Another month went by. Three weeks and a few days, to be precise. The day of moving the camp to the rocky hill at the crag turtle area had arrived. Nero's carpentry skills coupled with the boost from his [Gadgeteer] class allowed the minnid to craft a wagon. it was crude but the wheels turned and the structure was sturdy. They broke camp, loaded everything, including the panels for Serena's hut and the parts of the bath screen on the wagon and departed. Daisy was pulling, obviously.

There was a path through the forest leading to the rock. During their daily hunting routine, the giant shambler broke all trees in the way and even absorbed the stumps. Aside from a few encounters with trippers, shamblers, and turtles along the way, they reached the rock without any problem.

Nero swapped his [Archer] card for another, a [Mage] Class made out of white cards specialized for the task at hand. he used two green Skills as well.

[Mage] - white Class. Bound to Nero.

+6 Reason [+3]

+6 Willpower [+3]

+6 Perception [+3]

- [Shape Stone] - Allows the caster to shape a volume of stone equal to Willpower cubic feet per point of mana spent that is no further than Perception yards from you for 1 minute. Stone moves at a rate of Reason / 2 inches per second.

- [Extend Spell] - Multiply the duration of any spell that has a duration by Reason / 4.

- [Hasten Spell] - Spend 1 point of mana and stamina in addition to other costs as part of casting a spell that has a listed speed for its target. Multiply that speed by Reason / 3

- [Enlarge Spell] - Spend 1 point of mana and stamina in addition to other costs as part of casting a spell. Multiply the area or volume of a Spell by Reason / 3.

- [Movable Spell] - Reduce the area of effect of a Spell that has a duration by half. You can now move the effect of the spell at a speed of Dexterity / 2 feet per second. Any target that remains less than 1 second exposed to the spell's effect will receive half the damage.

- [Channel Spell] - If you stand still without moving, you can recast a spell that has a duration immediately after it expires by paying half the cost.

With Nero's current Attributes, it meant moving ninety cubic feet of stone at a speed of fifty-four inches per second for 4 mana and 2 stamina during the first four minutes and 2 mana and 1 stamina for every four minutes afterward, already factored all of the six Skills working at the same time.

That build changed their plans slightly. instead of putting the hut on top of the hill where it would be visible for hundreds of yards along the rivers, Nero would hide Serena's house. He dug down in the middle of the hill, moving blocks of stone with depressions on the side so daisy could easily pick them up and place them elsewhere. While he concentrated, Altia would supply him with mana as requested. After hollowing out a cave in the hill from a spot secluded from prying eyes, Nero opened holes along the cracks in the stone for ventilation and other slightly larger holes for illumination.

He also dug down, creating a flight of stairs and another room deep down slightly below the level of the water and opened a hole connecting to the river. The room filled with water up to Nero's knees. he made another hole so the water could flow out and back to the river and shaped the floor and a wall a few inches thick that separated the bath from the latrine. He made sure the water from the latrine wouldn't flow back to the bath by splitting the channels and making the bathwater exit upriver from the latrine.

Moving and shaping the whole cave took two days. Nero installed the wooden panels inside the living area and widened cracks on the hilltop along the east-west direction so the sunlight would shine down on the walls, giving the impression that the windows led outside. They even planted some flowers on the windowsill. Nero climbed on the rock and looked from above. There was no way to see what lied underneath, only that there were some weeds growing in the crack.

All that taking care there was a central spot on the staircase leading down where the pyramid would be, and every change he made was within ten yards of that spot. This way the Dungeon reset wouldn't plug any holes and ruin Serena's cave-house. Finally, the entrance tunnel had a shambler-shaped alcove for Daisy to hide in.

He installed a wooden cot, the folding table, and chairs, and opened another area for their luggage. Nero and Altia's stuff was piled inside, along with a crate with hundreds of healing and mana potion, of the best batches Altia made. In their proper flasks, they would be good for a year.

After he was done, they sat inside the house. The couple took the chairs while Serena sat on her bed. Nero felt a bit dazed and mentally exhausted. He was sure he'd get Accolades in Willpower and Reason if he were to... Actually, why not?

"Altia, give me two Anima crystals. Let me get the boons of my hard work."

She gave him the crystals from the few they farmed during these months. He used them and true enough, The points went where they should. Sort of.

+1 Willpower

+1 Perception

A point in Perception was fine. He had a third crystal.

+1 Reason

As long he didn't get a "level" from the crystal, any Attribute was fine, actually.

"This is a dream came true. You have my eternal gratitude," Serena said almost crying. She sniffled and Altia went to sit next to the runaway princess, hugging the nereid.

