“Do you need them, Bonnie?” Lucas asked, pulling them out of his Belt of Backup. It was essentially a fanny pack of sorts, a single leather belt with two bags built onto either side that were each capable of holding up to fifteen pounds of weight. Basically, each bag was able to store a bunch of small items or a weapon set. It was an amazing item that was, in Lucas’s opinion, the best thing he’d gotten since he first started fighting on the island.

“What? Me? Need help picking up butlers? Not now. I am flush with money. I’ll be fine,” Bonnie said, throwing her head up. “Been making a fortune off all the players we’ve gotten to kill.”

“Yeah, who would have thought the dungeon would actually be as popular as it is. I can’t believe how many players remade just to try and get territory,” Nick replied.

“Why not? Isn’t it every player’s dream to have a dungeon of their very own?” Liu asked, less explaining and more boasting. She had been the catalyst for the change after all. Her plan had gone over incredibly well with the server population, both old and new, as more and more people hopped back to the start to try and beat Lucas and get their own dungeon. Since Lucas had yet to be defeated by the renewing players, it was great for the game. People were spending a ton of money on in-game currency to buy items and try their luck with starting characters, but the end result was that Liu looked better and better at her office, and Lucas and his group had gotten richer and richer. The last set of players that they had fought had netted the group over 21 gold alone for a single two-minute interaction. As a result, Bonnie, despite the fact she had dropped her prices for Lucas considerably, was now swimming in money.

“But there is a small problem, boss,” Bonnie said as she leaned back in the tub. She used her tail to cover her chest, which was on the verge of peeking above the water line.

“What’s that?” Lucas asked.

“Uhh, well, you see, it’s like . . . I don’t know how to lose levels, and all these players are about to put me over the island’s Level 30 cap. I want to stay here with you, where it’s nice and prosperous, but even though I killed myself a few times to level drop, it’s just too much work.”

“Yeah,” Nick said, “I’m having the same problem. Even though Bonnie killed me to help me drop my level once or twice—”

“That was the reason? I thought you were just giving me a birthday present,” Bonnie chuckled.

“But she’s right. Players give a lot of experience, and we’re both about to cap,” Nick said.

“Nnn,” Katie grunted, nodding.