The sun rose. The lack of insects or birds gave no clue to the hour of the day but the light shining on the tent canvas woke the couple. Nero yawned and Altia stirred, tossing an arm around his chest and pulling him tighter. He scanned the surroundings with his [Rogue] Skill but found nothing out of ordinary. So he hugged his wife back and stayed there, eyes closed, enjoying the company and the warmth.

It wasn't a place for leisure but didn't dragons bathe in lava? Some did, legends said. The Dungeon was dangerous but this one, in particular, didn't induce such feelings. The sun warmed up the day and finally, the couple decided to leave the tent before it became an oven.

"Good morning, my love," Altia kissed him.

"Yes, good morning. Shall we go to work? Won't you brew potions today?"

"Yes, a lot. And it is getting too damn hot in here."

Nero snorted but didn't deliver the punchline. He climbed out of the tent and stretched, not a care in the world. He scanned around again, both with his Skill and his eyes and found nothing. From inside the tent, Altia reproached him.

"Don't stand there naked!"

"Okay."

He donned his clothes and equipment slowly. The air was fresh and carried the subtle scent of the flowers. He really wanted this to be the Dungeon near home. The plants didn't even bleed! After a quarter of an hour, Altia left the tent, fully dressed. Nero looked at her with disappointment written on his face.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing. We are alone here."

She opened her arms and pointed around. "No. You, me, and the monsters."

They don't count, he wanted to reply but kept his silence. "I'm switching to [Mage] and hunting a bit. I want to exercise before I get some Accolade."

"I'll be here. Good hunting."

Nero ejected the [Rogue] card with black and white diagonal stripes along the borders he equipped for the night. Altia was right. This section of the Dungeon was safe but you could never be sure.

[Rogue] - white - bound to Nero

Dexterity +2 (+1)

Perception +8 (+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.

The [Rogue] Skills gave him a passive detection range of thirty-nine yards and [Heightened Senses] improved the chance of detection for [Dangersense]. [Sense Enemy]'s range was almost two hundred yards. Monsters wouldn't spawn around them anyway, but this range was extended by forty yards more while they stayed inside the tent. And he hid the tent and luggage in an illusion of a taller mound. Anyone looking at the illusion would lose nine Perception before checking against his Willpower to pierce the illusion while he slept. Anyone with less than twenty Perception would need a ton of luck to pierce through.

This build was born from one of the questions he asked the veteran Adventurers. "If you could take a novice to a Dungeon only to safe-keep your campsite, what Skills he'd have?" They came up with this completely suicidal combo. Because the Adventurer with such a setup wouldn't kill anything.

He inserted the [Mage] Class, sacrificed a white card to refuel his mana and smiled. His unique Class was a godsend. Nero departed, shooting [Mana Bolts] at the respawned trippers.

Altia watched Nero run through the glade, tossing the almost invisible balls of magic at the trippers. They were in a Dungeon but she felt safer than outside. With all the chaos and uncertainty, she was almost ending their trip short. She also knew Nero felt the same as her. If she asked, he'd leave the Lyceum and the three professors behind and return home with her.

This Dungeon was indeed magical. There were a day and night cycle, the scenery was an oil painting, and the monsters weren't very dangerous in the meadow. It would be the perfect training grounds if the boss wasn't so powerful. Unkillable for normal novices. She looked at her Attributes. They were good enough for tier II Dungeons but the purple-grade Rafflesia's level of danger was on par with tier IV bosses.

She aborted that train of thought. Thinking of bosses reminded her that Nero did that stupid stunt of killing alone the yellow-grade goblin. He would not have that unique Class and he would not be running around as happy as a kid on his birthday. Even if you considered the trouble with the knights, the mutiny at the Lyceum and the chaos of incoming war, the trip was already worth it just for that. Nero was even sworn as a [Gadgeteer]! He vanished from her sight behind a mound and she prepared to work.

The herbs she harvested were left to dry during the night and while some of them would have to wait another day, she could start brewing her potions now. She opened the case of her portable alchemy kit and removed the telescopic legs and the positioning separators. She measured and buried the tip on the soft ground and adjusted the extensions to a somewhat level surface before attaching the case on top of the legs and doing fine adjustments before she was satisfied with a level working surface.

She unfolded the panels under the lid and adjusted the legs on both sides, creating a workbench three times as long as the case. Then she attached the ring stands, the test tube supports, distillation kit, and the Essence burner on their designated spots with butterfly screws from underneath the table. Nothing would be knocked out from the table and she had enough room to prepare her ingredients.

