Nero woke up with the sun shining on his face. He slept out in the open while the two women shared the tent. He was irritated because the Princess ended up monopolizing his wife but he knew why she was acting like that. He saw that same look in a girl from their village, four years older than them when she was ambushed by bandits on the road. Just three outlaws that ruined her life. She too grew fearful of men. And never recovered.

Nero's blood boiled. He closed his eyes and his half-asleep mind wandered, settling on an image of the leonal prince, abusing a woman. She was faceless at first but then the face turned into Altia's. He rose at once and shouted.

"NO!"

In the forest, birds would have flown away, if only there were any. His fists were clenched, his fingernails digging into his palms. Nero was trembling with fury and outrage. He breathed heavily, overexpanding his chest. His legs tensed up as if he was about to pounce an enemy. He closed his eyes and imagined himself killing the prince. Driving his [Clockwork Sword] into his heart.

"Nero, is something wrong?" Altia's voice came from the tent flap.

"It's nothing. I had a bad dream," He dismissed without turning around.

Eyes still closed, he felt a soft hand grasping his right wrist. "Tell me what is it." His wife spoke softly to him.

"I had a bad dream," He half-lied. It was not a dream but he was barely awake. His eyes stung.

"Share it with me," She whispered. "Let me bear part of your pain."

Nero embraced her, holding her tightly. Altia was almost being squeezed by him but said nothing.

"I dreamed the prince was abusing a woman. When I got to see her face, it was you," He squeezed even harder and covered her with kisses.

"Nero, let go. I can't breathe," Altia wheezed.

"Sorry," He relaxed his arm. She kissed the corner of his mouth.

"Serena's story impacted you a lot, didn't it?"

"I won't dare to say I know her pain. But I've seen it. Do you remember Kelly?"

Now it was Altia's turn to tear up. "Yes, I remember her well. She was never the same. A light went off in her heart."

Nero released her and took a good look at his wife. He held her waist and touched his forehead to hers. The two spent a long moment there, bonding even more. Nero released her and took a step back.

"I'm going to hunt in the forest. I have too much anger now, I need to vent it on some monster."

Serena's voice came from the tent. "Wait, lor... Nero. Hear me." She approached, timid. "I'm sorry I'm afraid of you. I can't help it but I know I'm disrespecting you. Nero, please don't go right now. It never bodes well to fight on a hot head. I know you are mighty and very versatile but I would like to share a meal with you. I want to try sitting near you."

"That's fine. I have something I want to talk to you over breakfast," Nero replied without looking at her.

They sat and Nero summoned their breakfast. White [Bread Basket] with grilled and sliced white [Beef Sirloin]. They drank gray [Pitcher of Orange Juice]. Had a strong acidic sourness the white version didn't have but it would do. The princess ate and drank her fill and didn't complain. After they were done, Serena broached the subject.

"What do you want to talk about, milord?" She asked.

"I'm going to hunt and farm Essence for you, your Highness."

"Call me Serena, without honorifics. You earned it. Let me tell you, I overheard you talking to your wife after your outburst. I'm elated that you have such high moral values," She sighed to avoid saying 'milord', "Nero."

"Okay. Serena. I'm leaving my wife with you. You know that's a lot of trust. As far as I know, you could just murder her and go on with your day. And I bet you have a [Egress] card."

"Your concern is understandable. What can I do to ease your mind?"

"Give me all your cards, including the [Egress]. I'll hold unto them and return them to you when I get back. You help Altia with her potions while I am out. I'm sorry if I sound callous, but Altia means the world to me. I won't leave her here with you while you have four open Skill slots and five Attributes virtually in the twenties."

Serena joined her hands in front of her face as if in prayer, the index fingers touching her nose. They gave her time.

"I am in your hands, Nero. I barged into your romantic dinner, you took me in, you fed me, gave me clothes, heard my story, you even repaired my dress," She pointed at the dress hanging on one of the chairs. "I'll give you all my cards. I must confess, I have all my build planned out since my birth. The other four cards are here. All epic... you call them by the colors, yes. Purple. I don't have the required level to equip them yet."

