The second "month" inside the Dungeon went by. They now had a fire pit dug in the dirt, with a ring of rocks to keep the fire contained. There were no seasons inside the Dungeon, every day felt like a fresh Spring day.

Their daily routine involved hunting in the morning and the first half of the afternoon, then crafting until sunset. Altia brewing potions, Nero making furniture for Serena's hut or some other project to stretch his [Gadgeteer] muscles. The couple would take a bath before sunset. Most days at dusk, Serena, without any prompting, was considerate enough to take the Essence lantern and go to the forest to hunt for a few hours, only her and Daisy. She would return and take a warm bath to wipe the sweat of a hard day's work.

Serena kept a month's worth of untouched food cards with her, for when Nero and Altia departed. With the food they took from the forest, they could stretch the cards they brought. The two minnids decided to remain for the whole three "months" in the Dungeon. The reason was obvious. The Dungeon was bountiful with high-quality cards they could use. Nero felt a pang of regret because Altia used green cards when they had a dozen yellow and more than thirty blue Skills.

They didn't neglect their "Attribute strain" training or Serena's therapy. They earned accolades at least every other day and due to the knowledge developed with Tinkwezilsky's help, none of the women gained a level. Nero improved mostly his physical Attributes but a point here and there ended up in the mental attributes except for Charisma. Altia was able to stick mostly to her build but Serena managed to get only four points in Charisma. The others went into Reason, Willpower, and Agility.

That was what triggered an unexpected event. They were sitting by the campfire, talking and already preparing to sleep when the princess checked her Attributes and decided she had to do something. She called Nero's attention.

"I need your help," She told him. "I need to keep focusing on Charisma as all my next four Skills depend on it. I am getting points where I don't want to because I haven't strained myself enough. Would you help me?"

The request for generic help wasn't strange, but she was fidgeting. Altia patted his back, giving him a little push to stand up.

"What do you need from me? Train Charisma? I'm fine with that,"

He said and looked up at the lumbering form of the shambler pet called Daisy. Serena gave Daisy a standing order of not attacking Nero or Altia ever so he wasn't too worried to repeat what happened the first day they pulled three shamblers at the same time. Serena stood up, trembling. It was visible in her face the strain. The fear in her eyes reflecting the flames of the campfire. Nero closed his eyes and held his hands on his back. Altia stood next to him. She approached the couple. Serena held the hem of her repaired dress and curtsied.

"Milord Nero, may I have this dance?"

He froze for a moment. Did she want to... dance? Was she forcing... no, she was forcing. Nero glanced at Altia. She nodded and raised her palm, pointing it at the princess. Nero bowed, making brief eye contact. He felt awkward because he had no idea what to do. He never saw a high society dance and the best the people of his village could achieve was a clumsy square dance.

"Raise your right hand pointing to your right," Serena instructed and exhaled heavily. Nero did as she asked. With a step forward, she took his hand and touched his shoulder. "Y-you can hold my waist."

He touched her waist. Serena shouted and pushed him away. She scrambled back until she hit the table, then she held it for support, panting.

"Sorry!"

She was almost having a panic attack. Nero closed his eyes, bowed, and returned to the pose she showed. He tilted his head and invited her to come back with his fingers.

"No problem. Now, come back here and try again."

On unsure feet, the nereid returned. He let her take his hand instead of holding it. She returned to the position and guided him through the basic steps of a waltz. She was stiff like hardwood but no further incidents happened. Nero's Dexterity, now more than ten with his gear, granted him superior grace.

When she parted from him, Nero clapped his hands. "Bravo! I think that's strain enough. We need to check and see. You don't need to worry, it surely beats straining Vigor," he said.

Just to be sure and safe, Nero took Altia's waist and held her close. He was sure she would ask him to dance with her next time Serena went out hunting just to give them some quality time alone.

"Thanks and sorry for intruding," She glanced in Altia's direction.

"Serena. We talked about it. No apologies!" Altia said. "We are with you. Friends, right? Let's sleep. Tomorrow, we'll kill more monsters. It will do wonders for your mind."

The [Enchantress] controlled her breathing, her face falling into a diplomat's mask. She faced Nero and curtsied. "Thank you for the wonderful time, Nero."

"You're welcome."

Nero found out he was on guard duty with Daisy. Serena stayed in the tent with Altia. He could hear their hushed voices coming from the tent but didn't try to listen to what they were saying. It was obvious they didn't want that. He decided to play with the cards they gathered. With these, he started to prepare a new build, one that would pack a lot of punch. Nero hoped they would be able to find the other Skills and finish this set. It was worth it even if they had to scour the whole Dungeon. He started by setting the cards he wanted on his handkerchief.

