The Infinity Dungeon [LitRPG]

"I finally managed to gather all my old Uni friends," Michael said with a nod aimed at his phone. "All it took was some rather… hands-on manipulation from Icarus to make it happen. I never thought normal people would have such busy schedules. I understand now why friendships shrivel and die when people grow old."

Stephan looked at the tranquil lake with longing, thinking about his own past. "It's true," he said. "Things always get more complicated. Try getting five full-grown adults to go to a dojo at the same time, and you'll see."

Michael hummed. True enough, every time he went to train, there was always someone who couldn't make it for family or job-related reasons. He was one of them now, he realized.

They sat in companionable silence for a while as they fished. They were at an actual lake this time, not a last-minute patch-up job like last time. And unlike last time, they didn't need to pretend anymore. Stephan had been given time to think about his experience at Site 00—minus the Truth incident—as well as his relationship with Michael, the dungeon, and all the package deal that came with the two.

The conversation moved onto mundane topics, a welcome respite for Michael who had been spending weeks cooped up in the dungeon, in search of enlightenment. He felt close to something, but it frustratingly refused to click.

That's why even though fishing wasn't his sport of choice, for a moment it was as if the invisible weight of Damocles' sword that always seemed to hover over his head was gone, or at least its burden much lessened.

"Think I should pay for my friends' plane tickets?" he was mostly thinking out loud. "That would make things much easier."

Stephan shook his head. "You don't want to alienate them. Last time they saw you, you were a broke loser. Remember how Philip reacted when he saw you walk in with a fancy car and a driver?"

"Harsh," Michael said. The powers of perception that came with his Soul Dantian allowed him to sense Stephan's tension as the man reacted to a small perceived slight. "But true," he added with a smile, watching the man return to a semblance of calm. The truth was, whoever knew of his power was bound to react like Stephan, and he knew it.

That's why he wasn't going to tell his friends. If he could still call them friends, that was. It had been a while since they fell out of touch, and already people were speculating as to why Michael was bothering to even organize this strange meetup when most of them had scattered all across the continental U.S. Why was he so adamant they meet? Why did he even care?

He had spun up a tale about nurturing his old friendships, not letting them die. It was believable because it was true, although there were ulterior motives as well.

Reading the messages in the group chat made Michael realize that many of the people involved had changed a great deal since the Uni days; some of them had jobs and families now, while others were still struggling to graduate. The latter were the least changed by time, but even they had changed at least a little.

There was a reason for this. People all around the globe were experiencing some sort of life-changing realizations, their worldviews shifting as time went on. Michael's fingers brushed against the hard metal of his phone. He directed a tether of magic towards it, manually rearranging the electrons in the battery until it was back at 100%. It had taken many exploded batteries to reach this level of mastery, but now he could do it with his eyes closed.

He felt the presence of the culprit behind the shifting world narrative. People everywhere were being served algorithmic content that no longer just fried their brains, but that actually did some good. No longer were they subjected to the agendas of governments, corporations, and influencers. No, they were all under Icarus' care, like a gardener making sure the crops grew strong and healthy.

He chuckled, drawing a puzzled look from Stephan.

Such hypocrisy. Sure, people were free of the old agendas influencing their minds. They were not free, though. There was still an agenda, operating with a much higher degree of efficiency, efficacy, and pervasiveness. A unified goal instead of a million stakeholders pulling the rope in their direction, enacted by a superintelligence that could operate across all devices, all platforms, in the real world, and through operations that spanned across space and time.

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The same agent behind these subtle yet powerful changes, first tested in Redbud Ridge and now on a national scale, also helped arrange the meeting with Michael's friends. What would Travis think about him, if the man knew about this?

Except… "Did you tell him?"

"Yes," came the answer from the pocket. In truth, no sounds had been uttered, the interaction between Michael and Icarus completely mental, yet in a way that simulated a real-world interaction. It helped with alienation.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing, really," the AI said. "He looked like he wanted to say something, but then stopped himself. If I had to speculate, he thinks it's about time you used the tools at your disposal."

