"Alright then." Jack spoke up again once the equipment was distributed and equipped, his little group ready to go, excitement and fear unavoidably present. It was to be expected though, their lives had not been in the best of places, and that would be one hell of an understatement. Still, they held surprisingly well, all awaiting Jack's further instructions. "Now that I have you all geared and somewhat protected, let us see what you can do." Jack hummed as he explained further "Understand that I will only be watching from the side, giving instructions in what needs improvement, reducing the amount of commands the further you improve. My goal here is to see you all trained at least a bit while running diagnostics on the place itself. I will take action if I deem it necessary though. Ain't no way some measly goblins or kobolds gets to steal my servants, though that does not mean you can go and get careless. In case my involvement becomes necessary, and by fault of your own, expect some punishment to follow."

  His words, while relatively short, still carried with them a sense of pressure, though more positive than negative. Then, as if to lighten the mood, he added "Also, are dungeons usually this empty, or am I missing something?" His previous scan of the immediate area had revealed a rather peculiar fact- namely lack of any monsters whatsoever. Worse yet, during their time spent here, short as it had been, Jack had not sensed any entering his perception range either.

  "That's normal, why? Are you familiar with dungeons of a different style?" Spartacus replied, as a warrior from his own group, young as he had been before his own enslavement, he knew a bit more than the girls here, going into a quick explanation as they began their advance.

  "Monsters will appear soon enough. From what we know, limited as it might be, the place where you enter the dungeon is a safe zone, with not a single monster coming near it no matter the circumstances." And as they walked further, following the map in Jack's hands and the directions he provided with, the first monsters appeared, though only Jack sensed their arrival for now.

  Like some corpses buried underground and unwilling to stay dead and buried, several arms pushed through a wall in one place, followed shortly by the rest of their owner goblin bodies, as though the walls were some sort of a gelatinous surface, only for said surface to seemingly solidify a moment later, with the recently emerged goblins beginning to act more like their kind should- a bit of a tussle among their ranks before they all dashed towards Jack's group, likely having caught a whiff of fresh humanoid bodies.

  "Incoming from the front. Group of five goblins." Jack warned since this would be the first encounter, speaking no more and beginning his own evaluation process, though still ready to intervene if absolutely necessary.

  "Form up! Me, the twins and Lita up front. Casters and hunter line up behind." as the one with the most experience, Spartacus near instantly took lead, barking out commands and leading by example, taking place at the vanguard. Though he himself had not actually lead a team before, he had gone on plenty hunts, seeing proper team leaders in action, and later, while forced to work as a slave, he had spent countless hours thinking on the matter, dreaming of a time when he could have his revenge. Little did he know that such a day would actually come.

  Girls followed Spartacus instructions, quickly assembling as per orders, forming two lines and preparing to meet the incoming group of enemies head on. Seconds later still, the sound of small feet scraping against the cold, stony floor echoed, their footsteps betraying their arrival, followed by snarls and wicked giggling of sorts, intermingled with hisses and half gurgles. Then, the approaching monsters appeared, a group of five, barely clothed little green monstrosities rushing towards them. Their run was awkward, switching between running on two legs and tilting forward, using their arms as a pair of extra legs, as though hoping such mode of running would bring them over to their targets much, much sooner.

  Little, black and beady eyes gleamed with wicked glint in their ugly mugs as visible drool began to leak from their mouths, seemingly pushing them further into frenzy. The little shits no doubt had realized that the group of tasty smelling hummies ahd females among them and as the little, sadistic and monstrous shits that they were, their instinct and lower heads took over, increasing their speed and ferocity by a bit.

  "Average level of six. Stronger than expected." Jack hummed as he observed, his right hand gently resting on the hilt of his sword.

  As soon as the goblins were no more than forty meters away, Arsha began to pepper them with arrows, releasing one shot after another. Her speeds was rather good, though she was clearly sacrificing accuracy as barely any of the launched arrows hit anything.

  "Slow down Arsha. Precision and power over speed." Jack's voice thundered, followed by a bright ball of fire, lobbed by Valente- giggling near uncontrollably as she did so- once the goblins had passed twenty meter mark. She also fared much better, the explosion that followed once her fireball hit the ground grazing two of the five goblins, causing them to fall to the ground and squirm in pain, their backs nicely done, seared and all.

  Out of the remaining three, Arhsa finally caught one with a well aimed arrow, felling it on the spot, with only two remaining reaching the groups front line. It was there that the goblins were met with a shield in their faces each, intercepted by Lita and Spartacus, followed by a rather well timed stabs of spears in both goblin sides, slipping into their flesh nicely between their small ribs. The little green shits clearly did not enjoy the feeling, high pitched screams escaping their mouths, only to be silenced a moment later by another well synchronized duet of spear thrusts.

  It was then, as all five goblins were finished off, Jack was caught of guard, the remains of the five goblins seemingly exploding into mana dust, leaving nothing behind.

