“Dungeons in NEMO took their inspirations from a wide variety of sources both historical and imaginary. Claims of cultural appropriation were met with the line that the game amalgamated everything. If you spent enough time exploring the game, you could find representations of every type of human culture and more besides.”

  From “The Anthropology of the Online Universe”

  Year 1, Month 2, Day 6, 06:00

  Torgon rushed from the crafting hall to meet Dusty inside the library. She held up a map and spoke in a rush, “It’s right here! The Tomb of Unclad Flesh is built into the wall of this canyon. It took our scouts longer to find it because there’s rubble around the entrance.”

  He beamed, “That’s wonderful news Dusty. I’ll pass the word to Ovarrix to send at least one covering force and a team of builders to get started with an encampment.” The two left the library together and noticed a small commotion near the halls of housing inside the base. Dr. Masters was welcoming a group of newcomers to the guild.

  Torgon’s face broke into a wide grin when he noticed Markus standing next to a few other people in the group. He rushed over and grabbed his friend in a tight embrace. “Markus! It’s great to see you here.”

  The man looked slightly abashed, and he turned to an older woman and two teen girls next to him. “Torg, this is my wife Alicia and daughters, Marigold and Chysanthemum. Mari and Chris for short.” Torgon eyed his friend askance before Markus continued, “What? We love flowers. They were available in-game too. They registered at the beginning but haven’t had much playing time.”

  Torgon turned to face the three and bowed to them, “Welcome to Risk of Injury. All of us are glad to have you on board. Take as much or as little time as you need to get settled in.”

  Markus leaned over to Torgon, “Torg, why didn’t you tell me that you had twice the experience I did per level?”

  Torgon shrugged, “It never came up. Besides, why would I give away useful information like that?”

  Markus chuckled, “Well, you’ll be glad to know that now we all have double the experience requirement to level and we lost levels due to it. All the skills are the same and the attributes are there. Just no new attributes until we hit a higher level than before.”

  Torgon nodded, “That works. I need to get you out with the undead farming teams and catch you up. We’re going to be doing our first big raid soon and I want you involved.”

  Markus straightened up with a serious expression on his face. “Got it Torg. Thank you for this opportunity. We’re all in the program now. There’s more stability than the Silver Hearts, and it feels better to help kids over finding rare items for wealthy clients.”

  Torgon clapped Markus on the shoulder, “Don’t I know it. Feeling younger is a giant bonus too.” He eyed the smiles on the faces of Markus and his wife Alicia. “Dusty and I are going to get a second encampment going for the dungeon we just found. Whenever you’re ready just message Ovarrix and he’ll sort you out with a leveling and farming team.”

  Markus gave Torgon a hug, “Thanks Torg, for everything.”

  Dusty and Torgon grabbed Hyperia and a small force of players and started their trip through the teleporters to Outpost Alpha. Hyperia let them know that she had informed the Midnight Maiden and her people about the second dungeon.

  Hyperia said, “This dungeon won’t be a zone first clear of a dungeon. I don’t think their teams can beat us in the dungeon either. They are struggling in the hard mode of the Tomb of the Wight Lord. It’s almost endearing, watching all the arrogant players find out that they aren’t nearly as good as they thought they were.”

  Torgon agreed, “She’ll whip them into shape, but not in time to hinder us.”

  Hyperia added, “They’re losing a lot of the less disciplined players. The Young Master’s alliance seems to be folding completely. They’re merging the smaller guilds into the Heirs of Destiny.”

  “What are the ones that leave doing?” Dusty asked.

  Hyperia considered the question, “It varies. Some are forming small guilds and others are going solo. The majority look like they are folding into the Red Hat Raiders or the One Percenters.”

  Torgon sighed, “They are going to be a thorn in our side.”

  Hyperia nodded, “Yes, they will. Just a small thorn though. It will give Allestor something to train our pvp minded players with.”

  They arrived at the site of the new dungeon within a couple of hours. The canyon had rock walls roughly fifty feet high and the floor was around sixty feet across. A small stream ran through the bottom of the canyon with its source an archway carved into the rock wall. The archway shimmered with the telltale portal magic of a dungeon entrance.