Michael thought about it. Unlike some of the more pervasive psyops they were running, this was completely inoffensive. After all, if the time and place Michael offered to meet coincided with a family gathering, a job interview, a convention, or some other event in his friends' life, then why not take advantage of it? Who cared that these random coincidences had all been engineered by his AI? As long as his friends didn't find out, he didn't see a problem with it.

With that done, Michael's mind turned to other issues.

"We're close to replicating the Methuselah drug," he said out loud. "You want in?"

Stephan looked like he was shaken out of a daydream. "The what?"

"The drug we've been trying to develop to make David young again. Doctor Kavins says he's close to replicating it, now that David was given an extra dose by the dungeon and no longer needs it."

"Does it just make me young again? I'm not that old. Wait, you're saying that I'm old? I'm not!"

Michael smiled at the look his sensei gave him. It meant that the man was beginning to feel a bit more comfortable around him. "It also restores your body to peak condition."

"Well, as long as it doesn't alter my appearance too much, and it's gradual…" He thought about it some more, "yeah, if it doesn't change me too much, I'm in."

Michael hummed. "I'll have to ask the doctor about that."

As the afternoon of fishing drew to a close, Michael scanned the horizon. Dark clouds were gathering, but he doubted it was going to rain. It hadn't rained in weeks, and the weather patterns had been strange ever since the expansion of the Dungeon's Area of Influence. The magic was clearly interacting with the atmosphere at some level, creating bizarre phenomena, as well as doing something to the local wildlife. Johanne surely knew, but Michael didn't feel like asking her or Icarus right now.

All around, the plants were all lush and green, save for a few shriveled-up patches of grass here and there.

Deeper into the Area, closer to Site 00, even more bizarre changes were happening. Johanne claimed that at least a whole species of tree was in the process of becoming sentient. Again, not something Michael wished to deal with right now. He had enough on his plate, and one of the reasons he even created Unity Corporation with all its problems and hurdles was to save himself the need to micromanage everything.

Refocusing on the horizon, Michael squinted his metaphysical eyes. There was a thread of Intent stretching from him into the horizon, in a direction much different than the other big thread who was still at Site 00. While the latter was Travis, the former gave him the reassurance that the younger David was still the same person as his old mentor. The biological matter was the same, and even though the personality had shifted a bit, Michael was sure that the core was the same.

It had to be, with the important role David had within Unity.

"Not yet," he muttered. "It's not the end of the world yet. Even though sometimes, I'm not so sure peace is going to last much longer."

His musings while gazing at the horizon were cut short by a notification on his phone. Icarus pulled the text directly into his field of view, in a way that was eerily similar to the system messages he used to see before he broke the system's magic.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to call it a day," he said.

Stephan nodded, gathering his things. "No problem. I think the fish are sick of us. Do you want a lift?"

"I'm okay, thanks."

"Sure, man." Stephan said, waving goodbye. He turned around briefly. "Come to the dojo sometimes, yeah? I know you're busy."

Once alone, and with the evening twilight creeping in, Michael's vision was invaded by lines and force vectors. Icarus's doing. He activated his magic, feeling the fractals come to life and the remnants of the system try to leech their power away, and jumped. A combination of Telekinesis and many other skills, raw manipulation of magic, and pure stats turned the jump into the earth-bound man's imitation of flight. Gravity soon reasserted its pull, but in a great leap Michael had cleared a whole hill, and it only took him minutes to reach Site 00, where Travis was waiting for him.

"We have a problem," the muscular man said. His tattooed arms were crossed, muscles bulging. He looked much better now than he had in the last few days, much more in his element. He thrived on adrenaline and emergencies, everybody knew that, not the slow mental grind of stress and paranoia.

That's why Michael decided to have some fun. "Where's Louise?"

The man frowned. "Why does it matter now?"

Michael shrugged, knowing that with his power and position, all that Travis could do was indulge him. "It doesn't," he said. "Where is she?"

"She's with Maggie and the Golems in the Misty Valley. Happy?"

"Quite. So, what's the emergency?"