The biodome had pillars the size of a tower, protruding from the ground. Bones counted six pillars with numerous openings and long bridges, connecting all six of them. Saying that’s a lot of ant-man was an understatement. From what he could tell at first glimpse, there were dozens ant-man outside of each pillar on long bridges. Pillars had sandy textures, so did the ground, where he saw guards in twos patrolling. Coming in from the ground is a possibility, but not without alerting the ant-man above. From the ceiling? And then what? I wished I had fire at my disposal. It didn’t seem like there was a correct approach. Truthfully, he didn’t really need to kill any of them, he could probably sneak around them and find the tunnel out, if there was one. He, at least, didn’t see any from the tunnel entrance he was standing at. He wouldn’t leave the potential experience den alone though. He was in a dungeon and they were meant to be killed. He sat at the entrance, entered meditation and started planning his next course of action.

Unbeknownst to him, a whole day has passed since he entered the dungeon. Horus was long gone. He left an hour after losing sight of Bones and reported back to boss Vol. Boss wasn’t happy hearing about his target escaping but when he heard about markings on the wall and how Bones had disappeared after touching them, his expression changed. Unlike his subordinates, he knew dungeon entrances came in different forms. The information about the potential dungeon was to be kept a secret between him, Horus and a few loyal subordinates. Monopolising a dungeon could be his chance to rise above Trevak and overthrow Guntar as a crime lord in Westbrook! As long as the word didn’t leak out! He sent a few scouts, under Horus, to monitor the location for any strange activity and report back if anyone, Bones in particular, emerges in the clearing. Scouts, of course, didn’t know about the potential dungeon being there, they just did as they were told. Horus however, had a different plan formulating in his head.

There was no way for Vol to overthrow Guntar. Vol was a recent bronze ranker, between levels 21-24, he couldn’t be sure since he couldn’t identify him. Guntar? He was well over level 30 and he was strong. There was a reason the adventurer guild hadn’t gotten rid of him. Man was a former adventurer, had experience, connections and could keep the others in line! No, Horus didn’t think of crossing Guntar, but to doublecross Vol and take his place! After he sent the scouts he trusted to monitor a dungeon entrance, he stealthy left the alleys and went towards the warehouse district.

It wasn’t his first time entering Guntar’s hideout. Unlike the other two bosses, Guntar had his hideout underground, below one of the warehouses. Horus was riding a manavator heading underground with a guard by his side as an escort. Third floor down, the manavator stopped and Horus stepped out into a corridor leading to the gates with guards on each side. Behind the gates was an office-sorts of area, with an overly decorated chair and a desk with glass windows from where Guntar was overseeing an operation going on below. Through the windows, an underground hangar could be seen where workers were processing some kind of stones, cutting and shaping them into smaller pieces, each the same size and placing them neatly into the boxes.

“Horus! It’s been a while. How have you been?” Guntar asked as he slowly turned around and focused his attention to Horus just arriving.

“It truly has been a while. I’m as good as I could be. How long do I have to stay with Vol?”

“Oh c'mon, Vol isn’t that bad. Man has got ambition!”

“Yeah well, speaking of ambitions…” and so Horus retold the story from the beginning to Vol’s plan with the dungeon and overthrowing Guntar. Guntar stayed silent for a minute, then smiled and replied.

“Soon Horus, soon we will be done with Vol and I will need someone to replace Vol and take care of the alleys. Are you up for it?”

“I will be, boss.”

“Good, glad to hear it! I want you to continue as planned. Report to me first when that man, Bones, resurfaces.”

Bones was running through the tunnel, back to the first biodome. Behind him, dozens of clicks could be heard. He decided to deal with the patrolling guards first, thinking, how many ant-man could he really alert? The answer was, a lot! At least a few dozen. Killing guards pushed his Bone Spear to level up and be the first skill he got to advanced mastery. Unfortunately for him, timing was terrible and he didn’t have time to properly look at the options he was given. Before the exit of the tunnel, he spotted the bodies of the first patrol he killed and with quick thinking, did the thing he only did once before. He stored his clothes and weapon, found a spot next to a wall and played dead. Few seconds later, a small army of ant-man came rushing past him and continued towards the exit of the tunnel. It felt like an ever growing itch while he had his core and body deactivated but it was a necessity. He endured the feeling for a couple of minutes and when he thought it was safe, activated his core back. He didn’t get up, but continued playing dead. It was time to make an important decision. Bone Spear was his main attack and he was given an option to modify the skill with two different modifications. The first modification was a bone shrapnel mod and it would change his bone spears piercing effect into exploding on impact, sending bone shrapnel to surrounding targets. The second one would upgrade his Bone Spear to Bone Lance. Basically the same skill, only much better. Increased range, damage and length of the spear with the same piercing effect. Mana cost would be slightly increased but it seemed like a small price for such an upgrade. He thought it would be a difficult decision, but maybe it was just the situation he found himself in, that made it easier to choose.

