“Why did you bring us here?” the woman huffed, “And where is my daughter? You said she came out of the prison thing yesterday!”
“It’s called a Dungeon, Lorraine,” the man sighed as they were led through the grey concrete hallway, “And I’m sure they just had to make sure Elizabeth was okay before we saw her.”
“This is ridiculous,” the woman muttered, “It should be illegal to keep a mother from her child like this!”
“Here is the room, Mr. and Mrs. Sanders,” the man said as he stopped beside a door, “Now, before you go in-.”
“Elizabeth!” Lorraine shouted as she flung the door open, “Oh, mommy has been so worried about you! You aren’t hurt, are you?”
“Some bruises and scrapes, but nothing serious,” her daughter said flatly, not turning away from the man she was sitting opposite.
“Elizabeth, sweety? What’s going on? Why are you acting strange?”
“Hello Lorraine,” the familiar voice said as her husband followed her into the room, his face the very image of shock, “Long time no see.”
“W-what are you-?”
“CHRIS!” his father shouted, running forwards and grabbing the man by the shoulders, looking him over in disbelief, as though he wasn’t sure it was really his son, “You’re…you’re alive!”
“Yeah,” the man chuckled weakly, “Sorry I worried you, dad.”
“That doesn’t matter, you’re alive and well! Both of you are! I’m so happy!” the older man said, tears forming in his eyes, “I was so worried I’d lose you both! Even when they told me that Beth was just in a Tutorial Dungeon, I was so scared she would come out different.”
“I have, dad,” Elizabeth said, standing up as she smiled at the man, “Also, I’m gay. Have been for a while.”
“Oh,” her father said, before chuckling, “Well, hello gay, I’m dad.”
“Dad, really?” Chris and Elizabeth groaned as their father pulled them into a hug.
“I…you…what?” Lorraine sputtered, “Absolutely not, young lady!”
“What are you talking about, Lorraine?” their father sighed, “Are we really going to have this conversation again?”
“Again?” Elizabeth said in confusion, “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, I’ve had my suspicions for a while,” their father said as he let the two go, “So it’s hardly a surprise for me. I decided that I would love you no matter who you loved. Your mother on the other hand…”
“This is unacceptable, young lady! You cannot be…be gay! What about your future husband?”
“Except I am,” Elizabeth said flatly, “And what future husband? If I’m going to marry anyone, it’ll be my future wife.”
“You…how dare you defy your mother like that!” the woman screamed, stomping forwards, before a wall of flame erupted in front of her, making her shriek as she fell back.
“Enough,” Chris growled, glaring at the woman as she stared at the sheet of fire, the flames dying down just as quickly as they had appeared, “I’m done dealing with your crap.”
“You…what was that?” the woman sputtered.
“I’d also like to know,” their father asked, looking at his son and daughter.
“One of my Skills,” Chris shrugged, “I can cast a bunch of elemental magic now thanks to it, though it’s taken a lot of practice to get it down right.”
“So, you’re some kind of freak now?!” Lorraine spat, “Well obviously a low life leech like you would become a freak of nature as well!”
“Lorraine,” Chris said, looking back at the woman as she froze, “I could kill you with a snap of my fingers, so shut the fuck up for once in your pathetic life.”
“You do not talk to me like that, young man!” she shouted, trying to get back to her feet, suddenly finding herself frozen to the ground, “What did you do? Steven, make him stop!”
“I don’t think I can, Lorraine,” their father sighed, “It seems like they’ve grown up too much for my words to have much impact anymore.”
“Oh, your words will always have an impact on me, dad,” Chris sighed, smiling at the man, “You’re my father after all, I will always respect you. Lorraine on the other hand…”
“Please don’t finish that sentence,” Steven sighed as he looked at his son, “I’m just glad to have you back, Chris.”
“Yeah, well none of this would have happened if not for Lorraine,” Chris laughed, making his father look at his in confusion, “Oh, I suppose she lied about what happened that night I disappeared?”
“What happened?” Steven blinked, looking between his two children as they glanced at each other.
