The platform arrived at the -6th floor, locking into place with a seamless clamp. The doors, like the floor above, were already open, revealing a vast and sprawling network of interconnected hallways. Karl, consulting his 3D map, saw that the entire floor was dedicated to living quarters, far more expansive than the single barracks they had encountered on the -5th floor. The sheer scale suggested it once housed a significant population.
To expedite the expedition, Karl decided to split the party. "Leo, you will lead the second group. Secure your flank and be thorough." Leo was not as battle-hardened as Rook, but his high level and superior intellect made him a capable commander, a fact Karl noted ntally as he saw the scribe’s calm acceptance of the task. He was, in a sense, Karl’s second-in-command, a position he’d held before the Corpse King ca into existence. Schalezusk, ever in search of excitent, joined Leo’s group.
The hostile forces were just as the previous floor: erratic skeletons and berserk spiders. There were no stronger enemies, nothing to challenge the discipline of the undead soldiers. The rooms, unlike the empty ones on the -5th floor, were filled with broken furniture: tallic beds, tables, and shattered chairs, all made of unknown alloys. For Karl, this was a boon. The scraps of tal were a treasure trove of new materials for his engineering departnt to study.
Three hours later, the two teams t back at the platform, the entire floor finally cleared. The silence that followed was absolute, punctuated only by the crunch of chitin underfoot as the soldiers swept the final corners of the floor.
Schalezusk, finishing off a final spider with a sigh, said, "These scums don’t pique my interest at all. It’s not fun."
Leo, who had fought only with his bare hands, replied, "Sotis, these pests are weak individually but strong in numbers. If they could think like we do, we would have had a very difficult ti."
As he spoke, a spider lunged from the ceiling. He saw it with a terrifying prescience, giving it a strong but impossibly fast spear-hand thrust that pierced through its body, slicing it downward clean as its body fell through Leo’s arms.
He then noticed Karl and walked over. "My lord! I am glad you are fine. I found this in one of the rooms." He handed Karl a tallic card. Karl observed it for a mont, its strange etchings and unfamiliar weight intriguing him, before putting it in his pocket for later study, but for now, there were more important tasks. "Now that we’re done here, let’s move on. I’d like to get this done quickly."
A spider, having managed to survive the purge, scurried toward Karl and lunged from the ceiling. Rook, standing behind him, gave the spider a quick, almost casual slash. The spider, still in mid-air, was bisected so cleanly it felt as if it had simply lunged to its death before it even hit the ground. Rook then stared at Leo, his singular eye sockets conveying a silent, cold challenge. The ssage was clear: My efficiency is unmatched.
Karl, oblivious to the unspoken challenge, said, "Oh, thanks, Rook. Anyway, let’s go back."
Unbeknownst to Karl, these two were locked in a silent rivalry. A level 39 Senior Executive and a level 38 Elite Commander, competing to be their lord’s number one subordinate—or at least, number two, since the Corpse King was a league of its own. Leo’s precise, calculated strikes were a reflection of an assassin he found on his lord’s mories, a reflection of one of the animated characters in the Zoldycks family, a subtle display of lethal professionalism. Rook’s speed and ruthless finality, anwhile, were a testant to his unmatched combat experience. They both saw Karl not as a leader, but as the pinnacle of their existence.
Being acknowledged by him, not as a disposable minion but as an irreplaceable one, was the closest thing they could ever dream of. Karl, however, still saw them as cogs in a system, a ans to an end. There was no ti for feelings and companionship, only the selfish pursuit of the unknown.
As Karl walked, Schalezusk, in the rear, stared at Karl, his thoughts racing. The Lich might be equal to Minur, the current chieftain he had sworn to overthrow, after their father, the previous chieftain, was challenged and died after cheating his way to the top with demonic energy. But this Lich’s strength wasn’t just in his raw power; it is in the army he had built.
Schalezusk looked at the skeleton soldiers marching in front of him. Each of them is stronger than a normal orc, not by brute strength but by sheer discipline and tactics. If and my brother had a chance of reclaiming our right as the heirs of the Bloodtusk Clan, it’s with him, he thought as he gazed onto Karl.
He stared at Karl, his mind flashing back to the test of the chamber explosion chanism, a few hours ago. The sound of the makeshift 40mm barrel had roared, a physical, deafening sound that ripped through the very fabric of the earth and sent shivers down his spine. But that wasn’t what truly terrified him. It was what happened next.
