The crunching of branches and dead leaves could be heard in the darkening forest, the last light of sunset slowly disappearing into the night.

 

16 skeletons were walking in formation as they dragged along several unconscious animals, at the front of the bony group was a transparent figure and a woman in black armor, her fiery hair blowing in the cool evening wind.

 

"Good job finding that bear den Marion." Charlotte said as she stretched lazily.

 

Behind them were 4 bears, one mother and three cubs. The mother had a bloody head, though it's breathing was clearly strained, it would not last the night. The 3 bear cubs were being held tightly by a skeleton each, clearly frightened, though they had no strength to break free.

 

Marion nodded her head smilingly.

 

She had recently learned the ins and outs of what a dungeon was from Charlotte. When she heard her great pope had become one of the fabled dungeon lords, she was absolutely overjoyed. With this new power, her and Nero's shared dream would no longer be an illusion.

 

"Ahh.. I'm tired." Charlotte muttered under her breath.

 

Rubbing her tired eyes she thought. "After working so hard to catch these damn beasts, I deserve a little compensation...I'll ask Nero to build a room. I'm sick of sleeping on the cold ground."

 

Charlotte's eyes wandered to her chest, she pulled the collar of her armor aside and a stench of body odor and sweat stung her nose. "Augh! I haven't had a bath in over a week!"

 

Gagging a little, she sighed. "I'll bathe tomorrow, the nearby river should do."

 

The group continued until the reached Nero's dungeon. Some of the nearby shrubs had been removed clearing the area. Just outside the cave was a pit about 2 meters wide and a meter deep. Black smoke was wafting out from the pit, leaving the smell of ash and burnt meat in the air.

 

Nero was sitting inside of the cave entrance with a campfire in front of him. He was roasting a leg of venison over the fire carefully.

 

"We're back." Charlotte shouted as she and the group neared the cave.

 

"Good, good! It looks like you had a significant haul." Nero remarked energetically as his eyes observed the animals being dragged by the skeletons.

 

Including the 4 bears which were worth 15 soul points each, there were 6 deer's and 5 wolves, both of which were worth 10 soul points each. This all added up to a 170 soul points which when combined with his remaining soul points was 230.

 

The previous haul earlier in the day netted 7 deer which he used to buy 12 more skeletons.

 

"Now I can begin renovating my dungeon." Nero stroked his chin.

 

Charlotte walked over to the campfire and took a piece of venison off of the roasting stick. She threw it into her mouth, savoring the flavor.

 

She looked towards Nero and asked. "Could you build me a room somewhere? Doesn't have to be fancy...I just need a place to sleep other than the ground."

 

"Fear not Charlotte, I'm not someone who would intentionally subject you to a life in such squalor." Nero chuckled and added. "When I have some soul points to spare, I'll make you not just a room, but a house worthy of your status."

 

"I'll believe it when I see it." Charlotte raised her brow skeptically.

 

Meanwhile, Marion ordered the skeletons to kill the captured animals.

 

They took each animal into the cave and killed it mercilessly with the hammer that one of the bandits left behind. It was an excellent tool to use for the task since it wouldn't go blunt like a blade would.

 

When an animal was killed, it was thrown into the nearby pit which was stacked full of scarlet red charred wood. It was being used as a crude means of cremation as Nero had no use for the excess of dead animal corpses since it actually cost soul points to remove them from the dungeon.

 

He currently had no way of turning them into undead yet so leaving them to rot in his cave was not something he would tolerate, throwing them out of the cave would also leave an unpleasant smell so that was a no go. He much agreed with charlottes suggestion of burning the corpses.

 

When the last animal was killed and he felt the final influx of soul points, Nero took out his grimoire and flipped to the dungeon upgrades page.

 

 

He turned to the floors page. As Nero had already investigated the various contents of his grimoire, he already knew where to start.

 

Nero's eyes dimmed as he sighed. "So many options...so little soul points.."

 

He felt particularly poor at the moment with his pitiful 230 soul points. Although it was enough to comfortably buy a new floor and have a bit of change left, the available choices did leave him wanting.