“Lorraine was berating me for being a failure, amongst other things,” Chris shrugged, “So I left. I was so done with her crap I didn’t even go grab my phone or wallet, I just walked out the door.”
“And this…it happened often?”
“Anytime both you and Beth were out of the house,” Chris nodded, “When you two were around, she was tolerable. But when you weren’t…it wasn’t pleasant.”
“I see,” the man said softly, “I’m sorry, I had no idea.”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“It’s fine, I never told you before,” Chris smiled, “But I have now. What you choose to do with that information is your business.”
“Thank you,” Steven said softly, looking at Chris happily, “I’m just glad you’re safe. What happened to you?”
“I’m not really allowed to say,” Chris chuckled, glancing past his father at Lorraine, who was still scowling at him, “At least, not to people I don’t trust will keep it secret.”
“What does that mean?” the woman spat.
“That I don’t trust you,” Chris replied flatly, walking past her to the door, opening it and speaking to the two soldiers standing guard, “You can remove Lorraine now. I want to speak to my father and sister in private.”
“Right away, sir,” one of them said, saluting, the two coming in and looking at the woman, still frozen to the floor, “Uhm…can you free her please?”
“Right, sorry,” Chris chuckled as he waved a hand, the ice vanishing as the two soldiers lifted the woman to her feet, trying to escort her from the room.
“No!” she shouted, “I refuse to leave just because this…this upstart thinks he can order me around! Steven, talk some sense into your son!”
“Just leave, Lorraine,” the man sighed, looking at her in annoyance, “Please.”
“But-!” she started to say, before the two soldiers hooked their arms under her shoulders and pulled her from the room, “Let me go this instant! I deserve to know what’s going on!”
The door closed, the three still able to hear the woman’s protests for a while until they finally faded.
“Thank fuck she’s gone,” Chris sighed in relief, “I’ve been dying to tell you everything, but-.”
“You don’t trust her not to try and use it against you?” Steven asked, Chris flinching slightly before he nodded, “It’s fine. I’ll talk to her later, calm her down. So, what did you want to tell me?”
“Well,” Chris started, “Do you know how the Ranking system works for the Dungeons?”
------
Sergeant Ryan Peterson sat at his desk, listening to his superiors talk like he wasn’t there over the video call.
“Are we sure this is safe? Letting civilians know about the subject?” one of them asked, Ryan cutting into the conversation.
“We don’t have much choice,” he said, “Christopher is, as far as we know, currently both the highest level and strongest Diver in the world. Without his support and cooperation, we won’t be able to more safely explore any of the higher Ranked Dungeons in the country.”
“This is still a dangerous matter,” another of the older men huffed, “Maybe we should take the subject’s family into protective custody, just to be sure.”
“Christopher has already told me that he doesn’t want that, and that he trusts his father and sister not to spread the information until it has already become publicly available,” Ryan replied, “I understand that you are worried about the ramifications of this, but we don’t have much choice in the matter. It would be a mistake to lose his trust at this ti-.”
“Bullshit,” the last man growled, “You’re coddling the brat. Why let him do what he wants like he’s some sort of god?”
“Because,” Ryan said more forcefully, “As far as we’re concerned, he might as well be one. I’ve gotten his permission to share his Stats and Skill Ranks with you all, maybe then you’ll understand.”
“Like that even matters,” the man continued, “Skills and Stats? A bunch of bullshit. He wouldn’t last a second against a trained soldier in real combat!”
“I thought you might say that,” Ryan sighed, “Which is why I’ve also gotten his permission to show you videos of his training sessions with some of our trained soldiers.”
The call went silent as Ryan opened the video file, sharing his screen as the men watched Chris easily dodging and weaving around a dozen soldiers like he wasn’t even trying. One of the men seemed to get the drop on him, swinging a punch at the back of his head, Chris just sliding to the side, before punching the man in the gut, sending him flying from the mats.
“And that’s just him learning basic martial arts,” Ryan said as the video switched, now showing Chris swinging a sword around, his movements fluid and controlled, “He said he’d never used a sword before that day, but the master swordsmen we got in to help teach him said he’s already at an intermediate level and quickly improving. In fact, every person we called in to teach him has said much the same.”
