Pocket Dungeon, page 32
Yasha nodded. “I believe so, yes. I had two katanas in my lockers before I went with you, but now just one remains. I believe the dungeons took the lesser of the two and combined it with the lesser of your swords.”
I mulled over Yasha’s words, and as she passed me the weapon, I looked up at the text floating above the weapon in my hands. The words were written in green instead of white.
The Hungry Blade
Damage- Average
Attack Speed- Quick
With the speed and precision of a katana and the strength and power of a longsword, The Hungry Blade will devour enemies.
“Fascinating,” I murmured aloud. I was intrigued by the fact that the dungeon had somehow combined the weapons into something new entirely. Its stats were pretty good, too, all things considered.
“That’s just one of a few different things,” Mimic spoke up again and drew my attention away from the weapon in Yasha’s hands. “Not all of your separate belongings became one, but plenty of them did. Have a look.”
I had a feeling the only reason Mimic was trying to push us to look at the new weapons and armor in the first place was so he could finally eat any of my castoffs, but despite the chest mimic’s motivations, I really did want to see what else was new.
I pulled open the next locker door and started to skim my eyes over the items inside. This locker seemed to primarily house the armor I had collected over the course of my dungeon crawling. I recognized most of the pieces without any sort of hesitation, but there were a few small pauldrons that I could tell didn’t belong to me.
They looked far closer to Yasha’s size than my own, but I still grabbed one set out to investigate them anyway.
The small metal pauldrons were made of some sort of burnished gold with silver edging. The undersides of the pauldrons were a soft leather that had clearly been bent and formed around a specific set of shoulders, and I noticed that no stats were available for these particular items.
“Did you enter the dungeons with armor and weapons from your own world?” I asked Yasha.
Yasha looked up from the Talon Blade of a Silver Dragon Wyrmling. I knew she’d seen that weapon before, but it looked frightening in her hand. She didn’t put it down as she reached out to gently ghost one of her fingers over the pauldron.
“Yes,” she said. There was a soft, almost wistful edge to her tone. “Most of my armor was passed down from my father, as the previous keeper of the crystal. It had to be refired and reshaped down to my size. We used tanned hides to help form it to my body. It served me well, until it didn’t.”
She gave a small shake of her head, and whatever wistfulness had been on her face quickly disappeared.
I imagined being in the dungeons now with someone who clearly cared about her wellbeing was a strange rollercoaster of emotions.
“Do you want it for today?” I asked her and extended the pauldron toward her again. “I mean, clearly it was high enough quality that the dual crystal dungeon didn’t bounce it straight into something else.”
My words seemed to strike some sort of chord with Yasha, and she gave a slow nod of her head.
“Yes,” she said as she hooked the Talon Blade onto the belt at her waist. I hadn’t even seen her equip the belt, but then again, it wasn’t like it would have fit me anyway. Plus, it matched her outfit. Who would I have been to take that away from her?
Then I watched as Yasha expertly fastened the pauldron to her right shoulder. She leaned over to grab the second matching pauldron from the locker and affixed it to her left side with just as much ease. It was sort of hypnotic to watch her work.
I had obviously seen her in the dungeon before, but I had to admit, the level of confidence and surety she had in her movements in this new place was equal parts terrifying and sexy. I filed that information away for later and reached into the locker to pull out a piece of armor that I recognized.
The Pauldrons of Wisdom were one of the things that had most fascinated me after my last dungeon crawl. I had been intrigued most by the item’s added text below the stats. Apparently, they were supposed to help me see things that needed to be seen.
As vague as that information was, I had a feeling wearing the pauldrons would operate in a similar way to using The Oculus. It seemed like a pretty hard step up to me, because it meant I didn’t have to keep pulling out a dagger at every turn.
“Do the pauldrons have a special skill?” Yasha asked.
“They do, actually,” I said. “According to the text, it should allow me to see things that aren’t there and get a wisdom buff.”
“Fascinating,” Yasha murmured. “So they allow you second sight?”
“That’s the thought process,” I confirmed. “I got them in the last dungeon I was in, so I haven’t had time to try them out yet.”
“You received them after fighting the… the lion creature?” She seemed to fumble for the word sphinx, and I couldn’t help but grin. She was so damned cute, even when she was absentmindedly twirling a slim dagger I hadn’t even noticed from the pile around her hand with expert precision.
“The sphinx,” I filled in the blank for her. “Yeah. I also managed to get a whip made out of her hair. I think it’s probably in that locker next to you.”
Yasha’s eyebrows rose, and she glanced back into the open locker at her side. She reached inside, and sure enough, she pulled out the Braided Sphinx Hair Whip.
I reached out to accept it from her hands and flicked over to the stats again.
Braided Sphinx Hair Whip
Damage- Average
Attack Speed- Quick
Adds a bonus to wisdom and intuition. When in doubt, the Braided Sphinx Hair Whip holds the answers.
“Both of the items I got from the sphinx were centered around knowledge and wisdom,” I explained. “Apparently, this holds the answers. It also gives me a bonus to wisdom and intuition.”
