in them. I guess it makes sense, though." Brett mused, grateful that she had come along; he liked having people around. Ravenous and the others leaving had been harder than he had expected. They had helped keep him focused in this strange world instead of being all alone.

"Well for the dwarves it's mostly how hard they are, so I do hope you’re prepared." Shilia said as they stopped before the second dungeon entrance of the day. "It is a level seven dungeon and you did just reach level three." 

"I'll be fine." Brett said while he stepped through the portal.