After killing the boss, the party made camp and rested. The rogue and the ranger were sitting by the fire, occasionally glancing Bones’ way. Vern, the defender, was by his lonesome cleaning his shield and Solin was approaching Bones who was sitting not far away, keeping his distance. After killing the boss, the mood turned awkward to say the least. They cleared the dungeon, managed to kill the boss without suffering casualties and drops were good, so why the foul mood?

“So, what do you think about the dungeon?” Solin asked as he approached and sat down next to Bones. “The dungeon surprised me. I didn’t expect to be attacked by the giant flowers today. It was something different for sure!” He paused and added: “I appreciate the gesture, Solin but no need to hold yourself back. Ask away."

Solin looked away for a moment, then back at Bones. "That transparent huh? I really wanted to ask what happened there at the end? Gareth healed you, then you unleashed a mana blast and then…I felt something odd. Your posture, Bones and the way you looked at him. I didn't see your expression, but I felt it…"

Bones nodded and thought a bit about what to say. "What do you want me to say? Heal doesn't work on the undead, you know that? At least, not the way it should work. Anyway, I might have turned my aggression towards our fellow ranger."

Solin nodded, figuring something like that happened. "Well, it's in the past now. Do tell, however, was that the skill you used on Gareth? What was it?"

Bones chuckled. "Sorry, it’s an undead thing! Think we might have problems down the road?" Solin turned to look at the two by the fire, then sighed. "No, they're not like that. I wouldn't call them good guys, but they wouldn't backst…hmm, we'll be fine!"

The party relaxed for a while and eventually got together and shared what items they looted from the boss. Bones took out the staff he got and inspected it. The shaft of the staff was made of sturdy wood with engraved lines going from the bottom all the way to the top, where a large mana crystal was embedded into the tip of the shaft.

The mana crystal was larger and shone brighter than any crystal or mana stone Bones had previously seen. When he asked about it, Solin replied it was a mana crystal of medium quality. It was Bones' first time seeing a mana crystal of medium size. Solin further explained that unlike mana stones, crystals had a lower output and that was why they lasted longer. Also the reason the crystals were used more often in crafting staffs or powering utilities than mana stones. Once spent, the crystal would break, but could be easily replaced with the new one by the crafter specialized in crafting staffs.

Among the boss loot were items not usable by any members of the party, like Bloodthorn Whip and following the premeditated rules, any items not usable by anyone in the party would be sold and the money split between the party members. Within an hour, the party was ready to move on. Bones looked at the now all too familiar portal that manifested after they killed the boss and followed the team to the next floor as they entered the portal one by one.

The third floor would be their final floor in this dungeon run as the fourth floor had, on average, silver rank monsters with the boss being in 2nd tier and too much for the team to handle. Solin gave Bones a briefing on what to expect on the third floor and Vern, as the leader, did the same again with the other members.

They appeared once again in the small clearing, surrounded by the forest. Unlike the previous floor, the third floor had humanoid monsters like kobolds Bones hadn't seen since the start of his journey and an occasional elite troll at level 37. The monsters were actually easier to handle than the plants as the plants main source of attack was poison with paralyzing and hallucinogenic effects, which was difficult to handle without preparations. Kobolds were numerous and lived in tribes. If living in the dungeon could be called a "living".

Regardless, they were bigger than the ones Bones saw before and were aggressive by nature. They constantly tried to ambush the team in a group of three to five. Their attacks were ferocious and they had basic mastery with their respective weapons equipped. To Bones' surprise, his golem seemed to adopt some of the kobolds moves with the spear.

Trolls on the other hand were fewer in number and the team always encountered them solo. They were durable and it took time and teamwork to deplete their health to zero with their high speed health regeneration.

Bones, making an observation, realized how much of an advantage he had being an undead over them. So far, all the monsters they encountered were adapted to oppose, kill and counter the living with poisons, bleed, acid, mind and even soul attacks. He knew his advantages already but only now witnessed the disparity between them. While the team coordinated well and could handle monsters and even the boss with relative ease, it wasn’t without necessary preparations and planning beforehand.

He also realised just how much he was lacking the skills that reinforced the body. He did have a single passive skill that did boost the sturdiness of his bones but it wasn’t nearly as strong as the body reinforcement the others acquired through years of training.

That was fine, Bones told himself. In due time he planned to do something about it with engraving. For now, his golem would compensate for his weaknesses and he had to say, golem did fine. There were limits to what the golem could and couldn't do, but it was his lack of levels in golem mastery the reason his golem isn’t on the same level as his party members.

Bones’ power of observation also noted that the ranger kept distancing himself progressively over the course of clearing the 3rd floor. Soon, he noticed others did too.

The other rogue and Gareth made it evident what they thought of Bones as he heard them slander him over what happened during the fight against the boss Bloodthorn. Bones didn't really care. Vern still acted as the leader but he too, was showing the signs of unease being around him. Seems like people can't be in close proximity around me for a long period of time without feeling IT. That's Misanthrope for you!

Solin was the one most perplexed, because his teammates didn't know that Bones was an undead and he didn't plan to share that information with them. For some reason, he seemed unaffected by the skill.

The final boss was an ogre at level 44. It was a tough battle as the ogre was resilient to physical attacks and also had powerful but slow attacks. The reason the party was damage oriented was precisely to penetrate the bosses defences and take the boss down fast.

Solin did the most damage as the damage dealer and his expertise with both the poison and stacking bleed ailments, greatly increased the speed of their overall progress on the floor. He had learned to incorporate mana bursts into his piercing attacks and used twin bone daggers Bones had given him to poison and debuff his targets.

Once the boss was killed and the floor completed, the rest of the team didn’t wait around to leave. They said their goodbyes and left without even looking Bones' way. The defender approached and thanked Bones for the run. He also apologised for the youngins and told Bones to pay them no mind.

