The body of the Widow Queen was in the process of dissolving when Bones finished engraving his right hand. He collapsed on one knee and took a moment to gather his wits.

This…might become a problem in the future.

The pain was…endurable, but he would have to find someone capable of engraving the parts he couldn't reach, like his back or he would have to give up on engraving the whole body.

I don't actually need to engrave my whole body. Arms and legs should suffice. Maybe my head and the chest too…

Bones didn't put the glove back on his engraved hand. He gave it to Skully to put it on. Once he engraved his other hand, he would give away his other glove too as he didn't deem them necessary anymore. The gloves had minor mana regeneration enchantment which helped at early levels but now the regeneration boost was barely noticeable. Besides, he had an all-black theme going on and the milky white gloves didn't fit.

"Alright Skully, time to go. Let's see what the third stage has to offer!"

Bones and Skully entered the portal and appeared on a cliff overlooking a valley. Bones looked ahead in the distance, but didn't see the goblins that were there the last time. He knew they were there, somewhere. He turned to the side where a set of stairs made of rock led down the cliff and descended.

What awaited him at the base of the cliff was a stretch of forest. Not a jungle, but a normal forest, like the one near Westbrook, and a pack of wolves. The wolves had black matted fur and a rabid look in their red eyes.

"Alright Skully, you know what to do!" Bones said and commanded Skully to attack.

Skully immediately took action and rushed to the nearest wolf. The wolf took on a low stance, snarled and bare its fangs at the encroaching golem. The other four wolves in the pact dispersed, circled and flanked Skully when he got close. The first wolf Skully aimed for lunged forward but froze, courtesy of Soul Gaze. Skully used the opportunity and as directed, penetrated the wolf's skull while somersault twisting over it. When he landed, he was promptly pounced on by the remaining three wolves. The forth one switched targets and rushed Bones.

Oh, it noticed? Bones though, crediting the wolf for noticing his involvement with its now dead brethren. Bones raised Bone Spikes at the upcoming wolf but it timely jumped to the side and avoided getting impaled.

Before Bones could cast another spell, the wolf pounced and he fell down together with the wolf biting his neck. Bones wrestled himself free and came up on top, wrapping his legs around the wolf's body and pressing both hands against the wolf's temples. The wolf tried jerking its head but couldn't break free. Bones sent a short but powerful pulse of mana through his engraved hand and a second later, the wolf's head exploded.

He felt around the neck with his hands while getting up. He could feel the scratch marks left by the wolfbite but it didn't manage to penetrate armor. Good. I'm glad the new bone armor was sturdy enough.

He glanced the golem's way and saw Skully finishing the last wolf. Bones wasn't surprised that the golem finished the remaining wolves as he was directing Skully through the whole fight via Soul Link. He approached his golem and swirled with his finger, motioning for Skully to turn around.

All the damage done was to the equipment. Good!

"Come Skully, let's have us look for more wolves. We could use the practice against a group of hostiles.

The forest seemed more alive than the jungle from the second stage, both in plant life and wildlife. Moss covered the tree bark, fungi grew on the forest floor and different sorts of critters could be seen and heard going about their way. Bones spotted a pack of wolves in the distance, chasing after a stag. The alpha of the pack stopped and glanced his way before continuing the chase.

Animals hunting, feeding, depending on each other…Do animals and plants live in a biotic community here? A thought occurred but Bones quickly dismissed the idea.

No, don't forget, this is just an imitation made of mana created by the dungeon core. Everything will dissipate back into mana from which it was made of.

It wasn't long until Bones found a forest path. He crouched and observed the imprint left on the grass of multiple footsteps. The steps were small like that in a child. Whatever made the footprints was barefooted but Bones already knew who the footprints belonged to. He couldn't tell, however, how many of them there were. There's also one distinctively larger footprint of a paw.

A worg rider? If so, there might be at least a dozen goblins. Too many for a simple patrol.

Bones' eyes followed the direction the footsteps led to, turned and started walking in the opposite direction. He wanted to see where they were coming from.

Twenty minutes later, Bones entered a clearing surrounded by dozens of corpses of wolves and goblins. A fierce battle happened here just hours ago. Blood was still fresh and it wasn't hard to deduct that the wolves lost. Bones moved around the bodies, observing and inspecting injuries inflicted.

He approached the biggest wolf among the corpses, kneeled beside its body and identified it.

Gray Direwolf Chieftain, level 37

Bones was taken aback. Wolves had a hierarchy and lived in clans, which meant the body in front of him belonged to the leader of the clan! He stood up and looked around until he found two alphas buried under the corpses.

I was right! This might be the whole clan massacred.

"I've encountered direwolves before. Where was it…where was it Skully?"

…

"Bah…" Bones waved his hand dismissively then remembered. "Right, there was a direwolf back then. If I remember correctly, it used a Wind Blade!"

Bones searched around for any signs of the skill and found a few deep cuts on a nearby tree resembling wind cuts. "There Skully! See that?" He exclaimed and addressed his golem to no response. Bones didn't expect a reply. He just liked talking to someone without being talked back to.

"Alright, let's see now…"

We have a few corpses with arrows sticking out of them which meant goblin archers! Shallow cuts and gashes should've been made by daggers and swords?! Deep wounds followed by extensive bleeding was caused by thrusting weapons. Dagger and swords again, but most likely spears. Hm?

Bones noticed crushed bones and dented body tissue on one of the wolves. Mace? Hammer perhaps? Too advanced for goblins, clubs perhaps?

"This stinks Skully! It stinks of tactics and organized assault!" The dwarves were right. The three of us…well four now, wouldn't be able to clear this stage without difficulties.

"We won't be giving up now, won't we, Skully?! Let's go and gather more intel." Bones started walking back but abruptly stopped and turned around.

