It took me nearly two hours to explore the first sector and memorize its layout. My scouting took me through a dizzying array of barren corridors and rooms, all empty of loot or living creatures.

The level had been thoroughly cleansed.

There were plenty of dead monsters, though, and I inspected each one I came across, and slowly the dungeon’s design became clear. The first sector of the haunted catacombs was infested by rank twelve undead—zombies, ghouls, wights, skeletons, and the like.

At what I’d judged to be the far end of the level, I found the sector’s safe zone and a dead dungeon denizen that didn’t fit the pattern of the rest of the level.

It was a level one hundred and fifty death knight. Its three whole ranks higher than the rest of the creatures on the level, I mused.

It must be the sector boss.

Pivoting about, I scanned the chamber the dead boss occupied. It was larger than other rooms on the level, and its door was an oversized grille metal gate in place of the plain wooden doors found elsewhere on the level. This is definitely the sector’s final chamber, I thought. Unfortunately, the room was devoid of cover or anywhere to hide.

Exiting the room, I entered the adjacent one. It held the safe zone. Unlike the previous safe zones I’d visited, this one was small, barely a few yards across, and its sole purpose seemed to be housing the rebirth well and the shimmering curtain of energy hanging in its center.

The nether portal to the next level.

Only staring at the portal did it occur to me to wonder what would happen once the dungeon was cleared. Would all the denizens respawn immediately? Or would I and all the other players inside be summarily ejected?

No point worrying. There is nothing I can do about any of it, I thought. Still, best I finish my scouting while I can and plan for the worst.

Hurrying my steps, I dashed into the portal.

~~~

You have entered sector 103 of the Endless Dungeon. This sector is level 2 of 3 of the Haunted Catacombs.

A moment later, I was in a room that was a replica of the first level’s entry chamber. Wrapping myself in shadow, I began exploring.

The second dungeon level was laid out in the same manner as the first. And like the first sector, it was very much empty.

The dead I encountered were different, though. The second level’s denizens were all of rank thirteen and more varied, too, including vampires and wraiths amongst their number. It was an unsurprising discovery. Clearly, the dungeon was designed to increase in difficulty at every succeeding level.

Once more, I found the entrance to the next level at the southern end of the sector. It, too, was protected by a safe zone, and in the chamber next to it was a dead sector boss.

Not wasting further time scouting the level, I entered the portal.

You have entered sector 104 of the Endless Dungeon. This sector is level 3 of 3 of the Haunted Catacombs.

Emerging in the third level, I slowed my steps. I expected that the dungeoning teams were still busy in the level, and it wouldn’t do to run afoul of them.

I exited the entry chamber and found myself in another darkened—and empty—passage. This looks familiar, I thought and ventured deeper into the level.

It took me only a few turns to confirm what I suspected: the floorplan of the third level was identical to the first two.

With growing confidence, I crept through the empty passages, heading in the direction of the sector’s safe zone and final chamber. Eventually, I came to a stretch of corridor different from the others.

Like elsewhere in the dungeon, corpses littered the floor here, but not all the dead had been stripped clean of their gear. Leaving the loot untouched, I kneeled beside one of the corpses and inspected it.

The target is a slain level 141 ghost hound. Ghost hounds are loyal beasts that follow their masters into undeath, serving them even beyond the grave. ‘Ghost’ is a misnomer, though. The creatures are not ethereal and are entirely of the physical plane.

I rose thoughtfully. The hound in question was nearly as large as me and, from its level alone, would be a tough foe to battle. Turning to the humanoid corpse lying close by, I analyzed it too.

The target is a level 149 undead hound keeper.

Both hound and undead master had been freshly killed, and the trails of blood spattering the wall had still not congealed. The dungeon party must be close.

Slipping back into the shadows, I advanced cautiously down the tunnel. I passed more rooms but didn’t bother venturing into any; I expected I would find nothing in them but dead dungeon denizens. Less than a minute later, I heard voices from further down the passage.

Players.

They still weren’t in sight, though. In the quiet corridors, sound carried a long way. I kept going; my every sense extended for the least sign of danger.

I had no intention of interfering with the dungeon party or alerting them to my presence, but I needed to learn as much of the dungeon as I could before it reset.

I found the group of twenty players in the large vault-like room that served as the level’s final chamber. The grille gate was locked—magically by all appearance—trapping the party inside with the boss.

Players and boss were locked in combat and too preoccupied with each other to notice me. Peeking through the gate, I studied the combatants. The sector boss was a humanoid undead magic user encased in a shield of pulsing black energy. Gaunt and with skin that was pale and wrinkled, he loomed over all the players—even the giants in the party.

A rank seventeen lich. No easy foe, I realized after analyzing the undead and the magic he threw with abandon.

But despite their foe’s level and the monstrous amount of magic he wielded, the players were not only coping but winning.

Arrayed in two loose lines—fighters out front; mages and archers in the rear—the dungeon team whittled down their foe’s defenses. From the looks of it, the players had been at it a while and would soon have the lich’s shield down.

Knowing I didn’t have much time remaining, I retreated from the gate and entered the adjacent chamber. Like the previous levels, it held a safe zone, but this time there was no nether portal.

I frowned. That meant the only way to exit the dungeon was back the same way I’d entered. Leaving the chamber, I explored the nearby rooms, taking special note of the creatures they contained. I had a plan in mind already, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t refine it further.

Halfway through my investigations, a Game message dropped into my mind.

The final sector boss has been slain! The Haunted Catacombs dungeon will reset shortly. Warning to all players inside: collect any unclaimed loot and exit the dungeon.

I smiled after reading the Game message. So, I wouldn’t be forcibly ejected. That simplifies matters.

Deliberately, I dropped the shield around my consciousness. There. If the mantises were tracking me by my mind, they would have my location now. I hurried back to the second level.

It was time to prepare for my hunters.

