A set of faces stared back at Mark's party. He didn't recognize anyone among their ranks, especially since some of them had faces concealed by their hoods. It seemed they had a common outfit.

"This is what we were talking about earlier," Leah said. "They're the group of necromancers who've banded together."

"What's the story behind the top three necromancers?"

Leah smiled, ready to launch into another story. But then Mark caught sight of the last thing he wanted to see. A familiar flash of red hair. He immediately moved farther into the building, pretending like nothing happened.

"Actually, tell me about how to pick up a bounty first."

She quickly moved ahead of him, guiding him into a room to talk with the person inside. Mark visibly relaxed once all his teammates made it in.

"Hey there, newcomers," the person inside said. "What's got you so frightened? I don't bite, you know."

Leah looked at Mark with questioning eyes, but he had recovered. "Sorry, I was wondering if there would be any prisoners or dead bodies in here. Morbid, I know."

"Not to worry," the man said. "Now, what can I do for you?"

Leah took over and said, "My friends here wanted to learn about bounties."

The man nodded. "Seems good," he said. "Let me just get the magic rocks." After a few seconds of rummaging around in a chest, the worker pulled out three stones. "Here we go. What are your names?" he asked. "They don't have to be real ones."

While Mark gave them fake names, Elise looked on in horror. "You've already got a bureaucracy?" she whispered.

"Unfortunately." Leah smiled nervously. "Have some trust though. It helps us get everything in order for more efficient explorations," she said.

"There we go," the man said. "Your names are on these rocks. Think of it as a badge or ID. We'll make a copy and then you can take these so that other people know who you are." Mark took them and Identified them. Indeed, their fake names appeared in the item descriptions.

"Now, to turn a bounty in," the man continued, "you can just bring them here. A finger or an ear will work, but the best way to expedite the process is to bring more of their body back. After some time, you can collect your pay and the deed will be marked on your rock."

Mark gave a slow nod. "A finger or ear? Really?"

"Yeah, a bit barbaric, but it's the only way to make sure." The man shrugged. "Anyways, sometimes, there will be other missions ordered by the higher-ups in the market," the man commented. "You'll be able to claim them here as well."

The rewards were not very good, though: Uncommon treasures, goodwill, potions, and free access to the market's services. It was clear this system was set up to try and bring some additional morale to adventurers, encouraging them to fight against bigger threats. A stopgap measure. Mark stepped away, disappointed.

He looked at Leah and asked, "What do you need done exactly? Does it have something to do with these bounties?"

She shook her head. "It's not time yet," she said. "Rest assured, I will give you your share. But I need to make sure you're the right fit beforehand."

The top three necromancers did not use their real names. They were instead known by three different titles: Char, Theurge, and Nova. Not much was recorded about the last, except for his level.

Theurge was rumored to travel with stitched-up corpses. But this information was quite outdated, from a few days ago, when these three came into conflict with the leaders of the market. And Mark knew just how powerful a necromancer could become when given time.

The one he feared least was Necromancer Char, best known for his use of Corpse Explosion. This man was spotted a day ago wandering around in known territory, and his level was up-to-date. Mark then skimmed through the other faces, before looking back up.

Through an opening in the walls, the red hair had disappeared back into the crowd. "Let's go back, then," he said to Leah.

Nothing happened when they returned to Manuel's shop. Throughout the trip back, Mark had his mind split on whether or not he should trust Leah. More treasures were all well and good, but what if she was planning on betraying them? He didn't know the levels of the leaders in this market, but they had to be quite high compared to the rest of the populace, who ranged from Level 10 to 15.

It confused him. How many monsters were in this area for them to continue gaining levels? They had to be coming from somewhere.

"I'm tired," Elise said with a yawn, flopping down onto a bed. "Let's just go rest instead." They had spent enough time in the market that Andrew and Ralph had left to do something else. Mark checked his connection with his goblin warrior. It was still following them, and they appeared to be staying in the market.

Samara shook her head. "Got something to do," she muttered. The real reason, however, was that she didn't trust this place. And Mark was inclined to agree with her. So they dragged Leah and Elise back into the mines, where his undead lizard was keeping the orc corpse safe.

"Let me see what you two can do," she said. Leah's guidance brought them over to a series of three different cave areas containing bunches of undead. Each contained Level 24 skeleton leaders, but that was all. Mark's lizard turned them all to ashes.