Right right right…I should loot the bodies…

Bones followed the forest path that led directly to the goblin village. He guessed unlike the previous stage, this one actually provided direction. He was free to run off course but he wasn't compelled to.

He considered his approach and looked up high toward the trees. No good. The branches are too thin and too dense, and might not support my weight…

The trees, while high, had a lot of thin boughs growing out of the tree trunk, full of twigs. Bones didn't see enough room to freely move from tree to tree. He decided to wait for the cover of the night and while waiting, he circled the village looking for the weaknesses he could take advantage of!

He didn't have to wait long for the sun to set. The small village was lit up by torches and Bones found many shadows he could use to freely move within the village. He approached the wooden fence surrounding the village and climbed over.

Like he thought, the goblins were organized and…very human-like. They had patrols making rounds around the village in intervals and a small watchtower with archer guard stationed at the top. The goblins slept in wooden huts and in the middle of the village was a wooden cabin. Probably the chieftain's accommodations?

It was hard to guess how many goblins lived in each hut but he estimated there were around sixty goblins in the village. Give or take a dozen…

Before he sprung into action, Bones identified the goblins patrolling in pairs. Both were level 31, the same level as him. He brought up his status screen and saw he was close to leveling his class.

"Alright Skully, let's get me that level up!" Bones whispered. He stepped up behind the two goblins and penetrated their heads with Bone Lance at the same time. He dragged their bodies off the path and laid them down in the shadows.

He crouched and started sneaking on the path along the fence. He stopped by the hut that had an entrance looking in his direction and took a peek. Five goblins laid huddled on the leaves covering the bed made of wood. Bones stepped inside and focused on the area beneath the goblins and casted Bone Spikes twice in quick succession. Gurgling sounds were heard but otherwise the kills went unnoticed.

Good. Next hut!

He stepped outside and after making a step turned right in time to lock eyes with the startled goblin, watching him leaving the tent from afar. The goblin opened his mouth, but before it uttered a sound Bones impaled it with Bone Lance. The force of the impact knocked the goblin toward the center of the village making enough noise to alert the other goblins.

Dozens of goblins left their huts hearing the commotion. Bones tsk'd and charged the first group of goblins that stared at the body of the killed goblin in confusion. There was no plan or much tactics involved. Bones and Skully flourished their weapons with abandon. The group was decimated before the goblins realized what was happening and the duo already rushed the second group when the war horn was blown, raising the alarm.

A massive battle broke out after the alarm. Half of the goblins turned to their tent and went to get weapons while others, not the smartest ones, charged Bones. The goblins' reach was just too short and they couldn't do enough damage to stop the whirlwind of death that was Bones and Skully from starting to destroy their village. They had numbers on their side but Bones had Bone Spikes and Mana Blast.

The momentum was stopped with the appearance of a worg rider and Bones finally got a proper look at the goblin. Correction - Hobgoblin - with the shield and the spear brandished his way. This new and advanced goblin was a head taller than his lessers and didn't have an ounce of fear in its eyes.

The hobgoblin raised his shield and started thumping on it with his spear. A war cry was shouted following the hype up chants and cheers of the goblins. In unison they raised their weapons and were promptly blasted away as Bones didn't stay idle watching the show. The moment he heard a warcry, Bones positioned himself and took advantage of the brief moment the goblins were distracted by euphoria.

The hobgoblin was pissed off and pointed his spear at Bones while shouting something intangible and guttural. Bones didn't need to know what was said. The goblins rushed at him and Skully, frenzied and enraged. Skully was given simple commands. Swing wide and don't stop moving while Bones focused on the hobgoblin.

The hobgoblin was as tall as Bones was, and the worg was a massive canine. Now that he had a proper look, Bones estimated it was as big as the alpha direwolf. Bones had no means of approach nor did he wish to get closer. The worg had gaping maw and saliva dripping down its sharp fangs and the rider was proficient in using a spear and a shield. Luckily, the hobgoblin had no intentions of dismounting so Bones had an easier time avoiding a single target than two.

Bones wasn't stupid enough to make it a fair fight. This was no arena and there were no rules to follow so he turned and ran, the worg rider chased behind him and was gaining ground. Bones used huts and other goblins as obstacles and torches to keep the worg away. He would swing the torch widely, then throw it at worg or the nearest hut.

Skully seemed capable of dealing with the rest of the goblins and Bones, in the process of running around helped cull their numbers.

After some time, the hobgoblin slowed down in his pursuit of Bones. The constant chasing started to take effect and unlike Bones, the hobgoblin and his worg were getting tired. Bones kept casting Bone Spikes while keeping his distance and by now, the damage accumulated. The worg was limping while ferociously snarling at Bones. He didn't blame the beast, but it was an easier target of the two and had to be put down.

It wasn't long until only a few goblins and the hobgoblin remained alive. There was no last stand or one big final attack coming. The goblins simply fought until the end and the hobgoblin joined them in death after being left to fight alone.

After dealing the final blow, Bones turned to look at the carnage they've done. Dozens of goblin corpses lay around them and the huts were on fire. It was still nighttime. Bones took both the spear and the shield of the hobgoblin and gave them to Skully who received the spear and dropped the shield to the ground. Bones looked at the golem in surprise, then shrugged.

If he didn't want it then I won't force it on him. Wait…did Skully just made a choice?

Bones observed the stupid blank expression on Skully and shook his head. Nah…

"I think…we're done here Skully. Good job!" Bones praised Skully, but didn't receive a response. The hobgoblin was an interesting opponent but I fail to see how it could kill the direwolf chieftain.

"These weren't the goblins we're looking for! Come Skully, there are other tracks on the other side leading away from the village."