 

Currently, Nero's dungeon consisted of only two floors. From the entrance, a 54 meter tunnel led downwards to the first floor which was about 37 square meters in size with a height of 4 meters. It was the floor where the 3 bandits were dispatched.

 

Next a 42 meter tunnel led down to his final floor which was 26 square meters in size with a height of 3 meters. It was the current residence of Nero, Charlotte and Marion, though it was a bit small.

 

"Lets start with a new floor." Nero chose a small straight connecting tunnel and a small dungeon floor. With just those two purchases, his total pool of soul points went down by 100, after which the dungeon began to shake.

 

Charlotte had felt the ground shaking, though she ignored it and continued to fill her belly. She already had an idea of what was happening and was not too concerned, though Marion was in a state of confusion as to what was causing the disturbance.

 

Closing his eyes, Nero could see everything that was happening in his dungeon. It was an odd experience to him, as if he had countless eyes looking at every inch of his dungeon. 

 

He saw the rocks below being pulverized into atoms before disappearing in a red light, forming a new tunnel and floor. Both of which were perfectly in line with the descriptions of his grimoire both in size and appearance, unlike the rest of his dungeon which was formed naturally.

 

With the new floor added, Nero's gaze lingered on the traps section with a hint of longing in his eyes. "Too expensive, a shame.." He lamented inwardly.

 

He cleared his mind of distracting thoughts and flipped to the undead page. After pondering on what to buy, Nero decided on the ghoul.

 

"Bring them." Nero said to some nearby skeletons who quickly ran with clanking sounds into the darkness of the dungeon.

 

It was several minutes later that they came back dragging 3 bodies, the previous intruders Grog, Bull and Hob. By now, they were in the early stages of decomposition, so the smell wasn't too bad.

 

When the 3 bodies were in front of him, Nero waved his hand over them which spread a green light.

 

The green light stuck to the bodies like glue, eventually causing them to shiver and shake as they underwent some form of transformation.

 

When the light disappeared, Grog, Bull and Hob were now standing with a shocking change of appearance. Their remaining clothes stayed the same except for a little stretching on their taller frames. What was most surprising was the alterations their bodies received.

 

Though their faces kept the same basic traits, they now appeared more sunken and hollow and their bodies had all become lanky and atrophied.

 

The skin that stretched over their bones like a sheet now looked shiny and green, like the slime on the walls of a sewer.

 

Their eyes had lost all signs of their pupils with only the eerie eye whites remaining with a color reminiscent of rancid milk.

 

Lastly, long protruding fangs stuck out from their drooling mouths. Oddly enough, they didn't give off the stench of death or decay, but a faint sickly sweet smell that left one feeling uncomfortable.

 

Nero couldn't help but let out a cackle. "We have grown stronger yet again my lovely Marion.. look at these new children. Aren't they vicious?"

 

Marion couldn't help but nod her ghostly head in wonder.

 

Charlotte felt something else entirely, a sense of danger. "If those 3 worked together and caught me off guard... " She shivered at the thought.

 

 

                                                                                      **********

 

 

22 miles west of Nero's dungeon, a group of seven figures cloaked in black robes traverses the dense pitch black forest at an unchanging pace.

 

Their breaths were steady and their eyes which were hidden beneath their hoods were alert. It didn't seem like traveling constantly for a over a day had left any noticeable mark upon their stamina reserves.

 

"How much longer?" A soft feminine voice asked from the back of the group.

 

"Another day at most." The leading robed figure replied with a firm voice.

 

"Good. Those little shits better pray that they're dead. Making Reaver send us on this goose chase out in the sticks... if I get my hands on them, I'll skin them alive." One of the figures in the middle of the group spat with a cruel tone.

 

"That's stupid and inefficient." The soft female voice commented.

 

"We don't got time for that, just cut off a few limbs and be done with it. I don't want another scolding from the boss for being late again." An old voice said sternly.

 

"A bunch of hard-asses. No fun at all." The cruel voice remarked, a hint of disappoint in his voice.

 

"We don't get paid for fun.. you're a crow, remember that." The leading voice said.

 

Nothing more was said apart from a low grumble of displeasure. The group continued on silently towards their destination with a focus more commonly seen in professionals.