The cavern she led them to contained a Level 30 skeleton leader, but it acted the same as all the others they had fought before. This fight was also too easy to pose much of a challenge. It did give him a level though.

Mark Winters - Level 30 (F)

Class: Necromancer (Uncommon)

Stats: 3 Free Points -> 0

Strength: 8

Dexterity: 5

Endurance: 11

Vitality: 15

Intelligence: 72 -> 75

Wisdom: 32

As Mark's minions grew stronger, the tutorial became way too easy. He needed something much more difficult to give him a challenge. As his lizard tore through another host of undead, his expression remained bored. He wondered what the other necromancers were doing. Surely there had to be a greater challenge.

"Is that it?" Mark asked. Neither Samara nor Elise had to do anything. He didn't even have to cast Repair Corpse.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Leah's eyes were still wide. "Uh, I guess you're ready. I'll take you to the place I was talking about, then. Let me just grab Ralph and Andrew."

Since his goblin warrior was still in position, Mark had Elise go with her. Then he and Samara decided to split up and continue exploring. There was a secret tunnel beneath them according to the map.

After clearing out the batches of undead inside, he brought the orc corpse into his pocket plane, checked up on his Pacified Goblin, and then met up with Samara who had gone ahead. She had discovered another cavern pit.

"Is it safe?" he asked.

She shook her head. They continued to stare downwards for a while, until a flash of light emerged from the darkness. Torchlight. It flickered to and fro while it moved rapidly across the cavern.

"Who is that?" Mark asked. "Got any ideas?"

"Too far to see," Samara said. The cavern was quite large and the torch wasn't coming closer to their location. Instead, it bobbed back and forth across the other side of the area for another few minutes while they waited.

"I don't think they're coming here," Mark said. "Should we go down anyway?"

Samara nodded slowly. "Let's do it," she said. Elise wouldn't be returning for a while.

A set of platforms gave them the leverage to make it down safely without having to do anything special. Samara remained high up to guard the entrance while Mark traversed the darkness below. He kept his torch unlit. His undead minions could see in the dark with their soul fire eyes. Though it was difficult for him to creep around without vision, it was simple enough to stay well beyond the range of the torchlight.

Whenever an undead animal came close, his lizard moved quickly to snatch it up. Soon Mark cleared out a small area of land and saw the torchlight move around some more. It had switched places to a spot further from the wall, only to return after a few minutes had passed. He watched it stay there for a while longer before it repeated the cycle once again.

"Weird," Mark whispered to his skeleton mage. "Let's go closer."

While the torchlight was resting, he moved to another spot in the darkness. The map had shown there was another tunnel on the ground floor nearby. After killing the eyeless wolves and hairless creatures here, Mark had the undead lizard dig out a small trench. He then waited there and saw the torchlight move again, except it did not return to the wall this time.

Whoever was there had to be using some kind of technique to kite the monster in order to kill it safely. At least that was what it looked like to him. After all, Mark had done something similar to clear out the goblin camps with a torch. Fortunately, no one else was there to interrupt him unlike this person here.

Though this person might not be an enemy, Mark didn't want to lose his chance at securing another powerful minion for himself. Judging from the environment around him, the monsters here were undead animals. They would be powerful beings to reanimate as long as he didn't damage them too much, which was both easier and harder for bigger creatures.

He decided to try his best. Mark ordered his skeleton mage to reanimate a set of eyeless wolves, and had them go down the tunnel to make sure no one was approaching. Once they returned, they would confirm no other team was going down that way. He could then move closer without worry.

As Mark continued staring at the torchlight, his skeleton suddenly prodded him in the shoulder. It had suddenly lost its connection with its minions, and instantaneously too. He frowned.

His undead lizard dug a deeper trench for them to hide completely. Then it buried itself underground to complete their disguise. Mark could still use it as cover to peek over the trench walls, letting him keep track of the torch, though he made sure to not do it too much. Otherwise the third party approaching might see him first.

Meanwhile, his skeleton mage began to reanimate a different creature this time. An ape-like monster without eyes, its hard skull and tough hand bones made it most suited for melee combat and climbing trees. It had almost managed to drop down onto his head, but his orc mage had reacted too swiftly for it to succeed.

