Nero killed scores more moss shamblers as he walked around the forest, trying to find his way back to the glade. The trick was simple but time-consuming. Kill a monster and move in one direction. if the level was lower, you are going in the right direction. Bigger and you backtrack. The same and you are lost. It was mid-afternoon when he found the flowers and before he moved ahead, he swapped to his magic-resistant and absolutely ironic [Mage] build. He still didn't trust Serena completely. He moved across the glade, killing some thorny trippers and moving around the flower field until he found the campsite. He then made a beeline and after another ten minutes, he was back.

Altia and Serena were brewing potions. His wife would have to convert the barrel of water she summoned into a potion barrel soon. She used 20% fewer materials to brew the same amount of potion and each batch finished brewing 30% faster. Nero stopped a few yards from the campsite and gave the women time to notice him. Serena was afraid of men and Altia could ruin a batch by being distracted or startled. Once Serena waved at him and Altia raised her head, he approached.

"Well, look at the time! You were supposed to be back for lunch!" Altia scolded him. "We had to eat herb salad. Without dressing!"

Nero shrugged. "Well, sorry. There was this huge shambler, he wanted to stomp me. I had to kill it."

Altia frowned. "Did you use fire?"

"Actually yes, how did you know?"

Serena silently pointed at a cloud of dark smoke rising from the forest. Nero's first thought was, That is south of here, I came in from the east...

The Princess looked impressed. She put her hands on her hips and asked, "You actually killed the Stomping Shambler? The lieutenant boss of the Dungeon?"

"Was that a boss?"

"Lieutenant boss. A sub-boss. Intermediate boss. Mini-boss. There are several terms."

Nero tried to remember his parents' teachings. They never mentioned anything like that. "I never heard about it."

"They are rare. It takes a long time for one to spawn. Dungeons that are cleared every day have little chance to spawn one. But this one that is almost upgrading to legendary? Yes. I met this guy in the woods a few times but he's almost immune to my [Charm]."

"Well, he was less immune to fire and my [Clockwork Sword]," He bragged.

"You made me chew weeds, husband," Altia shifted the subject to what was really important. "I hope you gathered the required Essence."

"Sorry. I didn't. The Shamblers are too tough. It takes time to saw through them. But would you care to know what the Stomping Shambler dropped? I had to go through a ton of cards, and unfortunately, you won't be able to equip your blue [Double Tap] anymore."

Altia dropped the test tube she was holding. It didn't break on the grass but spilled its contents. "You burned my card for mana?" She shouted.

"Oh, whoa! Hold it there. I didn't say that" He smiled. "I said, 'do you want to see the drops' and 'you won't equip your BLUE [Double Tap] anymore'. What did you hear?"

Serena put a hand on Altia's shoulder. "I think you should make him show you the drops first."

Altia breathed heavily, trying to control her nerves. "Cards on the table, mister."

Nero opened a pouch and removed two cards but making it seem there were two. It was facing him and he confirmed the title and color. He extended it, face down, to Altia. She took the card and read it. "That's the card your mother gave me. What's wrong?"

"Oh, what a blunder of mine!" He flourished. "I drew too many cards, you should look at the other one."

Altia pulled and pushed to make the cards slide. She saw the border color and squealed. Then she saw the title. "Nero!" She jumped up and down.

Serena read the card over Altia's shoulders and sighed. "That's not the best card for her build."

"Look, princess," Nero spoke firmly. "We are country bumpkins from a village in the middle of nowhere. Half of the kids had to use white cards for their first builds because there was nothing better. We scoured Honeywitch for cards and we did the best we could to get Altia a blue Class and some decent green Skills. My mom bought her that blue card and trust me if that blue was what mom found, it was the best there was for her build. Now, you saw both cards. For someone that doesn't have a whole nation farming cards for them, between the blue or the purple [Double Tap], which one you'd use?"

"The epic one, of course."

They both lost sight of Altia. When she spoke next, they turned around to see the [Chemist] activating the Skill.

"Yes, the purple one. Of course. Thanks, Nero. You are forgiven."