~~~

The dungeon will reset in 10 minutes.

I eyed the Game message askance. I’d expected to have a bit more time than that, but it didn’t matter; I was almost in position. Racing through the corridors of the second level, I made my way to the chamber I'd chosen and ducked inside.

There were just a few more things to do.

You have activated the stealth mode enchantment of the belt of the chameleon. Your sneaking skill has increased by +2 ranks.

Next, I opened my backpack and retrieved the hunter eye I’d looted from Wengulax. I wasn’t completely sure how the device worked, but if there was ever a time to use it, it was now. Cupping the small green orb in my hands, I activated it.

You have activated a hunter eye. Provide the signature of the target to be tracked.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any spirit signature to provide and replied in the negative to the Game message.

No target has been provided. Automated tracking mode has been deactivated. Entering scout mode, manual piloting required. For the next 4 hours, this item will share its sensors with you.

I grinned. The functionality available on the hunter eye was less than I’d hoped for but would still suffice to serve my purposes.

Closing my eyes, I connected to the device through the mental link forged between us by the artifact’s enchantment and navigated it out of the room, through the empty level and the next, and finally out through the portal and back into Nexus.

“Hey, will you look at that!” I heard someone exclaim.

I started in surprise, and my head swiveled back and forth, searching the room. I'd been sure I was alone.

“What do you think that is?”

“Looks like a scouting pet.”

Belatedly I realized the sound was coming from the hunter eye and admonished myself for not catching onto this fact sooner. Connecting my sight to the object, I peered through it.

The hunter eye was hovering over the ogre, Toff, and his group. I saw his elven companion point upwards. “Shoot it,” he suggested.

Worried that someone would do just that, I ordered the eye to climb higher until it was little more than a speck in the sky. Looking down from it, I could still see the portal and the surrounding area, but the players staring upward were too far away for me to hear anymore.

I heaved a sigh of relief. The eye was in position, and so was I. Making myself comfortable, I set myself to wait.

All that was left now was to see if the mantises would arrive.