Name: N/A 1:23 AM Race: Undead Sub-race: Skeleton Class: N/A Sub-class: N/A Level: 2

Hp: 30/30

Mp: 6/6

Stamina: N/A

Head: Healthy

Torso: Healthy

Left Arm: Healthy

Right Arm: Healthy

Left Leg: Healthy

Right Leg: Healthy

Buffs:

Debuffs:

I had been using [Stealth] for a few hours now, after leaving that woman to die on the stairs. I did kind of feel bad about it, considering I'd promised her that she could go free. Of course, I killed her because if she got to leave, she'd inevitably tell someone about me.

I had gotten as far from the stairs, and as far out as I could manage, and was now resting in the dead end of a hall. I'd gotten to thinking about my own survival.

Is this all it's ever going to be? Just killing and murdering anything I view as dangerous, every single day and night? That's no way to live. I don't see how I'd ever actually enjoy living with that being all there is. There has to be something else. There has to be.

I hadn't leveled up again from killing her, so I had no idea if I'd even gotten any experience from her. It didn't matter though. If I was going to find something to fight for, instead of just survival, I'd first have to make sure I could do so safely.

Thus, I walked the halls, avoiding the one or two dungeoneering groups I'd seen thus far. I was still looking for other skeletons, although I decided I'd take my time with it. I didn't want to recruit anyone who would attack me again.

When I did finally come upon a small group of two, they looked at my equipment with the same expressionless skull I shared.

"I'm looking for skeletons who are willing to follow me. Those who are willing to hide, until the time is right. Those who will remain loyal to each other. Those who won't compromise the safety of their brothers and sisters to fulfill their own bloodlust. Those who won't attack each other, even if they believe the actions we take to be wrong." I stretched out my hand to the both of them, although I kept my grip on my sword tight, in case either of them tried anything.

The two looked at each other for maybe ten seconds. The one on the left stepped forward, clasping my hand. The one on the right fidgeted awkwardly, as I shook hands with the other. "Then from this day forth, let us be comrades in arms. Together, we are stronger." I looked at the skeleton on the right. "It's your choice, but if you can't keep yourself in check, then I can't promise that we could use you. It's callous, but necessary." I adjusted my left arm to hold my shield at this point, as I'd slid it up my arm to hold it in place.

If I want people to fight with me, and for me, I guess honesty's going to be the best policy going forward.

Walking past them, I led my new charge down the hall in search of more, while the other skeleton who hadn't chosen to follow, seemed lost for a moment, before heading the other way.

"Now that we are alone, I will tell you one of the things that you may not disagree with. I hope you can keep your bloodlust in check." I turned back to my new recruit, but didn't stop walking. "Every now and then, we will leave one of the dungeoneers alive, so that we can first gain information from them, before deciding if we should kill them, or spare them. This will allow us to maneuver ourselves more efficiently against them." I watched as they stopped, stared at me for a solid five seconds, before slowly nodding.

"If you have any complaints, will your thoughts to be heard, and let me hear them." I turned back, and continued walking, taking a right turn. If I remembered correctly, I saw a chest down here awhile ago when I was moving further and further away from the stairs up to the first floor.

"...Why would we spare them?" It took a minute for him to say it, but it was sensible, at least.

"Fear. We're going to be discovered at some point, so we need to spread an image that evokes fear once that happens. Otherwise, we'll be hunted down and culled before we ever begin to grow." I looked down the two hall intersection we'd come to.

I think it's to the right?

I hadn't touched the chest, as I didn't want to have to carry any extra stuff with me, but now that it was needed, I was mentally kicking myself for not grabbing it.

It took five minutes, and me having to turn around after that, to find it again. It was even worse off than the first chest I'd found, with it only containing a rusty mace, tattered leather armor, and a pathetic looking wooden shield.

"This will be your gear for now. We'll see if we can't get the rust off later. For now, we should get to finding others to join our cause." I turned away, watching for any emerging lights in the distance, as he equipped his new gear.

"What is our cause?" I still didn't have an answer for that question, even when he said it.

