Nero's trap shelter was a featureless and completely level slab of stone with a round sandpit a hundred feet across in the middle. The goblins would drop into the sand and then they would be free to do whatever they wanted. Until they died, of course.

Hefalina didn't have the same training as the eanlings but it was hard to miss even though she didn't hit the goblin she was aiming at most of the time. Nero's illusions had a third of the goblins walking into the portal on the first time, and when he expanded the number of portals from three to seven, moved them a bit further from the wall and adjusted the illusion to make it like the environment behind the portal was just like the ground ahead, he was able to catch more than half the goblins. The best part was that no spellcasters went into the trap shelter. Neither the archers as the two groups of goblins stayed behind attacking from afar.

Five battalions of goblins later, the oversized party was finding their synergy. They stopped to rest after another fight when Knazer asked about the now thousands of goblins in the shelter.

"What are you doing with the goblins, Nero?"

"I'll kill them later, of course. They're all levels ten to twelve, they are useless for you. I, however, might gain a baker's dozen of Accolades."

"Yeah, goblins are stingy with their Accolades," Altia complained.

They killed more than a thousand goblins, and only earned five Accolades. Nero gained three points, one each of Strength, Dexterity, and Agility while Crystal gained Willpower. The last point went to Moira, Vigor.

"No [Egress] either," Crystal pointed out.

"Godmother warned the goblin grunts don't drop [Egress]. It is a common complaint of the parties that delve here," Nero answered. "We did get two rank-V Anima crystals. I'll decide who gets them later."

"I'm out," Moira said. "My level is too high."

"Me neither. Twenty-seven here," Rodther added.

"That's fine. We can trade the crystals for a higher or lower grade one later. With these, we must make sure the Attribute strain is at the right spot. Also, I want to tame some goblins. Maybe a spellcaster."

"It's harder to tame an intelligent monster," Crystal warned.

"Goblins are disgusting," Altia protested. "You can't tame disgusting monsters."

Everyone was eager to see how Nero would evade this. Or if he would just concede to his wife all the time. Nero just shrugged. "Fair enough. I don't want to estrange my lovely wife. Let's do this. I'll tame the goblins and immediately shift them to non-combat mode. If you still think the pet goblins are disgusting, I'll eliminate them and that's the end. Deal?"

"I doubt they will be not disgusting," Altia insisted.

"They might look like chubby green children," Nero shot back.

"No," She refused with a stern face. "Also, eww."

"Worse yet," Crystal teased, "there might be goblin girls out there. Who knows?"

Altia froze. Nero stared at his sister, trying to figure out exactly who she was teasing.

"Okay, no taming goblins" Nero gave up with a shrug. "Okay, Altia?"

"No taming intelligent people-like monsters, okay? Ever," she half-demanded half-implored staring into his eyes.

"Stop it. You're scaring me. There's no need to behave like that. Let's keep hunting tomorrow. The day is almost over now."

They set camp in the garden shelter. There was no reason to risk being out in the Dungeon. But there was no reason to camp together either. Everyone split into four groups and spread into the far corners of the shelter. Crystal stayed with Fotia and Nero slept alone because Altia was furiously brewing something foul-smelling. He gave her a wide berth mostly because he didn't want to smell like that.

They kept clearing the goblin army during the next two days, farming a large amount of fifty Essence crystals and mostly white and green equipment and modifier cards. Most of the smaller goblins were trapped in the prison shelter. Nero would harvest them after the Dungeon delve. It was time to tackle the second zone of the Dungeon, the main camp of the goblin army.

"I'm going to scout ahead," Nero said. "Wait here."

He vanished with his stealth Skill and walked around. None of the monsters sensed him and he found the camp had a hundred tents in total, spread among four types. The smaller ones, sixty of them, housed ten goblin warriors each and formed the outer ring of tents. Next the officers, goblins as tall as Nero but wider. Goblin Officers lived four per tent and occupied thirty of them. The last nine were for the goblin shamans. Each tent had one senior shaman and five apprentices. The last tent had the goblin general and another hundred goblins as his underlings. Nero returned and relayed the information.

"Eight hundred and seventy-three lesser goblins plus the boss," Serena counted. "It is going to be a tough fight. Especially because the whole camp will come alive like an anthill once the attack begins."

Altia snickered. "That's why I spent all my free time doing these," She produced some clay balls from her storage. "Put two of these next to each tent and we won't have to worry about the small fry."

"Bombs?" Rodther asked. "But there's no fuse. How do they detonate?"

