The third mountain was when things started to become difficult. The size of the groups of mindless Lost Souls were the same, but they started to have actual weapons and a few with pieces of armor.

Mathew was curious as to why these were feral and acted like the undead Bob had created. Meanwhile there seemed to be a few that had intelligence. He’s seen three, and knew for sure the Dungeon Boss would be intelligent.

The only reason he could guess as to why they used the mindless versions of their race was cost. One thing he knew was that Dungeons cost money. The benefits were amazing. Free access to other planets, their resources, and constant fighting.

The risk was just as high for the same reasons. So, to afford an Apprentice rank Dungeon, they probably were forced to have less intelligent members. Take Agnox’s Infernal Dungeon for example. It had dozens of Infernals that were smart. But they were all lower leveled and most were Novice ranked. Only the leaders were Beginners.

Here was something similar. Plenty of strong, but mindless fighters, fewer leaders who were smart and skilled. Mathew bet a few of them had Axiom’s as well.

They took a break at the top of the mountain, so Mathew could recover his mana. He needed to pace himself better. Focus on using his melee skills over [Mana Bolt] and [Fracture] for everything.

He was thankful for Bob’s teaching in making his mana channels. If not for them, there was no way he could make it even half this far into the World Quest. It made him wonder how others have done it. If they didn’t have mana channels, then when they did get them, then they would explode in output.

His thoughts ended when a group of five lost souls shambled up toward him. They were easily dispatched with the last one being knocked off by the goat. The spirit creature apparently enjoyed doing it. It gave off a chittering laugh every time he sent one of them sailing off the mountain.

Reaching the bottom valley, Mathew found another bridge. Standing there was a single person. They had a rod sized spell casting weapon. Mathew’s had a green gemstone on the end. The next challenge had a weird symbol on top of it. It was three swirls forming a triangle.

“Well, I was surprised to hear a single person made it past the first two challenges. Congratulations are in order, Human.” His voice was nasally. His chin was held high, and he looked down his nose toward Mathew. It didn’t help that he was taller than the summoner as well.

Mathew couldn’t help but come off as confident. “What’s the next challenge here? I made it past the first two without effort. What makes you think you will be any different?”

He gave off a humf. “I am Kory, second son of our faction Elder in charge of Enchantments. I was personally sent to be your next challenger.”

Mathew was hesitant about this new person. Anyone who boasted about themselves that much, to an enemy no less, had to be all fluff. “Really? I’m such a low threat, they didn’t even send the first son?”

“I am more than enough to finish you off. Your challenge is a duel. Me, versus you. Feel free to use all the power you can, including your summons. You will need all the help you can.”

Mathew laughed. “Your funeral. What are the rules? Are there any?”

“It’s customary for the challengee to set the rules. Which is me.”

Mathew didn’t think that was exactly right. But then again, he was coming into their dungeon. “Which are…”

“No holding back. Nothing is off limits. We fight as warriors and with honor.” He raised his weapon, and his entire body started to glow a rainbow of colors that layered over one another. “My family are expert enchanters. Not a single item on my body isn’t enchanted to the maximum amount money can buy. I promise you, I am your final challenge to ensure you kill no more of my people. I personally made this scepter.”

Mathew didn’t think he was bluffing anymore. The opposite in fact. He imagined Kory was saying the full truth. Maybe a little too much truth. “Well. Let’s get started then.” Mathew said as he conjured his spear.

“Wait!” He shouted before Mathew could take a step forward. “It’s customary for you to introduce yourself, your titles, roles, anything of significance. That is, if you have any.”

Mathew looked at him. At first he was against it. Then again, it sounded like they changed who went to fight him for this challenge. “Are they afraid of me? If so, then why not send everything to me all at once? Unless they can’t. So they changed things up to end me here and now. If I play along, they will be forced to continue to follow those rules. If I win, this might be my last fight as well except for whoever is in charge.”

“Fine then. I am Valrix. Leader and Heart Crystal Owner of Blue Oaks on my home planet. As for Titles, where do I start? How about I just say the most important one, I am a Soloist.” Mathew put extra flair into his words. He finished with a smile, holding his arms out as if he wasn’t afraid.

Kory nodded, “Acceptable I suppose.” He pulled out a small green ball. “I’ll toss this up into the air. When it lands, we fight. The last one alive wins.”

Mathew glanced back at his summons, all of them seemed ready. He turned back to Kory. “I’m ready when you are.”

Kory threw the green ball into the air. As soon as it landed, nobody stood still. Mathew and his summons all released ranged attacks and followed them up by entering into melee combat. As for Kory, he moved forward, but didn’t bother dodging. Every attack hit an invisible shield that surrounded Kory.

Jeffery was first to enter melee. He charged into the lost soul noble. Both stopped instantly and bounced back from each other. Mathew was surprised Kory was still standing, as Jeffery was heavy. Mathew realized he wasn’t just boasting, and concluded that he must be actually strong.

He didn’t waste a moment and thrusted forward with his spear enhanced by his Axiom of Piercing. A shattering sound echoed as a glow left from around Kory. Agnox’s flaming blade bounced off seemingly nothing.

