“So, the bastard transformed it into a dungeon,” Sol said.

Tower thought for a moment. “Do you think it’s safe for them to be here?” he asked.

“Undead can’t fly, not that I know of. So if they were to break out from below they’d have to storm the fort,” Sol said.

“So if anything it’s the safest place,” Tower added.

Sol nodded. “We won’t be able to get any response from base unless our lives are in danger.”

“I know,” Tower grunted. They were of the lowest rank.

The two headed back to camp. They brought Ester over and told her of what they had found. She was shocked but she kept her composure.

“Make sure no one wanders in there, and don’t tell them about the dungeon,” Tower said.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I won’t. Are you planning on clearing it?” she asked.

“If we can,” Tower replied.

“Can you begin to move everyone into the west lower side of the fort,” Sol instructed.

She nodded.

“You are a strong woman, Ester,” Tower said.

She blushed. “T-t-thank you,” she replied and then walked back to camp.

“You got a thing for her?” Sol joked.

“Fuck off,” Tower retorted, but Sol could tell he was smiling through the mask.

The two explained the situation to the rest of the group. They were on the wall of the fort, well out of earshot of the refugees.

“You want us to clear a fucking unknown dungeon?” Spike asked with his arms folded.

“I know it sounds crazy, but we’ve come here to do a job. I’ve sent a report to the base so hopefully we’ll get a response soon.”

Tower’s phone buzzed and the man gulped. He pulled it out and looked at the message. Everyone else gathered around to read it.

‘Report received. Go ahead with the plan. Clear if possible. If clearing involves killing the target then prioritise it. If it cannot be cleared then the mission will be declared a failure. Pay has doubled for this mission. Bonuses may apply. If Miss Evergrand does not wish to proceed with the mission she can back under her contract terms.’

“Well that’s just great! The money’s useless if we’re fucking dead!” Spike shouted.

Tower slapped the back of his head. “What are we?” he said.

“Not this again,” Spike moaned.

“If you don’t want to do it, just leave. I’m not stopping you,” Tower said.

“As if. You guys would be screwed without me,” Spike protested.

“So Spike’s in. Sharp? Mute?” Tower asked.

“What about me?” Sol said.

Tower gave him a look. Sol never backed down from a challenge; the man was immortal after all. Sharp nodded and Mute stood in a way that signified she was in.

“And you Lady Evergrand?” Tower asked.

“A dungeon? Absolutely, it sounds fun,” she said with a clap of her hands.

Sol shook his head. “This is not your average run of the mill dungeon, nor is it a permanent or level based one. This is unknown. If monsters don’t kill you the traps will. Not to mention we have to kill the boss who will be the necromancer. If he’s turned into a fucking dungeon boss then it probably doubled his power.”

Elora was taken aback at Sol’s seriousness; the group always seemed so jokey to her. “You said that there was a hole in the top of the roof right? If there’s any others then I can go all out. Nothing will stand a chance down there,” she said.

They all looked at Sharp who nodded. “There are multiple. They are all focused in the centre and are out of reach of the fort. If we can group them then we should be able to kill hundreds of them without suffocating ourselves,” he said.

“You guys remember that- what was it... giant rat plague in Warren?” Tower reminded.

They all nodded except for Elora.

“We are gonna have to herd them, and we have the perfect bait,” Tower said.

Everyone turned to Sol but he turned to Mute.

“Guys c’mon she’s faster,” he pleaded.

“You’re immortal Sol,” Tower said plainly.

Sol sighed, as he knew it was going to be him. He was the one who came up with the idea in Warren. It was awful. Sol had run around the city once it had been evacuated, faster than he ever had in his life. Thousands of 4 ft tall rats snapped at his heels for miles, until a battalion of mages could finish them off.

“Base gave me these before we left. We only get one each, so we’ll use them when we enter,” Tower said as he brought out 6 tablets.

Miasma Resistant Pill Rank IV RARE

-60% damage reduction taken from Miasma for 6 hours.