"I can't believe you are departing today," She continued. "At least I'll have this to remind me of you."

"We'll come back to rescue you if your supporters don't," Nero promised. "How can we contact them?"

"I don't think they can come and get me. They would if they could, It's been more than a month outside," She confessed. "Here, take this card. Show this to Chrysopae. She was the leader of the supporters."

"That name does ring a bell," Altia mused.

"It's the nereid that was talking to professor Holmes after the failed assault on the dorms!" Nero shouted. "She was involved! The loyalists..."

Serena flinched. Altia glared at Nero and mouthed 'shut up'.

"Well, it means she was alive yesterday. Outside yesterday. With the reinforced security the Lyceum put in place, she was safe," Altia soothed Serena.

"She didn't do it for political reasons," Serena explained why Chrysopae wasn't a traitor. "She rescued me because we are both nereids."

"Yes, we get it," Nero said sympathetically. "We minnids also stick together in our village. Even though some of us hate each other."

Nero took Serena's purple Skill card moved to store it alone in a pouch. He stole a glance at it though.

[Siren's Song] - purple Skill. Requires level 20. +15 Willpower. +15 Perception. +20 Charisma. Aquatic race. Gender: female.

+5 Willpower

+15 Charisma

"Lull yourself in the embrace of music, and sail to your ruin."

Effect: Spend 4 mana. Enthrall all creatures in a radius of Charisma feet. Enthralled creatures remain still and take no action unless attacked. Creatures attacked are immune to the effects of this Spell for 30 days. The effect lasts for 5 minutes or until the caster stops singing. This is a channeled spell and can be renewed for the same duration for the same mana cost. Effect based on Charisma. Resisted by Willpower. The caster can move at half their movement rate but can take no hostile actions or the spell breaks.

And then his jaw dropped. How the heck is that a tier-I Skill? No, Serena's Charisma is already forty-something, with plus fifteen and the other three Skills, it would reach...

"Neat Skill, right? It is very powerful, indeed. The requirements are too restricting," Serena bragged.

"Just tell me, if you reach level twenty and equip all your Skills, will your Charisma reach over a hundred?"

She smiled and nodded.

"Take it back," Nero gave the card back to her. "In fact, I think it is time we tell her, Altia."

"Tell what, my dear friend?"

Altia turned so they were facing each other. "Serena, we are leaving everything with you. Nero's [Archer] class card, all the cards, Essences, and Anima crystals we farmed. Our trunks, my Robes, the potions, the camping equipment we brought. We are taking nothing from this Dungeon. Everything will stay here with you."

Serena jumped, startled. She moved away from Altia and pointed to the open doorway to the storage area. "No. There's over fifteen million Essence we farmed. Not to mention the cards' worth. Why are you leaving that with me?"

"Bast puts a guard with [Detect Falsehood] on every Dungeon. He asks what we obtained in the Dungeon, and we know there's little chance of fooling him. The Kingdom gets thirty percent of all loot, then we need to pay the guild fifteen percent. We are not going to pay a thing because we will leave with less than what we had when we entered," Nero explained. He unslung his rifle from his back, "Even this rifle will stay behind. Take good care of it."

Altia stood up and hugged the nereid. Serena was almost crying and Altia was not far behind.

"You have enough food for a month. Essence to activate your device and skip the day. You can go to the forest and gather some food, I taught you what herbs are edible. Stay here and stay safe. We are coming back to take you out once we figure something. The treasure we are leaving behind is enough to motivate us to come back, even if you believe we would leave our lovely friend behind and forget about her."

And there they went, Nero thought. Both girls were crying, sobbing and sharing promises of eternal friendship.

"My dimensional pouch can store everything. It is Epic-grade. It does the same as the [Lesser Dimensional Pouch] we found but its measured in cubic feet instead of cubic inches. I'll safely keep your treasure for when you return."

"Including yourself. Don't take any risks," Nero said with a serious face. "Once news that we safely delved here, some idiots will come to try their luck. I doubt they will reach the river area, but you should take care nonetheless. Don't go into the flower glade. I doubt novices will fight the shamblers. If they have half a brain they'll keep farming thorny trippers."

"Okay. I'll take care. Don't worry, I'm officially here for nine months of Dungeon time already."

Nero knew Serena wouldn't leave any delver alive now. She showed herself to them out of desperation and a bit of madness. She didn't attack outright because she was outnumbered. Even with her powerful build, she knew they were strong because she saw them killing the trippers like an afterthought. The best would be to avoid an encounter, but if it happened, the poor novice would die to either Serena's [Holy Bolt] or to Daisy's powerful punches.

"Worst scenario is if they have the [Egress] card slotted. They can escape in seconds. Avoid encounters."

