///YOU HAVE COMPLETED [NAMELESS DUNGEON]

///CHOOSE YOUR REWARDS

///LIGHTNING SCORCHED BRANCH, COMMON

Weapon, 2H. While equipped, allows the user to cast [Lightning Bolt Lv. 3]

///RAGS OF SURVIVING, COMMON

Armor, Robe. While equipped, grants +3 to Endurance

I picked the rags, which materialized in place around me. They were a motley mix of leathers, sewn together in a mix mashed patchwork that wrapped around me. Currently, I possessed sufficient offensive capabilities. The rags were only a secondary prize regardless.

I reached out and plucked the real prize free.

To most scans, the orb of blue appeared to be only centimeters across, a deep blue. My visual sensors, including my cameras, seemed to perceive a hidden depth, as if staring into the little gem was like staring into the ocean. I pocketed it in my new rags, dropping back to all fours to rush out of the dungeon. There would only be a few more hours left before daybreak, so I ran through the forest.

I would have to save the dungeon for later use.

Several historical texts mentioned nurturing dungeons to provide useful resources relevant to the nation, but to do so successfully required labor, materials, and raw life to sacrifice. It would take time to build those things up, but as OFF03 began repairing and deploying the auto-factories and refineries, as well as mines, it would be possible. Of course, that was dependent on those components being in one piece inside of AI615.

Even in the early morning, some of Tobias’s followers sat as sentries, using the bell tower as a watch tower and staring down at me as I entered the town. A quick scan revealed that Tobias was already out of bed, in only a few hours of sleep. I made the mistake of assuming that these genetically altered humans retained most of the same physiological traits— reducing sleep need was a high priority for gene splices.

I found Tobias inside his office, eyes blood shot.

The alchemical reagents that had been hidden in his room were on the table, now, a mix of ingredients piled to one side and lines of glowing, fizzing powder arranged on the desk. Tobias looked my way for only a second as I pushed the door open, before he slammed his head toward the desk and snorted one of the lines.

His back arched, a glow radiating under his skin and spreading out from his nose, lighting up his body as the chemical seeped through— I assumed— the veins in his nose. Tobias’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he shuttered, coming down from the table.

“Gotta get moving.” He said. “Gotta go.”

He snorted the second line of powder, blinking as he looked up at me. Then his face resolved into one of focused intent.

I watched carefully. This drug likely represented a potential threat to Tobias’s health. But would it help if I destroyed it here and now? There were likely withdrawal symptoms. I needed to research those first, and remove the drug.

Tobias was a threat to his own health.

Finally, after staring for a moment, Tobias spoke.

“Offo. We have to go.”

//QUERY: WE ARE SWITCHING LOCATIONS?

That would be unfortunate. If we moved too far from AI615, it would become inconvenient to coordinate with OFF03. Building communications relays could disrupt short term construction plans.

“No. Come with me. We need more bodies.” Tobias nearly leapt to his feet, suddenly full of energy despite only a few hours of sleep. He stuffed the pouch full of reagents and tools, stopping for a brief moment at the book shelf to pull free a tome. Then he nearly bowled past me. I ducked lower to follow him through the door frame. It was still dark outside, wind howling over the flat plains and farmland, whistling as it cut through the town.

Tobias burst into the main hall of the church, his eyes scanning the room. The magical glow of the drug fluctuated in his body, bright enough to be seen through his clothes in the church, which was currently lit only by burning candles. Tobias’s acolytes read through books and took notes, sitting in circles and comparing them.

No matter the hour, there were always some acolytes trying to plunder knowledge from the limited library Tobias possessed.

“Eve.” Tobias pointed to one who wasn’t reading at all. She held a tiny piece of hard tack, trying to break through the ration. Her eyes widened as she looked at Tobias. Her clothes were different than most of the acolytes; they looked almost like a nun’s habit, save for her hair running free. It was wild and unkempt, strawberry blonde pouring over her shoulders, and covering half of her freckle filled face.

“Yes?” She asked.

“Come with me. We need to gather the bodies.”

“I thought you already brought them back?” She looked between me and Tobias. We had pulled back 3 corpses from the Paladins that accosted us in the caves. Contextually I understood there were more.

“There’s a larger pile of bodies. Come.”

“I can go.” Mathias looked up from the side where he sat, redrawing the complex sigil that occupied the center of the church with some strange stick of chalk.

“I need you here, raising the corpses we brought back.” Tobias waved dismissively.

Mathias frowned, but Tobias ended the conversation, turning and walking out of the church.

I followed him around back, where he pulled a tarp free from a wagon. He turned, throwing it in Eve’s direction. She hurried to fold it, a rushed, messy job. Tobias looked between me and the wagon.

“You’re too tall. Too tall…” Tobias whistled, and four of the undead from the barrier around the town began to walk towards us. They were stiff. Robotic, even. They moved like low quality or early models. They began to round the corner, moving from my radar senses to my visual sensors. The bodies were extra rotten, some missing entire arms or having parts of their skull showing.

Eve worked to strap the harnesses of the wagon to the undead walkers, and Tobias climbed into the drivers seat, tapping his foot with obvious anxiety. Eve stepped into the back.

“Are you bringing this one along?” Eve asked, looking at me.