Mathew rode up front with Henderson as they slowly escorted the large crowd of fighters toward the undead Dungeon. He was honestly surprised by the numbers. He expected people to run, hide, cry, and cowar in fear. Yet, the majority of them were ready to reclaim their city…his city.

It also helped that almost everyone were spell casters, or had some sort of ranged attack. Blades of wind, bolts of all sorts of elements, some could move the very earth at will. Mathew knew he would be spending more time here than at Blue Oaks once everything finishes up. That magic store would be his ticket to perfecting rituals before the World Quest.

“I see Leo’s group ahead. Ready to end this fiasco?” Henderson said with a bit of hope. She has heard stories of how people have died to the undead, and after seeing the slaves that was enough for her.

Mathew expected to see Henderson take the path of a law upholder. A city guard or police force molded to her will. So long as they had Mathew to provide said laws, it would work out. He was more than willing to support it.

“I am ready. Hopefully it ends swiftly. Few to no deaths.”

Henderson nodded and stopped the truck and hoped out. Mathew followed suit with his summons right behind him. Alan appeared not long after with his giant weapon. A double sidded axe rested on his shoulder.

“I’m behind ya Mr. Mathew, don’t worry about anyone trying anything funny.” He said with a wink.

Mathew looked the man up and down and shrugged. He honestly believed Alan wanted to keep him alive. A good hearted man. Someone easy to manipulate. The perfect someone to fight with him for what he had planned inside the Dungeon.

Looking at his familiar, Mathew pointed in the direction of the Dungeon Portal. “Agnox, go fly around and let me know if anything other than normal undead are around.”

With a two finger salute the familiar flew off. “Got it boss.”

Leo walked over and nodded at Mathew and the others. “Bob wasn’t there. We checked.” He crossed his arms looking concerned. “I think he ran away, or worse, went to the undead Dungeon Boss to work out some deal.”

Mathew shook his head, “He hates magic, why work with a necromancer? I think he was taken. Kidnapped maybe.” It was a half truth, if what he had in mind was the real truth.

“But why kidnapp him? That makes zero sense.” Henderson said. “So far, all undead have just killed, and sometimes eaten people. Even the giant one that attacked you did just that.”

Mathew clicked his tongue in thought. “Necromancy deals with bodies. What if the boss wanted to experiment on live bodies? Of course, Bob could have ran away, but he didn’t strike me as the kind of guy to do that. What about you Leo?”

Leo sighed, “Not really, no. He didn’t want to give up his little bit of power. He was more likely to hole up inside the mall, and kill anyone that showed up. Not run away. Most people there liked him, so he had little to fear in regards to a revolution.”

“What if it’s none of those things?” Alan suggested. “He could just be lost. Or hurt and resting in the city somewhere.”

Leo looked the big man up and down, “I like that thinking. It makes sense. Who are you?”

“Alan. I’m here to keep Mr. Mathew alive today.”

“Mr. Mathew?” Leo said with a slight chuckle. “Works for me, less work I need to do.”

Mathew scoffed. “Like I need your protection. I killed more undead than you during the battle.”

Leo shrugged, “I still don’t think summons like Agnox count. He’s his own person.”

“Who is under my control and power. Just like all my other summons. That’s like saying any kills with Lucky don’t count.”

“Boys!” Henderson shouted, getting their attention. “We can measure dicks later. We have a dungeon to finish off, no?”

The two ex-lawyers stared at each other for a moment, making a silent deal. Whoever killed the boss today, won. No holds bar. Of course, Mathew wouldn’t be upholding that silent bet.

“Right, so what’s the plan? Send in the weaker guys to clear the way, then the main core goes in?” Leo asked.

“Exactly that.” Mathew replied and looked at the crowd forming around them. A mix of all three zones standing side by side. So far, only a few mean words were thrown out, no infighting. “Good, maybe I can make something out of this mess even more than what The System will give me. More loyal followers, resources, and two entire new shops. I just need to reach the end of the Dungeon before Leo…”

“Myself, Alan, and the Advneture team are with me.” Mathew said. “Leo, you can take Samuel, Lucas, Lindsey, and a couple extras. Henderson can take her personal team in. Anyone under Level 15 is not allowed. That’s a direct order, if anyone bitches about it, send them to Jeffery.”

Alan chuckled at that. Everyone else nodded in agreement. “What’s the plan for anything inside? Anything…odd.” Alan asked.

“Well, if it’s anything like the other Dungeons, expect another person in command other than the boss.” Henderson said. “Zac said undead have a master that is physically weak. A head Necromancer. They put their focus on the creatures they control, like Mathew here.”

Alan nodded. “Weak boss, horde of enemies. Swarm tactics. Nephew talked about those before, I got it.”

Leo started to swing his arms in large loops to warm up, “Enough talking. I’m ready to go in. We are strong and smart enough to solve any other problems.”

Mathew nodded and broke off from the group to find his crew. He gatherd everyone up and shared not only the main plan, but a modified version of his own personal plans.