Yasha reached out to gently run her fingers along the braided texture of the whip. “That is very intriguing. I am curious if more items in the dungeons are catered to the creatures they come from. That was not something anyone ever mentioned to me before.”
I found it strange that the previous keepers of the crystals wouldn’t explain how the loot worked to Yasha, but maybe it was because warriors like her were expected to learn as they went, to some degree. Survival of the fittest, and all that. I found it hard to believe her predecessors didn’t know about something that was so ingrained in their culture. Then again, maybe it wasn’t a hard and fast rule. Maybe the dungeons were just that complex. Even Trog’thukaz seemed mildly perplexed by the way the loot functioned, and he was a scholar studying the dungeons.
What I was learning throughout all of this was that everyone seemed sort of baffled by the crystals at all times, and I felt a sudden overwhelming urge to be the guy who figured it out. That was always the sort of person I was, so of course I wanted to figure this out, too.
But right now wasn’t the time.
We needed to equip ourselves and then get into the dungeon. The longer we left my motorcycle unattended on the outside, the more likely it was that someone would try to steal my tires.
“Come on,” I said to Yasha. “Let’s get ready to go. Then we can really see what this dungeon is all about.”
The two of us fell into a comfortable silence as we started to pull more equipment out of the lockers. I started to create a small pile on the island in the center of the room so I could better see everything the new dungeon had to offer.
Yasha picked up on what I was doing, and the two of us created a very strange spread of items across the table to examine and create our builds for the dungeon ahead.
A small thrill washed over me as I realized just how much like a video game this was becoming, and just how much I had missed doing things like this. Graduate school and my subsequent struggle to stay afloat had robbed me of doing something that I really enjoyed thanks to a general lack of free time, but now, because of the crystals, I was able to reconnect with that again.
It was strange how something so outlandish as a crystal had brought me back to something so mundane.
And I even got to do it with a sexy fox-girl sidekick.
“This is new,” I remarked as I grabbed a piece of armor from our pile on the table.
It looked like a simple chainmail shirt, but when I lifted it to examine it in the torchlight, a faint, glowing red light emanated from the metal as if it was melting, despite the shirt staying entirely whole in my hands.
The name in green text above the shirt marked it as the Smelter’s Maile.
“I have not seen that before,” Yasha admitted. Her brow was furrowed as she reached forward to touch the shirt. Then she retracted her hand quickly, like she had been burned by the metal, but when it became clear that it was just some sort of illusion, she reached forward again and stroked one of her long nails over the wavering metal.
“Sometimes the dungeons can create new things entirely,” Mimic mentioned. “The items don’t always have to look like combinations of two things that were here before. Are you missing anything in particular that you remember from before?”
I let Mimic’s words play over in my mind as I looked down at the large island in front of me and scanned my eyes over the pile of equipment. Sure enough, I was missing something.
“Spike’s Sheath and Golen’s Sword,” I said. “Neither of them are here.”
“I am missing a Fire Bolt Ring,” Yasha added.
“So, there’s your answer,” Mimic said. “It combined the three lesser items into that nifty new maile shirt. Congratulations.”
I curiously reached up to tap over to the stats on the Smelter’s Maile.
Smelter’s Maile
Dexterity: +3
Stamina: +1
Strength: +1
Fire Resistance: +3
While wearing the Smelter’s Maile, gain control over the fire burning within your heart.
I had no idea what that meant, but I assumed it would be something cool when the time came. It also made it really apparent that the build with the most synergy I could use involved fire.
“I’ve accidentally managed to spec into a sort of fire build,” I told Yasha as I pulled the Smelter’s Maile over my head.
I then reached down and grabbed Doomslayer. The epic weapon felt good in my hand as I gave it a cursory twirl. I doubted it was nearly as impressive as how Yasha had looked only seconds before, but I still felt pretty cool.
“A fire build,” she repeated. It wasn’t quite a question, but I decided to answer it anyway.
“Yeah,” I explained. “This sword, Doomslayer, has an effect on fire. According to its stats, it can deflect and bend it. I also have Fire Smith’s Leather Armor which provides an immunity to fire. And now I have the maile shirt to wear under the armor plate. It’s still a work in progress here, but I think it could be pretty impressive. All of the pieces should work together well.”
Yasha certainly seemed impressed as she nodded her head. She reached into the pile and pulled out her wicked-looking katana. This was definitely the katana I’d seen her use when we’d first met in the dungeon.
It glinted menacingly in the torchlight of the new and improved equipment room as Yasha slid it into a sheath along her back with a well-practiced ease.
I grabbed the Fire Smith’s Leather Armor from the pile and easily slipped it on over the Smelter’s Maile. It felt nice and well-formed to my body, even over the secondary piece of armor. I also grabbed out the Tanned Beginner’s Gloves, the Leather Boots of Swiftness, and Golen’s Shield. Then I fastened the Pauldrons of Wisdom to my shoulders.
It was the most equipment I had ever been able to use at once in the dungeons, and once I had all of my armor on, I felt pretty cool. I was a little wistful that Golen’s Sword had been made into a new piece of equipment, because the sword had served me well, but more than anything, I was glad that I was finally getting into builds that actually made some sort of sense from a gameplay standpoint.
