Zolis was screaming on the inside as Geth walked away. Her heart was about to burst in her chest... again!

That kiss was one of the most passionate they'd ever shared!

She had wanted to strangle him for killing her but after that...

*Sshhhhhh*

She let out a long breath to cool herself off and gripped harder onto Sindri's hand. The latter's shield was still on the ground in the floor above them.

"Everything okay, Zolis?

"

Sindri was still worried about her. She had been more injured than the rest, after all.

Zolis nodded her head and smiled,

"Everything's fine. Just can't get over what happened.

"

Sindri naturally assumed Zolis was talking about Geth turning into a monster. Not that she was entirely wrong.

"Yeah, that was wild! Until he grabbed Jack, I thought it was some kind of Skill.

"

Zolis shook her head,

"No, that wasn't a Skill.

"

"Well, it certainly wasn't him.

"

Zolis gazed at Sindri for a moment while thinking about that statement. She looked back on her life with Geth, the good and the bad times.

"I'm really not so sure,

" She mumbled.

Sindri raised her eyebrows but didn't respond, just leaving each of them to their own thoughts. She traced her thumb on Zolis' hand while they walked.

Zolis closed her eyes and allowed her senses to guide her. She used the silence to recall the recent experience.

Geth had utterly lost himself... or had he?

Sindri seemed to think that something had taken control of him. It was a plausible explanation, but Zolis didn't believe that was the case.

There had been many times in the past where she'd felt that strange atmosphere around him. That he was lost... empty.

Most of the time, it may have been latent, but it was there. Countless times she had caught him staring aimlessly at the stars, giving off that same feeling.

Sometimes she felt that he was looking for something that he couldn't find. She remembered asking him about it once.

"There's more out there than what we can see.

"

It was such a simple answer and one that any stargazer would likely respond with.

Zolis always felt that it held a more profound meaning... and this was the first time she'd seen him in that trance-like state since the

"merge.

"

'Could it be that this place is what he was missing all along?'

She really wasn't sure what to think of it and didn't know if he'd even noticed. She was just happy that he'd finally seemed to come to life in this place.

Her thoughts continued to wander while the two made their way to the next floor.

Just before stepping through the threshold and into the Sub-Boss room, Zolis realized that she hadn't thought of any way to explain the situation to the others.

"Fuck.

"

*****

Outside of the Dungeon, standing near the caved-in entrance...

*Clank* *Clank*

"Can't you **ers dig any faster! If we aren't back in the next few days, Cap's gonna kill us!

"

"Yes, Lieutenant!

"

*Clank* *Clank*

*Sigh*

"Man, I told you to stop doing that. We aren't in front of the Captain right now.

"

The man turned his head and mumbled,

"One of you sticklers is prolly gonna get me in trouble for sayin' Cap. Bunch of losers.

"

Horker took in a deep puff from one of the many joints he'd made himself. He looked around at his men, the Goblins, and the Direwolves that surrounded him.

*Clank* *Clank*

The world turned a bright shade of green, then blue, yellow, orange, and finally red before returning to normal. He'd found this strange flower off to the east after reading the descriptions of hundreds of plants.

These plants weren't pleasing to the eye. The stems, leaves, and petals were a flat grey.

However, a Botanist could crush the flower with specific Undead Monster Cores to create a unique substance. The product came out as a powder that was both a hallucinogen and a downer.

*Sigh*

He pressed the joint on the Direwolf he was riding, putting the embers out on the beast's skull. The butt of the cigar fell to the ground, quickly being lapped up by the wolf.

*Clank* *Clank*

"What a stupid creature. Aren't you idiots done digging yet?

"

"We've chipped away over two feet, but there are still no signs of the inside, Lieutenant! This stuff is practically rock!

"

"Well, hurry up!

"

*Clank* *Clank* *Clank*

He didn't have much of his drug left, and it was the only way to make these mutts listen. They would have to start heading back soon if they didn't make any progress.

"Hoow- Yaackk!

"

"Shut up, you **ing mutt!

"

Loud whipping and yelping sounds suddenly rang out over the sounds of the tools clashing against the rock. Horker turned and glanced at two men that were beating a wolf with cudgels.

Horker smiled. It looked like things were going well.

This Direwolf was different from the others the group had Enslaved. It was rather resilient, and he couldn't quite get it to drop into that mental state where he could take control.

Horker had become a Tamer at Level 25. He was planning on becoming an Enslaver when he reached Level 50, just like the Major that ordered his Captain around.

That man was the only man he knew that had gained his second Class, and he'd done it all from sitting in one place!

Unlike a Tamer, the Enslaver Class didn't have a limit. The only problem was that the Enslaved people or creatures wouldn't be able to Level beyond a certain percentage of the Enslaver.

But who cared if you had hundreds of slaves!

*Clank* *Clank*

'I'm so tired of hearing that damned clanking! Digging a **ing hole just to scavenge some corpses. The items were probably eaten with their bodies.'

Horker just didn't understand what their Captain was after. Before leaving, he even took the time to block communication in this area.

It was just a waste of time and material in his eyes.

*Clank* *Cla-*

"Lieutenant! They made it through!

"

Horker jumped down from his Direwolf and shoved aside the two Goblins that had been digging the tunnel.

"Hopefully, they had the courtesy to die near the entr-

"

He stood there, completely stunned. In front of him, littered from one wall of the cave to the other, and as far back as he could see...

"Cores....

"