I stayed silent, thinking about what I wanted.

Strength? It was a powerful tool, but not something I want. War? I'm not bloodthirsty, and I don't really like the idea of soaking a continent in blood and death. Peace? As nice as it sounds, I don't think I'll ever have it, not if I'm constantly having to avoid everything around me. What if I didn't have to? What if I could walk freely amidst these halls, among the floors? What about the surface world?

I knew what I wanted.

"Victory." I stated the word, feeling a sense of wonder. "Not just for you, or me. For all of us down here. The victory that will grant us a home where we don't have to fight to survive. Where the lives of us undead aren't measured in hours and days, but years, decades, and centuries. That's our cause." I turned back to the skeleton, who had simply stood there, watching me. "Victory."

He stayed silent for a moment, before nodding once, more solidly than before. "Then what's our next step towards that end?"

If I could have grinned, It would have stretched from ear to ear. "We need more troops." I turned, and we started moving quickly. We would need to build a much more significant force than I had done before, within a week. I didn't trust the woman's assessment, so we'd have to move much faster than I had initially planned.

Within an hour, we found another group of skeletons, numbering four. Out of this, three pledged their loyalty, one of them even going so far as to kneel before me, his bones clacking against the stone. It made me a bit uncomfortable, but I accepted them nonetheless.

I have a feeling I'm going to have to get used to this, if my criteria remains like this.

We travelled around, and I noticed that there were several more skeletons at night than there were during the day. Either they were spawned during the night, or the fact that the dungeoneers weren't around allowed them to be created more often.

With the requirements I'd set as a standard, we didn't pick up very many more skeletons, as most either viewed us with suspicion, or even open hostility, although none attacked us. It took us even longer to equip ourselves, and when the system clock showed that it was roughly around dawn, we had recruited seven skeletons total, and equipped five. We numbered a total of eight, including myself.

At first, we didn't speak much, but after about an hour together, we opened up a bit more. Speaking of victory seemed to get our proverbial blood racing. Most of the recruits hadn't been around for more than a few hours, whereas I and one other had been around for about a day. We all wondered at what the surface was like, and what the other floors held. The other 'veteran' ended up refusing his equipment, stating that he'd survived long enough without it, and that he could wait a little bit longer. It instead went to another of the newer skeletons, who looked at the rusty handaxe he was given. He didn't have any expression, so I had no idea what he was thinking. The generosity of the other intrigued me though.

Honorable, eh? I'll have to keep that in mind.

We were currently looking for a place to lay low, on what I felt to be the outskirts of the dungeon, as the stairs from the first floor dropped dungeoneer's almost in the direct center, and the stairs to the third floor were on the opposite side from where we were at. It turned out, that I'd been hiding with the woman near the stairs to the third floor the day before, which proved to unsettle me more than a little bit. I hadn't seen anybody, so I was hoping it was just a slow day.

As we were walking down a hall on the furthest outskirts we'd managed to discover so far, we found a room ahead of us that looked eerily similar to a barracks. It had worn down beds, an ancient looking table with rickety chairs around it, covered in cobwebs, rotted weapon racks, and an unlit fireplace at the back. It even had a wardrobe, although it was devoid of anything related to clothing.

I don't like this. It feels like this will end up being a trap...

I didn't let any of us enter, as I didn't trust that we wouldn't somehow be discovered here. It was way too obvious. Plus, the beds would have tempted other dungeoneers before, if this place had been found.

Although the others didn't like it, we moved on. Better to be safe, than sorry. After all, most of us were still only level one.

We ended up hunkering down in what amounted to little more than a hole in the wall, which led out into a small circular chamber. It was actually really easy to miss. We'd actually almost walked right past it before the last skeleton pointed it out. It took a full ten minutes to get all of us inside, due to the passage being a bit difficult for us to fit through. On the bright side, it would be almost impossible for any dungeoneers to get through without getting stabbed, crushed, or slashed open.

"This is where it begins. To victory." I raised my sword, my voice solemn.

Those two words were echoed by the voices of seven other monsters.