Kory responded by holding his scepter out in front of him. A ghostly symbol appeared. The next moment, Mathew, Agnox, and Jeffery were sent flying backwards away from him.

Mathew slid across the bridge and stopped next to Jeffery. Agnox was sent flying and landed on the river bank. Three small gray bolts flew toward Mathew. He managed to dodge one of them, block one with his [Mana Shield], but the third one hit him in the shin.

It tore through his armor, and left a gash on his leg. Blood was pouring from it. Mathew retaliated with his own [Mana Bolt] charging it up and sent it flying out of his palm. He turned it, so it missed on purpose. He charged at Kory, while controlling the bolt to circle back around.

Mathew timed his attack so Kory would dodge, but he didn’t. He somehow shielded himself from the spear. It halted midair as if it struck steel. The bolt slammed into the back of Kory’s head. He leaned forward, reeling from the attack. As he did so, four sets of ranged attacks blasted him from different directions. A flaming bolt, one large blue bolt, a purple bolt, and a stream of small blue bolts.

Kory put up a visible barrier in time to block all the attacks. Mathew didn’t care. He pulled back his spear, and charged it with his Piercing Axiom before thrusting it forward once again. He felt resistance, but Mathew’s own prowess was stronger.

The spear tip grazed the side of Kory’s armor, leaving behind a shallow cut. Kory seemed enraged by such an attack and swung with his Scepter. Mathew didn’t know why, but he felt a wave of power coming off of it.

He ducked down, narrowly dodging the swing. They all exchanged a series of attacks and blows. It seemed as if Kory’s defenses were replaced just as quickly as they were taken out. “Good thing I have a spell for someone like him. I wonder how well it works on magical barriers?”

As he came up, another sigil flared in the air. This one, Mathew recognized from one of his rituals. A wave of heat flashed outwards, washing everything in a fiery wreath.

Nearby snow melted instantly. Jeffery and Agnox didn’t seem bothered by it, but Mathew popped his Papriko’s charm to block the attack. Looking at how it burned the bridge and the entire nearby area, he was glad he did.

Unfortunately, the wave of heat was wide, and slammed into his wisps and Cherry. Both his wisps were taken out, and Cherry was currently healing herself. Mathew knew that attack would be deadly to her if it happened again.

“Ha! Two of your summons couldn’t even survive a single attack like that! Just how weak must you be to have weak summons?” Kory bantered.

Mathew threw two more [Mana Bolts] and began to charge [Fracture] while responding to the banter. “Oh the wisps? They are just for the light show.” He played off the loss, while inwardly he was cursing himself at letting them stay so close.

Jeffery and Agnox continued to wail on his deficiencies. Kory didn’t dodge often, choosing to take attacks directly, trusting his shields. “It’s a shame. I expected more from you. Don’t tell me you are holding anything back.”

“Holding back? Nah, I just don’t want to work up a sweat before I fight your older sibling. I’m sure they will be much more of a challenge than you are.” Mathew hurled a ghostly ball of energy. It slammed into Kory’s defenses and tore through them all.

The sound of glass shattering pierced the air as Kory screamed in shock. “My wards!”

Mathew scoffed. He didn’t even use his Rod to further empower the attack. “Are destroyed. Get him Jeff!”

Kory went to dodge, but icy chains surrounded him and held him still. Jeffery’s giant paws scratched at Kory’s armor and the chains, barely getting past the enchantments.

Mathew swapped his staff out for the lightning staff, and began to power a fully charged [Mana Bolt].

Agnox and Jeffery continued to attack him and keep as many barriers down as possible. Cherry seemed to be healed up as she started to fire attacks from her staff as well.

“You think your tricks are enough to stop me?” Kory yelled. Another sigil appeared, and Mathew felt a pressure build up all around him. Instantly Cherry and Agnox fell to the ground. The former of which screamed in pain. Jeffery and Mathew stood. Jeffery seemed unbothered, while Mathew had to strain against it.

“KNEEL!” Kory yelled, and the pressure became much more intense. “I am the second son of an ELDER! Scum like you who rely upon tricks should know when they are in the presence of someone BETTER THAN THEY ARE!”

Mathew instantly let go of the spell to instead focus on his Axiom of Resistance, and flooded his body. This was a similar trick to what Murthros tried all that time ago. But it didn’t work very well. Mathew still felt the pressure.

“It’s not working. Why? It’s as if…” Mathew let go of his focus on Resistance, and fell to one knee.

“Yes. There we go. Now release me from these chains before your bitch over there dies.”

Mathew swapped to focus on his Axiom of Bolster. His entire body became stronger. He stood up fully as the pressure felt weaker on him. He went over to Kory and punched him in the face. His fist stopped an inch away.

“Stop the sigil, or you die.”

“That’s the point! It’s a duel to the death. Stupid human!”

Mathew stopped hearing Cherry scream. He ran over to her. “Jeffery, kill him.” Mathew said coldly.

He went over and touched Cherry, unsummoning her. SHe was barely alive. Mathew saw her bark like skin was starting to splinter from the force on her body.

