Entering "The Goblin's Den" - Rank-I Dungeon.

A wave of nostalgia hit them when they found himself in the same cave as before.

"Here we are again," Nero exhaled.

"Did you hear that?" Altia asked.

"What?" Nero focused. He was hearing sounds of combat. Shouts and metal hitting bone. Or stone.

He changed into [Archer] and boosted his Agility with a bean. Activating the first stage of [Cougar's Speed], he moved down the tunnel in the direction of the noise. Prudence told him to avoid whoever was there, but it was late and nobody should be inside the Dungeon. If they were going to clear the boss, they couldn't be ambushed by this third party. They had to know. As they approached, voices could be heard.

"Goddamit! Why did you bring a train back to us, private Idango? You should've died there!"

"Antidote! I've been bitten!"

"Get this crawler away from me!"

From the looks of it, it was a mess of a situation. If there were crawlers and serpents in the rat tunnels, that party of novices was doomed. Nero changed to his fire mage build and summoned flames. He couldn't get a lot of them because the tunnels were narrow and the flames generated heat. He put thirty of them ahead of him, made sure his rifle was loaded and moved down the tunnel.

"Light coming up the tunnel!" Someone warned as the flames approached.

"Focus on the fight ahead of you!"

Nero stopped. If these Adventurers did not ask help, he shouldn't interfere. He kept his flames ready and paused. The fight was dying down. Groans of pain and crying followed.

"Let's move away. They don't need us," Nero said.

He knew Altia would like to heal them but a Dungeon was not a place to be soft. These Adventurers were on their own.

They moved on the tunnels, killing some rats and getting a feel of the Dungeon. The rodents were stronger and more abundant than before, their levels ranging from one to six and fights where they found four or six rats weren't uncommon. It was a bad sign but they still died to a single shot from Nero's rifle and four or five flames as Nero was forced to remain in his fire mage build. They found the first [Egress] card easily. A few hours later, they were ready to move down the serpent tunnel.

Nero scouted ahead but felt noise coming from a side tunnel. A group of seven people of mixed races appeared. They all wore a military uniform and mail armor.

"What do we have here? Two local lovebirds on a date?" One of them mocked.

Nero recognized the voice. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Altia had her whip ready.

"We want no trouble. Just delving here," Nero replied.

"Well, this Dungeon is under lockdown. You are trespassing. Surrender your cards and we'll let you go," He said. "The army needs supply cards."

Nero knew it was bullshit. His parents would've warned. These guys could be here under orders from the army or the knights, but they weren't being honest. Their uniforms had several holes and blood all over them. They also looked tired.

"How long are you in here?" Nero asked.

There was one thing he needed to know. Whether these guys had or not a [Egress] card. Given they were having trouble fighting even in this large group spoke of their ability.

"Ever since this morning. We've fighting tons of rats," Their leader said.

At least that much was true.

"Well, you seem to be well off. We'll be on our way that way," Nero pointed at the serpent tunnel.

There was a moment of tension, where the body language of the leader screamed he wanted to attack them. Altia played with her whip and Nero checked the barrel of his gun, completely unaffected by the presence of the soldiers. He finally gave up, apparently understanding that the couple in front of them was stronger.

"Well, good luck," Nero nodded and made Altia go ahead.

After she entered the serpent tunnel, he walked backward, his gun still pointing in the general direction of the soldiers. A few minutes of progress through the serpent tunnels, they paused.

"What was that?" She asked.

"I have no idea. But the military might've tasked these guys with farming supplies. They won't last long if they can't even handle the rats. Let's keep going."

They walked and killed a group of three serpents. After they finished looting the serpents and obtained the second [Egress], altia screamed. Nero pivoted and saw one of the soldiers, a knife covered in blood twisting Altia's arm behind her. He'd stabbed her back and now was threatening to cut her throat.

"Drop the gun or the girl gets it!" The [Rogue] threatened.

"Nero, remember our first agreement," Altia said.

"Yeah. I do," He raised his gun and pointed it to her stomach. "Goodbye, wife."

"HA! You are callous. Going to kill the missus so I don't get it? So funny!"

"Shut up. Let me say goodbye to her!" Nero roared.

"See you on the other side," She said. "[Egress]!"

*POW*

Nero shot, using four points of [Empower Attack] just as Altia vanished. 'Always keep [Egress] slotted. The first card always goes to you,' was their first agreement. She would use potions to heal herself and Glom was waiting outside. But now he couldn't worry about her. Nero had a grudge to settle.

