It had taken all day, but Chris and Momo had finally managed to defeat all five hundred zombies. The battle had been long and grueling—blood, dust, and rot filling the air—but they'd done it. Chris had made sure to split the kills evenly, wanting Momo to reach her max level as quickly as possible.
By his calculations, five ordinary zombies granted one level, one high zombie granted two, and an area boss granted five. That meant each of them had gone up by roughly fifty levels—still not enough to reach their caps, but close. Fortunately, his latest reward was right on time.
His watch beeped, the familiar monotone voice announcing:
Quest 5 Complete
Reward: +1 Overlord Level and Beginner Dungeon
New Abilities Added:
Red Minion Summoning: Allows the user to summon the Red Minions.
Builder Summoning: Allows the user to summon Grubby, the Minion Architect.
Chris looked up from his watch just in time to see the quarry on his holographic map shift from red to blue. A grin spread across his face. "Honestly, we should probably head back to Gnarl and summon Grubby," he muttered, wiping sweat and grime from his brow. "But… I kinda want to finish leveling us up first."
He glanced at his wrist again. "Hey, Watch—how do I use this dungeon?"
The device beeped in reply, its voice calm and mechanical. "Designate an area you wish to place it. Then it shall appear."
"Huh… okay," Chris said, curiosity sparking in his eyes. He walked over to a flat section of the canyon wall and pointed. "Here's good."
A golden light enveloped the rock face, glowing brighter until it forced him to squint. When the light finally faded, what stood before him made his jaw slacken—a massive wooden door carved with intricate runes, stone steps leading up to it as if it had always been there.
"Oh, hell yes," Chris said, an eager grin spreading across his face. "I thought it was gonna be some kind of instant dungeon like in a novel, but this is way better. Now my subordinates and subjects can use it whenever they want—and grow stronger without me having to ferry them around."
He reached out, pushed open the massive doors, and stepped inside with Momo silently following behind. The tunnel beyond was dimly lit, the walls earthen and damp. After a minute of walking, however, the narrow passage opened into something completely unexpected—a vast, sunlit forest.
A soft breeze rustled the leaves above, and in the distance, a waterfall cascaded down into a crystal-clear pond. Not far from it stood another massive door, undoubtedly leading to the next area.
"Watch," Chris said, still taking in the surreal beauty of it all, "how many floors does the beginner dungeon have?"
"Ten floors in total," the device replied.
"Do the mobs respawn?"
"Affirmative. The dungeon is designed for grinding purposes, but will not provide experience to those with an intermediate job or higher."
Chris crossed his arms, thinking aloud. "So the creatures inside won't give exp once someone's got an intermediate job… which means I'll need to unlock new dungeons later." He sighed, glancing toward Momo, who stared blankly into the glowing forest. "That probably means this place won't be much use to her after she evolves. At least not until she gets her first job."
Chris and Momo stepped cautiously into the forest, the air thick with the earthy scent of moss and pine. Chris stayed on high alert, his eyes scanning every shadow and movement. His grip tightened on his sword and axe as unease prickled at the back of his neck.
A sudden rustling echoed from the brush ahead. His muscles tensed. Something's there. He lowered his stance, ready to strike—until a massive red deer stepped out from the foliage. Its horns gleamed like forged steel, its eyes glowed with a sinister red light, and sharp, carnivorous teeth flashed between its lips.
Chris blinked, jaw tightening. "Oh, shit…" he muttered, his tone sharp with disbelief.
Before he could act, more rustling came—from the sides, behind, everywhere. One after another, more of the monstrous deer emerged from the trees, forming a loose circle around them. Their growls reverberated through the forest.
Chris barely had time to react before they all charged at once. He cursed under his breath, grabbed Momo by the arm, and leapt high into the air. Their bodies soared just over the glinting horns, the rush of air grazing their legs. They landed hard on one deer's back, the impact jarring his bones.
Spinning swiftly, Chris drove the blade of his axe down with all his might, embedding it deep into the creature's skull. The deer crumpled, collapsing beneath them. He and Momo hit the dirt with a bone-jarring thud.
His watch beeped:
-20 HP
"Ugh…" Chris groaned, pushing himself up with a pained grunt and hauling Momo to her feet. The remaining deer pawed the ground furiously, eyes blazing with fury.
They charged again. Chris reacted first—he hurled his axe with precision. It struck the lead deer right in the face, the blade cracking through bone and brain alike. The beast toppled lifelessly. He didn't have time to recover the weapon; he grabbed Momo's wrist and pulled her aside, narrowly dodging the next wave of horns.
He pivoted, thrusting his sword deep into another deer's side. It let out a guttural bellow, thrashing violently. Chris held firm, teeth clenched, using his sword as leverage to keep the beast in place.
Momo leapt onto the creature's back. She grabbed its horns and twisted hard—there was a sickening snap, and the deer went limp.
Chris yanked his sword free, blood glinting in the dim light, and turned to face the last two. They lowered their heads and charged again.
Momo met the first one head-on, catching its horns in her small hands. Her feet dug into the ground as she held it back through sheer force. Seeing the second deer closing in, she snarled and heaved the one she held—slamming it bodily into its charging ally. The sound of bone meeting bone cracked through the air as one deer's horn impaled the other's skull.
