The Last Experience Point

The debate began immediately following the opening of what was almost certainly a dungeon portal, and with it, Zach felt like he'd just been blasted several days into the past. Once again, Jimmy was in an intense shouting match with the others, and Zach was standing around saying nothing, not wishing to weigh in or takes sides.

"I can't believe it," Jimmy said, his voice slowly increasing in volume along with his temper. "I just can't believe ya'll are already starting up with this pussy shit again. I thought we were over it now. But nope, here we go again!"

"You know, you've really got some nerve, Jimmy!" Lienne snapped right back at him. "Look, I'm glad everything with the Mare of the Primordial Void worked out well in the end, but I almost died. My eyes were blown out of my head!"

"Yeah, so what? We rubbed a little red stone on it, and now you're all better."

"Jimmy, fuck off!" Rian yelled at him. There was no humor in the way he spoke. It was a rare display of anger. "I can't believe you're talking to my sister that way."

"What way? I'm just being real here, dude. I said everything would turn out fine, and it did."

"We were a half-second away from dying!"

Trelvor nodded. "It was very unwise to fight that battle, Jimmy. Yes, things ended in success, but it was unnecessary and foolish."

"Exactly," Seiley agreed.

Right now, the sides were clear as day. It was Jimmy versus everyone else. Even Tyson. Or maybe it was more accurate to say especially Tyson. The man was currently pleading with Jimmy not to "make them go in there" and to "rethink this madness." It seemed he was only seeing this side of Jimmy for the first time, and he looked kind of rattled.

He's finding out Jimmy's not exactly like him after all, Zach thought.

Sure, Jimmy liked to engage in many of the same vices that Tyson did. That was undeniable. But what Tyson was now discovering was that Jimmy was also hugely into raiding, adventuring, and taking the kinds of risks that even the most hardcore, steel-nerved adventurers bucked at: such as entering an unknown, possibly never-heard-of-before dungeon for the first time without any kind of preparation or discussion with Donovan or Zephyr. He was also being treated to a rehashing of some of the squabbles from the raid against the Mare of the Primordial Void, and these details in particular were clearly sending Tyson into a panic.

"Is all that really true, Jimmy?" Tyson asked. "You made everyone fight a giant monster and then doomed them all to death?"

"Nah, that's not what happened," Jimmy said to him. "I mean, not exactly."

Thanks to the back and forth between Jimmy, Lienne, and Rian, Tyson was now learning that everyone back then had disagreed with Jimmy's insistence on fighting the boss, and that it had resulted in some very, very close calls.

"Jimmy, please, let us not be rash," Tyson said. "Your adventurer friends speak wisely. There's no need to rush into the pits of hell. Especially sober!"

"Everything's gonna be fine," he insisted. "We got this."

"That's what you said before my entire face exploded!" Lienne practically shrieked.

As Zach watched things become even more tense, he noticed the way the two librarians were standing around in fear, bewilderment, and shock. He actually felt bad for them. They couldn't possibly understand what they were hearing or seeing. Only the Head Librarian could, and he was apparently away right now.

I hope we don't end up traumatizing those two.

With a slow, controlled breath, Lienne began to speak a bit more softly, though it was easy to tell that she was fighting to hold back her anger. "Look, Jimmy," she began. "Every single person here agrees one-hundred-percent that we need to go into that dungeon and see what's there. Nobody is saying we shouldn't." Tyson made a nervous croak and raised his hand. Lienne sighed in frustration. "Okay, fine, nobody besides Tyson is saying we shouldn't. Other than that, we all agree. The only thing the rest of us are saying is that we should first talk to Donovan and Zephyr, and at least let the Explorer's Brigade investigate what they can before we go in. For all we know, there might be records or other pieces of information somewhere on what we're dealing with."

The moment she finished speaking, Jimmy didn't even pause for a second before replying. He just began letting the words fly out like he'd already decided on a response even before listening to what she had to say.

