Preparations have begun. A new era is upon us. A new 'me' is imminent... -103.2 Seconds Post-Integration.

  Clark had never been in the Property Management and Administrative section of the Tower before. Not since his Orientation, that is; according to SIMP, though, the Executive Lounge wasn't even 'proper' administrative. It was sort of adjacent to administrative.

  Like any part of the tower that had to do with the running of the company, the wing for Property Management was pristine. It was so clean, it looked like a hospital. Auto-scrubbers ran up and down the length of every hallway as armored soldiers kept watch at the entrances and exits to every room. In the larger rooms, SIMP told Clark to take note of the 'Cultivators' who stood watch over the space in their heavily fortified bubbles at the center of the room. "Be careful when interacting with those people," they told him. "They don't have a sense of humor and will kill you for minor infractions. Avoid interacting with them period. I doubt your title as my Champion will afford you much, if any, protection should they be in a bad mood."

  Scary guards? Check! Clark made a note to avoid the 'Cultivators.'

  He had an appointment with someone whose title was an 'Adjustor.' What this person's powers were and how they could help him beyond agreeing to meet with him was a mystery, but SIMP seemed confident that they were a person who could activate the leyline, or point them in the direction of someone who could activate the leyline again.

  Clark entered the Adjustor's office.

  The office was bland and without anything in the way of decor or personal affections. No artwork hung upon the walls, no potted plants upon the desk. It was all paint and nothingness.

  He took a seat opposite the Adjustor.

  The adjustor themselves was a totally ordinary looking individual. Well, 'normal' in the sense they were androgynous in the extreme and Clark could not tell whether they were a man or a woman, young or old. Depending on how he bent his neck, and how they appeared in the lighting, they could appear one way or another.

  "Thank you for meeting with me, officer," Clark said. "I have a situation I believe you can help me with."

  "No problem at all, Mister Clark, Dungeon Champion, sir. We in the Property Management Wing of Augustford Central live to serve, and serve to live. What might we help you with?" the Adjustor said, their voice as unassuming as their appearance.

  "I need part of the leyline re-activated for reasons relating to my needs as the Dungeon Champion. SIMP will transfer you the coordinates I need activated. I hope you will be able to assist me in this endeavor." As he always did when speaking with an authoritative figure, he kept his tone respective. Playing the part of an entitled youth wasn't going to earn him treasure.

  Clark heard a beep in his ear, signaling that SIMP had transferred the file to the Adjustor.

  "Okay," the Adjustor mused as they clanked on their keyboard. "I have received your file and am looking it over now."

  "Oh, Ma'am, sir? There is another party interested in this meeting. Might I request waiting until they arrive?" Clark couldn't let the clerk, here, think it was only going to be them at this meeting. He had a trump card to play. Of course, that card relied on said person showing up...

  "That won't be necessary, sir. Individuals of those ranks rarely show up to meets such as this. Waiting for them would only cause us unnecessary delays. Now, without further ado, let's begin:"

  The Adjustor made a big show of consideration. They hummed and hawed as they read then re-read the file. He knew it was all for show because the amount of time they spent looking at the file was well misplaced regarding the file's actual size -- it was only a couple of pages and most of that were graphs and maps!

  After far too long, the Adjustor spoke. "Unfortunately, I cannot fulfill your request, mister Clark. Thank you for coming in today. On a double unfortunate, because the structure in this file is within Augustford property, we will have to confiscate it."

  Flat-faced. That's what he was. He couldn't believe it. That was it?

  Frankly, he wasn't expecting anything else. "Ma'am or sir. That structure is within the Dungeon Interior. As such, it falls within my domain as Dungeon Champion. I will frustrate any and all attempts at seizure. Secondly, you have made a decision without the input from everyone scheduled to be at this meeting today. I will repeat myself: the third party will be here shortly."

  The Adjustor's eyes twinkled. Or rolled? "I will look into this matter more. Regarding the placement of the structure within the Dungeon Interior. However, I cannot approve the re-activation of the leyline conveyor belt system. As I said, thank you for coming in."

  Clark couldn't let the meeting end so abruptly. He had to buy himself some time until his trump card arrived. "Ma'am? Might I ask why you're not approving the re-activation?"

  The clerk made a sour face but only for the briefest of seconds before their business face re-asserted itself. "You may ask, yes... that is within protocol. As for why, it comes down to energy consumption. Activating even a small segment of the leyline belt system would consume an immense sum of energy. Because Augustford has intra-store portals, this belt system is obsolete. Accordingly, its activation would prove redundant and useless, especially since you haven't put a use for the store outside vague personal usage. It is for these reasons I cannot approve your request."

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  He had to hand the Adjustor that -- when it came to 'why' he wanted the leyline re-activated, he didn't have much of a reason. On the surface, anyway.

  Or, at least, a reason he could share with the administrative elements of the store. Some vague reason related to his private enterprise with the Pod, admittedly, wasn't the best reason to ask for a segment of the belt re-activated.

  And yet, he couldn't give the Adjustor such a victory.

  "Sir or madam, you are incorrect. There is a larger strategy at play. As in business, the conduct of a Dungeon Champion cannot always be revealed. I can say one thing, however. I agree with you on the energy consumption front. I hear you are concerned about the use the store would receive after such an investment. I am ready and willing to meet you halfway, then. Approve my request, and I will search for and implement ways to utilize the leyline belt for the good of the store." He took a breath once he finished talking. A deep one. Normally, he did not talk for so long at a time. As he was killing time until his ally showed up, he went for the windier approach.