From 200 ters away, the target dummy had simply... exploded. The sheer force had not only torn the dummy to shreds but what truly astonished him, was that the projectile, after it’s initial impact with the dummy, pierced through the solid cavern wall behind it. This was the true aning of Karl’s power. It put their greatest archers, and their most seasoned dark mages, to sha.
If these thunder weapons were their "bows," then orcish armors would be useless. Reinforced gates and stone walls would be aningless against the sheer power of these weapons. Minur’s demonic might is nothing compared to this cold, calculated force.
A smirk ford on his face. Building an alliance with the Lich is indeed a smart move, just as Simon says, he thought. He felt a surge of confidence. "Wait for , Minur. I’m going to tear down that little ho you call a fortress. Your demonic army will be overshadowed by the power of these thunder weapons."
Later, having arrived at the platform, Karl selected the next floor, and the platform descended to the -7th floor. This ti, as they descended, the atmosphere changed completely. The very air grew thick with a chilling, tangible pressure, a weight that settled on the soul. It was the presence of dark mana, a suffocating aura that would have driven any mortal to madness and fear, but for Karl and his undead minions, it was a strengthening balm.
The closer they got to the bottom, the more the subtle energy coursed through Karl’s body, invigorating his core. Schalezusk, however, felt the full, primal impact of it. His skin prickled with a newfound fear, and he shivered. "It feels... cold down here," he said, his voice a low tremor.
Karl smiled, a grim, skeletal grin. "It’s the dark mana. It’s gonna feel uncomfortable for any living mortals." he said, turning to the soldiers. "Be prepared," he reminded everyone, a cold excitent in his voice. "I feel like this is going to be different from what we’ve faced."
The descent was longer than they expected, the platform dropping steadily for several minutes. Karl, having already glanced at his 3D map, saw a single, massive chamber below. It was an expansive room with a gigantic, pyramid-like structure—a ziggurat—at its center. Unlike the previous floors, a multitude of red dots appeared on the display, all concentrated on the ziggurat, a stark contrast to the scattered dots they had purged on the upper floors.
As the platform descended onto the floor, the massive tal doors clamped shut. Karl was surprised. He tried the pedestal again, but it was unresponsive. "Try to force it open," he said. Rook nodded and tried it alone, but his muscles strained and he struggled against the unyielding tal.
Leo scoffed, a rare smirk on his face, and said, "Let’s do it together." Karl’s undead instincts told him the door was simply stuck, so he agreed. "Yeah, the door must be broken or sothing is stuck." The two undead worked together, but the door wouldn’t budge. Schalezusk, his brutish strength added to their efforts, was also useless.
Karl sighed, his patience wearing thin. "Let’s just go back and leave the rest of the floors for later. We can co back prepared for what’s to co." He went to the pedestal to return to the 4th floor. The pedestal’s interface flickered, showing a series of alarming red texts:
[ System Error! ]
[ System Error! ]
[ System Error! ]
Karl’s hollow eye sockets widened. "Ah... shit," he muttered, the words a dry click. The corporate executive in him, however, saw a new problem to be solved, a new variable to be exploited.
"What is it, my lord?" Leo asked, his voice calm but with a hint of concern.
"The platform’s fucking stuck," Karl said, his voice flat with annoyance. "We’re trapped."
Schalezusk’s massive shoulders slumped slightly. "Really?"
"I don’t know," Karl said, frustration in his tone. "Let try and fix this thing." He said while banging his fist on it. The pedestal’s interface then changed.
[ Executing Diagnostics operations... ]
Karl felt a mont of relief. "Thank goodness. I thought we were stuck here. Just let it wait for a mont and do it’s thing." They too were slightly relieved. But before they could get their hopes up, the display changed.
[ Ergency Egress Platform Hardware Error! ]
"Ah, shit, we’re stuck. We’re really stuck in here," Karl said, the finality of the statent hanging in the air.
"Shall I climb and call for help, my lord?" Rook offered, scanning the impossibly smooth walls for a handhold.
Karl sighed. "Might as well." Just as Rook began to search, a tallic panel sliding on the walls on the -6th floor, a hundred ters above them, began to close on them, their sound echoing ominously and sealing their fate.
"Just perfect," Karl said with a defeated tone.
Leo, the ever-analytical one, said thoughtfully, "There might be a third party involved with our current situation, my lord." He had already co to the sa conclusion as Karl, his mind racing through possible scenarios.
Schalezusk’s eyes narrowed. "So you’re saying soone is purposefully trapping us here?" Leo nodded.
Karl sighed, "Your guess is as good as mine. This entire dungeon is unknown, so it’s not surprising soone is watching and screwing with us." He had faced competitors and saboteurs in the corporate world, and this felt no different. It was a hostile takeover attempt, just on a much larger, more unpredictable scale.
