Silver Spoon Series

Before Alan could check in back at his farm with Two Socks and the egg, he did have one more important item to take care of today. Prior to handing out stones to so many villagers, or even sending off Lyonel's group, Alan and Roger had sent out a request into the wider Network. Alan had been offered an opportunity to bring ten earthlings with him from his zone, but since he didn't have any, he had a second option. He could recruit five people from outside the tutorial to join.

There were unfortunately limits on who they could get. No one above quartz for starters. Also, aside from Network imposed limitations, most powerful and/or successful adventurers wouldn't take the risk of coming to a tutorial with their high mortality rates. In an effort to improve their draw, Alan had sweetened the deal by offering the opportunity for rare class stones, but it still wasn't going to be worth it for most adventurers. With an entire universe to pull from, they would get their recruits, the question was if they would be any good.

Whoever it was that ended up accepting, he had a notification that they would be arriving in town shortly. The message had arrived more than a day ago with a timer, so it seemed like it was going to take them some time to get here. Apparently travel in the Network wasn't instantaneous.

Roger had tempered Alan's expectations, so he wasn't hoping for much when it came to who showed up, but he couldn't help feeling a little bit of excitement. A second crew of hopefully experienced dungeon delvers would make the task of clearing out the second tier dungeons so much easier. The timer for their arrival was down to less than ten minutes so he hurried over to the Town Hall, this was going to be their destination point. He could have chosen a few other places for them to arrive, but the village didn't have such options yet, buildings like an adventurer's guild.

When he arrived, Roger was already there, fresh from handing out another batch of stones, sitting in one of the chairs in the lobby. "Hello, Alan, how are things coming at the dungeon?"

Alan gave a half wave in response to the greeting and then filled him in on the latest batch of recruits. The first fifty were still the only ones to have everyone complete the dungeon, and the further down Roger's list they went the more groups had to exit early. It was nice in that they could move groups through a little faster, since full runs usually took a little over half an hour, but it meant they weren't getting the big power boost that the final loot reward could give them.

After walking the mayor through the most recent results, Alan was curious about something. "So Roger, any idea how this request thing really works? We didn't get to pick from a list or anything, so is it simply the first five to respond or something?"

Tamee hadn't known the answer either, or if she did, it wasn't something she was allowed to share. The mayor was able to provide a little more information, luckily. "There is a time factor to these things, but it is not first come first serve. The Network applies some algorithm to all those who accept within the allotted acceptance time, and decides on the best candidates. There are ways of setting things up so that you can choose, but we aren't anywhere close to having the ability to do that."

"Any idea how it decides on who it picks?"

Roger had to chuckle at that. "No doubt there are people out there that will tell you exactly how it works, but half of their answer is probably guess work or superstition. Even after so long, a lot of what the Network does is a mystery. But I can say that our request no doubt got thousands of people to accept it, and the Network, whatever criteria it uses, is trying to pick the best matches for us. Good people still have to have volunteered for us to have a chance at them, but it should mean that we won't end up with totally worthless people."

The timer ticked down to zero, and then there was a flash in the middle of the room. Instead of the five people Alan had been expecting, there was a single golemoid woman. He at first was concerned that this was all that had accepted, but a check of his notifications showed another countdown that would end in two minutes. It seemed that the Network was going to space the arrivals out for them.

Wanting to set a good impression, since he needed these people to work with him, Alan extended his hand as he walked up to her. "Welcome to Elstree. My name's Alan and this is the mayor, Roger."

A large, thick fingered hand, enveloped his own after only a little hesitation. "Gaud, at your service."

Her grip was strong, she felt like one of those people who liked to assert their dominance by crushing the other person's hand. Too bad for her, Alan was opal class. He didn't try to return the favor, but he used just enough of his strength to match hers, making it clear that he wasn't intimidated. Her eyes widened a little and her grip tightened even more. He just put in a little more effort, and this time added some extra to show that he was in control.

After releasing her hand, he tried to get some information about who she was. "As I said, my name's Alan, I am a recruit in the tutorial, and I own the town. Care to share a little about yourself?"