Kory screamed as Jeffery kept attempting to tear into his flesh. Each bite was stopped by a new barrier. The sigil finally stopped, and Mathew walked over to Kory and started to charge his [Fracture] spell again.

“Now we try this again. I am going to shatter your barriers. I don’t want to kill you. But either you surrender, or I will kill you. I’ve done it plenty of times before, but I’m willing to let you live. Surrender, take me to your leader, and you can live. Deny it, and you and everyone in this dungeon will die.”

“Ha! You are saying that because you know you can’t beat me fairly. You need me to surrender to-”

Mathew released the spell, shattering all of his barriers. Before another one could be brought up, Mathew stabbed Kory through the chest, purposefully missing his heart.”

“You are wrong here Kory. I am the one who won. You never were going to. You were your people's last hope, and you failed. I have dozens upon dozens of things I could have done differently. I could have killed you in an instant. I didn’t need my summons, but I fought with them because it was easier. The amount of effort I wasted was minimal. And you gained nothing for your people to use against me in another fight.”

Kory’s eyes were wide open, full of fear. Mathew kept going, almost whispering in Kory’s ear. “Your death will be pointless. No honor. No victory. You won’t go down in any history books as anybody but a weakling who failed. Now, surrender, or die.”

Mathew wanted this fight to end now. Cherry almost died, and if he used a sigil of that caliber again, Mathew knew he would likely lose.

The entire time, Mathew was pushing his [Contest] Skill. He wanted Kory to feel like he did when Murthros did the same thing to him. However, Kory was weaker willed than Mathew was back then.

“I-I Surrender! Please don’t kill me!”

Mathew scoffed and he released his chains. Kory scrambled away from Mathew, and yelled out into the air “Please Master save me from this madman! You told me I could kill him easily!”

There was nobody in the area Mathew saw. But that didn’t mean someone could be invisible. He stood on alert. Agnox and Jeffery stood by him, both ready, even though they were exhausted.

Kory scrambled up the path, but ran off of it soon after toward a random direction. He fell to the ground groveling. “I’m sorry! I had to! He-He was going to kill me!”

The air wavered, and a man appeared where Kory was groveling. Without a thought, Mathew knew this man was the leader. He had an air of power about him. One Mathew had never seen or felt.

It was the aura of someone who was cold, and uncaring. Yet, a hint of remorse was on the man’s face. He looked down at Kory, and put a hand on his head. “Stop. You are making a fool out of yourself. Leave my sight. Go back to the core, and wait for me there.”

Kory didn’t even waste a moment before running off. Mathew was annoyed, as his serrated knife was still in the guy’s chest.

The man then looked at Mathew. “To think, A Progenitor were to enter my Dungeon. Fate seems to have frowned upon my people. Well, you win Valrix, or whatever your real name is if that isn’t your name. However, before I fully surrender, will you do this old soul a favor and have a conversion over a herbal drink? I promise, no tricks of poison or deceit. I can even say an oath of promise if you must force my hand in it.”

Mathew thought things over in his head. Every fight, these people had honor. He saw no reason to trust them, but then again, if the old man was being honest, perhaps there was a worth in taking such a risk.

“I can do you one better. How about a contract?”

The old man didn’t seem phased by the sentence. “Backed by whom?”

“The Council. Is that an entity worthy enough for your people?” Mathew asked.

“The Council? That will do fine." He sounded somewhat suspicious of Mathew. "I’ll sign it after I read it over of course. I know the kind they like to associate themselves with.”

Mathew wrote a simple contract, tying the agreement between them both in an even share. This was a test of trust. He had no faith he could fight his way out of here, so a risk to his soul being damaged wasn’t even a concern if this man tried to fight back on the contract. Even with a fully repaired soul and all his power, he didn’t think he could fight an unfair fight.

[[Contract for reader's view]]

The Signed Parties of this Agreement,

Recognize the need for a hold of harm and hostile action towards one another.

The recognizing Parties will cease all acts of aggression toward one another until the passing of twenty four hours or both parties agree that this contract has been fullfilled.

All Parties understand that to achieve safety and security for all Parties, they will act in a sense of honor and dignity.

During the time that this Contract is under effect, no actions of aggression, hostility, or effort of ill intent will occur. Failure to uphold the agreed upon limitations will result in a punishment of the highest degree.

As affirmed by The Council, the following punishments can, and will be used against those that fail to maintain their own agreements.

A fine of 1,000,000 UC

Relinquish ownership of all possessions

Death

Forfeit of protections given by this Contact.

At any time, the creator of this contract, can invoke the right to void this contract, and force the other signee to surrender to him as a Dungeon Leader.

The old man signed with the name ‘Tilido’. “Very well. I am glad you didn’t try anything fishy with your contract. Too many rumors of The Council and their attempts to twist words in their favor almost made me not even consider signing it. But you proved me wrong, Progenitor. Come alone, we can head toward the final mountain. I will have herbal drinks, and I wish to have a conversation. At any time, you can end it, and I will surrender this Dungeon to you.”

Mathew followed him along the twisting mountain path. In the back of his mind, a thousand concerns and questions were running amuck. The most important one was, “What is a Progenitor, and why does that sound familiar?”