"Good to see you, Mark," Hector said with a smile. Clearly visible in the torchlight, the wounds on his body were displayed plainly to everyone. He still looked quite energetic though. "This guy's up to no good," he said. "Best to just deal with him."

"You can't kill me! Lord Nova won't approve." The man backed away more quickly, eyes spinning.

"I know that name." Mark's orc mage still tore through the man's undead forces, and made him kneel. "You're not him though. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't lop off your head."

In the man's panic, only a wretched sound came from his throat. A blade erupted inside his chest. Mark's orc wrenched its staff out.

"Thank you," Hector said, giving a respectful nod to Samara as well. "Let's talk."

The other two people in the group took off their hoods as well, revealing the faces of Annabelle and a young man whose name he didn't know. But Mark had an inkling.

"Victor?" he asked, giving them a brief scan of their levels. Only Hector was Level 24, while the other two were Level 23.

Hector nodded. "We were able to get him back after the chaos. Lost Jack, though. But I won't bore you with the details. There's something you need to know."

"You mean the market? I've already been there. I know you have a bounty on your heads, and that our enemy is a part of the Umbral Blades."

"Then do you know their true goal in these mines? We found a hint you might be interested in. A piece of history inside a hidden cavern."

Mark raised a brow. His orc mage handed him a small token tied to a piece of string, pilfered from the body. This was probably the item which enabled the necromancer to raise more minions than his capacity could hold.

Core of Animation (Rare) - An artifact which can cast two different necromantic spells.

"I can take you there. Maybe you'll be able to figure something else out."

Mark slowly nodded. "Sure, but there's something we wanted to do first." He explained what was going on with their team and Leah. "What do you think?"

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea, but you should probably go get some rest, stay in top condition. Don't worry, we'll still be down here, leveling up." There was a slight pause before he spoke again. "I'm sure you already know this, but be very careful in the market."

Mark made a note of the man's hushed tone and smiled. "Nice meeting you two again," he said. "I'm glad you're safe too, Victor."

He withdrew from the area with Samara and waited for Elise's return. The goblin warrior hadn't moved yet, so he ordered his undead lizard to carve out another hole. Its digging ability made it very useful for creating impromptu hiding spots, with the ability to even cover most of the entrance up behind them. Though air was scarce, Mark felt pretty safe in here.

After a short nap, he awoke to Samara crushing some of the herbs she had acquired in a small mortar and pestle. "How are things?" he asked.

"Made some more supplies. We should be good for a few days."

"Sounds good. Let's get going then."

Samara nodded, finishing up a few more concoctions while Mark's lizard dug a way out. They were far enough from the market that nobody interrupted them while it was digging. His goblin warrior had finally begun moving back, but they still needed some time to get here, so he decided to travel back to Hector's cavern first.

"How's it going?" Mark asked. Then he stopped. The condition of these three hadn't improved at all. In fact, it appeared even worse. Some wounds were still bleeding, all his teammates had eyebags, and Victor had a visible limp. They were all Level 24, though.

"Good," Hector said. "Perfectly fine. Now it's time for the boss."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"It's all good," he reassured. "It's to help us push through difficulties. Train like soldiers."

Mark shook his head. "Not happening. Let's just talk about our plans for the future. Gives us time to see if anybody will come here too."

"Fine." Hector sat down against the wall, breathing heavily. As soon as his teammates joined him, the mood somehow became more relaxed. They snuffed out their torches and stayed silent for a while.

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

Mark's eyes took in the state of their injuries. "What did you all experience?" he muttered.

"Bad things," Hector said. "Horrible things." He shuddered. "The reason why we're working so hard is to grow stronger before the real trouble comes."

Mark was confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"While we were running away, we came to the central area much earlier than that woman. We were able to join a team during their initial explorations. And one of the things we learned was that this place is a ruin."

"Not just a mineshaft?"

"Nope. There's a ton of undead buried down here, and we're pretty sure the limit goes much farther than we'd expect."

"Haven't seen any of that, though." Mark unfurled the map. He pointed at a place with a Level 35 boss. "This is one of the two places with the most powerful enemies we found on this map. You're saying there's more."

Hector nodded. "The truly powerful undead are still slumbering. Those market leaders and the necromancers? They're gearing up for something that will awaken those monsters again. They want more power, and they'll do anything to get it."