  The field camp was mostly finished. No vendors had made their way here, but defensive works and areas for resting, training and eating had been laid out. Word would spread to the smaller guilds and unaffiliated players and those brave enough would find their way to this place after they finished with the Tomb of the Wight Lord.

  The Midnight Maiden waited well back from the entrance with around fifty of her players. She eyed Torgon before asking, “Are you sure it’s alright if we go right in? You all did find the dungeon first.”

  Torgon nodded, “It’s alright. It’s good training and I think we’re a long way from being ready to tackle the raid. The large quests in the zone will need to advance first. We might as well get the people in our guilds attuned for the raid while we progress.”

  She nodded and directed her people into the dungeon. Torgon watched them go with a sigh and noticed Hyperia looking at him strangely. “What?”

  “I’m just trying to picture it,” she said. “Wait, no. Strike that thought, delete it and remove it entirely from this universe.”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Dusty sniggered but came to Torgon’s rescue, “Our team is assembled. Ovarrix handed off the large groups to Dirk, and they have Markus taking over for the undead farming.”

  Ovarrix looked over the teams and passed along his directions, “Simon, Lillian, the two of you will start out as primary tank and off-tank. Dusty, Ed, you’re rear guard again. Let’s go see what this dungeon has to offer.”

  The twenty assembled players approached the entrance and teleported inside. The safe zone at the start of the dungeon began in the foyer of a large sandstone temple built into the side of a cliff. Simon and Lillian led the team into the first room and immediately encountered a mixed group of skeletons and slimes.

  The slimes were red and green in color and ignored physical attacks. The enchanted weapons the group used inflicted damage, but it was greatly reduced. The green slimes used acid attacks and the red slimes burned whatever they touched.

  Dusty told the group, “The slimes fit the theme. They’re here to strip the flesh from anyone who dies in preparation for being raised as undead.” The group dispatched the forces which were roughly equivalent to those they had faced in the Tomb of the Wight Lord. Dusty made everyone wait while she copied down the runes inscribed on the walls into her notebook.

  The number of creatures increased as they tore their way through the dungeon in rapid fashion. Ovarrix led the group on a blitz run designed to finish as quickly as possible. He shifted all four tanks up front and had them engage the monsters that would take the longest to die while the dps burned down the weaker creatures.

  The slimes proved to have a small core floating inside them that caused double damage from physical attacks when struck. Allestor and Torgon made a game of popping the slimes. Allestor would inevitably kill any slime he closed into range with and Torgon tried to burst them before Allestor reached the target. Hyperia liberally used her frost shards to slow the monsters down.

  The first-floor boss was a giant skeleton that hurled globs of slimes that would turn into monsters if not crushed within 10 seconds. Dusty giggled when the boss dropped research materials and the first piece to assemble a book of undead creation. “There’s so much cool background history here!” she exclaimed.

  Torgon shook his head, “We’ll get it all Dusty. Let’s focus on finishing the dungeon so we can unlock the 20-man hard mode version.”

  Ovarrix contemplated the drops, “Would it be worthwhile to find someone to lead a necromancy department?”

  Hyperia considered it, “I don’t know if the general population would support it. It might be a trump card we keep stored away in any bases we set up far from civilized lands.”

  Torgon looked at everyone, “Do you know anyone that would be that interested in necromancy off the top of your heads?”

  All the younger players and several of Mark’s scouting team and the leadership group said at once, “Stabitha.”

  Torgon pursed his lips, “Fair, I should have expected that. “

  The death of the boss revealed a set of stairs leading higher into the temple. The group moved to the second floor and resumed their advance. The team moved deeper into the dungeon, quickly dispatching the mixed undead and slime opponents. They pushed hard, killed fast and kept their formation tight.

  The second-floor boss was not an undead creature at all. It was a large green slime that shot streams of acid at the party. The pain settings did everyone no favors. Acid and fire were the two most disliked forms of attack. The tanks did their best to point the amorphous monster away from the party and let its acid splash on the walls.

