Dungeons Online

Marvin's car arrived at Tom's front porch in a matter of minutes. Even though he still had half of his body wrapped in bandages and stabilizers, Tom's friend refused to stay in place and clearly wasn't going to ask anyone to carry him around.

"You wanted to talk," Marvin started as soon as he stood above sitting Tom.

"For now, sit down. I need to show our uncles the way," Tom stood up before looking at the three massive men exiting the car. "Come with me. I need you guys to do something," Tom gestured at the group before getting into the house.

'I wish I could just sit and have a talk with Marvin first,' Tom lamented in his thoughts while silently showing the group the way to the tunnel.

Tom could see the looks his uncles gave to each other when they noticed the armory. He saw the curiosity and slight worry mixing in their eyes when he led them to the dugout.

"Guys, I wish I had the time for that, but I can't guide you. We are really under a massive time pressure now," Tom said as soon as the group got underground. "I need you to do one thing. Use any tools you need, order anything you require, but you need to break through the outer wall of the Confinement that I tunneled up to," Tom dropped the bomb without the slightest care.

"Boss, Confinement? Please don't tell us that you mean the Dome!" The oldest of the three uncles slightly protested while twisting his lips.

"That's exactly what I mean. Use whatever tool you need and any means you find necessary. Just make your absolute best to keep it hidden from whoever and whatever might be watching from the inside," Tom ordered grimly, unwilling to take any protests.

Going against the Dome, or the Confinement like Tom started to call it himself, was the same thing his father did.

Tom would have to be a naive idiot not to connect the dots with all his memories unlocked.

'My father disappeared two days before the portals got locked. Domes appeared exactly where the portals used to be. Now no one can even get near them,' Tom summarised the simple and undeniable facts about the event that took place several years ago.

As his thoughts continued to wander all over the place, Tom left the dugout through the hidden basement before returning to Marvin. He continued to wait on the bench just like Tom asked him to. Whether it was his lack of means to move or a decision to stick with Tom's wishes, Tom couldn't tell.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Marvin asked after the two of them stared at each other in silence for a while.

"This is rather a long story," Tom replied as he sat down beside his friend.

"I would love to say we have all the time in the world, but I guess I can only ask you to keep it short," Marvin said and smiled. There was no hint of anxiety on his face, despite how he was clearly aware if not of the content of the ongoing conflict, but at least of its stakes.

"Let's start with my father then," Tom said before releasing a deep, exhausted sigh. "As you likely know, he went out to explore portals. That's also where I believe where he disappeared," he explained the beginnings of his theory before looking at Marvin's face.

Just the expression of his friend could give him some clues about how close to the truth this guess of his was.

"That's correct if that's what you are trying to figure out from my face," Marvin nodded his head before turning his lips into a sad smile. "Don't get me wrong. The fact that we knew doesn't mean we didn't attempt the rescue. The family did its best back then but ended up forced to turn back," Marvin explained, putting his eyes low.

It was clear that he was still troubled with how that matter ended.

"But that's also the main problem I have with you," Marvin suddenly revealed, raising his eyes at Tom's face. "You derive your power to command the family from your father's influence. And while others are okay with it, I never believed your father to be deserving of the role in the first place," Marvin suddenly dropped a bomb.

For a moment, the two friends only continued to stare at each other in this tense deadlock of ideas.

"My father," Tom started speaking, only for Marvin to interrupt him right away.

"Your father left for the portal on his own and deprived the family of his tactical genius," Marvin said harshly, gripping his one healthy hand into a fist. "I never denied his achievements. I never denied his role. But I'm not going to acknowledge his last bit as worthy of the person responsible for the entire family!"

Tom silently listened to Marvin's announcement. He wasn't mad. He wasn't even angry. 'He has full right to have those beliefs...' Tom thought, waiting for Marvin's next move.

"My father... I can't entirely agree with the way he did things," Tom finally finished his previous sentence once he ascertained Marvin wouldn't stop him from doing so. "My father openly went against the organization that silently influences the entire world. He believed that making things public, showing the reality of the portals to the entire world, was the right path to take for us," Tom admitted to everything that Marvin could consider as the previous family's commander misdeeds.

"Aren't you going to do the same right now?" Marvin raised his eyes at Tom's face with a doubtful look. "Come on. You don't need to tell me everything for me to know. I'm using my eyes, you know?" Marvin got troubled over the fact that he saw through Tom's actions.

"In a sense, I believe my father was right," Tom suddenly countered Marvin's revelation by going against his earlier narration. "The way in which he wanted to do things was correct. He just underestimated the opponent. And that's why I can avoid making the same mistakes as he did," Tom continued before turning his eyes towards the Dome, clearly visible in the distance.

"I"m not going to oppose them openly. I aim to make them unaware that I'm fighting them in the first place," Tom finally revealed his true aim before looking down at his friend.

"They make an imaginable amount of money from the portals through the Dungeons Online. Here, here's the proof," Tom said as he pulled out his phone with the gallery of photos of the insides of the Dome.

"What's this?" Marvin calmly looked at the phone before raising his eyes at Tom's face again.

"The insides of the Dome."