She got weak on the legs for the sudden influx of power. Nero tried to use [Dash n' Slash] but the Skill wasn't active. What he achieved was curious. Used to the effects of the Skill, he tripped and faceplanted on the grass. Altia fell on her butt.

Serena chuckled. "That was an epic rescue, indeed."

Altia also laughed. She couldn't stop thinking it was because of Nero's Class, [Jester]. She stood up and checked her status. Happy and just because the novice [Chemist] had a ton of low-quality potion to use, she spammed [Potion Toss] on everyone, counting how many times it doubled. About half as expected, but what she didn't expect was the shower of potion vials on the ground. She opened one of the large potion pouches on her belt, capable of storing two rows of twelve vials. All of them were there, empty from her Skill. She sighed.

"It seems my new Skill lets me make vials out of nowhere."

Nero stood up, completely refreshed, physically and mentally. "From the Dungeon's ambient Essence. The vials will vanish once the Dungeon resets or if we try to take them out of here. Until there, they are good to go."

Serena was just watching the couple's dynamics. Nero noticed her attention and walked around her, keeping a respectable distance, until the folding table they were using for meals.

"I need to return your cards, your Highness. I know you don't want me nowhere near you, so I'll put them here on the table."

He unfolded his card handkerchief on the table and removed all of Serena's cards. She took two steps closer and stopped.

"You only need to return the epic Skills. The others are... Would you trade them for food Consumable cards?"

"Yes, I think. Sit down, let's trade cards. I noticed you have an awful lot of Skills."

Serena steeled herself and slowly took her seat. Her eyes were nervously following Nero's hands as if they were venomous snakes. Altia went back to her brewing, happy she could now duplicate vials.

"All of them locally harvested if you believe me, Nero."

"Is this Dungeon's specialty Skills?"

"I'm afraid it is," She replied gripping the seat of the chair.

Nero slowly slid his chair back. He stood up. There were two decks on the table. "Princess, I won't have you suffer my presence. We brought enough food and drinks for three months between me and my wife. I left a third of our food cards on the table. Please review both piles and tell me if it is a fair trade."

Nero knew it wasn't. Serena's cards had lots of green Skills and even a few blues. He was sure she was about to give the cards to him before and then changed her mind. The Princess didn't even look at the piles.

"Throw in three hundred thousand Essence and it is a deal."

Nero looked at her. She was smiling, sitting on the folding chair as if it were a throne. Princess indeed.

"I'll have to pay you in installments. I only have a hundred thousand here with me."

Nero approached and dumped the Essence crystals he farmed during the day, including the one from the Stomping Shambler. Serena's eyes went wild. "It cannot be. You are not lying. Impossible."

It was Altia that reacted first. "What is wrong, Serena?"

"The crystals your husband claims to have obtained in this Dungeon. They are too pure. Look at this," She picked exactly the one from the sub-boss. She pressed it against the screen of her Arbitrium. "One thousand and forty-four tens!" She exclaimed. "It is impossible this crystal came from a tier I Dungeon."

"Serena..." Altia called the Princess but the nereid was busy doing math.

"But this Dungeon is undergoing evolution. The Stomping Shambler could very well be level twelve, maybe sixteen, but not twenty-four, and the Essence yield..."

Calculating Essence yields for monsters was easy if you knew the level of the monster and the levels of the people that killed the monster. Doing the opposite backward from just the result of the former calculation was way harder. Especially when Serena could only guess at Nero's level. Without paper to write on, she soon lost control of the numbers. All she knew was that the man in front of her was no ordinary peasant.

"Who are you, Mr. Nero? What are you? This Crystal has Essence that amounts to twelve times twelve. It means the lieutenant boss' level and your level was one of these combinations... Wait, I know.

"The boss' was level twenty-four and you are level four. There's no way a level four peasant that struggled to get his bride two blue cards would be powerful enough to kill a lieutenant boss level twenty-four. Especially because he also dropped an epic card. The Stomping Shambler was at least rare or super-rare.

"No. If you were level five, it doesn't work either. The only other combination possible was if the Stomping Shambler was a level twelve and you were level zero. But I've seen you use Skills. You obviously have a Class."

Serena looked up and met Nero eye-to-eye. The terror in the princess's eyes felt like a thousand needles piercing the young ape-kin's heart.

