The upside to being a mythical creature was, obviously, being extremely overpowered. The downside was that Sable’s first boss fight, her first should-be climactic battle, was a bit … not.

The enormous bipedal half-boar, half-humanoid creature squealed as molten flames spewed from Sable’s mouth in a torrent. Combined with her newest ability, which reduced the poor thing’s defenses, the monster didn’t stand a chance. The smell of burned flesh filled the air, and in a few short seconds, it slumped over, dead. Sable kept the flames going for a few seconds, just to be sure, then cut it off.

There was a brief silence, then Aylin said, “Huh.”

[Maybe the loot will be more interesting,] Sable said, disappointment tinging her words. She’d never been a girl that had hankered for a life-or-death fight, but that? Her first boss fight? That had been pathetic.

***

[Path: [Frostfire Sorceress] advanced from Level 2 to Level 3.]

[Skill gained: [Soar]]

***

Sable perked up. That made the encounter not a total letdown. Levels were much appreciated. Maybe the boss had been way too easy to enjoy, but gaining new abilities would always be fun.

Plus, the stat additions that came with leveling. She wouldn’t sneeze at those, either.

***

[Soar] - Massively increase movement speed during out-of-combat flight.

***

Sable considered. While not the flashiest ability, it would be enormously useful, especially if she planned on any sort of ‘kingdom ruling’. Though, how much of an increase? Because she already covered ground at an incredible rate. Combined with [Soar], she’d really be zooming, then, wouldn’t she? Cutting down on travel time would always be appreciated.

“Should I, um. Open it?” Aylin asked.

Sable realized she’d been sitting there, passively observing the burnt husk of the boss monster while puzzling over her newest skill. Aylin had wandered up, hesitantly, to the boss’s loot chest.

Walking over, then sitting down to observe, Sable gave permission. [Go ahead.]

They’d only run into two loot chests during their rapid advance through the dungeon, and neither had been inspiring. Though not useless, either. Aylin had acquired a helmet and a health potion, so at least her minion could make use of it. Sable, though, doubted she’d be getting armor she could use anytime soon. She didn’t think the dungeon made chestplates for dragons. Then again, who knew?

The boss room might be different. Not just meant-for-normal-people gear. But probably not armor. A trinket, maybe? Though how would she even wear those? Was there anything she’d be able to make use of?

Maybe she could fit a bracelet on a claw. That would look ridiculous, and would it even work? Moreover, would the tiny boosts do anything for her when her stats were already so high? Her natural overpowered-ness probably meant that low-level gear was pretty pointless.

Still, Sable enjoyed the loot for the spectacle of the situation. Plus, gearing our her minions would always be helpful.

Aylin held the first of the items up, and Sable [Inspected] it.

***

Obsidian Dagger

Type: Weapon - Dagger

Level Requirement: 5

Rarity: Uncommon

Durability: 25/25

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Stats:

Attack: +6

Agility: +1

Effects:

Brittle - Will shatter on an inelegant impact, but provides a large attack bonus.

***

As she’d expected, the item was worthless to Sable. Beyond not being able to wield a dagger, she had her claws, fire, and, with hope, soon magic. Still, she was interested in an academic sense. An obsidian dagger? With a large attack boost, so long as it was used delicately?

The ‘rarity’ and ‘durability’ parts interested her, too. Uncommon didn’t sound like it was the best possible drop chance, but not the worst, either. And items degraded over time? Could they be repaired? How did that work? The normal way, or through a [Blacksmith] class? Did magical, dungeon-linked items have to be handled by likewise classed individuals, or could any old crafter restore a damaged sword?

The stats weren’t the same, either. Sable had five: might, grace, resilience, intellect, and wisdom. No ‘agility’ or ‘attack’. Did they line up differently? Did attack match to might, and agility to grace? Or would the item be worthless on her in the literal sense—not compatible? If so, was that because she was a monster, or specifically a dragon?

Way too many unknowns. And these weren’t questions Aylin could answer, anyway. She barely knew how classes worked for regular people, much less Sable.