“So, he’s good with some toys?” the man scoffed, “So what? It’s not like he could stop a bullet with a weapon like that.”
“He wouldn’t need to,” Ryan hummed, switching the video again, showing Chris sitting on the floor with several balls floating around him, one each of air, fire, water and stone, “Firstly, because modern weapons and technology don’t work in the Dungeons, and secondly because he has extremely powerful magic.”
“So, he’s basically a nuclear warhead,” the final member of the call finally spoke, the woman staring at the video in interest, “One with a personality and opinion. Extremely dangerous, but as long as we can keep him on our side, a valuable asset.”
“Yes, Major,” Ryan nodded, “I’ve been doing all I can to earn and keep his trust, and I don’t think going against his wishes is in our best interest right now.”
“Obviously,” the Major nodded, “So, gentlemen, shall we go ahead with my suggestion?”
“It’s crazy,” the old man grumbled, “Giving civilians the chance to gain so much power.”
“Power that we could use,” the Major said, the other two men looking down for a moment, before nodding, “Then it’s settled, I’ve already made the necessary preparations to start.”
The call ended shortly after that, the woman pushing herself back from her screen in her office, a slight smile on her lips.
“Let’s get the Diver’s Association started, then.”
------
“And that’s that,” Chris shrugged as his father stared at him in shock, “Turns out I’m probably the strongest person on the planet right now.”
“This is…it’s a lot to take in, son,” Steven muttered, “S and A Rank Skills? Magic and fighting monsters? What are you planning to do with all this…this power?”
“Currently?” Chris hummed, “Work for the government. Sort of. I’ll be an independent contractor of sorts, going into high Rank Dungeons to clear them out and stuff.”
“An independent contractor for the government?” his father chuckled, “Sounds quite lucrative. Makes me almost want to get in on the ground floor myself.”
“We can,” Elizabeth suddenly said, making the two men look at her in confusion, “It’s simple, we just need to take dad into a Dungeon. He’ll get some Skills and levels, and then we can all work together.”
“And who exactly is this ‘we’?” Steven asked, Elizabeth smirking at him.
“You, Chris, me and Jess, obviously,” the girl explained, “If we all go into a Hell Difficulty Dungeon, then we’ll all come out as strong as Chris!”
“No,” the two men said as one, “Absolutely not!”
“What? Why?” the teen huffed, “It’ll be the fastest way to level up and get tons of Free Points, won’t it?”
“Beth,” Chris said as he kneeled in front of the girl, “I don’t care what you think, but if you go into a Hell Difficulty Dungeon, you will die. I only survived because of my specific Skills, without them I would have been Slime food in the first five minutes of being there.”
“Fine,” Elizabeth muttered, before smirking again, “Then a Hard Difficulty Dungeon. If you’re with us, it’ll be simple to get through, right?”
“Beth,” Chris groaned, looking at his father for support, “Why are you so determined to go back into a Dungeon?”
“Because,” Elizabeth said, “Jess and I promised we’d become professional Divers together. You can’t change my mind.”
“Dad, please try talk some sense into her,” Chris sighed.
“Sorry, kiddo,” the older man chuckled, “But I know that look. She’s made up her mind, and just like her mother, when that happens, hell itself couldn’t stop her.”
“Dammit,” Chris muttered as he stood back up, ruffling his hair as he tried to figure something out, “You’re serious about this?”
“Deathly,” Elizabeth nodded, “Both of us are.”
“Shit,” Chris sighed, “But it’s not like I’m going to be able to just get permission to take you three into a Dungeon anyway. So, we’ll have to see.”
“Actually,” the voice said as the door opened, Ryan walking in, “Sorry, I just heard the last part of your conversation. But there are already plans to open the Dungeons, at least the lower Ranked ones, to the public. As such, it shouldn’t be too hard to get permission for you and your family to enter one of those.”
“You’re not helping, Ryan,” Chris groaned as his sister jumped up from her seat, hugging her father and telling him about what to expect in the Dungeons.