Then, the interface on the platform changed again, a new ssage appearing:
[ Solution: Realign the mana nodes on the 10th floor. ]
[ Suggested Path: ]
It showed a 3D map of the location. A small, highlighted vent was located at the center of the ziggurat, leading to the -8th floor, then showing another path on the -8th floor at its edge that lead to the -9th floor and so on.
Karl facepald, a dry clap of bone against bone. "I think we need to clear the entire dungeon to get out of this ss. We’re going on a scavenger hunt."
Schalezusk’s face lit up. "I wouldn’t have it any other way!"
Karl looked at Rook, who nodded. Leo bowed politely. They were ready for anything.
"Alright, let’s do this." Karl said, looking at the pedestal. "But be ready. As soon as those doors open, prepare for the worst."
Rook commanded, "n! Assu battle formations!" The thirty-five skeleton soldiers ford a tight shield wall, their spears at the ready.
Karl looked at the pedestal’s interface again, watching the diagnostics complete.
[ Code: 1X7-DCO9. Rebooting MD-7 Ergency Protocol ]
[ MD-7 EP Rebooted. ]
[ Executing Task 6-A1 ]
With a low grind, the massive doors slowly opened. The soldiers waited for the enemy to appear, but what revealed was a vast, sprawling battlefield, centered around the gigantic, ziggurat-like structure. The ziggurat was unlike anything they’d seen, with glowing green circuits snaking up its sides. The entire chamber was like an ancient, self-contained world. A massive, luminescent light on the ceiling provided a strange, artificial daylight, illuminating the cracked earth below, which was covered in a thin, ethereal fog and burned, dead trees. The air, thick with dark mana, slled of ozone and scorched tal.
In the distance, they saw them: skeletons, but not like his. These were clad in full plate armor made of a strange, greenish-steel alloy, and they wielded double-edged swords. Their movents were slow, lumbering like zombies, and their blue-glowing eyes empty. They acted as if they didn’t see the approaching party.
Then, in a chilling instant, their eyes flashed red. They turned in unison, a synchronized movent that was more terrifying than a chaotic charge, and rushed towards them. Karl felt a knot of dread twist in his nonexistent stomach. Soone is watching us. Or sothing. Is this a different security system? Could it be Subject Zero of so project that had gone wrong? Could it be so sort of dungeon boss? The questions raced through his mind, and he was excited to find out the answers.
The first armored skeleton clashed with the vanguard. The soldiers’ spears, which had been so effective on the upper floors, glanced off the plate armor with a jarring clang. The tal was unnaturally strong. Rook, seeing this, shouted a new command: "Attack the exposed joints!" The three vanguard skeletons surrounded the armored one. One distracted it, blocking its attacks with its shield, while the two others flanked it, slashing at its hip bone and neck with their swords. The skeleton crumpled instantly, its unarmored joints proving to be its only weakness.
Another one approached, but this ti an elite skeleton, a veteran of Rook’s training, didn’t use a spear but a xiphos. It parried the armored skeleton’s attack before slicing its neck, watching it fall apart with a tallic rattle.
Karl, however, was now smiling, looking at the material. He was excited to study and repurpose these new materials. The green-steel alloy armor had not even been scratched by the initial spear thrust. This is an untapped market, he thought, and a significant upgrade to my army.
He picked up a piece and wore it. "Finders keepers, Hahaha." he said with a laugh while donning it with his suit and tie outfit. "Loot them, and wear their armor. It’s much better than ours. If we’re gonna survive, we’re gonna be practical!"
As more of them rushed towards the party, they were easily destroyed if they were hit on the right spot. They didn’t proved to be much of a threat if engaged properly, through discipline and tactics. Their armors were looted and equipped by the skeleton soldiers, who were now twice as effective.
From the rear, one of the armored skeletons managed to sneak past the others, dashing towards Karl. Rook and Leo, who were focused on the front line, failed to notice. Panicking, they turned, but it was too late. But Karl, with a quick motion, used his new skill. [ Necrotic Bolt ].
The compressed dark mana flew towards the skeleton with a low hum, a miniature supernova of pure negative energy. The force of the skill was imnse; the skeleton’s bones were sent flying in all directions. Even the strange green-steel armor wasn’t spared. It had a gaping crater at the center of the chest plate, as if it had been hit by a flaming cannonball. Everyone was surprised and stared at Karl, who looked at them dismissively, as if he used such a powerful skill every day.
"Well, I guess that’s that," he said, turning back to looting.
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