“It’s a shame it’s a dagger,” Aylin said. “And has a level five requirement. That’s the downside, I guess. I doubt I’ll be able to use any of this.”

Aylin hadn’t leveled a single time through their delve. Likely, that had to do with how little she’d done. Why would she receive experience for just following behind Sable?

“Though this shield’ll be nice to have,” Aylin commented, setting aside the dagger and pulling out the next item.

***

Dented Buckler

Type: Armor - Shield

Level Requirement: 4

Rarity: Mundane

Durability: 25/25

Stats:

Defense: +4

Block Chance: +10%

***

The item didn’t provide any boosts more interesting than the dagger. Though, Sable did wonder what ‘10% increased block chance’ meant. Ten percent based on what? And how did it manage that? Did it bend reality to make it happen? Did it influence the wielder to be more skilled at blocking, or better at identifying enemy attack patterns?

The details behind how all this worked was seriously fascinating. Unfortunately, Sable didn’t think she’d be getting answers any time soon. Even experienced adventurers might not know. She wouldn’t be surprised if ‘it just worked’ to these people, since it was how the world operated on a fundamental level. At a guess, she would have to seek out scholars for a nuanced view on the peculiarities of the system.

[You can equip it?] Sable asked. Aylin had said the shield would be nice to have, but it was level four, and she was level one.

“It won’t provide the full effect,” Aylin said, “but yeah. Better than a normal shield. Looks beaten up, but dungeon loot is much stronger than what can be made normally.” She hefted the object up, appreciating it. “Found me a new off-hand.” She paused, then looked at Sable. “Uh. Assuming I can have it.”

Sable didn’t think it would make a particular good addition to her hoard. It would be better used on Aylin. She inclined her head in agreement.

[Anything else?] She peered around the chest. Not having hands was pretty annoying; she couldn’t rummage the items out herself.

Aylin plucked out the last shiny object inside.

***

Glimmerstone Ring

Type: Accessory - Ring

Level Requirement: 4

Rarity: Uncommon

Durability: 20/20

Stats:

Health Regeneration: +3

Luck: +2

***

Another uncommon, unlike the mundane rarity of the shield. It seemed like a good drop, at least by low-level standards. Not much from a dungeon Sable could steamroll through would be truly useful to her. She’d expected that. She was invested out of curiosity, not hopes for a weapon or tool that would change her life.

Also, luck? What did that do?

[Luck?]

“You know,” Aylin said, “I’m not sure. I think it increases drop chances? And other stuff, but not everyone agrees. It’s one of the weirder stats out there.”

It annoyed Sable she couldn’t have concrete answers. Maybe they existed, somewhere out there in whatever “highly advanced” societies were in this world, but Sable didn’t think she’d be interacting with those any time soon. Hopefully not too long, either, but if she ever did, then stealthily. Minimizing how many powerful societies knew about her was a definite goal. Her name spreading too far too fast would mean the second extinction of dragons, which would obviously be … not ideal.

With the [Glimmerstone Ring] presented, the chest had been emptied out. The boss hadn’t provided anything exceptional, and definitely nothing Sable herself could make use of. She had expected that, so she wasn’t disappointed. Plus, when it had taken less than a few hours to scorch her way through this dungeon, it hadn’t been a great investment of time, either.

Maybe to someone in normal circumstances, too, the items would be great. Sable wondered how strong the artifacts could become. The highest tier of dungeons, whatever it was—did it provide magical items that could flatten cities? People apparently became that strong, so why not the tools they used?

The idea was equally interesting and frightening. Would such things be used against her? Was there a [Legendary Spear of Dragonslaying] she needed to worry about?

“That’s that, then,” Aylin said. “First dungeon done.”

Like Sable was, Aylin sounded slightly underwhelmed.

But hey. At least she had gotten a smattering of low level items. All Sable got was two levels.

Which, admittedly, was probably better. Considering that, the dungeon run hadn’t been a total wash. And she’d learned a lot, too.

But now, with their romp through The Dark Cellar Dungeon completed, it was time to get to the more important stuff.