In the shadows of the forest, between Mount Morte and the farming village of Trin, Noir and Carrie stop shadow jumping for a brief reprieve. Presently, they are on the way to carry out the second contract they've been given for The Syndicate.

Kill Gregor Greene:

One of the farmers in Trin has been committing atrocious acts upon his own family and shows no sign of stopping

Such a sinful existence causing unwanted abuse cannot be permitted to continue and Tironia can produce better than this foul ilk

Leave your mark at the scene to increase The Syndicate's fame and to acquire new contracts

Rewards:

1 Contract Point

Fame increase in Ishda

Subclass Unlock:

Farmer

Return with the body to unlock greater rewards

"I cannot wait to get back! Master will be extremely happy with us after this mission just as she was the last," he laughs joyously at the thought of his Master praising him once again.

Instead of responding, Carrie raises a lethargic eyebrow at her overly enthusiastic partner. It's always Master this, Master that, with Noir. He's got a one-track mind and it's constantly stuck on repeat but at least he gets the job done.

His job so far has entailed being a distraction for Carrie so that she can swiftly finish off their targets. Noir's loud and forward personality makes him the perfect candidate.

Wondering how each monster is earning their individuality, including herself, Carrie takes a refreshing drink out of her pocket dimension and sips on it. Feeling rather parched himself, Noir follows suit and enjoys the brief refreshment. Afterwards, they press on through the overgrown thickets of the forest towards their destination.

A few hours of travelling, and the occasional monster quelling, is all it takes them to arrive at the village of Trin. Travelling through shadows, Noir and Carrie can move faster than a horse without a carriage making them the best choice for long distance missions.

Before approaching, each Shadow Walker changes their outfits into cheap woolen clothing that's often worn by ordinary villagers and travellers alike.

They acquired these garments on their last mission as it makes blending in and infiltration much easier.

The village itself is tiny. Only a few decades old and being in the middle of nowhere, has not given this place much chance to grow. Four buildings sit in the centre of a large open area. There's a bar, an inn, a general shop and a guild hall. A small amount of the homes are scattered around, segregated by small stone walls or wooden fences and the whole area is too rural to have guards posted. That's not to say there aren't any. There's just none so far that the Walkers can see.

The buildings are all constructed from wood and it doesn't appear that they are struggling to provide for themselves out here, in fact most seem to be living a modest life. The majority of plots are used for crop rotation and livestock breeding in spacious locations.

After a small amount of recon they find their target's home in the North West section. He is engaged in one of the cruel acts that has brought his would-be killers here in the first place.

For some reason the scene before them turns both Carrie and Noir's stomachs. Usually they have no feelings for the humans they encounter but the sad situation of the one under duress pulls on their evolving heart strings.

Opening a portal through the shadow of the building, a single judgeful thrust through the back of the head is all it takes to end the life of the twisted human inside. The spear and the body that's now attached to it, exit through the portal before the farmer's son even has a chance to realise he is no longer being abused.

Outside, the body is stored away in Noir's pocket dimension and the dungeon logo is applied to the wall. Seconds was all the time it had taken to end an otherwise uneventful trip.

Less than a minute later and they're back in the forest overlooking the farmland. With their mission accomplished Noir is back to his raucous self, boasting about his weapon's perfect thrust and how the Master will react to his wonderful execution.

Carrie on the other hand lets out a sigh followed by a brief smile towards her child-like companion.

If he explains it like that, it will definitely not be praise he receives.

He could be worse though, she thinks to herself, as they both disappear into another set of shadows. Hop, skip and shadow jumping home.

Noir and Carrie. Syndicate Assassins

It's been a full week since the Dungeon Categoriser, Elric Highgrove, met an undeservedly-swift justice within my dungeon. Personally I think he should have suffered way more than he did.

Seriously, he got off lightly with how quickly Carrie ended his life.

After his death, Elric was absorbed along with the remains of his son and the mercenaries that came with them. This granted me more XP on top of the already ridiculous amount that Light and Dropper had brought back whilst I was in my session.