Archer build:

[Archer] - yellow - Requires Level 1. +10 Agility. +10 Dexterity. +10 Perception.

+5 Endurance

+5 Agility

+5 Dexterity

+5 Perception

"Ammunition-based Ranged Combat Hunting Extermination Reconnaissance - not necessarily someone that uses bows"

Special: Increase your move speed and dodge by half your Willpower.

Special: Increase your ranged weapon attack speed by half your Perception.

Special: Your ranged physical attacks may automatically deal either slashing or piercing damage if one of these damage types is better against your target.

[Piercing Shot] - yellow Skill - Requires Agility +10. Dexterity +10

+2 Vigor

+2 Agility

+3 Dexterity

+3 Perception

"To pierce the sky, you must first reach it."

Passive: Increase physical ranged attack range by 25%.

Effect: Spend (5 or Target's level / 5 whichever is higher) stamina and charge for 1 minute to allow one physical ranged attack to ignore up to 66% of the target's defenses, reduced by the target's Vigor.

[Foresight] - yellow Skill - Requires Reason +10. Perception +10

+3 Endurance

+4 Agility

+3 Dexterity

"Notably dumber than hindsight, but just that much useful."

Effect: Add half your Perception to Agility for the purpose of dodging. Add half your Reason to Perception to detect hidden dangers.

[Shadow Coating] - blue Skill - Requires +10 Willpower. +10 Perception

+2 Endurance

+2 Dexterity

+2 Willpower

+1 Charisma

"Won't work on your biological weapon. Nice try."

Effect: Spend 1 mana to reduce the noise and light made by your weapon attacks by 90% for 1 hour.

[Phantom Ammunition] - yellow Skill- requires Reason +10. Willpower +10.

+4 Agility

+4 Dexterity

+2 Willpower

"100% environmentally friendly."

Effect: Spend 1 point of mana to summon 12 units of ammunition for your ranged weapon. Summoned projectiles last for 1 hour.

He decided on using these four Skills, but there was one choice to be done. He could add [Cougar's Speed] to the build and forsake the set bonus because there wouldn't be enough slots for the other three, or save it for later. In two months of delving, they found only that card. It was wishful thinking to believe they would find the other three. The card was valuable but it was good enough on its own. Nero thought about it a bit more and then decided to use the card. If they find a second one, then they would have a better idea of their rarity. Some Skills only showed up on higher grade cards. Most of Serena's Skills had no white version, for example. These were obviously stronger. The whole set might be all yellow. He had a hunch that was true.

Nero tallied the points of his build and found he needed odd numbers on both Agility and Dexterity or he'd leave Attributes on the table. There was an odd value on Charisma he didn't mind losing. Browsing through the cards he had, he found a yellow Skill that fit the bill.

[Empower Attack] - yellow Skill. Requires Strength +6. Endurance +6. Willpower +6.

+2 Endurance

+3 Agility

+3 Dexterity

+2 Willpower

"Not to be confused with its lesser cousin [Power Attack]."

Effect: Spend X Stamina and X mana when executing with a physical attack. Increase damage by X*50% and ignore up to X*5% of a target's defense.

His decision made, he inserted all cards in his device and activated them. The sudden influx of power made him dizzy and he spent a quarter of an hour to recover but long were the days that would be enough to knock him out. His base Attributes had grown. Nero ejected the new modified card and checked its Status.

[Archer] - yellow Class - Bound to Nero.

Vigor +2 (+1)

Endurance +12 (+6)

Agility +30 (+15)

Dexterity +20 (+10)

Willpower +6 (+3)

Perception +8 (+4)

Special: Increase your move speed and dodge by half your Willpower.

Special: Increase your ranged weapon attack speed by half your Perception.

Special: Your ranged physical attacks may automatically deal either slashing or piercing damage if one of these damage types is better against your target.

Passive: Increase physical ranged attack range by 25%.

[Phantom Ammunition] - Spend 1 point of mana to summon 12 units of ammunition for your ranged weapon. Summoned projectiles last for 1 hour.

[Shadow Coating] - Spend 1 mana to reduce the noise and light made by your weapon attacks by 90% for 1 hour.

[Foresight] - Add half your Perception to Agility for the purpose of dodging. Add half your Reason to Perception to detect hidden dangers.

[Cougar's Speed] - Spend 1 stamina and 1 mana. Increase your Agility by 20% for 5 minutes or your movement speed by 50% for 1 hour.

[Empower Attack] - Spend X Stamina and X mana when executing with a physical attack. Increase damage by X*50% and ignore up to X*5% of a target's defense.

[Piercing Shot] - Effect: Spend (5 or Target's level / 5 whichever is higher) stamina and charge for 1 minute to allow one physical ranged attack to ignore up to 66% of the target's defenses, reduced by the target's Vigor.