She extended her left arm and six cards popped out of the slots. "Take them," She said. Nero removed the cards. Three [Healing Potion], one [Antidote], one [Dagger], and the silver [Egress]. Serena then stood up and opened the pouches of her belt one by one, removing all cards and showing Altia that it was empty. She hesitated before opening the last pouch and removed only four cards from there. Four purple tier-I Skill cards. All of them required level 20 to activate.

"My life is in your hands, Nero. I must warn you though. These cards are so rare my family will know if any of them gets on the market."

"I won't sell them. But let me ask you one thing. Can I consider prince Tyre as strong as this?"

Serena shuddered at the mention but answered his question. "He is already on the fourth tier or maybe fifth, Nero. I saw him fighting and I believe his main Attribute is well over four hundred. It's Agility. I would be surprised if his first-tier build included any epic-purple cards. He might as well be full orange-legendary."

Nero cursed. Serena jumped away and Altia frowned. He extended a hand and brought his wife back on her feet.

"Your turn now, wife. Give me all your cards," He said.

"What? Why?"

"She could use [Charm] on you and have you give them to her. You won't need cards to harvest herbs and brew potions."

Altia sighed but handed over her cards. Nero filled his bag with their cards but stowed Serena's four in an empty pouch. "I'm going to go hunting. You girls have fun. I'll return once I have three hundred thousand Essence."

Nero lowered his goggles, drew his [Clockwork Sword], recharged both items, extended his [Clockwork Shield] into spiked buckler mode, and dashed off into the forest. He needed to get out of Serena's range immediately. He was on the detection [Rogue] build and his [Dangersense] pinged a few times when he made Serena give up her cards. He had no intention of keeping them and sincerely hoped they could earn each other's trust when he returned. His goggles pointed out the trippers but all he did was turn on his sword and point it downwards in front of him. He cut through the vines and ran off, not pausing even to see what dropped.

"I'm happy for you, Altia," Serena said once Nero was too far away to listen. "Your husband is a worthy man."

"Thank you, Serena. Want to learn how to brew potions?"

"I guess so. But if he took all the cards with him and you are summoning your food, what will you eat for lunch?"

Altia shrugged. "Whatever he summons. Nero might be a bit late, but he'll come back for lunch."

"He said he won't be back until he obtained three hundred thousand Essence."

"Yes, he did," She said as she walked to her portable laboratory. "And he meant it. We both are correct. He'll come back for lunch and he will bring the Essence."

Nero crossed past the treeline before he stopped. Serena was dangerous. She had a good offense, good defense, and good utility. He doubted he could land a blow on her easily or even wound her with all that bullshit of adding Charisma to everything. Panting, he ejected the detection [Rogue] card and equipped the defensive [Warrior] build, the only green build he made so far. Time to kill some shamblers.

He ran through the sparsely-forested area, searching for them. The first shambler appeared a minute later. It looked like some child made a clay doll with stocky limbs and then covered it with moss. It moved slowly but Nero knew it was heavy and powerful. He turned on his sword and used [Dash n' Slash]. The blow connected to the raised arm of the shambler, sending a spray of crushed moss and loam away from Nero. He felt something hard underneath the thick layer of moss and pressed his sword down to cut through. He felt like sawing through wood. The shambler punched at his right flank with the other hand and Nero had to stop cutting to dodge.

Not high dexterity either, he noted. The right arm was dangling, more than halfway cut. Now that he could see inside the monster, it was as if someone braided several thick vines to make the frame, then covered it with dark green moss. Nero struck again. He moved to attack and went for the thick neck. Since he moved, he spent another point of stamina and executed [Mobile Strike]. The fist blows shaved off the bouncy moss covering and reached part of the vines. The second attack cut down several vines. The shambler roared in pain and body-slammed Nero, who was watching out for a punch.

The ape-kin stumbled backward but he was just too fast for the shambler. He dodged another punch and a clumsy flailing strike with the dangling arm. Nero recovered his balance in time to riposte and sever the dangling limb. Then he went for the neck again, circling the shambler clockwise so he would need to spin or strike with the stump of the right arm. A couple attacks and the shambler lost his head.

Nero's device lit up.

Compatible Anima detected. Energy absorbed above the threshold. Processing upgrade. Weighing Attribute strain.

For defeating a foe five times your level, you gained +1 Charisma.