As the celebrations were nearing the end, I received some distressing news, however, since I've had time to process it I feel as though I may have gotten worked up over nothing. I mean, 50 years is a long-ass time, but it's not like I had any other friends or family left behind. I knew people, but none of them were what I would call a friend; they were more like acquaintances. The only person close enough, that I would have called my friend, died before I did so... Yeah. Go future me.

I was also paid a visit by a strange old man. He claimed that he was told by the gods, or so he said, that he should go to the growing mountain to seek out The Syndicate. Once there they would help him get revenge on the man who killed his son over a triviality and they would stop what happened to him from ever happening to anyone else.

Seeing how he made the journey to reach us at his age and the fact that he had something I really wanted, I got Mira to ask a few details. As soon as he had told us his tale a new Syndicate quest appeared in my notifications. We assured the old man we would deal with his problem and he donated a large bronze coin to our cause and the super cute dire wolf Teddy he had with him. He placed them both in Mira's hands on his way out, thanking and blessing us all the way.

Since this occurrence, a short time has passed and I'm now more confident in the metaphorical shoes of my new life.

Over this time, my family have gone through a few upgrades. The most notable being Light, Dropper and Veris reaching the same rank as Noir and Carrie. Neither myself, nor Me, can understand why they seem to be losing armour with each tier upgrade. They seem to become more fashionable and glamorous with each process as the recurring trend of beauty strikes again.

After their latest evolution, their skin complexion could make Elves jealous and their hair is so smooth it puts spider silk to shame. Each one has risen from Vagabond to Shadow Walker with a great amount of individualistic flair.

Light's soft blue hair now reaches his shoulders and he looks as though he's roughly 20 years old. His goatee remains but is well trimmed and his clothes resemble those of Noir. He's wearing a white shirt which has a black collar and cuffs, with the opposite colour pants. The dungeon symbol is on his back in gold and he no longer has a weapon strapped to him, the same goes for the other two.

Apparently, they can all use space magic at tier three and each of them have their own personal weapon stored away.

They're so cool.

Dropper's golden hair is now longer than it was and hangs in a large plait behind her. A short white summer dress and open toe sandals make up her entire outfit as she looks stunning with sheer simplicity.

Veris' hair is still in a ponytail but her outfit has turned full on dominatrix. Dressed in full black leather, she's wearing knee-length boots and tight feature-showing pants that have a tail on the back. A ridiculously small vest that is laced up in the middle and shows off a lot of skin is all she has on her chest. Elbow-length gloves decorate her arms and a cat mask with ears on is worn over her nose. Out of the three, Veris does have a weapon attached to her but it isn't one of conventional means in the slightest. A beaded whip is attached to her waist and hangs with a ominous aura of its own.

Veris is on a different level of strange.

On a less descriptive note, my tier two Veris clones are close to ascending to tier three and all of my Rogue scouting parties have now become Vagabonds.

Everyone is doing so well.

My dungeon now has a sixth floor. It's all twist and turns just as my other even numbered floors are. I also decided to make a start on the road to Deep Ploughing success by placing ten Stone Golems in the empty descending tunnels. This unlocked the Iron Golem which I placed as the boss of my latest floor.

What started out as the Rogues' Hideout after a few select features, has now undergone major upgrades and each building has hit at least third rank status.

The Guard House is now finally befitting of its status in my dungeon as the true entrance to town. Fully rebuilt, inside and out, there is now a fully functioning prison held beneath it. Not that we're likely to use it. The stonework has changed and is now the same magnificent colour as Barry, it is truly worthy of its new name, The Black Barracks. With this upgrade both Hana and Mira were promoted together and each of them earned the title 'Commander'. They can't offer quests like the others can but when they're in battle they provide a boost to any allies that are in range of them. This makes the Barracks the best place for their skill by a long shot. They now increase the strength of the new Shadow Walkers that I supplied them. I assigned eight of them to new rotating shifts, easing the burden off my original set of newly promoted Rogue guards. This gives them more freedom and I was hoping to unlock the next evolution of Rogues after creating the last Shadow Walker. Unfortunately, it didn't unlock for some reason and Me was unable to shed any light on the matter either.