"Who are you, Nero. What are you? You resisted my [Charm]. You were sure you'd resist it. [Tower of Iron Will]? No, that's tier-III. Nero, please answer me. Are you Royalty? Can you deceive my [Sense Motive] as well?"

The young Adventurer looked at his wife, looking for guidance. He was impressed by Serena's mathematical ability. She nailed Nero's level, she even narrowed it down to two possibilities. The reason she was almost losing control of her bladder was obvious. If Nero was Royalty, he was here for her and everything was a deception. Her base instincts were screaming for her to either flee or fight.

"Serena, please calm down. I'm going to put my weapon on the ground. And now I am going to back off," he did as he said. "This distance is far enough. You made three guesses. I'll tell you two of them are wrong. I am not Royalty, and my level is not four. The Stomping Shambler was level twelve."

She shook her head. "Liar. You can't be level zero."

Altia coughed.

"Princess, we are subjects of King Zander. By aiding you, a fugitive, even though you were dragged here in the most despicable way, we committed treason. You only need to denounce us and we are dead. Your country is about to invade the province we hail from, and I don't know if my people will survive the war. My parents will fight to defend our home but while they are strong they are no match for armies or a country's militia.

"I cannot reveal more of my secrets to you. And no, I cannot fool your [Sense Motive]."

Serena was silently shedding tears. She nodded. "I understand. It is a matter of trust. You show wisdom beyond your years by not putting blind trust in me. You weighed the choices and you are indeed in a precarious situation. You don't have [Sense Motive] and my Class and Attributes do not help make suspicious people less suspicious. This build was forced on me to make me excel in manipulation, after all."

She stood up. Serena walked around the table and picked up the sheathed [Clockwork Sword]. She extended it to Nero, hilt first. The nereid pressed the tip of the hilt on her stomach and walked forward until she was two paces away from Nero. Not once her eyes avoided his. The princess extended her left hand and pointed at the sky. She used [Holy Bolt], firing away. Forty-five times. When the last [Holy Bolt vanished at the end of her range, she knelt but kept the hilt of the sword at the same height. Her forehead was touching the sheath now.

"Nero. I lost my virtue. I am no longer a Princess, only a shade of my former self. My family wants me a martyr so my people will murder yours. My enemies want me a hostage so they can humiliate my country. Here I am, powerless at your feet. I pledge myself to your service if you would have me. All I ask is a safe place to rest and food. If you would not have me, please grant me a painless death.

"I cannot go on like this. I'm a prisoner in this Dungeon. I spent months here. Most of the time, twenty-four hours wasn't enough to get the required Essence. I was alone. I was going crazy. I know words mean nothing and there's no better liar than a King."

Silence. The gravity of Serena's words were too much for the young couple. Altia was crying, her face told Nero what he needed to know. Serena and Altia bonded. They were friends. It could be that Altia was under the effects of [Charm]. The spiral of paranoia would go on forever. Nero was not a person fond of what-ifs. Serena was spoiled like every other royal scion. But he didn't believe the woman uncomfortably kneeling and trembling next to him was a manipulative and conniving monster. Nero knew he would need years of farming Accolades to reach the level of the knights and even then he would not have higher-tier Skills.

He made a decision. He took his sword from her hands and moved a step back.

"Serena. Your level cap is three hundred and twenty-six, right?" She nodded. "That's what? The second highest in all history?"

"Fourth. There was [Dragonslayer] Randy at three hundred and forty-six. [Grand Sage] Alvus, three hundred and thirty-nine. And finally, [Beggar] Julius whose actual level and cap was three hundred and thirty-one."

"Well, I am the opposite of all these. And I'll swear to you that nobody will ever have a level lower than mine."

Serena looked up. She couldn't believe. "Impossible!"

"They call me Nero Zero."

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 +6

Vigor +10

Endurance +5

Agility +9

Dexterity +11

Reason +3

Willpower +12

Perception +3

Charisma +10

Class: [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.

- [Double Tap] - When using a physical ranged Skill, 50% chance of duplicating the item thrown and triggering the Skill twice at no additional cost.

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