The rogue was caught by surprise and couldn't even react before he died, his stomach blown and fried by the energized bullet. Nero looted him and changed to his enemy detection [Rogue] build. It was time to hunt.

First seen in Chapter XLIII:

[Rogue] - bound to Nero

Dexterity [+1]

Perception [+4]

- [Dangersense] - You have a chance to sense danger and hostile intent near you. The range is Perception x 2 yards.

- [Sense Enemy] - Spend 1 point of stamina to actively sense hostile intent around you. The range is Perception x 10 yards.

- [Heightened Senses] - Increase the range and acuity of all senses by 50%.

- [Simple Illusion] - Spend 3 mana to cast a static visual illusion with a maximum area of Reason / 2 yards radius. Resisted by Perception versus your Willpower. Lasts for 24 hours or until you use this Skill again. Dismissable.

- [Decrease Presence] - As long as you move at less than half of your walking speed, reduce the Perception of people looking your way by a fourth of your Dexterity.

- [Zone of Peace] - Spend [4 or the Dungeon's rank, whichever is higher] mana to generate a zone of peace centered on you that extends the no-spawn zone by Willpower x 5 yards of radius. Dungeon monsters can't spawn in this zone. Your mana regeneration is zero. The effect ends if you move more than 10 yards from the center of the area. Dismissable.

It was all made out of white cards. The build didn't have good Attribute bonuses but he wouldn't waste time upgrading that build even though he had the cards. What he wanted from the old build were the senses and the stealth.

He crept back to the rat tunnel. They didn't cross any intersection so the other soldiers should be waiting for the rogue to return. Truly enough, [Sense Enemy] detected them before he had a line of sight. Nero snuck and peeked down a bend in the tunnel. The dim glow of the Dungeon was to his advantage now. They didn't see him and two serpents respawned between them. He braced the rifle against a wall and aimed at the head of the leader. He couldn't use [Empower Attack] but didn't need it. The rogue was blown through the metallic mail armor.

He breathed out and pulled the trigger. The leader never knew what hit him. He kept shooting as fast as he could, killing two others and injuring another two. Only one of them was standing. He ran away. Nero reloaded and finished the ones on the ground, then the serpents in the sand. He ran after the last soldier, sensing the presence of rats ahead. His improved Agility allowed him to catch up easily. The soldier found two rats. He held his sword and was hedging the rats, wary of Nero's presence.

"Stay away! Attacking soldiers is an act of treason!" The trembling private shouted.

"Yes, if we were on Bast. Dungeons are lawless places. You assholes had to hurt my wife, didn't you?"

"I had nothing to do with that! It was the sergeant's idea! I was just following orders!"

The rats attacked him. Nero kept his gun ready and let him fight. He killed the first rat and was bitten in the leg. The soldier fell down and the rat crawled over him, attempting to bite a vital spot and earn his meal. The private drew a dagger and stabbed the neck of the rat several times until the monster died.

"Potion, potion..." He drew a card from his bandolier. Nero shot his right hand, destroying the card. "Fuck!" He cursed and screamed in pain. "Please, have mercy!"

"The time for mercy is over," Nero said, disgusted. "Goodbye."

A few minutes later, he had all of their cards and loot. Nero wanted to go outside and confirm Altia was safe but Glom was there. She wasn't incapacitated when she teleported out and had potions ready. If he left now, he wouldn't come back before midnight. If professional soldiers were having trouble navigating the Dungeon, the novices wouldn't stand a chance. It was time to meet an old 'friend'.

He didn't take chances. Alone, Nero moved carefully, taking his time to kill the monsters as far away as he could. The cards from the soldiers were used to fuel his mana. Three hours later, he found the entrance to the boss room. Nero sat on the black tunnel of the creepy crawler zone and took his cards. He needed a new [Rogue] build.

[Rogue] - yellow - bound to Nero

Vigor [+2]

Endurance [+3]

Agility [+7]

Dexterity [+7]

Reason [+5]

Perception [+7]

Special: Add half your Reason to your Perception.

Special: Attacks made on targets unaware of your presence add half your Reason to the precision and damage.

Special: Your scent or the smell of any item on you is reduced. Subtract your Charisma from the Perception of targets attempting to detect or track you by scent.

- [Dangersense] - You have a passive chance to sense danger and hostile intent if the source is less than Perception x 4 yards away from you, based on Reason.