Altia unfolded a chair and sat to prepare the herbs. Without a single drop of a hurry, she sorted through the leaves and stems, removing the damaged or bad ones and separating the best materials aside. Once she had enough for the first batch of healing potions, she used a white card to summon a [Water Barrel] and filled the copper pot with pure water. With the Essence, burner ignited and full of level 1 and 2 crystals they harvested the last day, she set the pot to heat the water with a thermometer inside and took her recipe book and re-checked the procedure, accounting for her Class bonus of 20% fewer materials.

Brewing the potions now was just a matter of following the recipe to the letter. She needed to supply Essence to the brew but the burner did more than just create heat and the plants were infused in the Dungeon's ambient energy. Altia knew she would screw up a few times before learning how to properly do it. She had time.

Nero ran and killed. He stopped only to pick up cards as they were the fuel for his rampage. The flower glade was a meadow in itself. Surrounded by trees, it was extensive enough to block sight from one side to another. The trippers were too easy to kill and he doubted any Adventurer worth their cards would die to these creatures. Sure, they were harder to spot than the stone serpents under the sand but he still doubted.

A stupid idea came to mind and he was drunk from his killing spree. Nero switched to his defensive [Warrior] build and decided to test. Unarmed, he walked around until he found a thorn tripper. He ignored the urge to kill it and walked as if he didn't know the monster was there. The vines moved fast and his foot caught. A whip hit his back and accelerated his fall. The flowers ahead parted and a mass of writhing spiked vines appeared, moving as a grinder waiting for the meat to work on.

"[Stoneskin]" He triggered the Skill and dove face-first into the thorns, his arms crossed to protect his eyes. The vines wrapped around him in a deathly embrace and then moved. Nero got a taste of what monsters felt when he used his [Clockwork Sword] on them. It was time to go. He grabbed a vine and broke it. With his fifteen points of Strength and eighteen of VIgor, all the thorns did was leave scratches on his palms. He kept breaking the vines and his upper torso was set free. He drew his dagger and cut the rest of the vines grinding his legs. The monster finally died and dissolved.

Nero was covered in blood, hundreds of small cuts all over his body. He drank a potion and sighed. That was stupid. The vines had no mobility and no intellect. If Nero was weaker or less resilient, he'd be dead. One potion wasn't even enough to heal all his wounds, it only stopped the bleeding. He removed the [Warrior] card and activated another Class.

[White Mage] - white - Bound to Nero

Reason +2 (+1)

Willpower +4 (+2)

Charisma +4 (+2)

Special: Offensive Skill effects reduced by 40%. Healing and defensive Skill effects increased by 20%.

- [Cure Wounds] - Allows the user to heal wounds for 1 Mana. Healing based on Reason and Charisma.

- [Share Health] - Increase the cost of a healing Skill by 1 Stamina to increase its effects by 50%.

- [Lingering Light] - Spend 1 extra Mana to make a healing Skill heal 10% of the initial amount each second for Willpower seconds.

- [Clean] - Spend 1 mana to clean an object. Effects based on Reason and Charisma.

- [Mind over Matter] - Add your Willpower to determine the effects of your skills based on Reason.

- [Mending] - Spend 1 mana to repair an object. Effects based on Reason and Charisma.

He spent all his mana healing and fixing his clothing and gear. He switched back to the [Mage] build and picked up the crystal the thorn tripper dropped. Ninety Essence. At least it wasn't a level one. Nero checked the sun's position and decided he had enough. He ran back to their camp, killing the trippers along the way. Once he was close to the campsite, he started to whistle a song. It allowed Altia to notice he was coming without startling her. The least he wanted was to ruin her alchemy.

"How are things here, my love?" He asked.

He saw some pink liquid dripping into a glass cup with a beak, coming from a tube connected to a barrel. Altia was pumping water with her hand and watching a reddish liquid boil on the other side of the tube. When she heard the grass rustling behind her, she raised a hand to tell him to stay back and kept pumping water through the hose.

"Welcome back. How was your hunt?"

Nero walked around to stand on the other side of the folding table she was working on. "Just some Essence and cards. No greens. And you? What are you concocting there?"

She used her other hand to point at some of the beaked cups with the pink liquid resting on a wooden cradle so they wouldn't tip over and fall.

"Lesser healing potions. Want a sip?"