  Cold attacks from the spellcasters proved the most useful tool in the fight. The surface of the slime froze and reduced its movement. Its attacks were unable to form quickly, and the group had an easier time defeating it. The mass of the beast was too great for easy attacks on the core and as a result it was a long slog through a large health bar.

  Torgon whistled after looting the boss, “There’s a recipe for an acid resistance potion and a recipe for acid grenades. The acid grenades are low level but provide a small lingering area of effect damage pool. Another tool for the arsenal.”

  Ovarrix revealed his interest, “A weapon that could deny free movement on the battlefield would be invaluable. You’ll have to assign that blueprint to someone who can spend most of their time making them for the guild.”

  Hyperia considered the drops, “It’s a measure and countermeasure in the same loot pool. It won’t give us an advantage for long unless we get our production high. Stabitha and her team of alchemists should get run through this dungeon several times until they get what they need out of it.”

  Torgon agreed, “We’ll set it up. Let’s continue clearing and open up the hard mode version.”

  The next two floors passed in a similar manner to the first. The third-floor boss was another giant skeleton who summoned minions. It dropped another piece of the book for creating undead. The fourth-floor boss was a red slime with the fire aspect. The team was the first to slay that creature and the reward increase gave them a potion of fire resistance, a flaming grenade and a recipe for hot sauce that inflicted mild acid and heat damage on anyone who ate it.

  Allestor couldn’t contain his excitement, “I need to get that hot sauce recipe to Chef Bridges as soon as possible. It would be perfect for the final level of a guild wing eating competition.”

  “Remind me not to accept food from you,” Hyperia added drily.

  The stairs to the final level brought them to large pit atop the hill the temple was built inside. The pit contained thick layers of bone built up over centuries. The party approached the pit, and they could feel a low rumbling as they moved closer. The bones began shaking and shifting. A giant skeleton made from the bones of dozens of different creatures rose from the pit.

  The figure wielded a sword of hardened red slime and wore a cloak of green slime that undulated as it moved. It spoke, “More bones for the work! I will devour your flesh and make you clean!” The final boss of the dungeon lumbered forward and attacked the party.

  The field of bones made for treacherous footing and the tanks struggled to angle the attacks of the monster away from the party. The sword left trails of burning red slime on anything it touched. Any attacks within melee range risked coating the offender in green slime from the cloak. The initial damage of the boss was low, but the effects of the attacks stacked.

  Allestor confidently fought the boss in melee range, but most of the team pulled back to use ranged weapons. Hyperia and the other casters used their frost attacks to try and slow the monster. The slime cloak it wore frosted over and it restricted its movement slightly, but not enough to give the group a decisive advantage.

  When the giant skeleton dropped to 75% health, skeletal birds dove from the sky and attacked the party. The group diverted damage to fend off the fresh wave of monsters. Without flesh, the monsters were incredibly hard to hit while in the air and the team had to wait until they attacked to inflict damage. Their presence slowed the fight down and increased the risks from the stacking damage-over-time effects of the boss.

  Another wave of skeletal birds assaulted the party when the health of the boss hit 50%. Allestor complained, “They don’t have feathers or flesh, how are they even flying?”

  Torgon’s face took on the expression of a man with years of wisdom and he said confidently, “Magic.” Allestor snorted out a laugh despite himself and continued inflicting damage on the boss while adroitly dodging the splashing slime.

  The boss dropped to 25% and what they hoped was the final wave of flying skeletal scavengers appeared. The team gritted their teeth, endured the pain and finished wearing the boss down until it collapsed back into the pile, adding to the bones once more.

  The celebration of the first clear was muted and they gathered the rewards and exited the dungeon quickly. Torgon passed the potion recipes off to a runner. “We need these in production as fast as possible. I’m not sure we can finish clearing the hard mode without it.”

  Until they had extra resistance to fire and acid, defeating a harder version of the boss would be too risky. Torgon passed orders to the guild encouraging everyone strong enough to begin farming the normal version of the Temple of Unclad Bone. They needed more potion recipes, and they were locked in a race to gain access to the raid dungeon and ultimately the capital.