- [Heightened Senses] - Increase the range and acuity of all senses by 40% and your Perception by 4%.

- [Decrease Presence] - As long as you move at less than half of your walking speed, reduce the Perception of targets attempting to sense you by a third of your Dexterity.

- [Invisibility] - Spend 1 mana. You become invisible for 5 minutes or until you attack. Reduce the Perception of targets attempting to detect you with visual means by your Willpower. You cause a slight blur when you move, reducing the Willpower for the effects of this spell by the percentage of your max speed.

- [Snipe] - Spend 1 stamina and aim for one minute. Your next ranged physical attack on an enemy unaware of you deal double damage and ignore 25% of their defenses.

- [Piercing Shot] - Effect: Spend (3 or Target's level / 5 whichever is higher) stamina and charge for 1 minute to allow one physical ranged attack to ignore up to 33% of the target's defenses, reduced by half the target's Vigor. The shot's accuracy also increases by half your Willpower.

Nero activated [Invisibility] and crept inside the boss room. The doors came down, closing all exits. The two stealth skills would reduce the goblin's effective Perception by more than thirty points. Nero soon found the red haze of the hidden enemy less than ten yards away.

"Where are you, little hero?" The greenskin taunted. "I'll find you and kill you."

Nero aimed and prepared [Snipe], then charged [Piercing Shot]. He aimed at the goblin's head and when he was sure to hit, fired the shot.

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

For defeating a foe eighteen times your level, you gained +4 Dexterity

He looted the boss' drops, an Essence crystal worth more than three thousand and a consumable card.

[Under-miner's Clam Chowder] - yellow consumable - Food.

"A staple of goblin cuisine from the southern desert, this recipe is forever lost due to a cataclysm."

Effect: Summon a large bowl of Undermine Clam Chowder good for ten servings.

He took the [Egress] card and teleported back to the entrance chamber, without leaving the Dungeon. He changed to [Warrior], swapped his shield for the spiked one, and drew his sword. He could go slow or fast, both had their merits and drawbacks. Slow would give him time to worry about Altia's safety.

With a scream, Nero ran down a tunnel, ramming the rats with his shield or cutting them with the sword. He didn't stop to pick up drops. He reached the sands ten minutes later and walked. Running on sand would sap all his strength. The serpents were either crushed between the shield and the wall or bisected. Nero collected the drops and kept going deeper, following the tunnel. At the creepy crawlers, he found that his improved Strength made quick work of the formerly strong monsters, even if they had a few levels' worth of boost due to the Dungeon situation.

He stopped before the boss room, ninety minutes after he started. The spawn rate of the monsters sharply decreased after the first death. His sudden respawn Skill probably forced the Dungeon to spend its reserves faster as it didn't have time to absorb energy and respawn things slowly. After he rested a bit, Nero repeated the same thing and got his second Goblin kill.

Nero repeated the same thing ten times. He received three Accolades from normal monsters and another for killing the goblin at the blue grade on the fifth kill. Three points of Endurance, two of Strength. He returned to the entrance and withdrew to his shelter. He took a bath and slept, returning to the Dungeon as a [Monster Tamer] after that, with the badgers in battle form.

He found that the tunnel structure didn't change. As he took the same path, the crystals and cards remained on the ground. He commanded Maria and Bruce to pick them up while he killed the weakened monsters.

"I should give them some way to store the drops instead of bringing them to me. A project for later."

He farmed the goblin five times after that. By then, the seven hours required for the Class ability activate elapsed and the badgers gained a fifth of Nero's Attributes. With that, the badgers were stronger than even the crawlers. He changed his strategy, sending the badgers ahead killing everything and collecting the drops himself. At the goblin's room, he shot the greenskin boss without any Skills, doing some damage but without killing him outright. The goblin came out of stealth and immediately used [Smoke Bomb] to hide. The Dungeon boss would learn about another weakness of his. Stealth only fooled sight and hearing. The badgers were hot on his heels, following his scent. It wasn't pretty but at least he was clean.

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

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

The message was all Nero wanted to know. The boss was gray and down to level five. It meant the novices would be safe and that his task was done, it was time to go back to the surface and ease his worries.

Nero [ Jester 0/0]

Strength +39

Vigor +50

Endurance +40

Agility +36

Dexterity +44

Reason +29

Willpower +38

Perception +25

Charisma +21

* Attribute values with equipment but without Class bonuses or temporary buffs.