He went for one of the cups thinking he was thirsty and the only thing that stopped him from slaking his thirst with the whole potion cup was her stare.

"Don't drink from the beakers. Get this glass dish here, pour some on it then drink from the dish."

He tasted the potion while Altia waited for his opinion. He forced himself to smile as the potion touched his tongue. It was bitter but had a flowery aftertaste. He had no wounds, the evidence of his almost-suicide already magically gone. After he was done, Altia asked with a sweet tone.

"So, did you like it?"

"It was bitter but I could taste the flowers."

She sighed. "I think I need ripe bulbs for this recipe. The nectar should neutralize the bitterness of the sap but at least this one wasn't poisonous."

Nero spat and Altia laughed. "Poisonous?"

"Just kidding!" She giggled.

"What do you say we eat lunch once you are done with this batch? Do you want me to pump the water?"

"Oh, please. My hand will fall off."

They finished the batch and poured the potion into the vials. Then they ate lunch from the white food cards they had. The two lovers talked and laughed. Nero used some telescopic poles to make a lean-to with a tarp on the east side of the mound so they could have some shade in the afternoon and the couple laid down to watch the clouds and revel in the beauty of the glade.

The next six "days" in the Dungeon went by in a blur. They hunted the trippers, Altia gathered more herbs, brew more potions with lessening degrees of bitterness. They cuddled together, laughed, and professed their eternal love. Nero found the higher-leveled trippers next to the tree line and earned three Accolades. The first one was unsurprisingly Vigor, then Willpower, and finally, Reason. Altia got only two, on Dexterity and Willpower. Nero thought it was too little for seven days but he wasn't hunting with the frantic pace of his infamous solo delve. They didn't find a single [Egress] but they brought enough food and water for sixty days. Deep in the forest, there were fruit trees and some water bodies they could harvest.

Their campsite was moved from the mound to the landing zone, the place where Adventurers exited the portal. After a week there was no chance of someone entering the Dungeon as the time outside should be already past dusk.

They waited until nightfall and changed into the nice clothes they brought, Altia taking a lot longer because she had to put makeup on. The flower meadow was barely visible under the moonlight and the stars moved in their lazy pace to reach the other side of the sky before dawn. To celebrate their week in the Dungeon away from the troubles of the outside world, Nero lit up torches along the edges of the clearing they claimed and he took his wife's hand and waist to dance.

A small table and two chairs lit by an Essence lantern waited for them. It was set with two plates, two wine flutes, napkins, silverware, and a bottle of wine. Nero led his wife to her seat and pulled the chair to help her seat, like the gentlemen he seldomly was.

"What do we have for dinner, chef?" She asked pretending to be a lady of high society.

Nero drew a card. Its borders were yellow. "May I recommend duck breasts with pomegranates? It goes well with the wine."

"Sounds delicious," She cooed. "Please?"

"Your wish is my command, milady." He inserted the card and summoned the fancy dish. The duck breats with pomegranates appeared out of thin air, born from the Essence imbued in the card, on a silver tray. Nero took the tray and placed it on the table. Altia leaned and drew the plume of vapor that was rising from the food. The scent was marvelous. Nero summoned a [Knife] and carved the duck, serving first his wife and then his own plate. He went around the table and poured wine for both of them.

He sat and noticed Altia was waiting for him to start like he was some kind of Lord. He took his fork and knife and took a bite of his food. Altia did the same and moaned at the explosion of flavor. She could only wonder if yellow-grade food cards tasted like heaven, what could be said of purples or oranges?

"It's delicious, give the chef my compliments," She purred.

"I am sure you will have plenty of opportunities to express your gratitude later, milady," He answered with a straight face.

"Oh, I'm sure I will," She had a coy grin plastered on her face but her ankle was rubbing the inside of his calf under the table.

Nero was feeling ripples of warmth climbing up his spine and raising the hairs of his nape. He drank the wine and it tickled his nose.

"I love you," He blurted.

"I know," She giggled. "You're blushing, my Lord."

They leaned forward to kiss. In their pink bubble, they were oblivious to the world around them. They didn't hear the grass rustle just outside the ring of torches. But they heard the well-modulated soprano voice pleading.

"Duck. I want to eat duck. Please, feed me!"

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 +7

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 +2

Vigor +10

Endurance +5

Agility +5

Dexterity +7

Reason +3

Willpower +8

Perception +3

Charisma +10

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.

- Empty Skill Slot

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