  "Oi!?" Jack exclaimed, clearly confused and feeling cheated. Sure, the little green shits would provide near no matter after deconstruction, but even mosquito meat was meat. Now, he was left empty handed and hanging. Was it any wonder that he immediately searched for an explanation.

  "What was that?" he asked the group around.

  "What exactly master?" Sindu responded, not quite sure what Jack was talking about. So far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened after all.

  "Where are the bodies?" Jack elaborated with another question.

  "Hm? Gone? As they should be?" Sindu once again replied, still confused, her tone implying both an answer and a question.

  "Riiight." Jack drew his one word response, his mind already working on the reasoning and implications of it all. Sure, he was quite annoyed his ability to gather matter from the dungeon monsters was now non existent, but at the same time he also saw it as an opportunity. He saw it for what it was- a way for the local dungeons to sustain themselves near indefinitely, minimizing the amount of mana and matter expended on each instance through the denial of monster corpses, drawing more and more from the casualties that occured within its walls as well as from the surroundings, only losing when naturally formed treasures were found and brought outside. No matter what, it seemed the system here was working near flawlessly, the stable schedule on which the dungeons operated a clear proof of that.

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  "Move along then." Jack added then, his mind still digesting the information at hand "We have a lot of ground to cover, even more monsters to slay and all that."

  As the group headed further in, Jack inevitably reached a rather important question that surfaced as he mulled over the whole system here. 'Where does all the excess energy go then?' It was clear that the schedule did not change, implying surplus for the dungeon system. No new dungeons were popping up either, cutting off that possible result. Could it be that it all was being stockpiled, and if so, could Jack go and tap into that stockpile for his own needs? The idea thrilled Jack, the possibilities near endless if so. Still, as excited as he was becoming, Jack kept it all to himself, allowing his maids and Spartacus to advance at their own pace.

  "Another six incoming from the right!" called out Arsha, her bow drawn and an arrow let loose in the direction of the new threat, impaling one of the approaching goblins right in the neck, causing the little shit to fall to the ground clutching its throat, greenish blood oozing both through the wound and its mouth.

  "On it! One fireball incoming!" Valente giggled as she turned, a bright red orb of fire spitting an occasion spark out that was just moment later lobbed in the same direction Arsha was shooting. A moment of silence, only filled with snarls and squeals of goblins, as well as weapons piercing or slicing through flesh, later, the sound of an explosion rang out, filling out the passage that way with roaring flames, accompanied by the sound of sizzling flesh and last throes of death as the goblins perished.

  "Sheesh. Someone's horny." Jack whistled as he saw another group of goblins charging forth and lunging through the fire, right past the now disintegrating bodies of their fellow goblins, their beady black eyes almost glowing with greed and lust. Unfortunately for them, before they could reach the flank of the group f humans and one fae, Spartacus emerged in their way.

  "Front's clear!" he shouted as his shield mercilessly slammed into one goblins face, impaling another on his sword just a moment later. Worse yet, he was followed by Virgo and Nesta just a few seconds later, their spears finding purchase with another couple of goblin frames, wounding them mortally and pushing them back. Even worse yet fared the next group of goblins that tried to rush through the now dying flames of the previously lobbed fireball, said flames flaring right back up with seemingly endless vigor.

  "Good thinking Sindu!" Jack praised her for the quick thinking, using her wind to fan the flames and reignite them with even greater might, immediately incinerating the next batch that tried to get through.

  The group had reached an intersection of sorts, with goblins popping out from all three other paths, trying to swarm and overwhelm them, only to be met with steel and magic, cut down like the atrocious pests that they were. It had been a few hours already since the start of their delve, with goblin groups growing larger and stronger, as well as smarter, marginally as it was with the latter. Still, the presence of so many women countered them as well, their natural vile instincts kicking in overdrive, dulling said growth in teamwork and logical thinking, little as they had it.

  "Stay alert." Jack reminded them the moment he saw them relaxing a bit, all too aware that such lapse in readiness might cost them their lives. Perhaps not here, but it was a skill that needed honing regardless.

  "Yes Sir!" came a reply in unison, the group tensing just a bit, refocusing and cleaning up after themselves. Only when the group was sure no more boglins were coming for a moment did they stop and returned to Jack, awaiting the inevitable question that would follow.

  "A good response all in all." Jack praised the ma a little, quickly enough asking the question they had been waiting for "observations and things to look out for in the future if something similar happens?"

  "To know if fireballing the enemy will not suffocate ourselves in the process." Valente replied first, earning a nod of approval from Jack.