“I’ve brought my own,” Elora said as she brought out a helmet. The thing looked a heavy mix of mechanical and magic.

Exquisite Helmet of Miasma Breathing EPIC

All miasma breathed in will be converted to 100% Oxygen.

Mana: 167/167(1-3 MP/s)

Durability: 78/78

Affinities: None

“This costs more than the mission pay!” Tower exclaimed.

She shrugged. “Money is not an issue.”

“Of course it isn’t,” Sol said with a roll of his eyes.

“So we got a spare one,” Tower said, rubbing his chin.

“I don’t need one,” Sol stated. “If I lose too much health just kill me. I’d rather make your lives easier.”

“Alright. Sol, are you ok to take the lead?” Tower asked.

“As always,” Sol replied.

The group said their goodbyes to the refugees and made their way down the mountain. It was noon and the sun was blazing down on them. The sky was beautiful and clear, and it did not reflect their situation.

They arrived down to the mine a short while later. Minecarts were scattered around the entrance; most of them had their contents stolen. The mine looked structurally sound, given the decades it had spent abandoned.

Sol took the lead with his two daggers in hand. It looked strange that a person with zero armour led the way, but it was how they did these sorts of missions.

“Trap ahead,” Sharp said.

Sol eyed the area in front; there was no sign of any trap. He chucked his daggers to Tower and shuffled forwards. A mechanical bolt flung off and two swinging wooden swings with spikes came and beheaded Sol.

His still bleeding head rolled towards Elora who almost threw up.

“Does thou lady not like thou present?” Spike asked.

Sol grew another head and walked over to the group. He grabbed his old one by the hair and said, “Ozark has been wanting this. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.”

“You let that mad women run tests on you?” Tower asked with a quake in his voice.

“We struck a deal,” Sol replied.

The group carried on down the tunnel, the smell of miasma getting stronger and stronger. They all took their pills, except for Sol and Elora who put her helmet on.

“Two running our way,” Sharp said. “Human size.”

“Sharp take a shot, Sol finish off,” Tower ordered.

“Aye aye, Sir,” Sol replied.

Sharp stopped and pulled his bow back all the way, as two mana arrows began to form. Sol started sprinting ahead. They could now identify the monsters.

Level 32 Undead Spearman

Level 36 Spearman Undead Warrior

They looked the spitting image of their description. The monster lore skill didn’t even take effect.

Two mana arrows flew over Sol’s head, and both of them found purchase in the undead’s faces. It was not a strong attack however, as it only stunned them for a second, but that was all Sol needed. He jumped off the wall, and in mid air he sliced the warrior's spine from the back in half. He landed and spun on his knees to get in close. He sliced the spearman’s ligaments causing it to drop down. He shoved a dagger through its head and down the back of the spine. Both of the undead dropped at the same time.

Elora covered her mouth in shock. There was something about him that she found attractive in moments like this, but he was ruthless, rude and above all else an Unwanted; an outcast from the society she sits atop of.

“Show off,” Spike grumbled.

The group only encountered one other trap. It was a basic spike one like last time, so Sol was more prepared and managed to escape death. They travelled for another ten minutes, before they came upon a large dip in the floor. It was dark in the tunnel but they could see faint light coming out.

“It’s a drop,” Sharp said as he closed his eyes. “I can’t see the end.”

“I’m guessing it’s the open area me and Sol saw,” Tower explained. “We couldn’t see that far into it.”

“Do you mind if I,” Elora coughed, “Record it,” she said.

“What? For your fans?” Tower asked.

“Yes. Don’t worry, I’ll skew your voices and it will only be the action scenes,” she said.

“You will have to send it first to base. They will take it down if you post it without,” Tower said. The man was not fond of social media- mainly because he couldn’t operate the websites.

“Sounds fair. You know how hard it is being famous; people constantly expect things from you,” she said, expecting sympathy.

“For a smart woman, you really are dumb,” Spike said.

She placed a hand on her chest, completely shocked at his rudeness. “You have been very rude t-”

“Enough!” Tower said. “Start the recording.”