"We should go in right now," Jimmy said. "Fuck all that. Get over your dungeon fears, guys. I mean, I get that ya'll are a bunch of bitches who like to convene councils and launch ten-year studies before dipping your toe into a new dungeon. But don't forget that we need to get in there so we can save lives and stop the you-know-what."

At this, Zach couldn't help but release a very loud, but very brief laugh. It was an explosive one, too: one that sent spit flying out of his mouth. But it was over almost as soon as it had begun, and it caused the others to regard him with confusion. Even still, he wasn't willing to explain to them why he found Jimmy's words so funny.

I can't even believe I laughed at that.

Put simply, Zach had laughed because he knew damn well that Jimmy didn't actually give even the slightest shit about the World Eater. He was only bringing it up because it could mean he'd get to go inside another new dungeon. And that really amused Zach: the knowledge that they could have found any dungeon for any reason and Jimmy would still be arguing with every last bit of intensity that they needed to go inside immediately.

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But not everyone was amused.

Rian was losing his patience and temper as he glared at Jimmy. "You're a moron," he said. "Dungeons are the most chaotic, dangerous places in all of existence, and right now, we don't even know the name of this dungeon, and you just want to barge right on in?" Rian took a few cautious steps closer to the entrance that had formed in the wall. "We can't even really see what's in it, either. It's a total black box from out here. Anything could happen when we step through the portal. The fact you don't see how stupid this is…like, what's wrong with you? Tell him, Zach."

"M-me?" Zach asked, caught off guard. He hadn't been expecting to weigh in on this just yet.

"Yeah," Rian said. "Tell him."

Zach wet his lips, then hesitated. He was hoping someone else would say something and take the heat off him. But now, all ears were awaiting his input, and he knew he had to be honest with where he stood at the moment. "Okay, so, the truth is, you guys, I don't really know what I think just yet. I'm still weighing what Jimmy and all of you are saying."

Lienne whipped her head in his direction, and so too did the Elves and Rian. If Zach had been hoping to draw a careful line of neutrality with an even, middle-of-the-road position, he'd utterly failed, and now they all began to yell at him with the same intensity that they had yelled at Jimmy. And it sucked because he didn't even say anything wrong!

"Zach, why are you siding with Jimmy?" Seiley asked him. "Think about how Princess Kalana would feel if she knew you were in favor of running inside of a dungeon that we know nothing about."

"It's even worse than that, Seiley," Rian said. "Not only don't we know anything about this dungeon, but there's a very good chance nobody else in the world does, either. For all we know, this could be a lost dungeon that hasn't been accessed in thousands of years. We might end up dying horrible, painful deaths in seconds after entering."

"Mhm. Great points," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "Zach's being very irrational here."

Zach, now starting to lose his own cool just like the others, shouted, "Hey! When in the fuck did I say I agreed with Jimmy? I said I don't know how I feel yet. Stop putting words in my mouth!" Taking a moment to breathe, he squeezed his hands into fists to prevent himself from contributing any further venom towards this collective outburst.

But he failed.

"And another thing! Seiley, this might surprise you, but I don't always believe everything Kal believes. Guess what? We're different people! So stop trying to use Kalana as a cudgel to make me agree with you!"

"I'll use my fist as a cudgel, human!"

"Try it."

"Don't even think of hitting her!" Rian threatened, placing himself between him and Seiley. "Zach, I will crack you like an egg if you hurt Seiley."

Zach snorted. "Rian, if I was an egg, you'd have already eaten me."

The anger fell off Rian's face, and he laughed. Then Zach laughed, too. It was a brief moment of levity that almost seemed like it would lead to everybody calming down, but then Jimmy had to go and ramp it up again, this time by going after the Elves. He looked back and forth between Seiley and Trelvor, and he spoke directly to them.

"You guys are disobeying the Great Goddess," he said. "She asked you to help me, remember?" Jimmy made an obviously forced, totally insincere gasp of horror. "Don't tell me you're not gonna help me explore this dungeon. That would be…" He made yet another theatrical gasp. "That sounds to me like it would be disobeying the Great Goddess."

