Blood Leech followed the fleeing skeleton across the rooftops without making a sound. The undead moved quickly over broken buildings and collapsed walls, keeping the blue soul stone clenched between its teeth.

Zich watched through his summon’s senses as the creature crossed another street. His eyes narrowed slightly when he noticed something strange. The skeleton was not heading directly toward the Bell Tower.

At first, the route still looked close enough to make sense. It remained within the same district, and several roads still connected to the tower farther ahead.

Helen walked beside him through the ruined streets below.

"What is it? Did you notice anything?" she asked.

"Yes," Zich replied. "The undead. It keeps changing direction."

Helen frowned slightly and then said, "Maybe it knows it’s being followed and wants to shake off your summon."

"I doubt it. Blood Leech is like an assassin. A low level skeleton shouldn’t be able to sense him," Zich replied confidently.

Meanwhile, Blood Leech jumped over a gap between two roofs and landed silently on cracked tiles. Ahead, the skeleton dropped back down into the street and continued through a narrow alley.

The route became stranger after that. Instead of taking the larger roads, it avoided them completely. Every time a straight path appeared, the undead chose a side street instead.

Zich continued watching. The Bell Tower remained visible in the distance, but the skeleton never actually moved closer to it.

Several minutes later, it finally slowed. Blood Leech stopped on the edge of a rooftop and looked down.

A small market square sat between several destroyed buildings. Old stalls surrounded the area, and a dried fountain occupied the center. The skeleton walked directly toward it.

Zich and Helen arrived a short time later but stayed hidden behind a collapsed stone wall overlooking the square. The monster reached the fountain and stopped.

A few seconds passed before more skeletons emerged from different streets. One came from the north side of the square, another arrived from a broken alley, and two more appeared from opposite directions.

Each skeleton carried a soul stone. The undead gathered around the dried fountain without making a sound. One after another, they dropped their crystals into the empty basin.

Clink.

Clink.

Clink.

The soul stones rolled across old dust and scattered coins that had been lying there for years. Neither Zich nor Helen spoke as they watched.

The crystals eventually disappeared into small holes hidden beneath the dirt and debris.

Helen’s eyes widened slightly.

"Did you see that?"

"I did."

Another skeleton arrived and dropped off its stone. The crystal vanished into the same opening.

The couriers did not stay afterward. Each one turned around and left the square using the route it had arrived from. Before long, the area became quiet again.

Even after the undead left, Zich continued observing the fountain for some moments.

Shook.

A faint sound reached his ears. The noise came from below, repeating again and again.

Rattle.

Rattle.

Rattle.

His gaze flickered toward the ground as the sound continued. Small objects were rolling somewhere beneath the street.

After making sure no skeleton was in sight, he stepped forward, gesturing for Helen to follow.

Helen crouched near the fountain and placed one hand against the stone edge. Her expression became serious.

"There’s a tunnel. The soul stones are falling inside," she said quietly.

Zich stepped closer.

"How far?"

"I can’t tell."

She tapped the stone surface lightly.

"The sound isn’t spreading across the square. It’s moving deeper underground."

Zich looked toward the distant Bell Tower and remained silent for several seconds. The tower stood exactly where it always had, tall, visible, and obvious. It was the perfect place to attract attention.

His eyes slowly returned to the fountain.

"It’s a distraction," he said.

Helen looked at him.

"The Bell Tower?"

"Yes."

He pointed toward the basin.

"The stones aren’t going there like I thought. Whatever these undead are feeding is pretty smart."

Helen didn’t say a word, but she felt sweat accumulate on her back. After all, intelligent monsters were the worst kind of enemies a player could have.

Zich stepped forward and tightened his fist. The next moment, he drove it into the side of the fountain.

BOOM!!!

Stone cracked apart and fragments scattered across the square. A section of the basin collapsed, exposing a narrow channel hidden beneath the structure, just like Helen had said.

Soul stones rolled through it in a steady stream.

Helen stared at it, a gleam of shock in her eyes.

"There really is a tunnel."

That had only been an assumption. She never thought there would actually be one beneath the fountain.

Zich bent down beside the opening, a greedy light in his eyes and a smirk on his lips. The crystals continued flowing through the channel despite the damage, disappearing deeper underground through the dusty passage.

Without hesitation, he reached inside and grabbed a handful.

"You..." Helen was speechless.

Zich stored the soul stones away and reached back into the channel. More crystals disappeared into his backpack, which was now being carried by the Elite Undead Knight.

Several more soul stones disappeared into Zich’s inventory while the channel continued flowing. Helen was growing worried that something might notice, however Zich was completely blinded by greed.

A few moments later, the sound beneath the street changed.

Rattle.

Rattle.

RATTLE.

Zich stopped immediately, his eyes narrowing. Helen heard it too, and her posture stiffened.

The rolling stones accelerated beneath the ground. Something deeper below seemed to be pulling them. The sound no longer resembled a simple channel carrying crystals downhill. Something was now actively interfering with it.

The two exchanged glances. Neither of them spoke for several seconds before Zich slowly looked toward the fountain’s central statue.

The carved figure stood motionless above the basin.

At least, it had looked motionless.

Two red lights appeared inside the statue’s eye sockets.

Helen froze.

"Zich."

"I see it."

A hidden skeleton unfolded itself from inside the stone figure. The courier had been concealed there the entire time, and its gaze remained fixed on them.

Blood Leech lunged from the rooftop and crossed the distance in an instant. The courier was smarter and faster than any skeleton they had seen so far.

Its jaw opened at an unnatural angle.

Then a small red crystal launched into the sky.

WHOOSH!!!

The flare shot upward before Blood Leech reached it. A split second later, the summon slammed into the skeleton and crushed its skull apart.

CRACK!!!

Bone fragments scattered across the fountain, but it did not stop what the monster had already done.

The red flare continued climbing.

"So much for staying hidden," Helen clicked her tongue softly.

The crystal exploded above the square.

BOOM!!!

Red light spread across the sky like a signal visible from every direction.

For a few seconds, everything became quiet. The rolling stones stopped, and the ruined market seemed frozen in place.

But the silence did not last.

A faint scraping sound came from one of the nearby streets. Another followed from a different direction, and then more sounds appeared around the square.

Helen slowly turned, and the sight chilled her to the bone.

Undead monsters stood at every Conner.

There were skeletons, zombies, undead knights, and mutated hounds with furious red eyes. Saliva dripped from their jaws as they looked at the walking meat with palpable excitement.

With a glance, Zich could tell these monsters had somehow gathered here, and with only undead skeletons running around, they had not enjoyed a proper meal in a long time.

Helen turned in a slow circle as more undead filled the roads behind them. Others appeared between ruined buildings, while some climbed over collapsed walls.

The square was being sealed from every direction.

Her grip tightened until her knuckles turned white.

"Zich," she said quietly.

He looked around once.

"Mm."

Helen swallowed.

"We might have a problem."