"Heat," Altia explained. "The clay becomes brittle if heated and the contents are volatile. Nero will fireball the whole camp and the bombs will detonate. We might lose some drops, but it is pocket change."

"Where did you get clay?" Fotia asked.

"The swamp. There's tons of mud and clay in there."

"Isn't it a bit too much?" Knazer pointed out.

"No. A good goblin is a dead goblin. They gave me and my husband enough grief for a lifetime," Altia replied, her voice had hints of distress.

Nero nodded. He closed his eyes and remembered that the root of her distress, of her fear of losing him, was linked to the goblins. That's why she was so skittish recently. "Let's do this. There's no reason to not use what we have to our advantage, and these won't be good outside the Dungeon." Altia gave him more than two hundred bombs and he returned to the camp, planting the bombs on the rear corners of each tent.

As Nero skulked through the back of the boss' tent, he heard a voice. "Hey, you. Adventurer. Stop and listen," it said. The voice was a deep baritone and it had that strange mix of twang and hissing that came with speaking with fangs in one's mouth. Characteristic of orcs... and goblins, Nero guessed.

Nero froze for a moment, waiting for something else. Then the voice repeated itself. "Hey, you. Adventurer. Stop and listen." - It wasn't some kind of magical voice, it was someone talking. Nero was afraid it was some kind of trap so he put a portal to a transition box next to him, the pitch-black box on the other side looked like just another shadow against the back canvas of the tent.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Good providence, you talked. Listen, this is not a trap," The goblin on the other side spoke. It was exactly what someone that was trapping him would say. "I know you are going to slaughter us. It is inevitable. I also feel you have power over monsters. A tamer, I hope. It's been too long. I'm Heck'Tzarr, shaman of the Burned Tooth tribe. I ask you tame me if possible. I'll patrol the backside of the camp when you attack the general. When we meet, I'll try to attack. Kill me if you must for the Dungeon will force me to fight any Adventurers I lay my eyes upon."

"Why do you want to be tamed?" Nero asked.

"My people suffered long enough. I was driven to the brink of madness in the two thousand years since my imprisonment. I long to see the world. As a tame monster, given the circumstances. But we'll talk later if you do. I promise you it will be worth your time."

"We shall see," Nero said.

"Now, please go. The Dungeon is aware I sense an Adventurer. I won't be able to resist any longer."

"Just a thing. Are you male?" Nero asked.

A low growl was his answer. With a voice like that, it would be weird if it was a female. Very weird. Nero retrieved the bombs on that corner of the boss tent and returned to his party. He removed his stealth Skill and gave them a thumbs up and a grin. Altia sighed relieved.

"Did you have any trouble? I was afraid the stability of these bombs --"

He chuckled and kissed her. "Now you tell me? Everything is fine. All the bombs are in place. I'm pulling it now." Nero fiddled with his ever-growing collection of Class cards and sighed. He needed another fireball build. He also needed some way to auto...

It was obvious. He needed to build a gadget to swap his Classes on command. He was already thinking of the schematic and sorter, a reader module, the gears to move and flip the cards. Maybe buy or trade for another [Clockwork Shield]...

"Nero!" Crystal shook him. "Is something wrong? Why are you two hugging without moving at a time like this?"

He looked around. He was still embracing a dreamy Altia who was shamelessly enjoying the skinship without disturbing his sudden inspiration-driven reverie.

"Sorry. I just got carried away," He said without revealing the subject as Altia sighed with satisfaction. He'd be damned if he revealed it wasn't about her.

Rodther chortled a raucous burst of laughter, breaking the mood. Nero glared him down into an apologetic show of hands. Once the scaled [Acrobat] backed off, Nero threw his strongest [Fireball] ever at the camp. A shaman would need to see the spell to counter it, and the camp was set up to burst into action only at the first sign of invasion.

The fireball blossomed and burned. The clay balls holding the flammable oils Altia processed blew up almost all at once moments later. Nero could see through his goggles that some Essence crystals from the monsters that died in the fireball broke with the explosions, releasing the energy back to the Dungeon. It was inconsequential in the big scheme of things. His [Ignis Victoria] Skill told him he'd killed a lot of monsters as the mana was refunded when the Skill triggered.

A roar of pain and anger burst from where the main tent was.

Clad in armor made from the hides of monsters and odd bits and plates of metal haphazardly tossed around, the goblin general was ten feet tall and wielded a heavy two-headed battleax. Clattering against one another a veritable array of throwing hatchets decorated his waist. His entourage looked wounded and almost dying. Nero could see there was a shaman with him that started to heal the general. He swapped to [Archer] and fired a shot with ten stacks of [Empower Attack] at the healer almost a mile away. The goblin caster's chest burst into a shower of electrified ice shards and motes of Anima.