“What do you mean we are rushing to the boss room? Why do you need to specify that?” Victor asked. Everyone else nodded in confusion.

“Because, I need to end this. I have a special quest that requires me to do it. I don’t trust Leo enough to hold back, do any of you think he will as well?” Mathew asked the group who has been with Leo all week.

Nobody responded, but Victor eventually nodded, “Yea, you're right. But why you?”

“I’m the leader of Blue Oaks.” He said matter of factly.

“Does Leo doing it not count as a kill for you? Since we are all on the same team, it should still count no?”

“Honestly, I haven’t a clue, but I’m not going to risk losing out on 50k UC. Would you?” Mathew half lied.

Alan let out a whistle. “That much? For a reward? Shit, my quest just gives me a final reward based on results. Maybe five thousand if I’m lucky.”

“You don’t think helping me out won’t count?” Mathew asked with a smile. “Helping end the Dungeon should give you major points. What about your team Vic?”

Victor shrugged, “We don’t have one. We showed up after the quest was issued I think.”

“Okay, even better. Alan is the only one who loses out, if at all. I’ll give you all a big fat reward if you help me out. How does a free magical bag sound? Maxed out with my newest levels in the spell.”

Alan was the only one who seemed uninterested. “What does the bag do?”

“It’s a bag of holding man.” Victor started to explain. “We could only afford two, but if we each got one that would be great! Especially before the World Quest! We can carry so much extra supplies and bring out so many potential rewards. You have a deal, Mathew.”

“Huh, I can hold more stuff? That sounds useful. How much extra stuff?” Alan asked.

Mathew thought it over in his head. “Probaby a literal truck load by now. Maybe more if I rank it up once or twice more.”

Alan smiled. “I like the sound of that. I want one too then.”

Clapping his hands, Mathew smiled. “Good. Just follow my orders, no matter how weird they might sound. We want to keep everyone alive, and safe right?”

Eight heads nodded, one of which was an imp, the other a wolf. They all regrouped with the main core of fighters and Mathew saw a few undead already shambeling their way toward the small army.

“Leo, want to do the honors?” He asked his friend.

Leo raised his weapon into the air and waited a moment before firing a shot. It was the signal to start the push foward. All groups would continue forward, clearing out undead and keep moving toward the horde that surrounded the portal.

Mathew’s group took it slow, mainly for Alan. The big man had only 12 points into Dexterity. Even at Level 15, he only did so out of curiosity to see if he could be faster, which he never was before.

Sounds of battle echoed down the streets. Magical flashes of light from spells flashed now and then. It was different from when the Infernals were fought. It was a sheer one sided victory. The undead were mostly under Level 8. A few scouts could tell the level of people, similar to Damian’s ability. Even with all its victories, it was still a Novice ranked Dungeon.

Mathew suspected it had a limit on what it could do, unless the Dungeon Boss invested time into raising or removing those limits. Agnox was mostly helpful with that information, sharing what he knew about Morthrus and her plans.

Yet, if Mathew’s suspicions were correct, this Dungeon Boss spent all or most of his upgrades on himself, or expanding the number in his horde. He never expected anyone like himself to fight, hence the giant undead that attacked him directly.

Mathew was a threat, and the Dungeon was correct to be afraid.

It took half an hour before Mathew saw a literal sea of undead. He couldn’t even fathom how many stood around the portal. The sound of combat continued to echo across the two armies.

Looking at his team, “You all ready? Leo’s team is leading the charge. We are the rear group with two more guard teams to hold the portal.”

Mostly everyone was ready. Alan looked a bit worried, but gave a thumbs up.

Once the three team leaders all nodded, Leo’s team charged foward. A yellow energy surrounded Leo’s weapon and he began to cleave his way through the horde. If Mathew could hear him, he imagined he would hear either laughter or a war cry coming from the man.

Mathew chose to reserve his energy as best as possible. Carefully focusing on his two wisps and how the two were going to grow separately. One with faster attacks, with the other using heavier hitting attacks. Mathew found using his [Piercing] Axiom, his ranged attack’s power output was tremendous.

As an experiment, he changed a [Mana Bolt] to a sizable power and pierced through two bodies with one attack. With the added benefit of having decent control of the attack mid-air, he knew how he was going to grow that spell.

He couldn’t turn it on a dime in midair, but a rough fourty-five degree turn was better than the slight two degree turn he had before. It was good to realize that now, versus later once inside the Dungeon.

Agnox was having an easy time. He just flew over the outstretched arms, throwing a lazy firebolt when he saw an easy kill. Jeffrey stayed right by Mathew’s side. Any undead that came close, lost a limb or its life.

Alan was doing his job on Mathew’s other side, cleaving any undead as well. He was the lowest level person going in. Mathew silently hoped the large man lived. Yet, he didn’t expect him to. The few techniques he had were adequate, but nothing to write home back. He had four Unranked powers, one of which was an armor spell.