Maybe the only way to reach tier four is by upgrading after maxing their level?

Who knows, it wasn't a major concern at that moment as there was so much else to focus on.

I gave The Swindlers' Den two simultaneous upgrades and it became The Traveller's Treasure Trove. It actually looks like a cheap gambling establishment from the outside. Inside the four blue walls are many various games for people to try their luck on. Yellow banners are hanging on the wall, some have the dungeon symbol on and others feature the name of the establishment.

Unlike The Black Barracks, I could only give one of my Con Men a promotion and I ended up choosing Jack. As I've said, every one knows a shady guy called Jack. Jack's title is 'The Swindler', once a day he can magically steal an item from another person aslong as he's within 10 feet of them and he is apparently now the most persuasive man in any room that he enters. My original swindlers have had a few additions to their ranks just as Mira and Hana did. The next tier in their class, The Speed Dealer, was unlocked and I placed a few of them confirmining each individual Mini-Boss.

I asked Me about the amount of Mini-Bosses I was racking up on my first floor and he assured me it wasn't important in any way, so I kept confirming everyone I could as I made the rounds.

Continuing with upgrades, The Cracked Cauldron became Witchcraft Creations and Lucinda is still the sole employee of the small odd-looking cottage. It now has a second floor attached on to it but for some strange reason it's twice the size of the floor below and a strange chimney sticks out of the side rather than the roof. Lucinda is now able to offer quests for extra XP just as Talia does to her shady clientele due to the new title of 'Potion Master' that was bestowed upon her establishments promotion.

Next door, The Shop of Secrets upgraded into The Covert Coin and the market stall, going through two upgrades as well, has now become a very attractive looking building. A large sign outside advertises items and a beautiful window showcases many others. Tara and Lara's promotion was a little different than the others however as they each earned a different title. Lara recieved 'Dagger' and Tara got 'Cloak'.

Still not done, Avos, Zen and Ang no longer have to pray in a shed as their feature became The Townhouse of Tribulation. A lovely white house with a sky blue roof now stands before the true trials of my dungeon. A small garden full of beautiful flowers sits to the right and a large mazeis on its left, surroundung the dungeons walls. With the rather large increase in size, I threw a few more Dungeon Disciples and Acolytes into the mix as well. Not enough Disciples to reach the next rank, but a good enough amount to help out anyone in need of a priest. The way my features upgrade still elude me slightly. The Townhouse of Tribulation is the same tier as my other features yet no one was able to chosen for a title for some baffling reason.

The only feature I didn't upgrade was The Sparring Grounds as I had ran out DP. Over the week though, thanks to my ever vigilant scouting parties, more rolled in and I continued with my ever expanding Rogue Town.

Instead of upgrades though, this time I built Ali her own kitchen and I placed it directly in the centre of the floor. It seemed like the best place for it because everyone needs to eat. After assigning her to the building and with a few upgrades, it reached the standards of the others. With this Ali was graced with a quest-giving promotion and title. She is now known as 'The Gourmet' and her building is almost the same size as the Retreat. Made from yellow brick stone, the establishment the system has named The Crescent Cafe has a red roof and a broad white sign above the large door. On the sign it simply reads 'Ali's' in bold red letter's.

Right next door to Ali's, I built the cheap-to-place Rooms For Rent and upgraded it alongside its neighbour until it became The Privacy Palace. At three levels tall it became the largest building on my first floor and has 45 rooms available for any guests we may receive. Lodgings and restaurant's go hand-in-hand so it's a perfect fit. Since Katrina decided to stay with us, I gave her the penthouse suite so that she has the best view of her new home. She has also been contracted to my dungeon. She didn't want to leave as she feels comfort from us, which is crazy in its own way considering she has seen the freakier aspects of my creations. When I offered her the contract though, she accepted without hesitation.

Maybe she's crazier than the rest of us?

Except Veris.

Either way, now that she can officially hear and see me, she always has something to say or ask and I just love her. Kat has her own opinions and she questions my decisions, which to be honest, has really been a huge help toward gaining a peace of mind in this situation us Cores call life.