Warning!

You have chosen to modify the skill: Bone Spear

Accept the modification?

Yes/No

Skill: Bone Spear changed to a skill: Bone Lance

You have learned a new skill: Bone Lance

It is done! Bones stood up and once he equipped his items once more, he summoned the Bone Lance. He thought he would lose the extra projectiles he gained with levels to bone spear but it seemed that wasn’t the case. He summoned all four lances and felt the mana drain. Each lance was twenty mana to cast and keeping them summoned with bone manipulation was constantly draining his mana. He, however, was too dazed to murmur complaints. Lances were massive! Twice the size of spears and long enough to wield as a melee weapon. He dismissed the lances. Waited a bit for mana to regenerate and then casted a single lance. He reached out and held it in his hands. He had to use bone manipulation to feed it mana necessary to sustain the summon but it was doable. He could use it as a melee weapon! Only thing left to do is to test the new lance. He turned in the direction of the biodome and started walking. Antman didn’t come back so they must have stayed in a biodome with a normal oversized ants. As he was nearing the exit of the tunnel he could hear the clicking again.

He was in a crawling stance, peeking from the entrance to the tunnel. He saw the ant-man taking over the nests of ants and searching for him. Chaos ensued by ant-man trespassing onto ants domain. There were hissing sounds and sounds of mandibles clicking and it was an opportunity for Bones. While they focused on each other, they failed at sensing their surroundings. Bones was ready to use the lance, see the result and make a run for it. He would hid in the tunnel, played dead and repeat this tactic. If it was working, why wouldn't he abuse it?

He aimed at the mixed group of ant-man and ants and gave his lance a bit of an oomph with his mana. Lance flew straight for fifty meters, piercing in half the first ant-man, taking off the upper appendages of the second one and pinning one of the ants to the pillar. Two ants with one lance! Bones was so surprised he forgot to make a run for it. He wasn't the only one. The sound of lance flying and pinning the ant to the pillar made everyone freeze for a second. Then all hell broke loose. Ants skittered away and ant-man were regrouping, focusing now entirely in the direction the lance came from. Bones laid down and kept mum. They haven't noticed him yet but they could...ah crap. They are coming this way. He stood up, they noticed and he ran. They followed, slowly this time.

He was standing at the spot he pretended to be dead the first time and hesitated. A thought occurred to him. If the lance was this strong, was there a need to hide? We're in the tunnel. I wasn't the one trapped here! He grinned and stepped away, distancing himself some more. He summoned the first lance and the moment he saw the sight of ant-man, sent it flying their way. No amount of chitin saved them this time. Lance pierced through and kept flying until it impaled the walls of the tunnel. Bones was exhilarated and summoned the next one, and the next one until, what was left of ant-man, scurried away back to biodome. He heard the ding but ignored it. He started running after them.

An hour later he was back at the entrance to the second biodome. He was sitting down in meditation and going through the notifications. He killed every ant and ant-man up to this point. He gained another level in race and another in class. Leveling speed was insane! He had no need to sleep, eat or drink! Meditation here and there was all he needed. Reaching level 15 in the race, he was awarded another skill, as expected. It was a skill that had a vague description. He could see its usefulness but didn't know the limitations. A lot of testing would be necessary, but this wasn't the time nor the place. He gave the skill a onceover and closed the screen. He had a lot more ant-man to kill.

Skill: Bone Shaping [basic] - an ability to shape bones into a desired shape. A user can solidify or give solid-like properties to bones, with the level of solidity going from loose jelly to metal-like hardness. The effect of shaping is greatly increased with the skill level and the level of bone manipulation.

Warning: Shaping one's bones can have drawbacks leading to unforeseen death.

Bones still felt elevated at how good of a skill Bone Lance was. It went through the ant-man like a hot knife through the butter. Even when they had all rushed after him, all he had to do was to step back in the tunnel and wait for the ant-man to line up. It was so easy now! He didn't rush and used less skills in sequence so he had no issues keeping up with his mana. It felt great fighting like this. He couldn't do something like this in his past life. At best, he could outsmart two or three people. Soul magic took time to work. Shaking his head he focused on what was in front of him. He found an intersection with two paths available. He picked the left one at random and entered.

The tunnel was long and he encountered another intersection. He went left again until he reached another intersection. A maze? “Shit.” He didn't like the idea of getting lost in the dungeon. He read in the book that at the end, after a dungeon was cleared, there would be a portal that could either take him to the next stage of the dungeon or take him back to the entrance of the dungeon. So, he had to clear the dungeon. Haaaah, there will be a queen waiting, a boss, no doubt. Not to mention the possibility of more ants protecting the queen. He couldn't know how long the dungeon was but approximate clearing time for low level dungeons was between one and three days. He was sure at least a day passed so, maybe half way done?