Lucas nodded and opened the menu again. This time, there was a greyed-out button marked as “Level 1” and a new option that was labeled “Level 2.”

“Just out of curiosity, Xun Guan, what level was Kegan?”

“He was Level 3,” she answered. “Hopefully, you become that skilled. But . . . I don’t know if you can even handle Level 2 yet. My dungeon is currently only Level 1, so don’t feel bad.”

“Level 1?” Lucas frowned. So, it’s going to be a pain to get a Level 10 dungeon. Ugh.

“Yeah. Anyway, go ahead and try Level 2. I know you’re going to do it anyway, so we might as well get it over with.”

“And remember to seduce, not insult! Play the part properly!” the Enchanter lectured, clearly unhappy with Lucas’s cringy opening line.

Lucas hit the button, placing himself once more in the throne room with only his three guards around him. Where the heck are my teacher and Xun Guan watching the simulation from? he wondered, but he but didn’t have time to look around before the event began.

You currently have an entrance monologue. Would you like to change or update it?

[Yes / No]

Lucas hesitated, thinking about what he was going to say. He didn’t know what he could possibly spit out in any single sentence that would be good enough to cause any of the enemies to like him. Then an idea struck him, and he hit the “Yes” button. The prompt appeared for him to begin his new entrance monologue, and he said the best version of a manipulative line he could think of. “You adventurers have come such a long way, but I must apologize. I am a poor host, you see, as I have but one item to give, and there are four of you. Please do not be angry at each other for this . . . I’m sure you all are capable of sharing.

When you are satisfied with the monologue, press the Finish button. If you want to try again, press the Retry button.

[Finish] [Retry]

Lucas hit the “Finish” button, and a new message popped up that he hadn’t seen last time.

Due to the nature of your entrance monologue, your loot shall be condensed into a single item. Combat begins in three seconds.

Before he got a chance to celebrate the fact that his entire Loot Level would go toward making a single item, the enemies had already begun moving. Thankfully, Lucas also noticed that his guards were moving faster than they had last time. They quickly darted across the floor, this time in a formation, and Lucas watched while channeling his first spell. One of the guards was blown up by the enemies’ Mage using a giant ball of fire, but the other two moved to occupy their respective opponents.