"That's good, isn't it?" Mark's eyes lit up. "No offense, but this tutorial has been pretty easy once I got my class upgrade. It's at Level 25, by the way. Maybe this is why the top echelons are so eager to find stronger enemies."

"Really?" Hector scratched his neck. "I knew there was a difference between you and everyone else, but I guess I didn't know how much."

"So what do you want to do about it? Farming like this won't get you anywhere. From what it sounds like, we don't have much time to push our advantage before their plans start moving quickly."

"That's right. Mark, as one of the strongest necromancers I've seen, you'll be quite the effective leader." Hector smiled and turned to his two teammates. "From now on, we follow him."

"What?" Mark's brows shot up. "Me, your leader? Weren't you just going to show me that place you found?"

"Theodore's not here. I thought he was the only one who could compete with some of the more powerful necromancers and guild leaders," Hector said. "I was wrong."

"I'm flattered, but I really don't think I'm suited for this. I-"

"Too bad, boss," Hector interrupted. "Where do you want to go now? Help Leah, or go to our secret room?"

Mark tried to push off the responsibility to Hector, but the man refused to budge. Annabelle and Victor carried a glint in their eyes as they looked at him. Their respect for him was immense, and Mark wondered what Hector had fed them the night before. Even Samara had no complaints as she watched them quarrel with a smile on her face.

"Fine," Mark said once he had given up. "Come with me. Let's go kill the boss." After Samara did a quick scan around the cavern, Mark finished discussing battle strategies with Hector and prepared for a fight.

The boss monster in the middle was a giant ape at Level 29. It rested on the treetops, eating the fruits it plucked, then swung to another tree once all the fruits were finished. Assuming the monster would have the same abilities as the hard skull apes was a safe guess. So he told the others to aim for its other weak spots, like its neck and its internal organs.

Samara began the fight by shooting an arrow into the one place no animal wanted to be shot in. Then she ducked behind cover once the ape became enraged. It crashed down onto the floor and lunged for her position. But his undead lizard rose up to intercept its charge.

Mark, Annabelle, and his skeleton mage peppered the monster's sides with their spells. As the flesh withered and burned, his orc mage ran around the ape and began slashing away at the weakened skin. A few large gashes were carved in the monster before it flung the lizard away and tried to protect itself.

The undead lizard came roaring back with a wave of fire. Its venomous head swung around and bit the ape in its hip. The monster howled in pain, attracting the attention of a few hard skull apes loitering out of sight. They launched themselves into a frenzy, diving down from trees to run at them.

But Annabelle's burning arrows complimented Samara's power, laying down a field of suppressive fire where anyone inside turned into mincemeat. Any ape trying to get around would then have to face Hector in battle, and the field rotated. Meanwhile, Mark's minions continued to brutalize the ape.

Chunks of flesh began to fall away, but it had managed to deal a great blow to his undead lizard. The entire fire head was now lying on the floor. Puffs of flame still flowed from its mouth, but the monster made sure to avoid it. Meanwhile, Mark's orc mage was nowhere to be seen, having been flung far away. The ape had one last chance to turn the tides.

But the ape made a mistake in charging at Mark. Victor had surprisingly developed a new skill on his own, and a defensive bulwark shone in front of him. He took the ape's attack head-on, stopping it completely. Though the shield shattered, Samara was already there.

A barrage of arrows soared straight into the monster's neck. Mark's undead lizard caught up to it a few seconds later, clamping down onto its throat and knocking it down. Toxins drained away at the ape's strength, and its head came upwards for one last cry before it collapsed.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 31. +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, +3 Free Stat Points

"Good job, boss," Hector said with a crooked grin. "See, I told you it would be fine." He ignored Victor hacking away on the floor and Annabelle clutching her head against the side of a tree. "Don't worry about them. We'll recover while we walk."

Mark walked up to the ape and tried to reanimate it, but the body was too damaged. The venom in his undead lizard was very corrosive. Most of its bones and flesh had melted away.

Fortunately, Mark had practiced enough with his Repair Corpse ability that he could reattach the fiery head instead of abandoning it completely. The lizard was good to go for a few more rounds.

"We should try getting those fruits down," he said. "Could be worth something back at the market. Pick your classes in the meantime. We might need them."