The high-ceilinged coliseum with stone stands appears again. Marcus is the first to step inside, and although visually everything looks the same, the crunching under his feet is the first sign to be alert.


    Marcus looks down, frowns, and kicks the splintered femur toward the center of the arena. Balto, Pit and Harris advance with him to the middle of the stage, and although they all look for the monolith to plant the hand and summon the enemies, the arena lacks it.


    Marcus decides to give the order to continue towards the final chamber, but keeps silent when hear a hissing sound inside the sand. The four soldiers stand back to back.


    ?It''s time?


    Jimbo rubs his imaginary hands together and leans forward, watching every detail. Hilda continues in the secret shortcut, peeking through holes and cracks disguised in the dim light.


    A skull peeks out from the sand and rises, revealing the upper body of a skeleton. Unlike other undead that have appeared in the dungeon, this one does not wear rags or carry rudimentary weapons. The monster remains still about 15 paces from Marcus'' group, with sand flows down between his bones.


    The soldiers exchange glances. They all seem to agree that it is only a minor undead.


    "I''ll take care of it," says Pit, smashing his shield against the iron mace. Being a blunt weapon, it''s ideal for dealing with that kind of monster.


    "Wait a minute, Pit. [Lynx Eyes!]" says Balto and activates a technique.


    -Technique: Lynx Eyes.


    Requirement: None.


    Cost: 10 Ki.


    Description: For 60 seconds the user''s eyes are sharpened, allowing him to see in the dark and detect hidden elements and traps.


    Balto''s irises are enlarged and tinged with gold, while the pupils are sharpened. Balto sweeps the scene and after forming his conclusions, reports there are no traps in the area.


    Pit nods and advances towards the skeleton, accelerating in step with the sledgehammer ready. He swings the iron at the bone, but the undead, moving with an agility unbecoming of its kind, backs up and slides away.


    The sand hisses again. The skeleton gains height and the soldiers look up to follow it. The creature reveals that his torso is not attached to legs, but to a succession of ribcages. What hisses and constantly moves the sand around are dozens of ribs like centipede legs following the undead''s movements.


    "Pit, get back!" Marcus shouts.


    The skeleton lunges forward like a whip, wraps around Pit blocking his retreat, and tightens, pinning the big man between the ribs.


    "[Body Temple]!" Pit exclaims in a thunderous voice.


    Bone like a dozen spears, thrusts against the man, splintering against the steel plates, and working its way through the joints and less covered areas. But instead of penetrating flesh, the bone spikes explode as if they hit a wall.


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


    Requirement: None.


    Expenditure: 10 Ki.


    Description: For 60 seconds the user''s body obtains a hardness that can range from stone to the best steel. The hardness degree varies and depends on the user''s mental strength.


    The skeleton does not cease its attacks and moves forward, spinning Pit between the ribs. Marcus leaps to the left, dodging a swipe from the undead. Pit dodges to the right. Harris blocks the onslaught with shield, but his legs can''t withstand the blow and give way. The skeleton embraces him and lifts up.


    The soldier and the undead ascend. Harris tries to utter a power word, but his mouth falls silent as they crash headlong onto the ceiling. The stone crunches and pebbles fly off. Harris, blood slipping between his lips, uses the knob of the sword to repeatedly strike the skeleton''s skull without much success.


    "[Max Power]!" Pit exclaims, pumping up muscles and planting his feet firmly on the ground. Too dizzy to see, he gropes with both arms for the skeleton centipede''s ribcages, the ones that wrap around him, and pulls with all force.


    The undead and Harris separate. Balto gets under and grabs the boy''s badly wounded body. Pit spins the undead''s length about three times, gaining more speed with each spin. The effects of [Body Temple] no longer apply, the bone begins to penetrate the man''s skin.


    "Now, Marcus!" Pit roars.


    Marcus leaps towards the undead''s main body, sword thrust above his head. The blade glows with a golden glow.


    "[Sacred Slash]!" Marcus says.


    -Technique: Sacred Slash.


    Requirement: Level 10.


    Cost: 30 Ki.


    Description: Imbues a slashing weapon with life energy to increase damage. Sacred style attacks are usually very effective against undeads.


    The sword strikes the undead, causing it to explode in a cloud of ash and luminous particles. The light spreads to the remainder of the skeleton, coating the bones in a golden glow and turning them to dust.


    Marcus lands gasping, planting a knee. Pit falls onto his palms in the sand, also bathed in sweat. Balto leaves Harris sitting up and rushes to assist his friends.


    ?...?


    Hilda flashes a proud half-smile at her troop and shoots a glance at the Dungeon Core''s presence. The captain questions Jim for his silence.


    ?So many hours of work thrown away? Jimbo says, letting out an exaggerated sigh.


    Actually it''s not so bad, he already has the basic skeleton centipede schematic saved. Hilda was very impressed when she saw the undead, and commented that it''s the first one she''s seen of that type, which is logical since it''s Jimbo''s original creation.


    As his summoning catalog is limited, Jimbo doesn''t have the option of creating level bosses. The closest he has is Dowmy or Hilda, but the first one could just be an exotic enemy, and Hilda is beyond his authority. So Jimbo came up with the idea of grabbing multiple low-level undead and putting them together to see what would come out.


    He was proud with the result.


    ?Still, the competitive part of me has a hard time accepting that they beat my creation in the first try?


    The soldiers exceeded his expectations. Although Jim doubts that the men can continue with the tests in that state, beyond the injuries they look very tired. Such a motive was what prompted Balto to put up a hand and ask for something impossible to demand in a conventional dungoen.


    "Hey, Dungeon Core, we can''t go on, we''re done for now!"


    "Balto, wait!" Marcus looks up to complain, but Balto leaves him no choice.


    "Shut up, Marcus. We know our limit. Instead of banging our heads against the wall, better to survive to fight another day"


    Marcus bites his lip.


    Jimbo opens a path to the stands and from there an entrance to the secret shortcut where the soldiers meet Hilda. Pit and Balto show an uncomfortable smile, expecting a scolding. Harris keeps his eyes on the floor.


    "Marcus, Balto, Pit... Good work, especially in adaptability to danger," Hilda says with a stoic expression, which is enough to leave the soldiers speechless. "Now, the rest of the day can be taken off"


    As soon as the soldiers get over the shock of Hilda being nice to them, they perform a military salute and head for the exit. Marcus accompanies his friends, but stops for a moment to look back at the coliseum.


    "Someday I will earn the honor to see you again" Marcus murmurs and leaves.


    The promise was to Jimbo, but he was too distracted looking at his stats. A big, ethereal smile forms across his face as he discovers a blinking message. There is nothing better than real battle experience to polish a warrior. In turn, there is nothing better than tense situations to produce valuable ether.


    -Jimbo the Dungeon Core LV 1


    -Ether: 100/100


    Ready to level up!