I hoped that the more items I was able to bring back from the dungeon and into the equipment room, the more options for different builds I could have. Right now, I was pretty content with the fact I could even do a fire build, but I already felt that age-old desire to do something bigger and better. It was an urge I’d always had, and apparently it extended to fighting monsters in weird portal dimension dungeons, too.
Who would have thought?
I also snagged the Ring of Invisibility and the Giantess’ Potion of Strength just in case. I didn’t know if I’d need either item, but it felt like I’d be better safe than sorry if I brought them along with me. I slipped both of the items into my pocket.
It was still strange how my pockets somehow managed to become an inventory while in the dungeon. I knew it was some sort of interdimensional magic shit, but it was still weird nonetheless.
Yasha took the Braided Sphinx Hair Whip along with a set of shin guards that I didn’t recognize. They seemed to match the rest of her armor, so I assumed they were probably hers from Arcadio.
After she finished equipping both items, she took a step back from the table to give me a once-over.
“You look handsome and ready for battle.” A small, wry grin worked its way across her face, and her fox tail swished in amusement.
“So do you,” I said. “Now hopefully we can handle whatever this dungeon has to throw at us.”
“Are you two done yet?” Mimic asked, and the chest mimic sounded almost as if he was whining. I really couldn’t get a feel for the strange little creature. One thing was for sure, though, he was certainly amusing.
“Yes, yes,” I told Mimic. “You can put everything back into the lockers.”
“And?” he probed. “What about our deal?”
I held my hands up as if I was surrendering.
“Deal?” Yasha repeated quietly with a quirked eyebrow.
“I promise I will bring you back something you can eat this time,” I said. “You have my word, and I am a man of my word.”
Mimic harrumphed. “Good.”
“He is a man of his word,” Yasha chimed in. “He would not lie to you.”
“I’m not worried about him lying to me,” Mimic grumbled. “I’m worried about going hungry.”
I rolled my eyes once it became clear that the chest mimic was being melodramatic. I couldn’t believe that a literal chest was being melodramatic, but I was sure weirder things had probably happened at some point.
“Are you ready?” I asked Yasha.
She tightened the belt around her waist and adjusted the way her armor sat before she nodded.
“Yes,” she said. “I am ready.”
I grinned. “Let’s go, then.”
I made my way over to the familiar-looking wooden door that I knew would lead us into the dungeon. I took a deep breath, reached out, and pulled the handle.
Then I froze on the spot.
“Whoa,” I breathed as I got my first look at the next dungeon. “This is definitely new.”
Chapter 22
At first glance, the differences between this dungeon and the three previous ones was obvious. It was as if whoever had designed the single crystal dungeons had gone back to college and gotten a degree in how to make much cooler-looking shit, or something.
The stone walls and floors of this dungeon matched the cleaner ones I’d seen in the equipment room, but that was the least impressive thing about the new dungeon.
For starters, the hallway was double the width. It would have taken me quite a few paces to go back and forth between both of the walls. This meant I’d have more wiggle room during fights, but it also meant I might be fighting even bigger beasties.
Damn it.
The torches on the walls also seemed to glow brighter, which could have been my imagination or the fire build I had going, but it certainly seemed like even the flames had more energy, too. I wondered if that had anything to do with the new fire build to my equipment.
There was a thrumming, almost electric current that passed through the air, and I felt it humming in my bones. I knew the feeling definitely wasn’t a part of the dungeon itself. That was just my eager anticipation for what was to come with Yasha by my side.
The fox-woman seemed equally intrigued by the dungeon upgrade as I was. Her head cocked to the side, and her pupils grew and shrank as she studied the scene laid out in front of us.
Neither of us made a move to step out of the doorway just yet, however. I had a feeling Yasha was probably having some unpleasant flashbacks to falling through the floor of the dungeon we’d met in and injuring her ankle.
I couldn’t exactly blame her for her hesitance.
It was only upon a second glance in the hallway, though, that I realized everything had a strange, faint aura around it. All of the torches on the wall glowed with a soft, barely visible blue light.
My brow furrowed. “Do you see that?”
Yasha looked over at me and then back in the direction I had been looking in.
“Do I see what, Wes?” she asked. Her tail swished as she studied the hallway scene in front of us.
“The torches,” I murmured. “And even the floor tiles. They all have this little glow to them, but it’s only there if I look directly at it.”
I looked over at Yasha, just to see if she had any sort of aura around her, too. But my companion was entirely normal, no glow included.
“Is the glow the same color?” Yasha asked. She seemed just as puzzled as I was about the strange occurrence.
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s all blue.”
As the words tumbled out of my mouth, I had a realization, and I wanted to smack myself on the forehead for taking even a second to process what was going on.
“The pauldrons,” I said. “They said they granted me the ability to see things clearly. I think this is what it meant. I figured they would work like The Oculus.”
“Oculus?” Yasha repeated.
“It was a dagger I had before,” I explained. “If I looked through the crystal pommel, I was able to see traps and stuff in the dungeon. It enhanced my perception, essentially. I’d sort of assumed the pauldrons I got from the sphinx chest would work the same way, but I think the aura around all of the items indicates whether something is safe or not.”