This time there was absolutely no hesitation in her response. "Like I said, the name is Gaud. You are really strong, must be a fighter huh? I'm quite a fighter myself, goes along with my guardian class, too. The town I lived in was kinda poor and there were only a few dungeons nearby. It was really hard to get a slot in any of them, especially since the people running things were so stupid." She paused her rush of information to shake Roger's hand. Alan caught him wincing as she released his hand and then she was off again. "Wow, you're really handsome. Don't suppose you like big women? Not too strong though, must not be a fighter. Well, anyway, I came here hoping to get away from all those weaklings on my planet and wanted to take advantage of a new tutorial to show what I can do."

Alan had to hide a smile. He had met plenty of new people in the Army, and it was easy to tell which group she fell into. She was brash, confident in her own superiority, only time would tell if it was justified. However, she also seemed to be part of the group that loved to talk, and unfortunately didn't think about her words before letting them come out. She would be fun, in small doses at least, but could quickly get on people's nerves. Good thing she wasn't going to be in his party.

Their two minutes was almost up, so Alan asked her to sit until everyone arrived. The wooden chair creaked alarmingly when she sat down. Gaud was a rather large person at almost two meters tall, and none of that height could be described as slender. They might need to get some reinforced furniture sent over to the boarding house.

The next flash revealed an insectoid. There were a few in Elstree, but Alan hadn't spent much time with any of them. He was also no entomologist, so he wasn't sure if the person in front of him was a man or woman. His supercharged intelligence also made him question if he was using the right terms, this person had eight legs so they technically weren't an insect. Either way, he had a responsibility here and he introduced himself again. The voice that answered sounded feminine but he wasn't going to use any gendered pronouns until he knew for a fact what it went by.

"Hi, Nephila."

The insectoid (spideroid?), spoke very quietly and only touched his hand long enough for the briefest of shakes. They were fairly short as well, only about a hundred and twenty centimeters tall. They wore some flexible looking leather armor and had several small knives strapped about their person. This was a marked contrast with Gaud who was wearing simple clothes with no sign of gear. With spatial storage that didn't mean much, but it suggested the golemoid was confident enough to carry her gear tucked away, while Nephila felt the need to be prepared at all times.

Once again he shared a little about himself in the hopes of getting some info about Nephila, but they didn't offer any information and only answered questions with a word or two. Alan soon gave up trying to learn anything and bade Nephila sit with Gaud. Even the garrulous golemoid soon gave up trying to get them to talk. From a couple of her comments that made Nephila react, it appeared that it was sensitive to comments on its size.

The next flash revealed an elf. He was tall, not quite as large as Gaud, but much taller than Alan. He had long golden hair, but his features were a little too pinched to be described as handsome. He wore a tunic and pants, with a belt containing a variety of pouches. Like the other elves Alan had met, this one was slender, but even more so than the warriors he had worked with before. Perhaps he was not a physical classer.

Even before Alan extended his hand in greeting, the other man was talking. Well, it was more of a mumble to himself. "Hmmm…Not very fancy. I wasn't the first one here it looks like. I wonder how strong everyone is? I hope there are some interesting mana types around."

Ignoring what Alan assumed was not meant for him, he introduced himself as he had with the others. The handshake back was quick and efficient, not too strong or too weak either. With a little prompting, the elf, Elluin, confirmed that he was a mage. He also admitted to 'dabbling' in healing, but only to boost his mana. After a brief interaction and without being prompted to, Elluin saw himself over to the area with the other two, and Gaud did the introductions.

Alan had learned that sharing information about your stats and classes was unusual, and asking was considered rude. However, as their 'recruiter', they took it as normal that he would need to know something about what they could do. It made his subtle questions about their abilities a little more palatable and he was actually getting real information. It also helped that Gaud had seemingly no sense of propriety and from her questions he now knew that Niphila and Elluin both had scholar classes, in addition to what he had already learned.