He lowered his goggles and looked around. The hidden trippers now were as easy to detect as if they were colored black under the sunlight. Now the [Jester Archer] needed a ranged weapon. He would not have spent six yellow and one blue card if he hadn't.

[Clockwork Rifle] - blue Main Weapon - Requires Strength +8. Agility +6. Dexterity +6. Reason +8

+1 Agility

+1 Dexterity

+1 Reason

+1 Perception

"-99 to stealth."

Passive: This weapon requires 2 Essence per shot.

Passive: The chamber holds 6 shots. Requires 1 second per shot to reload. Requires 1 second between shots to rearm.

Special: This weapon deals additional lightning damage based on Willpower.

Special: This weapon is 10% stronger for every clockwork item you have equipped.

Effect: Summon a Clockwork Rifle. This weapon has a range of Perception x 5 yards. This weapon deals damage based on Dexterity or Perception, whichever is higher.

There's no time like right now, Nero thought. He slotted the Weapon card, and the Modifiers, blue [Permanency I], green [Enchant +3], white [Increase Damage I], white [Self-Repair].

He was about to activate the cards. One thing made him pause as he glanced at the tent. He couldn't hog all the best gear for himself. He removed all the modifiers and placed only one white [Permanency I]. Before he activated it, he took a piece of charcoal and scribbled what the Statistics of the weapon would be.

[Brutal Clockwork Rifle of Regrowth +3]

+4 Agility

+4 Dexterity

+4 Reason

+4 Perception

Passive: This weapon requires 8~12 Essence per shot.

...

The jump in Essence cost made Nero's heart jump. It would eat the profits of any Adventurer even faster than his sword. His clockwork sword cost fifteen Essence per minute. He could get more than three blows in one minute easily even with all the maneuvering and feints combat demanded. But the boost to his Attributes was more than worth it. He messed with the Equipment cards and found one that was interesting.

[Sorceress' Robes] - yellow Clothes - Requires level 3. Requires +10 Reason. Requires +10 Willpower. Restricted gender: Female.

+1 Vigor

+1 Agility

+2 Reason

+2 Willpower

"Better good than ugly, they say. Much better good-looking than ugly, I say. If you have to kill, kill with style - Morgana"

Special: Increases your mana pool by 10 points. Recovers 1 point of mana per hour.

Special: The wearer may spend 1 point of mana to reduce the damage from 1 attack by half.

The robes could be worn over her armor. Yes, it was better to let the modifier cards for Altia. He checked the pink cards and decided to use the [Enhance Damage]. Confirming his choices, he activated the Arbitrium and summoned his rifle. The weapon materialized in front of him. It was a meter long and weighed fifteen pounds, with a stout wood stock, a gearbox on each side of the chamber, a small magazine in front of the trigger underneath the barrel and evenly spaced rings of golden bronze supported by the forestock going around the length of the barrel but not touching the barrel.

[Heavy Clockwork Rifle] - Main Weapon - Requires Strength +8. Agility +6. Dexterity +6. Reason +8. Bound to Nero.

+1 Agility

+1 Dexterity

+1 Reason

+1 Perception

Passive: This weapon requires 3 Essence per shot.

Passive: The chamber holds 6 shots. Requires 1 second per shot to reload. Requires 1 second between shots to rearm.

Special: This weapon deals additional lightning damage based on Willpower +2.

Special: This weapon is 13% stronger for every clockwork item you have equipped (currently: 52%).

Effect: This weapon has a range of Perception x 5 yards. This weapon deals damage based on (Dexterity or Perception) +2, whichever is higher.

Why 52%? He only had two clockwork items. Unless you counted the [Dungeon Clock] as a clockwork item. Which meant the fourth was his Arbitrium. Yes, he saw some disassembled in the Lyceum's workshop. That's it.

He felt a sudden urge to shoot the damned tripper fifty yards away he was sensing, glowing red like a lava lake in the night. He didn't for just one thing. The flavor text of the cards never lied. -99 to stealth. Whatever that meant, it was bad. Probably flashy and noisy as hell. He summoned ammunition to see what it was. He saw cylindrical copper tubes with a flat butt and a round lead sphere at the top. Since he wasn't shooting it and it would disappear in one hour, he left them on the table. it was time to sleep.

Nero went to the cot and slept under the starry sky. He promised to himself to test his new toys only tomorrow. He woke up to the voices of the women talking to each other. The last stubborn stars were still attempting to stave off the inexorable dawn.

"Good morning, husband. How are you?"

