When I accepted this quest, I thought that we would have a carte blanche and we would be able to penetrate the underground as we deemed necessary. But all I've been doing is following orders which I must obey. I'm an adventurer, not a soldier. I'm not pleased and it seems my team isn't either. I can't say that I'm not happy with how the plot is developing though. In fact, it's interesting and soon everything will unravel. I can't help but feel excited. Standing at the front of death's door… in front of the complete unknown. I've never experienced this kind of looming anxiety before. Despite my worries, I'm thrilled to be down here.

My goal for now is to gather as much information as possible and level up the faster. I'm sure this battle will make me stronger.

"We need to talk," I tell Alexander as I grab him by his wrist and bring him closer to me so that neither our leader nor the Black Knight will hear us.

Alexander pulls his hand and releases his wrist from my grip. He's blushing for some unknown reason. "What do you want? Just let me be, I've had enough of this and your stupid wager."

"Are you still thinking about the stupid wager?" I ask him with a faint grin. "I would worry more about finishing the quest and leaving this place alive."

Zoe has tagged along as well as the rest of his party. "Alexander we won't even get a chance to get out of here if we don't do something," she growls, angrily tossing glimpses between us and the artificer who's about to open the iron gate.

"Well, this is what we've been ordered to do," Alexander says, but actually looking for a way out of this mess.

"We haven't cooperated as much as we should. Despite that, we've managed to thin out several high-level undead creatures. Something tells me that our leader isn't intending to let us earn the reward the Lord of Tlos dangled in our faces. This is a shitty assignment and you know it!" I almost shout, getting unwanted attention from the artificer and the Black Knight I was trying to avoid. Damn, I should be more careful.

Elektra, Zoe, and Ambrosia second my opinion from where they are standing.

Yes, everyone here is pissed and looking to me for validation. This is probably a test of my leadership and it's my job to make them feel certain. Not only must I make sure we leave this place alive but assure we are not cheated of what they have promised us.

"This quest will likely fail," I whisper to the others. "If we are to succeed, and get stronger, we have to work as a single party to take on the other side of this chamber."

I see that my speech has some impact and helps Alexander and the rest of his party to understand the grievous situation we are in. What fake reassurances they must have had, now fade into thin air.

"Very well, all bets and wagers off," Alexander agrees, his eyes rolling, paired with a long-suffering sigh. "Lead the way, we'll support you till we get back to the surface."

A new pop up notification appears: Make Alexander and his team a Slave Party?

Well, this is something new. I guess this game never ceases to amaze me. Although the name implies that they will become my slaves, reading the details I get from my NCI I understand that a slave party is like a support team, but the difference is that it is bound to your command and you're always in control. If I do accept the invitation, Elektra, Ambrosia, and I will be the Master Party, and Alexander and his members will take the role of the Slave Party.

I accept and immediately a new crown icon appears in my NCI. When I focus on it, a new window appears. I can see my face as an icon. Below me, connected with a line, it's Alexander's face, also represented as an icon. Obviously, this is a hierarchy diagram. Hmm, interesting, this probably means I can expand the hierarchy diagram indefinitely, and my Slave Parties could have their own Slave Parties. Focusing on Alexander's Face Icon, I can now see each party's stats. The advantage when forming a Master and Slave Party relationship is that the Master can have access to each of the Slave Party's member stats. The opposite isn't possible. Also, I can't directly command Alexander's team members. Instead, I have to order Alexander first. Also, the relationship between Master and Slave Party will hold for us as long as both parties are in agreement.

Ambrosia is licking her lips, her eyes glossing over as she looks toward me. I get the feeling she wants to dominate me, drawn to my new title as Master Leader. Suddenly, I feel her arm sliding over my neck. "Great job pet," she whispers, stroking my ear with her nails.

To everyone’s surprise, the mad artificer decides to open the gate doors, ignoring the pleas and threats of my fellow adventurers.

All hell breaks loose!

Undead creatures of all kinds start pouring out: zombies, ghouls, and undead assassins like the ones we fought earlier. Most of these creatures have varying threat levels between 3 and 8. I gulp as another team of undead assassins targets us. The bastard who commands this place has ordered them to take out the higher-level adventurers first, like us. It seems to be the case because they also engage in a battle with the Black Knight and his aide. Unlike me, however, the mysterious Black Knight handles them proficiently and quickly disposes two of them with his two-hander while the warlock girl uses all kinds of spells to buff him.

Reserving my spells for up to this point has proven a wise move. Now it's time I use them and lay waste to my opponents. The first undead creatures to approach me are three Threat Level 5 ghouls and two Threat Level 7 undead assassins. I cast Burning Hands and with my fingers spread, a concentration of a sparkling flame shoots forth from my fingertips. Each of the five undead receives fire damage. I see their total HP bar down to 30 by 50%. Not bad for a single spell.