Ren's awareness flickered to life as he sensed the presence of intruders approaching the dungeon. Using the rats senses, he directed them to investigate the source of the noise. As they cautiously approached, Ren realized it was a group of adventurers, and they had stumbled upon the dungeon.

Kaito returned from his hunting trip just as the adventurers reached the entrance. His heart pounded as he saw them, and he rushed to intercept.

"Wait! Don't go in there! It's dangerous!" he shouted, trying to block their path.

The adventurers paused, their eyes narrowing as they noticed the slave collar around Kaito's neck. They exchanged whispers, suspicion growing in their eyes.

"Look at him. A runaway slave, he’s probably a criminal hiding from the slavers"

"He’s hoarding the dungeon's treasures for himself" one of them muttered.

Kaito stood his ground, desperation in his voice.

"Please, you don't understand. I'm trying to protect you!" he insisted, his voice trembling with urgency.

Ignoring his warnings, one of the adventurers drew his sword and, with a cruel smirk, plunged it into Kaito's gut. Kaito gasped, his vision blurring as pain seared through him. The adventurers laughed cold and heartless.

Ren's anger surged, a silent scream echoing in his mind. How dare they! How dare they!

Ren desperately wished that he could something anything but he knew he was powerless to stop it.

Kaito collapsed to the ground, his life slipping away as the adventurers prepared to enter the dungeon. Ren watched in silent fury, waiting for the right moment to strike. The skeleton ranger hid in the usual spot, concealed within a hidden pathway to the left of the entrance, right from Ren's perspective.

The adventurers stepped cautiously into the dungeon, their weapons drawn. One of them spotted the glint of the exposed vein of ore and rushed forward, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

"Look at this! We're rich!" he exclaimed.

But as he reached the ore, the ground gave way beneath him, and he plummeted into a pitfall trap, swords planted at the bottom. The adventurer's scream was cut short as he was impaled through the gut and neck.

The remaining adventurers, startled, prepared for battle. Ren, overwhelmed with bloodlust, knew he had to defend his domain. He focused his energy on Kaito's lifeless body, reanimating it into a level 1 zombie.

“Level 1 zombie Acquired”

The zombie rose, gripping his sword with a hollow determination. The skeleton ranger emerged from its hiding spot, and the rats gathered at the back of the cave, their presence drawing the adventurers attention.

As the adventurers prepared to attack the rats, the two undead launched their assault from behind. The zombie and the skeleton ranger moved with deadly precision, taking down two of the adventurers swiftly.

The last adventurer, thrown into a wild panic, turned to face the undead. As he struggled, the rats swarmed over him, biting and scratching. In his desperation, he managed to fend off the rats momentarily, but the undead struck their final blow, ending his life.

Ren felt a grim satisfaction as the last adventurer fell. He had avenged Kaito, though the victory was bittersweet. The dungeon was once again silent.

“You’ve leveled up, level 3 dungeon”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“You’ve leveled up, level 4 dungeon”

“Skeleton Ranger has leveled up level 7 skeleton ranger”

“Zombie has leveled up level 5 zombie, class acquired zombie warrior”

This is just the beginning, he thought. My domain will become the strongest.

As the dungeon settled into an eerie calm, Ren began to plan his next steps, determined to protect his domain. The tragic loss of Kaito would not be in vain.

Weeks later in a bustling adventurers guild, located in the heart of a nearby town, two adventurers gathered around a large wooden table covered with maps and reports. The seasoned warrior, Alden, and the young mage, Elara, were assigned a scouting mission to investigate the disappearance of three guild members.

"We haven't heard from them in weeks," Alden said, his brow furrowing. "They were last seen heading towards the forest."

Elara nodded, her eyes scanning the reports.

"It could be dangerous. We need to be prepared for anything."

As they prepared their gear, the guild master approached them, a look of concern on his face.

"Be careful out there. We don't know what happened to the others, but we can't afford to lose more members."

Alden and Elara set out towards the forest, their minds filled with questions about the missing adventurers..

The forest was dense and foreboding, the trees casting long shadows in the fading light. Alden and Elara moved cautiously, their senses heightened.

"Stay close," Alden whispered. "We don't know what we're dealing with."

As they explored the forest they followed signs of where the adventurers had rested soon it led them to a cave, they spotted signs of a struggle and a trail of blood led them to the cave's entrance.

"This must be the place," Elara said, her voice tinged with apprehension.

Alden knelt down, examining the ground.

"It looks like there was a fight."

They exchanged a worried glance before stepping back to assess the situation. "We need to be careful. it could be dangerous, we should gather more information before going in," Alden advised.

Elara nodded in agreement. "Let's set up camp nearby and keep watch. We can observe any activity around the entrance and decide our next move."

As night fell, Alden and Elara sat by a small campfire, discussing their observations.

"I've seen strange movements around the cave," Elara said.

"It looks like there's something... alive in there."

Alden frowned.

"Could it be the missing adventurers?"

Elara shook her head.

"I don't think so."

The conversation turned to the possible dangers within.

"If it’s a dungeon it could be filled with traps and monsters," Alden said.

"We need to be extremely cautious."

As they watched the entrance, they noticed a faint glow emanating from within the cave. "What do you think that is?" Elara asked, her curiosity piqued.

Alden shook his head. "I don't know, but we need to find out."

The following morning, they continued their observations, documenting every detail. Alden spotted a rat scurrying out of the cave, its eyes gleaming with an unnatural intelligence.

"That's not normal," he muttered.

Elara nodded.

"It's like the dungeon itself is alive, controlling the creatures within."

They decided to report their findings back to the guild.

"We can't risk going in without more information," Alden said.

"Let's head back and inform the others."

They made their way back to the guild.

"What do you think happened to the missing adventurers?" Elara asked.

Alden's expression was grim.

"I fear the worst. But we need to be prepared for anything. This seems to be a newly formed dungeon."

They arrived at the guild and shared their findings with the guild master.

"We need a larger party to investigate further," Alden concluded.

"This dungeon is most likely more dangerous than we anticipated."

The guild master nodded, his face serious.

"We'll assemble a team and prepare for a full-scale expedition. We'll uncover what happened to our missing members."

Meanwhile, back in the dungeon.

They didn't enter, he thought, relief washing over him. But they will be back.

He knew that they would return with reinforcements, and he needed to be ready.