Nero was the only one who could shoot at that distance and he unloaded his rifle as the surviving goblins charged the Adventurers. After a while, the trio of gunners showered them with electric death as they approached fast.

"Moira, Hefalina, Rodther. Ready to take the charge. Altia, Crystal, cover the flanks," Nero said as he reloaded his rifle. "Focus on the helpers, leave the boss for last. I'm going to skirmish ahead. Hold formation and stay in Moira's [Intervene] range."

Nero broke to the left shooting at the approaching goblins that entered Crystal's staff range. He was surprised when Altia followed him, moving ahead of Moira. "[Potion Toss]" She shouted with a clay ball in her hand.

"What the..." Nero gasped at the sight. An explosion broke the charge of the goblin general, followed by a second one moments later. Altia took another clay ball and repeated the Skill.

The boss changed targets, used some kind of Skill, and charged in Altia's direction. His heart sank as he saw the edge of the battleax shining as he burst through the next round of explosions from Altia's bombs, heedless of his wounds.

"Hold the line! I'll protect Altia." Nero broke his run and skidded over the soft loam of the marsh, almost losing his footing. He would be late if he tried to run. He simultaneously turned on his bayonet to get it started and tapped his Arbitrium and ejected the [Archer] card, not bothering to pick it up as he slammed the defensive [Warrior] card and triggered a Skill while the main card port door was closing.

"[Intervene] - [Mobile Strike] - [Dash n' Slash] - [Mobile Strike] - [Shield Bash]" He chained the Skills, trusting them to put him where he wanted despite the treacherous terrain.

Nero blurred and moved faster than ever. His version of [Intervene] had a bigger range than Moira's but some drawbacks. He parried the general's battleax coming down on Altia with the bayonet as he was barred from dodging. Shrapnel flew to his left and right as the bayonet shredded the weapon's edge, creating a series of jagged dents. His other Skills kicked in and he ran past the boss, using two attacks to strike at the boss' arms, maiming one and grievously injuring the other, finishing with a slam with the spiked shield in hopes of stunning the boss.

The goblin general shouted in pain and dropped his weapon. The Dungeon boss instead threw a vicious and brutal mule kick toward Nero. Still recovering from the sudden burst of movement, Nero was caught unaware and was shoved away by the huge foot.

The general's strike force was almost done by then, the rest of the party trusting Nero's plan and leaving the boss and Altia's safety in his hands.

The goblin roared at the [Chemist] defiantly standing a few yards from him. She took a vial filled with a clear liquid and waved it in front of him. "[Potion Toss]" She shouted the Skill's name to keep her teammates informed of her actions. A cloud of white mist erupted out of nowhere in front of the boss' face. The goblin general screamed and brought his hands to his eyes as the acid Altia used melted his skin.

Altia used the chance to flee from the monster, returning to the back lines with a vicious grin on her face. She wasn't fast enough. The boss drew a hatchet from his belt and threw it at her back.

"[Intervene]!" Moira cried and dashed forward, blocking the hatchet with her full-body shield. "Don't turn your back to the enemy!" She chastised the minnid woman.

Nero screamed and returned to the fray. "[Dash n' Slash] - [Mobile Strike]!" He brought his bayonet down on the general's unprotected calf, hamstringing the wounded monster.

The goblin general roared in pain as he fell on his knee and then stopped. "Yes!" Crystal cheered. "Hold your fire! [Charm], I forgot. Sorry guys," She forgot to announce her Skill.

"Hold your fire!" Nero shouted. "He's under control. Get ready for the release!"

He walked back to where he slipped and retrieved his muddy [Archer] Class. Switching Classes, he aimed for the minute his [Piercing Shot] took to charge and fired with fifty stacks of [Empower Attack].

There's no kill like overkill, as they say.

Crystal's Arbitrium chimed and buzzed, announcing an Accolade. Nero, Fotia, and Rodther's too. A blue-grade boss level thirty-seven gave each of the three Attribute points. The Adventurers cheered and congratulated each other. Nero was the one to go and check the boss' drops.

[Burned Tooth Chieftain's Battleax] - yellow equipment - Two-handed Weapon. Requires Goblin race. Level 30. Strength +40. Endurance +30.

+5 Strength.

+5 Vigor

+5 Endurance

"The symbol of the Burned Tooth tribe's leadership, this relic of the Goblin Age drank the lifeblood of a thousand enemies."

Special: You radiate an aura of command. Goblins with less Strength than you in a range of Charisma yards have to resist with their Willpower or be forced to obey your commands.