Chris didn't hesitate. As the surviving one struggled to shake its dead comrade off, he sprinted forward, retrieved his axe mid-run, and brought it down in a brutal arc. The steel cleaved through the creature's face, splitting it open and ending the fight.
Panting, Chris wiped blood from his cheek and raised his watch to his mouth. "Watch, are these things edible?"
Affirmative.
"Sweet," he said with a smirk. "The value of this dungeon just went up by a lot."
Opening the shop tab, he blinked. "Whoa, I have more money than I thought." He'd been expecting around five thousand, but the display showed 9,080.
The watch chimed again:
You gain shop currency every time you defeat an enemy. The amount depends on the enemy's strength.
Chris nodded appreciatively. "Huh. That's useful."
He purchased a skinning knife and got to work on the first deer. The process was messy—his cuts uneven, his hands slippery with blood—but he persisted. When he finally finished, his watch beeped:
New Skill Acquired: Dismantling
Grants instinctive knowledge on how to skin, gut, clean, and butcher hunted animals.
Chris blinked, realization dawning. "So all this time I could've been obtaining skills by just… doing stuff?" He groaned, smacking his bloodied hand against his face. "You fucking idiot! You were reincarnated by the god of games! Of course effort and learning grant skills. I feel like I need a tutorial for my freaking tutorial."
Momo tilted her head slightly, watching as he muttered to himself.
Shaking off his frustration, Chris continued dismantling the rest of the deer. Each one went faster, smoother, his movements more precise. Once he was done, he stored the meat and hides in his inventory and opened his stat screen:
---
Name: Chris (Nihil)
Race: High Human
Job: Warrior – Level 100
Overlord Level: 5
Health: 3700
Mana: 2000
Strength: 242
Perception: 111
Endurance: 227
Charisma: 121
Intelligence: 111
Agility: 101
Luck: 111
Skills: One-Handed Weapon Mastery, Shield Mastery, Battle Instinct, Dismantling, Enhanced Strength
Spells: Fireball, Slow
Abilities: Minion Summoning, Subordinate Contract, Blue Minion Summoning, Red Minion Summoning, Summon Advisor, Summon Builder
---
A new icon caught his attention: Enhanced Strength. He tapped it.
Passively increases max Strength by twenty points.
"Huh. Neat," Chris muttered.
They continued onward until the trees parted into a clearing near the waterfall. Sunlight glistened off the cascading water, and fish darted lazily in the pond below. Chris sighed. "You mean to tell me the only things on this floor are those five deer?" He shook his head, exhaling.
Deciding to make the most of it, he crouched by the water, washing the blood off his hands. Cool water ran between his fingers, rippling around his reflection. He gave a small grin. "Well, at least this floor's good for gathering meat, right, Momo?"
When he looked back, Momo wasn't looking at him—she was staring past him, eyes wide and unblinking.
Chris frowned, following her gaze. His blood ran cold.
Behind them, half-hidden by a rocky overhang, was a massive red bear—easily the size of a bus—sleeping soundly. Its chest rose and fell like a bellows, each exhale rumbling through the ground.
Chris stared blankly, expression flattening. "…Yeah, nope." Without a word, he navigated to the job tab on his watch. The screen read Pick New Job. He didn't even glance at the options—he immediately tapped Mage.
New Job Selected: Mage
Stats related to magic and the mind will increase faster than others. Basic spells are easier to learn.
New Spells Added:
Force Push (Fable): Hit enemies with an invisible shockwave. Cost: 3 Mana per shot.
Blades (Fable): Creates spectral swords that launch at enemies. Cost: 4 Mana per blade.
Chris stood slowly, eyes fixed on the slumbering monster. "Let's end this quick."
Channeling his mana, he sacrificed 1,000 points to summon 250 spectral blades. They shimmered in the air around him, humming with lethal energy.
"Go."
The blades shot forward like a storm of death, piercing the bear's hide in an instant. It roared, staggering to its feet in agony as blood poured from hundreds of wounds. The blades shattered, but their damage lingered.The bear charged toward them with thunderous footsteps.
Chris dashed aside, firing multiple Force Push spells to stagger the beast and break its momentum. When it lumbered toward Momo, he cast Slow, the spell wrapping around it like invisible tar.
Its movements dulled to a crawl.
Seizing the chance, Momo lunged, her hands gripping the bear's massive jaws. Her small frame trembled with effort as she forced them apart. A sharp crack echoed through the clearing as its jaw snapped, the creature collapsing with a final wheeze.
Chris exhaled heavily, shoulders sagging. Too tired to dismantle it, he stored the bear's corpse in his inventory. "Alright," he muttered, catching his breath. "That should give Momo five levels. Two more mob kills, and she'll hit six. She needs eleven more."
After a brief rest, Chris pushed open the heavy wooden doors to the next area, and he and Momo were greeted by a grim sight—a sprawling graveyard stretched before them under a gray, lifeless sky. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and decay, and crooked tombstones jutted from the ground like broken teeth.