Mark had it sit on the treetops nearby and wait for the third party to approach. When they did, it would drop down and die. Then he'd know exactly where they were without provoking their suspicions.

Fortunately, his plan worked. He even heard footsteps crunching in the dirt before his skeleton mage lost its connection, instantly again. He waited silently for them to move away before he got out of the trench and followed.

His skeleton mage took the lead. It had the ability to communicate through the magical connection better than his other minions, so it essentially served as a flashlight for Mark.

Only one living person was moving in front. But he did not expect to see the creatures he had previously reanimated following the individual closely.

Another necromancer had appeared. And this person was heading directly to the torchlight without even a hint of fear. Mark picked up his pace, but a crack rang out from a fallen branch. He cursed and slipped behind a tree.

The footsteps stopped. Mark could only stand there silently, hoping the necromancer would be too lazy to approach. When the footsteps restarted a moment later, he breathed out a sigh of relief. Starting the fight here would take away his current advantage against the people carrying the torch.

But Mark wasn't scared to flicker his torch three times once the necromancer's back was turned. Even if it did alert the first party, they would expect him to be with the approaching necromancer. And he needed Samara here for support. After sending the signal, he retreated back to the trenches, ready to hide.

The torchlight from the first party flickered out a few moments later. They had seen his signal and were probably preparing for an ambush. In the trenches, Mark's skeleton mage had lost sight of the necromancer, but with Samara approaching, he hoped it wouldn't matter. Her tracking skills were suited to help him fight in the darkness.

"Here's the situation," Mark said. He told her about all the things he had seen.

"A necromancer," she muttered. "How confident are you in winning?"

"Not very," Mark admitted. "But their mana pool should be quite low after stealing away four of my minions. I don't know if they have more Intelligence than I do though."

"Let's follow behind for now," she said. "Wait for them to clash first before we attack."

"What if the first party leaves?" he asked after moving a good distance closer. His undead lizard stayed well out of sight, and having cleared out the area, nothing interrupted them while they shifted locations.

"Unlikely," Samara said. "I can hear them walking. The necromancer won't let them get away even with the torch light gone."

So they moved faster to get closer to the battle before it could end too quickly. When a shout rang out, and torches burst to life in five different places, both Mark and Samara knew it was time to pick up the pace.

Three figures were hidden among the trees, facing off against a necromancer who commanded much more minions than Mark had expected. Four skeleton warriors, three eyeless wolves, and the hard-skull ape. He ran his magic over them and was relieved to see no minion above Level 25.

"That's not normal," Mark whispered to Samara.

"What do you mean?"

"He shouldn't have access to eight minions at the same time. It must be something else." An artifact, maybe. Mark's eyes lit up in anticipation.

"I understand. Let me move a bit closer." Samara lunged to a higher point on top of the trees and drew her bow. Once the fight began, she would target the necromancer, their more dangerous enemy.

More shouts came from the first three people. Mark studied their silhouettes and they appeared to consist of a slender woman, a skinny man, and a muscular man. He thought they looked a little familiar, but threw his focus into trying to hear what they were saying. An argument?

Tensions broke down when the woman fired off a flaming arrow as a warning shot. Though it completely missed the necromancer, the attack still set him off. A shout caused his undead to charge forwards.

Three well-aimed fire arrows took out the eyeless wolves and then continued through them for even more chaos. If Mark was him, he could just tell his minions to dodge. But this necromancer stood there like a novice. Judging from the energy coiled around his hands, he was preparing a necromancy spell, yet his casting speed was so slow Mark felt ashamed.

"Make sure you bring back that man's corpse," Mark said to Samara while standing up. "I've had enough of this."

His undead lizard came stomping through the foliage, accompanied by the orc mage. The noise caused everyone to look at him and stop. As Mark walked closer, he could see the fear creep up in the necromancer's eyes.

"Give me that item. Now."

But even with an arrow aimed straight at him and two impressive minions beelining straight for his body, the necromancer shook his head. "Not happening," he said. "I don't have to do anything." Then he began to back away, taking his undead with him. Did he think he was invincible?

"Wait," a voice rang from the first group of people. It sounded really familiar. "Is that you, Mark?"

Mark's eyes widened in surprise when the man lowered his hood, revealing a very familiar face. "Hector?"