"Duude, what a useless waste of a yellow card," Nero whistled and showed them the drop.

Crystal snatched it from him and smiled. "No. many collectors will be interested in this one. Brother, it even has the word 'relic' in its text."

Nero nodded, a bit embarrassed. He wanted useful and practical loot, most of the time. "Thanks, sister. Everyone, good job," He let his shoulders sag and approached Altia while the rest of the party talked about their Accolades and the fight.

"I'm sorry, Nero," She whimpered as he approached. "You got hurt because of me."

Nero embraced her. "I'm glad I could protect you," He cooed. "A kick was cheap for our win. But now I want one thing from you. Make it two?"

Her glistening eyes met his and she tried to turn her grimace into a coy smile. "What is it?"

"First, a kiss," He took her lips into a long and passionate kiss. After they parted, she asked. "What next?" with a sultry tone.

Grinning, Nero pulled her tighter. "Make it three things," He winked, full of innuendo. "I made a deal at the tents. I need to go collect it. Stay here."

She held him. "What is it?"

"A goblin shaman. One that still holds his consciousness. A rarity with Dungeon monsters. I'm going to overwrite the Dungeon's essence with my own lifeforce and take him out. Tame him, as people call it. He might have useful information. If not, I'll dispose of him. Him," Nero stressed.

Still riding the battle high and a bit contrite for taking risks, Altia nodded. "If it is not a monster girl, you can tame him."

"Good. I'll send the scavenger team... I need to shift Kefira back to pet mode, by the way. You guys rest here while I find my mark."

Nero changes into his stealth build and vanished, still thinking of how he'd modify an off-hand contraption, probably a [Clockwork Shield] to do that for him. He walked to the back of the ruined scorched camp and searched for enemies with his Skill. Soon he found a single hit, and walked deeper into the back of the swamp, going around grim totems and other signage that marked that area as goblin territory.

He found the shaman absorbed in his own internal conflict. Nero took no chances and aimed at his left knee. A shot broke the joint and sent the shaman into a convulsion as the jolt of electricity overtook his muscular control. Nero moved fast. He slashed the shaman's elbows to sever the tendons before shifting to [Monster Tamoer], putting away his rifle, and grappling the lanky and tall goblin. From his grappling position, he used [Essence Manipulation] to overwrite the Dungeon's Essence, bringing the goblin into his control after several minutes of struggle.

"Mas-terrr. Na-me," The shaman groaned.

Nero poured two potions on his mouth and shifted to his most recent healer build, using the spells to fix the damage he caused, including the regeneration of the shaman's kneecap.

"You'll be called Loolah, shaman. How much of your mind did you keep?"

"Some. Muddled. Need... time. Thinking... is hard."

Nero checked the shaman's Attributes in his Arbitrium display, one of the perks of his [Monster Tamer] Class.

Combat Pet Name: Loolah.

Race: Goblin Shaman

Level: 30

Essence Cost: 90,000

Grade: Blue

Strength +5 (+18)

Vigor +20 (+33)

Endurance +15 (+26)

Agility +30

Dexterity +20

Reason +25 (+36)

Willpower +35

Perception +5

Charisma +40

Special: Increase Strength and Vigor by a third of your Charisma.

Special: Increase Reason and Endurance by a third of your Willpower.

[Regrowth] - Spend 2 points of mana to heal and restore the touched target over 1 minute. Healing based on Willpower and Charisma.

[Flame Frenzy] - Spend 3 + X points of mana. Up to X willing targets gain 2 * X to Strength, Vigor, Agility, and Dexterity but lose 4 * X from Reason, Willpower, Perception, and Charisma for 5 minutes. Targets add a quarter of your Willpower to their melee attacks as fire damage.

[Hex] - Spend [(Target's level / 5) or 3, whichever is higher] points of mana to decrease all of the targets' Attributes by 20%. Lasts for 1 minute. Resisted by Willpower.

[Caustic Flame] - Spend 2 points of mana to throw a bolt of caustic flame at a target up to Reason yards away. Deal corrosive and fire damage based on half of Reason every second for square.root(Willpower) seconds.

[Counterspell] - Spend 1 point of mana to unravel a spell. You have to either sense the spell's effects or the caster. This Skill can be activated without any delay.

Nero re-read the pet Status over and over, stopping over the Essence cost to re-summon or shift him back to combat mode. Ninety thousand was a lot, even for him. Another fun fact was his Skill lineup, awfully similar to what an Adventurer would have.

"Come, Loolah. Let's find the rest of our team."