  A strange clicking noise came from the Adjustor. They didn't miss a beat, though. "And what sort of benefits might re-activation entail, for the store?"

  Clark wanted to aggressively sigh. "Benefits such as," he had to think. Like what? He had to pull something from his arse. "Local transport?"

  The Adjustor raised an eyebrow. "Local transport? We already have the local portal networks to transport goods to and from places outside of the store, as such--"

  He had to interrupt. "Sir, madam! I am not talking about the bringing of goods into the store. I am talking about the exchange of goods between floors inside of the store."

  Oh, that was good! He didn't know where he had been going with that line of reasoning when he began. Seeing where it ended -- with an actual point and rationale -- he impressed himself.

  "One: please refrain from interrupting me again, young man." He nodded. "Second: I could see how that would be beneficial to the company. However, you lack a solid plan on implementation and what it would even entail. I am reluctant to approve such a measure."

  Taking the high road, Clark pressed his advantage. "Ma'am, sir. I apologize for interrupting. I do wish for you to consider that although the proposal as it currently stands is lacking, consider the benefits such a strategy would have now, in our time of crisis. Monsters lurk inside the Interior. Shoppers, entire store fronts, need security just for their day-to-day activities. Imagine being able to quickly transport goods between floors without the hassle of security. This is what I am offering."

  That was good. Total shet, but good.

  'Course, bullshet or not, if he promised the company something, he would have to deliver. Logically, he knew he should watch his mouth, but the moment called for victory, not vacillation.

  Now, the Adjustor had a very different look on their face. One of actual contemplation.

  It was a look unfinished before the door opened.

  He turned to see Adam, from Qoon, enter.

  His trump card.

  Upon seeing Adam, the Adjustor's face grew actual emotion. They looked shocked and stood up.

  "Sir!" the Adjustor yelped. "I did not expect you to have the time to make it, today. Please, have a seat!"

  Adam took a seat next to Clark. "I shan't be very long, for I do have a busy schedule. Bring me up to speed, please."

  The clerk did just that and with accuracy, too. He thought the Adjustor would twist facts to suit their opinion. Instead, the adjustor recounted the back-and-forth Clark, and they shared with speedy accuracy.

  Adam cocked his head. "Ah, I understand. It sounds like to me, then, that the only point left for debate is the Dwarven Pod. Now, I want myself to be clear on this point, Clark. You are right. You have dominion over the pod. You must understand, however, that the knowledge within that pod represents an immense source for not only your office but the company as well. It is not every day a legendary, near mythical, structure is discovered."

  He was not so bullheaded that he refused to acknowledge the Pod's status. "You are correct, Adam. What do you propose?"

  Adam pursed his lips. "How about a compromise? You need to retain your autonomy. But the company would like information on and about the Pod. So, how about we split the hair down the middle? Authorize SIMP to give us a certain data regarding the Pod as the data is generated in real-time. And we will stay out of your hair. If the arrangement goes well, we can re-negotiate. Maybe share more data."

  Clark didn't like the idea of data-sharing but what other choices did he have? "If I agree to this, you will authorize the re-activation of the leyline belt?"

  "That is correct. That and you must find ways to utilize the belt in service of the store, with your own endeavors taking priority, of course."

  He really didn't like the notion of data sharing.

  But he was on the verge of getting what he wanted. "What kind of data?"

  And so, it was -- the deal was struck!

  "It seems my job here is done. Madam, sir, Clark, have a good day!" And with that, Adam left. Clark was surprised Adam did not try to push in some Qoon related stuff at the last minute. Heck... he was surprised Adam showed up at all. Guess they wanted to keep Clark on their good side.

  The Adjustor sat back down after rising out of politeness to Adam's station. A kind of 'seeing them off' gesture. "Clark. You are a shrewd negotiator. Understand it will take some time for the leyline belt to be re-activated. We need to tally some figures on power usage, locate certain engineers, and so forth. You have my word we will get the belt re-activated sooner rather than later."

  "No worries. I know Augustford is good on their word. I will authorize SIMP to begin sending the agreed-upon data once the belt is active. Should any issues arise, I will contact you."

  "Very good. An eventful meeting. Before this session ends, is there anything else I can do for you?"

  Clark shook his head and declined. It was tempting to ask the gender of the Adjustor, but he didn't want to come off as impolite.

  Instead, he kindly declined and went on his way, following Adam out the door.

  Clark passed back through the pristine hallways of the Property Management wing feeling as though a weight had been lifted from him.

  He couldn't believe it -- he had done it! He had somehow managed to convince the company to re-activate part of the leyline belt system. Sure, by agreeing to the sending of highly sensitive data from an incredible machine... but what usages could that data have?

  Okay, bad usages, possibly. But he didn't know that for sure. All he knew was that he had very little in the way of bargaining chips and that select data from the Dwarven Pod proved very useful.

  Back in his dorm, he asked SIMP how he did. "Do you think I shouldn't have given them that data?"

  Beep: "You did fine. I do not think there was any other way for us to negotiate. If we didn't hand the data over, I doubt we would have had a stable position."

  "Oh!" This surprised him. "I thought maybe I should've played hardball."

  "Hardball only works when you have a position. We didn't have a position. We lacked the resources."

  He relented. "I guess you're right. Man... I'm beat. I need to rest."

  "Rest. After, we need to talk about our plan for fulfilling our services to Augustford vis-a-vis the leyline belt."

  Muttering something about not being able to wait, Clark slid into his bed for a nice nap.