  "Good and correct. That's a rather important thing you have to be aware of at a all times. Fire consumes the surrounding oxygen and while having mana will allow you last longer, death is nevertheless inevitable if no oxygen reaches your system in time. There is only so much raw mana can do if you can't morph it onto the much needed oxygen. That or you happen to be of the undead persuasion, so being aware of the location you are in, especially so when in closed of spaces, and as such knowing how much oxygen could be burned is a valuable knowledge to have. Of course, when in dungeons, the issue often is less pronounced, the special environment producing oxygen as though it was a world of its own, often times disregarding the very same rule. Regardless, it is better to know of the possibility and to realize as quickly as possible by which rules you will have to play. Going full pyro is or is not allowed. "He then glanced to the rest of them "Anything else?"

  The next ten or so minutes were spent going over some other observations, fixing flaws in decision making or execution, though thankfully, no major mistakes had been made, avoiding the possibility of a proper punishment from Jack. Once that was done, the group resumed their delving once more, with Jack only sighing every now and then at the loss of matter.

  Somewhere around two PM by earth standarts the group stopped for a lunch, courtesy of Jack once more as he was getting them into something of a rhythm. He did not forget to warn them that meals will be another task they themselves will have to deal with in the next coming days, with Jack serving only as an observer. By now, it was clear that this whole training exercise was more than simply meant for Spartacus to develop his leadership skills and sense for combat. Even the maids were trained to act independently, all while thinking about the good of the group. Not that the realization of this particular fact by the seven enslaved people changed Jack's plan or approach, on the contrary. With them understanding what they were prepared for on their own, it was easier to push forward.

  "Good. Seems were are almost done with this place." Jack spoke with a quiet content, the group having done exceptionally well for the duration of the day. It was around nine in the evening, with only a single chamber remaining ahead of them. Numerous groups of goblins had been dispatched, with quite a few kobolds joining them as well on the latter fifth of the dungeon corridors. By now, groups of level ten monsters- either goblins or kobolds, with a rare few hobgoblins mixed in here and there- between the size of eight to thirteen, appeared regularly, pushing the group of seven quite a bit. By now, the lack of a healer was becoming apparent, with the seven earning cuts and bruises after every fight, though nothing too serious- the apparel provided protecting their vitals.

  What stood before them was a corridor of twenty something meters, followed by a rather large set of metallic doors, open as though inviting them in, but at the same time, a rather eerie aura permeated from the other side, warning them of danger awaiting. Jack had been doing the healer part after their encounters, allowing them to push so far, mentally noting the need to go back and acquire a healer. Sure, Spartacus would not become a core part his maid corp, but he still wanted them to be a perfected battle unit, capable of holding their own if needed, so obviously a healer was a must.

  "Feel free to rest for a while before challenging the boss room." Jack spoke, seeing the clear hesitation in everyone's eyes. Even Spartacus was slightly worried. The lack of a healer was that much of a confidence siphoner, making them falter. Nobody liked the thought of death or a grave, permanent even, injury. They knew all too well just what happened to slaves who could no longer perform their assigned duties.

  "I am still here, so no lethal damage, or permanent injuries for that matter, will be inflicted upon you, with me taking action if needed, so go in and do your best. Even if I have to step in, you all have worked hard enough for one day, so consider this as a bonus training chance. if you perform especially well, I might even consider handing out some rewards. Still, no reckless suicidal charges or the like. Fight smart, and only then hard."

  With the slight pep talk- as much as it could be considered one- over, the group rested for another thirty or so minutes, only getting up when they all felt they had reached their optimal state. With another nod of approval from Jack, the group exhaled in unison, mentally preparing for what was to come and advanced towards the last chamber, their postures rigid, yet full of awareness and ready to react the moment anything moved within their line of sight.

  With each step that they advanced, the reverberating of their footsteps, as well as the thrumming of their hearts could be heard, accompanied by the deathly silence of the labyrinth. A lone bead of sweat fell to the ground, the sound of it lost among the former two melodies taking up the majority of sound space, all the way until the group stepped through the doors. There, as though awaiting the challengers, the room itself reacted to their arrival, torch after torch coming to life and illuminating the chamber.

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 30

  Class- Awakened twin aspect of Creation and Destruction(Ex)

  Stats unassigned: +4

  Attributes:

  Strength- 34 (14+7+13(gear))

  Vitality- 28 (12+8+8(gear))

  Dexterity- 29 (15+6+8(gear))

  Intelligence-20(15+ 5(gear)

  Spirit- Spirit- 30 (20+10)

  Skills- Wisdom of Creation and destruction(EX), Choice of the creator(EX), Eyes of procurer(EX), Matter storage(EX), Arukain language(C), Spark of inspiration(EX), Origin of matter(EX), Unbound by laws of the lessers(EX), The end made manifest(EX).

  Spells- none.

  Titles(unlocked): The real Monster, Big Game Hunter, The brilliant rookie, The insane Solo. Monster debugger.The actor. Executioner. Survivor. Pioneer, Record breaker.The new champion supreme. Slavemaster.

  Gear: Two handed sword(t3)+ 5 str +5 vit: Armor 3str +3 vit +3 dex; Ring 1 - spatial storage, ring 2 +5int, ring 3 +5 str; amulet +5 dex.