Since he didn’t use mana for anything else, he used his only spell to protect him. Something Mathew filed away for himself in the future. He was going to either get that spell, or learn to mimic it himself.

Leo’s team jumped into the portal, and Mathew looked at the green swirling entrance, eyeballing the staggering details it held.

Undead Dungeon: Novice + 2

Unlocked

Unclaimed

Number of Attempts: 35

He grinned, all but confirming what he needed to know. This dungeon was powerful. If what Agnox said about how failed attempts empower it, then this place would be on par with a Beginner dunngeon at the least.

His group ran through and entered a cold area. It was a square room, with walls going roughly twenty feet up before ending in a stone grey roof. Five pathways, all in different directions awaited them.

“Okay, we know it’s a labyrinth. We are splitting up from here.” Henderson said, reminding everyone. “The healer team is staying here. If you get hurt fall back to this place and either recuperate and go back further inside. Or, leave. We don’t want dead people here.”

Everyone nodded and a few others casted spells and pulled out items with limited time use. Alan casted his armor spell now. The mage from Victor's team also casted a spell that enchanted Victor’s and Alan's blade with fire magic. Similar to Agnox’s own ability, but not as strong.

The reason for splitting up was to end this fast. If one team got caught in a dead in, they could end up getting cornered by a strong enemy, that isn’t the boss. Additionally, this allows Mathew to pull off his own secret plan.

Bob was in here, and he wanted to question the man. Leo would just outright kill him once he realized he was the Dungeon Boss. Mathew wanted…no, needed to force out answers from the man. How The System worked, more information on Dungeons. Hell, if he was a Necromancer, maybe he could teach Mathew some other techniques or who knows what.

Mathew didn’t know what he didn’t know, something he disliked. He hated the unknown. Bob, or whatever his real name was, had endless amounts of information possibly.

Alan led the charge down their respective path, his blade ignited as their light source. Agnox’s own blade was ignited, including both of Mathew’s wisps; light wasn’t a problem. Mathew took a steadying breath, mentally reading himself for what is to come.

“Wherever you are Bob. You better pray I find you, or you are a dead man.”

Alarms went off in front of Bob. He winced in pain, his final creations were in front of him, awaiting orders. He wouldn’t be fighting today. He would lose against who was inside this Dungeon, even a weakly Novice ranked person. He practically gave up almost everything for what he has done.

The unorthodox was frowned upon by not only his old clan, but The System as well. He was on a timer before it realized what he had done and punished him. He looked at the plate mailed undead that had been his first general in this Dungeon and pointed down the first path. If his alarms were correct, Leo was down that path. It sucked he was forced to use a woman’s body, but she was one of the first he had access to.

Pointing at the spectar like creature that floated next to his knight he pointed down another path that had Mathew in it. “Go, my creations.” Bob coughed. “Fullfill your duties, do not fail your master. Failure results not only in your death, but my own.”

Bob wheezed and continued to cough as the two went down their respencted paths. Blood covered his hand and he squeezed his eyes shut to try and bear the pain that echoed through his body.

He didn’t dare look at his menu, afraid to see the true damage he did to his body. Instead, he opened his Dungeon Menu tab, able to see parts of his Dungeon. He could see three teams, each currently in a fight or were slowly making their way through the maze of his Dungeon.

Focusing on a group led by a woman he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Of course Earth lets their women lead. Crazy bastards.”

Henderson swung her blade in a wide arc, decapitating three undead. Her team was the smallest, with just five people. Each of them one of her own specially chosen soldiers from Blue Oak.

Bob quickly swapped to the one team he wanted to watch the most. Currently Leo was leading a team of seven with determination. He was curious how he would deal with the armored undead. It was covered in the few ingots he brought with him, the last of it used for the shackles that kept his spectar bound to him. It didn’t take long for the knight to be sighted by Leo’s team.

“This has to be the boss!” Leo shouted. His grip upon his bastardized weapon tightened. “All of you stay back, he’s mine!”

A glow surrounded Leo and Bob’s eyes grew wide with fear. “No…Impossible! A Chosen? HERE?!” He slammed his fists on the table. Then coughed up more blood. His luck was cursed. This was it. Not only was a contractor here, but a damn chosen of a God.

“So this is my punishement isn’t it you insidious God.” Bob said, looking up at his ceiling. “The Fate Stealer rears its ugly head, and continues to mess with me. You didn’t offer me jack shit, you are using me.” Bob scoffed, closing his eyes.

He all but accepted death now. In a matter of minutes he would be beheaded by Leo. Nothing will save him now. If he knew Leo was a Chosen, he would have abandoned his Dungeon, and accepted the wrath of The System instead.

A tinge of excitement flashed across his body. “I dont’ care enough to watch the Spectar anymore.” The connection he had to the spirit pulled again. A rush of energy flooded his body, and he opened his eyes, reopening the menu to look at Mathew’s team. What he saw gave him a singular hope. “Yes… Yes! YYYEEESSSSS!”