Chris exhaled sharply through his nose, lips curling into a dry smirk. "Oh, wonderful," he said sarcastically, his tone dripping with mock enthusiasm. "More undead."
As if offended by his remark, the graves around them began to tremble. One by one, the earth cracked open and skeletal hands clawed their way out. Dozens of skeletons pulled themselves free, their empty eye sockets glowing faintly as they staggered toward him.
Chris groaned, rolling his shoulders. "Momo, there's plenty here for you to finish leveling. Take them out."
Momo didn't respond—as usual—but she still obeyed without hesitation. Her expression remained blank, her movements mechanical yet precise, as she darted toward the mob of skeletons and began tearing through them with brutal efficiency.
Satisfied that she could handle them, Chris turned his attention to something far more ominous at the far end of the graveyard: a tall, armored figure standing silently among the tombstones. Its armor was cracked and blackened with age, and in its bony hands rested a jagged rusted axe that still gleamed faintly in the dull light.
The Skeleton Knight.
Chris squared his stance, raising his sword. "Guess you're mine," he muttered, before breaking into a sprint.
The knight responded instantly, charging forward with surprising speed. Its rusted axe came down in a vicious arc, sparks flying as Chris caught the blow with his sword. The force of the impact rattled his arms, but he gritted his teeth and pushed back, locking into fierce combat.
They traded blows in rapid succession—steel clashing against corroded metal, echoing through the graveyard. Chris blocked, countered, and sidestepped each swing. Finally, he parried the knight's axe with a powerful strike that knocked it off balance. Seizing the opening, he stepped in and swung horizontally, his blade slicing clean through the undead's torso.
The Skeleton Knight froze, then collapsed into a heap of bones and armor. Chris lowered his weapon, exhaling slowly. "This sword's sharper than I remember," he murmured, brow furrowing in curiosity.
He examined the blade—and his eyes widened slightly. The cracks and rust that had marred its surface were gone. The metal gleamed like newly forged steel, its edge gleaming razor-sharp. The handle, once worn and splintered, was now smooth blackened wood, while the guard and pommel shone with polished bronze.
A small grin tugged at Chris's lips. "Oh, cool. It got its first upgrade."
He stowed it and his axe in his inventory, and made his way back toward Momo. When he arrived, she had just finished crushing the skull of the final skeleton under her heel. Bone fragments scattered across the dirt. Her watch beeped.
Max level reached.
Chris pulled up her status screen:
---
Name: Momo Belia Deviluke
Race: High-Zombie – Level 100
Job: None
Health: 1675
Mana: 200
Strength: 125
Perception: 0
Endurance: 130
Charisma: 0
Intelligence: 0
Agility: 110
Luck: 115
Skills: None
Abilities: Instinct, Chlorokinesis
Spells: None
---
Her watch beeped again:
Only one available evolution at this time. User currently lacks the intelligence to initiate on their own. Beginning evolution automatically.
Momo's eyes flickered briefly before her entire body was enveloped in a cocoon of swirling black energy. Chris instinctively took a step back, shielding his face from the wind it generated. The cocoon pulsed with dark light for several minutes before fine cracks began to spread across its surface. With a sharp crack, it shattered into fragments of shadow that dispersed into the air.
Standing in the center was Momo—reborn.
Her rotted, decayed skin was gone, replaced with smooth, porcelain-like flesh—still pale and lifeless, but eerily beautiful. Her once-clouded eyes were now clear, her sclera pure white again, and her pupils shimmered faintly with intelligence. Her hair, once grimy and dull, now flowed in soft, clean strands.
Chris checked her stats again.
---
Name: Momo Belia Deviluke
Race: Ghoul – Level 1
Job: None
Health: 1675
Mana: 200
Strength: 125
Perception: 2
Endurance: 130
Charisma: 1
Intelligence: 5
Agility: 110
Luck: 115
Skills: None
Abilities: Instinct, Chlorokinesis, Slow Regeneration (New)
Spells: None
---
Curious, Chris tapped to expand the descriptions.
Ghoul: A higher-tier undead than zombies. Ghouls are faster, stronger, tougher, and smarter than zombies. They retain their human appearance, allowing them to deceive prey before striking.
Slow Regeneration: User passively heals their wounds, though at a very slow rate of 2 HP Per Second.
Chris nodded approvingly. "Cool. Can she get a job yet?"
Before he could check himself, Momo's watch beeped and answered in a monotone voice:
Negative. User currently lacks the mental faculties to select a job or properly use skills or spells.
"Damn it," Chris muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Well, Momo, looks like I'll be letting you take the lead on this one. The sooner we get you evolved again, the better. And we've still got eight floors' worth of enemies to take out."
He didn't expect a reaction—but for the first time, Momo gave him a small nod.
Chris froze for a split second, eyes widening slightly in surprise. Did she just…?
A faint smile crept onto his face before he quickly hid it. Shaking his head, he reached out and patted her lightly on the head. "Good girl," he said quietly.
With that, he turned toward the looming stone archway that marked the entrance to the next floor. "Come on," he said, leading the way. Momo followed close behind, her expression unreadable but her steps steady as they descended deeper into the dungeon.