His worries became vindicated as they crossed a small ridge and came within view of their shelter. ‘This thing is practically an entire settlement!’

He couldn’t blame them, they didn’t know. The only reason he knew about the waves is that Albus learned the information from the Dungeon Crystal. Without a proper formation, this place would be demolished.

Geth looked around the place as they walked, there were over a hundred women and children. The men number less than 50, likely most were killed off during the ongoing waves.

There was a bit of a dilemma about whether or not he should warn them. If the news spread and caused a panic, it could do more harm than good. Even worse, he may not be able to get his people out during the ensuing chaos.

For now, he wanted to get to them and be on his way as soon as possible.

The man he was following had named himself Bruce. While they were walking he’d told Geth that the shark character from Nemo was his daughter’s favorite character.

Something he noticed but didn’t mention was the semicolon tattoo on his left arm with a set of dates on either side. The shark character, Bruce, was tattooed swimming right above it.

Geth’s heart tore for the man, the dates showed that she was only 17 when she passed away. The date was the same year that he’d graduated high school.

He knew the girl, and he remembered when it happened. There were a couple of weeks around the school where even the most chipper of students had remained sullen. This must be her father then.

‘If it’s possible, I’ll bring him with us too. I remember reading in the paper that he was actually a blacksmith back when it happened.’ Even if he hadn’t been useful, the girl had been a friend of his. He would try his best.

They arrived at a small shack built from crudely stacked branches. A young boy was walking around the side carrying a small bundle of sticks, presumably for a fire.

He was tall for an eight-year-old, almost four and a half feet. He had brown hair and brown eyes, just like his mother. The boy was thin but had some small muscles visible.

As he finished rounding the corner and saw Geth his eyes widened. He dropped the sticks he was carrying and rushed forward while yelling “Daddy! How’d you get here?”

Geth stooped down on one of his knees and embraced the boy. Picking him up and slinging him around. His mom had heard the commotion and rushed outside. As soon as she left the door frame, her hand covered her mouth.

After putting him down and tousling his hair, Geth responded. “I walked here of course buddy. I even found your Papi on the way and he walked with me.”

“Dad, are you going to stay here with us now?”

Geth just smiled at him, then his face turned serious as he’d turned towards his mom and gestured to Bruce. “I think we should talk inside.”

People were watching the scene with smiles, he didn’t want what he had to say overheard.

“So what are you going by now? It’s dangerous to use real names.” He looked at the woman as she picked up the infant that had just woken up.

She had long brown hair that dropped towards the middle of her back. Her height was around 5′ 10″, she had long legs and a very nice figure. Freckles were dotting her cheeks.

“I’m going by Jen now.” She replied.

“Easy enough.” When they were younger, if they’d had a girl they would have named her Jenna. It wasn’t something he would forget.

“So, here’s the deal…” He proceeded to explain to them about the Dungeon he’d conquered, and the implications behind the ownership. He also made sure to include that there were limited slots.

The pair listened on with interest, but their faces slowly twisted into horror as he explained to them that the Mana would forcefully have creatures target settlements.

The bigger the settlement, the stronger the waves. Each wave getting progressively more difficult. After he was finished explaining, Bruce quickly stood up.

“I need to gather the men as quickly as possible to rip down the structures.” He said, but before he could take a step, two men ran through the doorframe. They were completely out of breath. It was as if they’d sprinted there.

Til was one of the men, the other was Alex, Jen’s husband. Alex was a shorter man, around 5’8″, he had blonde hair and blue eyes. His arms were muscular, but otherwise, he was a bit out of shape. Mostly from his time spent streaming games.

Still, he was in much better shape than Geth when he’d first fallen into this mess. Alex took a moment to collect himself, before letting out, “The woodline… Goblins… Hundreds!” He was struggling to speak through the heavy breaths.

Til caught his breath quicker and said in his place, “There’s an army of Goblins over at the treeline. All of them are sword carriers! There are also Assassins and what look like Mages mixed in! They are just standing there, it looks like they are waiting for something.”

Everyone stood there in silence, Bruce just gaped. He then glanced back at Geth, thinking about the information he’d just given him.

They all jumped into action. Geth quickly added Jen to his Grimoire link and sent her the coordinates for the Dungeon. He told Til to get her, the baby, and his son, who was now going by Luke, out of there.

Alex agreed with the decision and made sure he said his goodbyes before they took off. Bruce looked at Geth strangely.

“You’re not going with them?” He asked.

Geth just smiled at him, while slapping his shoulder “And miss out on this experience? Are you kidding?”

Bruce seemed like he was about to tear up. He thought that Geth just didn’t want to admit that he was staying to help them.. Geth knew what was on the man’s mind, but he didn’t bother correcting him, he was actually staying for the experience.