The group put their differences aside and Elora set up the camera on her chest. They all then moved forward and peered out over the edge.

“By Odin,” Sharp said.

Hundreds of undead were crowded among the huge open area of the mine. There were all sorts, human and monster alike. It was in a circular shape with varying levels that sprouted off into different tunnels. The bright sun above was beaming down from above and reflecting off the miasma in the air.

Tower coughed worryingly. “Elora, will that be a problem for you?” he asked.

“Shouldn’t be if you can group them well enough,” she replied. “I can show my magic on that group there.”

She pointed to a small group of undead that were closest to them, fair out of the way of the main horde.

“Sol, go get a warmup,” Tower ordered.

Sol stretched and skidded down the steep slope. “Don’t worry about hitting me!” he shouted to Elora.

“I wasn’t worrying,” she shouted back.

“Bitch,” Sol muttered under his breath.

The small group consisted of 10 undead humans and mutated ogres, their back muscles triple the normal size. They stood at 7ft tall and had double the muscle mass of the human undead. They were strong but thankfully slow.

Sol started to run towards them. They were on a circular outcropping that overlooked the main horde, and were well out of earshot of the rest of the horde, so he didn’t have to worry too much.

They all groaned at him before charging. Sol’s agility was high enough that they couldn’t even lay a finger on him. He ran around the group three times, and they grouped up close enough that they were all barging into each other. One of the ogres had even started killing the other undead to get to him.

Sol looked up to the group to see Elora with blue flaming hands. He had never seen a mage use blue flames before and with their hands, There was a reason she was a part of the Evergrand family. She held her palms out in front of her and blue fire poured out in a direct stream towards the group.

Sol dived to the side just in time, and only the top of his hair was singed slightly. The whole group was decimated within a matter of ten seconds. Rotten flesh turned into black smoke that funnelled up into the holes in the ceiling.

“Fucking hel,” Sol mused to himself.

Elora was the best fire mage he had ever seen. It would have taken any other mage half a minute to kill them. Not only that but fire magic was hard to control at long distances, and she didn’t even need to chant for such a powerful spell. Not performing a chant for a spell meant it was in the expert tier. Sol’s highest skill was in the intermediate which was one below.

All that was left was a pile of organic dust. Mages from the High Temple were the best in the whole of Gaia, there was no doubting that.

“Nice job,” Tower said. “You must bring power to your family.”

Elora threw her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Thank you,” she blushed.

“Do you have any more spells for the horde? Big ones?” Tower asked.

She nodded.

The group skidded down to the platform that overlooked the horde.

“Spike, I want a performance for the man,” Tower said.

“A proper one?” Spike questioned excitedly.

Tower grunted.

“Say less big man,” Spike said, as he brought a huge amp out of his storage pouch. Out came a mic stand along with a microphone. He laid down a magical generator on the floor, and started hooking it all up.

“See any faults down there?” Tower asked Sharp.

Sharp let the raven fly off his shoulder and it began circling the horde. “I can’t see much but my detection skill is uncertain about that tunnel at the bottom,” he said. “The distance is too far for me to get an accurate diagnosis.”

“Could be a mini boss,” Sol said, “Perhaps a guardian. There’s no way that this is the entire dungeon.”

“I think you’re right,” Tower said. “It will probably trigger when you get close enough.”

Tower began handing out ear pieces so the group could communicate.

“Can you all hear me?” he asked.

A bunch of grunts signified they worked down here. Suddenly, the whole mine shook.

“Just like that woman described,” Sharp said. “There’s no tectonic movement in Kraos, so whatever is going on, the dungeon is causing it.”

Spike interrupted by stringing his black metal guitar. “I’m all set,” he said.

“Sol?” Tower asked.

The Immortal was putting on a headband to keep the hair out of his face. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied.

“Elora?”

“Ready. Just tell me when,” she said.

Spike sprayed an ungodly amount of hairspray on his mohawk and leaned in close to the microphone.