Zach didn't know what thoughts were going through Jimmy's mind as he said those words, but he was pretty sure he knew what was going through them immediately afterwards as Seiley and Trelvor's eyes seemed to darken and they began to approach him without saying a single word. It was that last thing that actually added such an ominous feel. They were completely silent as they mutually walked towards him.

"Ah, shit," Rian swore, darting forward to get in front of Seiley. "Baby, he didn't mean it."

"Hun, he was just venting!" Lienne said as she tried to drag Trelvor away from Jimmy. "Don't do…whatever it is you're about to do!"

Fear shot straight into Zach's chest as they approached Jimmy like two predatory animals, He had no idea what they were planning to do. Would they kill him? Hurt him? The way they were behaving, it was impossible to know. They took their religious stuff to the extreme, and Zach didn't really know how "offensive" or "wrong" Jimmy's words had been on a scale of 1 to 10. Hurriedly, he got in front of Jimmy.

"Guys, stop," he said. "Or at least tell me what you're going to do."

Jimmy, to his credit, stood his ground, but he was starting to crack as they neared, and there was great fear in his eyes. "Okay, look," he said, holding up his hands submissively. "I maybe went too far there. I apologize. Ya'll don't gotta—hey, wait. Hold up. Wait!"

Zach reached out to try to grab them, but he missed as they both dashed around his side. Rian and Lienne also tried to slow them, but they too were rebuffed. Now, Zach turned around to see them approaching so close to Jimmy that he bumped into a wall and caused three holobooks to fall off a shelf above him. Finally, they stopped, their faces only inches from his own. Zach, having absolutely no idea what they might do, wasn't sure if he should draw his sword or let the situation play out. For now, he chose the latter.

"Jimmy," Trelvor said, an unmistakable heat in his eyes. He scowled. "Invite me."

"I-invite you?" Jimmy croaked. "You mean to a group?"

"Yes."

"Wait…seriously?"

"Yes!" Trelvor snapped. "You dare doubt my commitment? You think I fear death in the service to Her Greatness? You challenge my faith openly this way? Invite me. I will prove to you that the Elves are one with their word."

"That's right," Seiley agreed with a grunt. "And if your foolishness gets us all killed, then so be it. We're willing to die. Are you?"

Jimmy, nervously, wriggled his way to the side and then backed up, putting space between the three of them. "Doesn't matter, because we won't die."

If Trelvor and Seiley were bluffing, now would be the time to make it known as the three of them seemingly formed a party. Jimmy turned his head to Zach. "Are you in?"

"Obviously I am," Zach said. "I'm the one who brought us here."

Zach mentally chose to join their party, and just like that, he did. Now, Jimmy looked at Rian and Lienne, both of whom looked discontent and upset. "And you guys?"

"I'll join," Lienne said, her tone cold. "But only because Trelvor is with you."

"Same for me," Rian said. "I'll go along with this half-brained shit so I can be there for Seiley. But I'm really not happy to be dragged into another one of your 'rush forward recklessly' bullshit raids, Jimmy. If I die and you live, I'm coming back to haunt you. I will find some way of haunting you."

Jimmy grinned. "This is gonna be easy." He looked at Tyson. "And you, Tyson? You with us too?"

Tyson stood up perfectly straight. Then he lifted his chin high and narrowed his eyes. "Me?" he asked. "Am I in?"

"Yeah, are you in?"

Tyson's lips twisted into a shockingly confident smile—which collapsed less than a second after it formed like an imploding bridge. "Nope, I'm out," he said very quickly. Then he began to walk towards the library's exit. "Good luck, everyone. I'll meet you all at that hotel across the street."

Zach, annoyed, actually had to reach out and grab him, pulling him back. "You're coming too," he growled at Tyson. "And you're going to be fighting mobs with us if there are any."

Just like that, the whimpering and begging returned. But with their decision made, there was nothing left to do but follow through.