The next flash revealed a person about the same height as Nephila. It took Alan a moment to realize what he was looking at, and in that time, the newcomer reacted first.

"Alan! It really was you, I am so glad to be here!"

It really was him. The dwarf stomping over with his hands out for a hug was Thadrick. How was this possible? Alan had formed a deep friendship with him during his time in an upgradeable dungeon, and he had hoped to find him somehow after the tutorial was over. However, instead of having to track Thadrick down, suddenly here he was. Was this some kind of trick?

He had no more time to think as the dwarf was wrapping him up in a hug. Their height difference made the process awkward, but Thadrick powered through it. When the dwarf stepped back, Alan finally managed to say something.

"Thadrick, it's great to see you here, but how?"

The dwarf looked confused. "Well, you put out a request, and I accepted it."

The answer would make sense, except the Network was vast. What were the odds that Thadrick would have seen the request in time to respond, and that the Network would choose him.

"How did you see my request in time?"

Gaud had been listening and came over to join the conversation.

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"Do you two know each other already?" She asked.

Alan answered for them as Thadrick was still working his eyes up to the top of her head.

"Yes, he was part of a dungeon I went through in a previous tier. But I'm still a little shocked to see you here, friend."

Gaud laughed. "Oh, well that's easy to explain, then. People who have encountered each other before, especially in official dungeons, have a kind of priority in the Network. When you put out the request, then anyone you had met before got their own notification. Since he was a dungeon dweller, the Network would pick him first if he accepted."

It seemed that Gaud did know a lot of how things worked. It made sense since she had grown up in that world, but she had seemed the type to be a little oblivious to everything that didn't affect her directly. That little tidbit of hers also let him relax and greet his friend properly, no longer concerned that something nefarious was happening.

They spent some time catching up on a few things that had happened since they last saw each other. Thadrick only briefly mentioned his time back on his actual world, but Alan sensed that everything hadn't been going well. That was something he'd have to ask him about later when they had some privacy. Alan had been wondering which of the mercenaries would end up as the leader of their group, and after meeting her, his money had been on Gaud. She seemed like the type to just steamroll over others to do what she wanted. Now that Thadrick was here, he was going to push for him to take charge. He was confident in trusting his friend. It was possible the dungeon core had been heavily influencing his personality, but Alan didn't think it would have bothered with so many other dwarves to have picked from. It probably was able to fit the dwellers into roles that matched them, rather than having to shoehorn people in.

Their reunion was interrupted by another flash. When the light dissipated, there stood a young human man, probably nineteen or twenty years old. Alan broke off his discussion with Thadrick and reached out to shake the newcomer's hand. It was as the young lad reached out to take it that Alan's brain realized who was standing before him. He immediately withdrew his hand in disgust.

"Danny?"

The kid winced and pulled his own hand back. "It's Dantelion actually."

Alan was having trouble putting his feelings into words, and Gaud was of course the one to break the silence, well, other than Elluin who was still mumbling something.

"Is this someone else you know?"

"I don't recognize him." Thadrick said

Alan's face was red and his brain was busy keeping his mouth from saying what his heart wanted to. That left Dantelion to answer.

"Unfortunately, yes, Alan has met me before. I was a dungeon dweller and he was tasked with escorting me through a forest."

It was Gaud's turn to wince. "Oh, escort quests are the worst. The town I was in had a dungeon set up with escort quests, it was popular for the rewards, but everyone complained about it more than any other dungeon."

Dantelion responded again. "Indeed, and I have to say, I was a particularly unhelpful escortee. I didn't realize it at the time, but the dungeon core was muddling my thoughts and pushing me into doing the most stupid things. It wasn't until I got home and processed my memories that I realized how tough that must have been on him."

Alan finally found the proper link between his less vulgar thoughts and his voice. "You're damn right it was rough. I told you not to eat those mushrooms, and then you tried to eat them anyway. How stupid do you have to be?"

"I am truly sorry, I can only plead temporary insanity. My actions were not my own, the core was affecting my thinking. That is part of the reason I am here actually. The thought of someone out there thinking I was that stupid had turned into a minor heart demon."