Charisma? Was it due to the stress of talking to a runaway princess? Of negotiating the hostage exchange, Altia for her cards? Maybe. He picked up the Essence crystal, two hundred and fifty points. Just one thousand and a hundred-ninety-nine more of this level. He needed to go deeper.

The higher leveled moss shamblers spent their points on agility and dexterity. They weren't harder to kill than their lower-leveled cousins but they were faster and hit with more precision. To Nero, it meant little. They still used the same basic attacks, slamming with their limbs or tackling with their massive bodies. One special characteristic of their attacks was that since the moss was spongy, the blow was spread over a large area and it bounced, pushing him away. The one time he received a body slam, the first moment didn't move Nero, then he was pushed back and when the moss pushed back, he was flung.

He finished the strongest shambler so far and a card dropped. As it fell down, Nero could only see shades blue.

[Entangle] - blue - Requires level 11, +4 Reason, +4 Willpower, +4 Charisma

+3 Agility

+3 Willpower

+2 Charisma

"Useful for tilling soil."

Effect: Spend 1 point of mana to grow roots and vines on an area with a radius of Reason/2 yards. Lasts for 1 minute. They have a Strength equal to half your Charisma and a Vigor equal to half your Willpower.

Nero hooted and cheered. He picked up the crystal and measured it. Eight hundred and ten Essence. Level nine. Time to keep hunting and pick up the pace. As Nero ran through the woods killing these high-leveled moss shamblers, he wondered how did Serena kill them with her Skills. Did she charm one and then had it beat up on another, charming the winner and moving on? That could be one possibility. The fact was that she was sorely underequipped for the Dungeon. Ony her absurd... well, he couldn't call anyone absurd.

Nero fought and trained against the shamblers. A new monster type, a new type of combat tactics. Byron's training flooded his mind. Learn the cues. Most monsters telegraphed their attacks, at least the dumb ones. Nero crossed a thicket and found a big shambler. The thing was over six feet tall and a few inches broader. The shambler stomped ahead and Nero almost lost his footing. He thought about the stalactite lurker, the high-level stone serpent. This shambler might be the equivalent.

It took another step forward. Nero ducked under one of its arms and brought his clockwork sword with the blade alignment off pointing down on the back of its right knee, shaving the moss cover as the blade slid down the vines. A lot of the vines were exposed. He triggered [Mobile Strike] for one stamina, eleven left and attacked again, this time right against the joint, putting pressure on the blade to make it dig deeper. A few vines were cut off and the shambler trembled but didn't fall. He ran away and for a moment, both combatants were with their backs to one another.

Nero was faster by a good margin. The shambler spun over the right foot, with all its weight on a single leg. He grinned and burned two stamina, nine left. He executed [Dash n' Slash], crossing the distance instantly and aiming at the exposed back of its knee. Mid-movement, the shambler's ability to evade was as good as a tree's. The clockwork sword dug and shaved more vines. He used [Mobile Strike] in tandem, sawing at the same spot a second time. Some vines burst and twisted as they suffered backlash from the tension. The shambler tried to slam Nero but the blow put it off-balance. Nero dodged moving backward and stood face-to-face with the shambler.

He put his weight on the right leg and snapped forward with his left side, punching the off-balance shambler with a [Shield Bash]. The spikes dug into the moss but the force of the blow made the monster flex the back of its knee in an attempt to stay erect. More vines snapped and the shambler fell on his back. Along the way, it punched a tree and snapped the trunk. The monster kicked and flailed around. Nero had no idea how it could get back on its feet.

He ejected the [Warrior] card and swapped it for his very first [Mage] card, the one with only two Skills. He spammed the first one. [Firebolt] after [Firebolt] hit the shambler on the wounded leg, setting it in flames. Nero aimed at the knee until he ran out of mana, then swapped back to [Warrior]. He needed a ranged option that didn't depend on resources. The shambler was made of green vines and moss. A huge plume of smoke rose, obscuring everything around. Nero moved back and stopped to rest. There was nothing he could do. If he went inside the smoke, the shambler might hit him out of nowhere. The monster was thrashing around, trying to stand up or put out the fire. He wasn't sure which was true.