"I'll stay hidden and send Daisy. If they [Egress], they'll just say they found a huge monster. This is an Epic-one Dungeon. They'll think she is the lieutenant boss. I have enough Perception and Agility to see any novice before they see me."

"That may work," Nero agreed.

Serena opened a pouch and took a handful of white shining crystals. "Nero, I want you to have these. I know you need them."

"Yes, but I need to use them before leaving or they'll tax me. Unless..."

He had a face Altia saw several times. The face Nero made when he had a stupid idea.

"Spit it out, husband. What are you planning to do?"

Nero pointed at Serena, at the crystals. "I'm going to use the crystals and get us a cover story. Let's slot the [Egress]. I need Daisy to beat me up."

Altia shook her head. "That's too idiot an idea even for you. Explain clearly! What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to strain my Vigor and Strength by sparring with Daisy. After I use all the crystals, we'll [Egress] out of here and I'll tell the truth-teller exactly what Serena said. We fought a huge shambler, didn't defeat it and used [Egress] before we defeated it or were killed."

Altia shook her head. She opened a pouch and checked her potions. It should be enough. "Won't you give up?"

"No. And I need you to hold back the potions me badly beaten up before we leave."

He turned to leave and felt a soft hand holding his wrist. He turned around and was surprised to see Serena. Before he could say anything, she hugged him.

"Nero, minnid from the village of Hom, Adventurer and friend extraordinaire. I deem you worthy." She kissed his cheek and retreated.

Surprised, Nero went outside the cave with Daisy and the two women. He removed his Class cards, confirmed he had nothing from this Dungeon, formed his shield, without the spikes, and had Daisy punch the piece of equipment until it was battered and almost broken. Then he used a crystal.

Strength +1

And fought Daisy hand-to-hand, taking the giant shambler's punches on the stomach. Every now and then they paused, he used a crystal and Altia healed him a bit.

VIgor +1

Dexterity +1

Strength +1

Vigor +1

Vigor +1

His armor was battered, the metal plates underneath the leather bent and digging into his skin. Altia used the last potion she had, dropped the vial and grasped his hand. They used [Egress] together.

Lamuril was nervous. He kept his face straight, trying to not betray his emotions but the constant glances at his pocket watch were enough to let the guards watching the Dungeon portal know he was nervous.

"Look, mister. It will be midnight in less than one minute. They're dead," The sergeant leading the small garrison said.

"Yes, they might be dead," Lamuril replied. "In one minute, I'll be out of your sight, for good or bad. It is the law. I have the right to wait until midnight."

"Aye, sir," The sergeant replied.

One of the soldiers yawned. He was dozing, his head already hanging down. He half-opened his eyes and screamed in a not-so-manly way. Lamuril and the sergeant were looking at their watches, waiting for midnight and missed the two people standing in front of the portal.

"Anyone has a potion? My husband is wounded!" Altia shouted.

Lamuril hurried ahead, pushing a soldier aside, "I have a potion slotted!" he shouted. "[Ex-Healing Potion]!"

The flask appeared in his hand. The tier-XX potion was expensive as heck. Altia took the potion and used it on Nero. "[Potion Toss]" Almost all of his wounds healed. The armor, however, was still bent and digging at his skin. It was repairing itself and cleaning the blood, but it would take until tomorrow to fix all the damage.

"What happened inside?" A soldier asked. He had an insignia in his uniform over the heart that showed he was the truth-teller.

"We met this huge shambler. The thing had to be at least ten feet tall. We fought it, the thing beat me badly. Once we saw we couldn't defeat it with the weapons at hand, we used [Egress] before it could kill us."

"Truth, lie, truth, truth, truth, truth," The soldier replied mechanically.

"It might not be ten feet tall, but was the largest shambler we met."

"Truth, truth."

The sergeant approached. "By Bast's law, you must declare all loot you brought from the Dungeon, including permanents. What do you declare."

"We brought nothing. We left everything behind at our camp to fight this shambler. I was sure I would beat it! But I didn't defeat it."

The truth-teller went almost mechanically. "Truth, truth, truth, lie, truth."

"I confess. I wasn't sure I would beat it. In fact, I knew I would not kill that shambler."

"Truth, truth, truth."

"We left everything behind, sergeant. We have less than what we brought into the Dungeon. Not a single Essence crystal," Altia said.

"Truth, truth, truth."

The sergeant pinched the bridge of your nose. "It is past midnight. I want to sleep. If you are not going back inside, get out of here, now!" He was shouting at the end and pointing at the portcullis.

Altia smiled and pushed Nero forward. "Thanks, sergeant. We just want to go home now."

"Truth."