The nodding heads of the others made Alan pause in his haranguing. Something Danny had said there was apparently significant. "What is a heart demon?"

Gaud, as usual, was the one to answer. "'Heart demon' is usually used to mean something you are embarrassed about, or that you desire greatly. However, while most people use it as slang, it is an actual thing and can significantly affect someone's aura."

"She's correct. My cultivation was suffering, there was little to no progress on my aura and I was afraid I would never make the conversion to opal with the way things stood. Then I got this invitation to come here and I knew I had to take it."

That set Alan back. "You mean to tell me that you left your family and friends, your whole world, just so that you could prove you weren't an idiot. That kinda sounds like something an idiot would do."

Now it was Alan who was wincing. After his comment, Roger had pinched his arm and Thadrick had stepped on his foot. That last comment had been perhaps a little mean, but it seemed a crazy idea to leave everything behind just so that a stranger wouldn't think you were a buffoon anymore. Although, Alan had to admit that he might be developing his own heart demon when it came to proving to Tamee that he wasn't an idiot himself.

"Well, I don't have much family left, and that's another reason I came here. My mother was a very successful adventurer, who was even being courted by an Aristocrat family, when she and her team were wiped out in a dungeon. I was still little, but my dad was a town guard and was able to hold onto the stones my mother had purchased for me. She had only acquired two before she was killed, though."

"I'm sorry to hear that." And Alan was. Even if it turned out that this kid was more like the Danny he knew from the dungeon, no one deserved to lose their mother so young.

"Thank you. My father took over my training, but he was a mage and so he struggled somewhat, since I had chosen more martial stones. Without three classes, I was resigned to following in my father's footsteps as a guard when the tutorial arrived and I had an opportunity to earn a third stone and become an adventurer like my mother. I am embarrassed by how my part in the tutorial turned out, but it really was a huge gain for me. With my newest class I was finally able to take up the mantle my mother had wanted to give me.

"When I put myself out there as a new adventurer, I had several parties try to recruit me on the basis of my mother's name, but then I discovered I wasn't progressing as fast as I should based on these unresolved feelings of shame. When they also discovered that my weapon skills were not where they should be, the invitations started to dry up. That's when this offer came, promising not only a chance to resolve my heart demon, but to also pick up a fourth class. It was a no brainer, and while I will miss my father terribly, he urged me to go as well. It is my opportunity to step into my own."

Rationally, everything that Danny was saying made sense, and he could respect it, but on a deeper level he was still upset with the kid. It turned out he wasn't really a spoiled noble, sorta, but he wore the same face as Alan's tormentor in that stupid escort dungeon. Well, there was no sending him back, so Alan would just have to get over it.

By now the newest group of recruits would be well into their first round of training, so Alan escorted their new adventurers over to the practice area. These people didn't know anything about Elstree, and it would be important for them to understand that things here were not the same as elsewhere.

Staring out over the various practice areas full of people, Gaud was the first to speak. "Do all of these people have classes? There must be almost a hundred of them."

While each new group only had fifty people in it, many of the previous recipients also took time to practice on the training grounds, plus there were also those who were assigned as the new trainers. It was quite a busy area. Alan took a moment to see how things were going before he answered.

"A little more than that I'd wager, but not nearly everyone in the village who has a class is actually here."

Dantelion had the next question. "I don't understand. Unless this tutorial is very different from any other, there shouldn't be more than fifteen or twenty adventurers here. The recruitment notice said this was still tier three, and that settlement didn't look that big."

Roger had come with them, and he was the one who provided the answer. "Technically, none of them are adventurers, they only have two classes. But you are correct, this is way more people with classes than there should be. We have Silver Spoon here to thank for that."

Roger pointed at Alan with the last sentence and now the group was looking at him quizzically.

"It's a nickname they gave me. Bit of a misunderstanding over a ladle. Early on I took out one of the other teams here, and found quite a few common and uncommon class stones on them. Rather than keeping them, or selling them off at a steep discount, I thought it would be better to share the wealth."