In his book, the dungeon run was a success but it seemed Bones wouldn't be able to enjoy climbing a dungeon with a party in the future. Another thing that raised his attention was that the effect of misanthrope in addition to Soul Gaze, had an increased effectiveness. The two skills went well together and after leaving the dungeon and parting ways with Solin, Bones started searching for easy targets he would continue practicing his soul abilities on. I never did experience the night out in the western district did I?

Bones strolled the bustling streets of Nightingale Row, the shadiest part of the city where the worst of the worst could be found. He would sneak around brothels and bars and walk the streets unnoticed, trying his best not to draw attention. He used every opportunity he found to use soul skills on unfortunate victims.

The effect was sometimes immediate when he was in close proximity to the target. A few times he even managed to entice a target to attack him. His choice of targets were the riff-raff way below his level, not many would miss if dead and gone and more importantly, give a damn enough to start looking for the culprit.

Losing himself in madness, Bones baited thugs by jiggling a pouch of coins when walking by in an attempt to try and rob him. Unfortunate victims suffered from Soul Gaze and then Soul Link, Bones used to peer into his victims' very being. Once shaken up enough, most times than not, they would physically retaliate and would be taken care of by the golem’s swift and precise spear.

The streets tasted blood that night, far more than usual and Bones enjoyed himself. He was sure to change his robe with a clean one before he returned to the tavern at dawn and had a morning cup of coffee. The night was bountiful as he gained four whole levels in Soul Weaver class, following a new skill at level 10.

The Soul Barrier skill he gained was a sort of shield for the soul, a passive ability that didn’t really scale with anything but levels in Soulweaver class and time. The time, Bones' soul endured plenty already. He felt the barrier around his core. He couldn’t explain how but it felt like an eggshell around an egg. Hopefully not as fragile.

Sipping on coffee, Solin soon joined him, ordering breakfast and apologizing again for yesterday's situation. Bones didn't mind. He thought it was actually quite insightful seeing how the misanthrope affected others around him. He was glad, sort of, that the passive effect wasn't immediate on stronger people and it took a while for people to "grow" on him. Solin didn't seem to be affected. Even now, eating by the table with him didn't raise any red flags. He didn't know why. Perhaps because they knew each other? Had a good relationship?

"You have progressed a lot, Solin. I was quite surprised to see how you handled yourself in the dungeon yesterday. If it weren't for your precise and timely attacks…"

Solin was briefly stunned by the sudden praise, not replying and just smiling back. He was obviously not used to getting praised. After a minute of awkward silence, Solin looked up to Bones and said he had gained a lot of insight from fighting him during the last few months.

Bones didn't and couldn't realise just how hard it was for the assassin to fight someone who had no vitals to strike and Solin was forced to change his patterns and incorporate imbued attacks in his combo. Imbued attacks were given at a higher level but Solin had modified the way he imbued his attacks to lessen the strain of using them. He had even gained a new skill, making them easier to execute.

Once again, he reminded Bones that skills could be self-learned and by learning them by himself, he could alter them to his needs and not just accept whatever system threw his way. Bones smiled at Solin, a flashback bringing him back to his past life and all the struggles he endured. No thank you Solin, I did learn by myself my whole past life and I'd welcome the path the system guides me with open arms.

Changing the topic, Bones asked how things were going with his girlfriend, Morem. Solin got worked up and quickly put down the dish, looking eager to respond. "I totally forgot to give you an update! Things are looking great! Like you advised, I tried not to over complicate things with her and just keep it straight."

"Yes? Well I'm glad it worked out for you!” Bones replied and actually meant it. With all the emotional rollercoaster he’s been going through, or the apparent lack of, he was more sincere with Solin than anyone else...except the dwarves.

“Thanks mate! So yeah, she was more understanding than I thought she would be when I said I needed more time to myself!”

“Mhm, she sounds like quite a catch, Solin!” Well, this raises some red flags but I’m sure the kids would be able to solve any problems that might arise.

“-out you Bones?” Solin asked but Bones didn’t hear him, tuning himself out for a moment. “Sorry, what?”

“I asked you if you had any family? I don’t mean to pry, you just never really talk about yourself. Do you remember if you have a family?”

Now that’s a question I wasn’t expecting. “I don’t mind the question.” Let’s see, what should I say…”I did have a family in the past. I had a wife, sons and daughters once. If disease or the plague didn’t take them, the violence did.” Bones sighed, remembering the anguish he felt back then, the anger! It led him down the path of self destruction and becoming a bitter old man.

“I didn’t have children after my first wife but I did marry again. She died of old age. She wasn’t like us, baptised by magic and able to live for over a century.” Bones turned to Solin who looked somewhat guilty for bringing up the subject of family and continued. “I thought I would join her soon…” but even with the mana density being so sparse back then, I was tempered by it and lived for many more years to come. “Anyway, I no longer have interest in starting a family and I don’t really think that’s an option anymore.” Bones finished and chuckled.

Solin looked like someone poured cold water over his head. “Man, you really know how to bring the mood down.” He gave Bones a cheeky smile and added. “It’s only morning but I got the blues for the whole day.”

“Haah you cheeky brat! Finish your breakfast and let’s go browse the shops if you don’t have anything better to do!”

“Sure, I have the time, though, I should visit the adventurer guild and take on a quest to fulfill my quota.”

“What quota?” Bones asked, puzzled.

“Uh Bones? When was the last time you completed a contract for the guild?”

“I’m not sure. It’s been around, two months, maybe?”

“Alright, you’re coming with me to the guild. Every adventurer is required to complete a single contract at minimum, every three months, and it seems both of us are nearing that time.”