A bit cold because his blanket fell off during the night but the Dungeon was never too cold or too hot. Nero stood up and stretched his arms before answering. "I'm fine. I was sorting through our cards yesterday, it is time we gear up. I already build a new Class with the yellow [Archer] Serena found and got my weapon," He pointed to the rifle.

"That's a strange weapon," Serena remarked. "I saw it once with one of our [Gadgeteers] at the palace but it doesn't work very well underwater, its lightning attack backfires. A crossbow is much better."

"I can always get a crossbow later, and this one synergizes with my other gear. Now, Altia, I think we should do this for you."

He showed her the [Sorceress' Robes] and his estimate of the stats.

"Is it pretty?" Altia asked.

"No idea. The Attribute bonuses are cray though. Should we do it?"

"The card says it is female only. My bet is that it might be a pretty risqué style. You can always use clothes underneath though."

"Short of a leotard with a garter belt, I'll wear it," Altia decided.

Nero gave her the cards and she summoned the robes using blue [Permanency I], green [Enchant +3], and white [Self-Repair]. Altia checked the clothing style before the statistics. The robes weren't robes per se but a pair of clothing she would have to wear at the same time. The first piece was a small black-purple velvet dress with a skirt that wouldn't reach her knees and a V neckline that would leave some of her decolettáge exposed and flaring around her neck to end in a rectangular and somewhat rigid flap behind her head. The sleeves reached the elbows and the cut was tight. Altia held it against her body to measure and felt she would be too exposed. The fabric caught the first rays of the sun and it reflected on its slick and velvety surface.

"Its type is 'clothes'," Serena pointed out. "You can use your armor over them without a problem."

"That takes care of the neckline," Altia mused.

The second piece was the dark crimson robes. They were more of an overcoat than robes because they weren't meant to fully close in front. The sash was long and wide and the robes went a bit past the knees. The edges had a soft and poofy fur in a slightly lighter shade of red. Altia hesitated a bit but Serena pushed the robes on her.

"We need to see it. Go into the tent and put them on!"

Begrudgingly, Altia did. She left the tent wearing only the robes. The skirt accentuated the legs and the finely-crafted dress pushed her chest up and forward, showing some cleavage. When Altia saw Nero's hungry eyes on her, she knew she couldn't wear these. The red coat didn't close the front, as she suspected. And she knew the skirt would climb up during combat. There was a V cut covered by folds of fabric in the back that helped her walk but she felt constrained.

"Excellent! It accentuates your natural gifts, it is like you were reborn, my friend!" Serena gushed. "Turn around, spin slowly for us. Nero is enjoying every moment, aren't you, Nero?"

"Yes," He agreed, a bit over-excited by the sight. "You look very nice, Altia!"

"Now, I know you are uncomfortable," The Princess continued. "Nero, would you mind letting us alone for a while and play with your new weapon around?"

He didn't want to go but his wife seemed uncomfortable. Altia looked at him begging with her eyes for him to go. He took his rifle and summoned bullets, loading the weapon and putting the rest in his pocket. He checked his Attributes

Nero [Jester -> Archer 0/0]

Strength: +13

Vigor +15

Endurance +16

Agility +30

Dexterity +22

Reason +15

Willpower +14

Perception +18

Charisma +8

He was proud of his advancement. Even halved, the power of the yellow cards combined with his Accolades was fantastic.

Nero walked ten yards into the flower field when he spotted the red haze of a tripper. He aimed and shot. He pulled the trigger and nothing happened. Confused for a moment, he remembered he hadn't charged the weapon. He took Essence crystals from a pouch and placed them over the circular knob next to his display. With a mental command, they dissolved and the Arbitrium transferred the energy to the weapon. The reservoir seemed the same size as the other clockwork devices he had, five hundred Essence.

Now he was ready to deliver pain! Not that the plants felt any. He leveled the barrel and pulled the trigger. In the span of less than one second, the tiny gears spun making a zipping sound. The rings along the barrel thrummed and Nero could feel a tingling in his left arm, moving along the barrel fast. And the projectile departed from the barrel at supersonic speeds. A loud crack soon followed as the sound of the shot rang through the glade. Less than a heartbeat later, the place where the tripper was exploded. Burts of lightning zapped the cloud of dust, dirt, and flower petals that rose.

Underneath the cloud, the vines of the thorny tripper shed the characteristic glow of a monster dissolving back into the ambient Essence of the Dungeon.

Nero's ears rang from the raucous shot. He felt the ground shake and looked behind him. Daisy reacted to the sound and moved to protect Serena. Both women were peeking from behind the moss giant, perplexed. He suspected it would be like this, that's why he included [Shadow Coating] in the build. The 1 mana per hour would compound on his operational costs but the weapon's firepower and range should be more than enough compensation.