It was a good thing that eyes are in fact firmly held in place by bones, muscles, and other tissues, or theirs would have been rolling on the ground. Thadrick was the first to recover and he thumped Alan on the back.

"Lad, that's mighty generous of you, but do ya realize how much you've given away?"

This was a question he had gotten from a variety of sources recently, so he already had an answer ready. "Their real value wouldn't show until after the tutorial, and I'd have to first live that long to use them. I've got some unique challenges going forward, and I'm hoping that this will let our village utterly dominate for the next few tiers."

"Aye, this could give you a leg up, but how will you get them in proper shape? This all looks fine, but there's no replacement for real experience."

This is where Alan explained his newest friend, Indiana. Once again there were some goggling eyes, but they weren't quite as shocked as before. Either they were getting used to surprises or it was easier to understand lucky loot over uncommon generosity. Their discussion on this topic was interrupted by a question from Elluin.

"When do we get our class stones?"

It wasn't a bad question, but breaking in that way seemed a little rude. If he had been a betting man he would have put his money on Gaud broaching the topic first instead. She liked to blurt out things as they came to her.

"Well, in a way, that is up to you all. Our offer stated that you could earn yourself a rare class stone, and I have good news. You can choose which class you want, the less good news is that we were serious when we said you had to earn them."

This led to another round of explaining, this time about him being alone in the first tier and how the starter dungeons were sitting there ready to hand out rare stones to the next ninety-nine people to clear them. Gaud was ready to head out then and there, but Dantelion of all people could tell that there was more.

"What's the catch?" He asked.

Perhaps he was telling the truth about being smarter than their past encounter would have him believe. "Well, at the moment we are in tier three. The starter dungeons are in tier one which is currently teeming with beasts. They range from levels one to six, but the problem with them is the sheer quantity. When I visited last I had to fight for literally every step I took. If that was the only problem, though, I'd let you go and see what you could accomplish."

"What are the other problems then?" Thadrick asked.

"Well, there's really only one other problem. In between us and the dungeons you want, is tier two, and it's filled with even more dungeons. Because I was the only adventurer around, they weren't all cleared properly and so presently quite a few of them are leaking, or are about to. There is already a party working to clear some of them, but I don't think you all are ready in case you run into one of the nastier monsters. To give you an example, I encountered a beast that shot a death ray out of its eyes."

"Catoblepas."

The quiet word was spoken by Nephila who looked unhappy with herself for speaking once everyone turned their attention to her.

"Yes, that's what it was. I will be happy to escort you guys through the area to make sure you're okay, but I think before we do that you guys should get some practice as a team."

There was a little grumbling from Gaud and Elluin, but the other three seemed to agree. At this point, Indiana had a very carefully crafted schedule for which groups got to go when. Eventually they would end up with more than a hundred and twenty parties that needed slots for a dungeon that could run at most forty groups a day. Roger was about halfway through the process of handing out stones, but that meant that there were still more parties looking to use it than there were slots in a day.

Luckily, as the owner of the town, the man bonded to the dungeon, and the one who gave them all stones in the first place, Alan could butt in line. They were going to make a trip out to the dungeon and have the new team run through it, possibly more than once. It should be a cake walk for them. While these people all clearly had some interesting quirks, they had absorbed their first classes a long time ago, in Thadrick's case, many years ago. A few level one and two creatures shouldn't be an issue, plus they had proper gear so the ant at the end should be trivial as well.

In addition to practice, Alan also wanted them to run it though because they needed to see what each other was capable of. If they did run into trouble in the second zone, or even when they met a horde of low level creatures in the first area, Alan wanted them to be at least a little familiar with each other. Also, it would give the dungeon core a chance to scan their gear. Thadrick had a terrific axe and the others no doubt had some things that Indiana hadn't seen yet. Alan wasn't going to have them empty out their storage devices, though. Neither he, nor they, had that level of trust with each other to get into a discussion about why he wanted them to pile up their gear.