He used that time to rest. Every dozen or so minutes he remained relatively still another point of stamina returned. The crackling of fire stopped and he heard the massive pounding of the shambler moving again. Nero moved back, unwilling to be surprised by something coming out fast from the smoke cloud. He didn't need to worry though. The shambler's leg, although very damaged, was still functional albeit it greatly slowed the shambler. All the moss on the right side and part of the left was gone.

Nero readied himself again and went for the tried and true instant-movement-with-two-attacks combo. He went for the right knee and struck twice. The shambler slipped, kicking forward with a barely attached leg. Nero moved away but like a wrestler, the shambler used his downward momentum to slam the ape-kin Adventurer in the back. Nero was punched forward and fell on the loam, rolling and bruising his limbs. The clockwork sword flew from his hand and fell a good dozen yards away.

Nero groaned, drank two potions, and returned to his feet. This shambler wasn't getting up again, ever. He ejected the [Warrior] and equipped the [Mana Bolt] [Mage]. Burning a gray card to get mana, he retrieved and sheathed his sword and walked around until he had a good view of the monster's head. He fired away. Twenty shots later, the head was a mess of pulped vine. White sap leaked from a score of holes his spells created. Finally, light shone along its body.

When the shambler vanished entirely, Nero saw the back of a card and a gleaming red crystal. He happily scooped both, turning the card around to see what it was. He took a step back. Blue background with a dark violet border in the forest twilight, it was a dream came true.

[Double Tap] - purple - Requires ranged physical Skill. Requires Dexterity +5. Requires Agility +5

+4 Strength

+4 Agility

+4 Dexterity

+4 Willpower

"Try it while [Juggling] kegs of ale. Only then you'll know the true meaning of double tap."

Effect: When using a physical ranged Skill, 50% chance of duplicating the item thrown and triggering the Skill twice at no additional cost.

Nero couldn't hold his excitement. He stashed the card with the other Skills he wanted to use with his builds and measured the crystal. One thousand, four hundred and forty Essence. A level twelve monster.

He forgot he had a quota of Essence to meet and wasn't even halfway through. He had to go back.

Nero [0/0]

Strength: +7 (+10 clockwork blade, +8 clockwork shield)

Vigor +7 (+11 Brigandine[1], amulet[3])

Endurance +7 (+8 Muffler)

Agility +11 (+12 Elven Boots)

Dexterity +4 (+7 Amulet, +8 inside a Dungeon, Goggles)

Reason +8 (+12 Clock[1], Amulet[3])

Willpower +6 (+9 Amulet)

Perception +4 (+7 Amulet, +9 inside a Dungeon, Goggles)

Charisma +8

Class: [Jester]

- Special: Ignores tier I Class level requirement.

- Special: The Jester has no Skill Slots.

- Special: Allows the Jester to equip and unequip a tier I Class and Skills to bind to that particular Class. All Attribute bonuses are halved while the Class is equipped. A Class card is bound to the Jester upon activation.

- Special: No Class information will be displayed or shown.

Equipment: [Rending Clockwork Blade of Regrowth +1], [Self-Cleaning Brigandine of Regrowth], [Dungeon Goggles], [Elven Boots], [Hot Muffler], [Dungeon Clock], [Spiked Clockwork Shield of Regrowth +1], [Apprentice's Amulet +2]

Altia [Chemist 4/179]

Strength +2

Vigor +10

Endurance +5

Agility +5

Dexterity +7

Reason +3

Willpower +8

Perception +3

Charisma +10

Chemist:

- Special: All your beneficial combat consumables restore a little more of all resources.

- Special: You use 20% fewer ingredients with Alchemy.

- [Potion Toss] - Allows the use of beneficial combat consumables on others at a range of Dexterity / 2 yards.

- [Quickbrew] - The act of brewing alchemical concoctions or activating combat consumable cards requires 30% less time.

- [Empower Potion] - The effects of beneficial combat consumables and the speed of their effects is increased by 20%.

- [Cure Wounds] - Allows the user to heal wounds for 1 Mana. Healing based on Reason and Charisma.

- [Magic Arrow] - Allows the user to summon and shoot a physical arrow for 1 Mana, dealing damage based on Reason and Willpower. This spell does not ignore armor.

- Empty Skill Slot

Equipment: [Self-Cleaning Brigandine of Regrowth], [Elven Boots], [Hot Muffler], [Dungeon Clock], [Iron Staff]