Tony, Vasna, Maximus, and Auren walked to the hangar. The place was a mess, equipment scattered across the former fighting pits, craters, and bits of a structure made up a majority of the debris. Tony went to scavenge the wreckage when Auren grabbed the back of his shirt.

“What?” Tony snapped, wrenching Auren's hand away.

“If you’re looking for upgrades, we can go to the armory, anything you find here will not be worth it,” Auren explained. His voice carried a curt edge to it.

“He’s right,” Vasna chipped in. “This is where Tolik ported in so most of the gear here is broken, or the durability is so low anything that might be worth it will break before you get anything out of it.”

Tony looked down at Maximus. The little dog pulled his nose out of a discarded boot and looked up at Tony, wagging his tail. 

“Yeah, okay. Is there familiar gear in the armory?” Maximus barked in excitement at that and leaned against Tony’s leg, his tail thumping against Tony’s calf.

I can has armurrs and stik for hit bad guys? Tony couldn't help but smile. He gave the dog a small nod.

“There should be,” Vasna answered before Auren had the chance. “It’s this way,” she said as she took a left out of the hangar. The three of them followed in silence, an awkward tension hanging in the air interrupted only by the occasional bark by the small dog when someone approached too quickly.

It didn't take long for the group to arrive at the Armory, the damage caused by Tolik's assault becoming less present the further into the ship they traveled. The doors hissed open; Tony and Maximus immediately went to the side-arms section while Auren waited by the door and Vasna flipped idly through the weapon racks.

Fifteen excruciating minutes of silence passed before a word was uttered. Tony didn’t mind. There were a lot of options for him in the Armory; as a Dread Knight, he could wear Light to Heavy Armors with minimal penalties to his movement and talents he could take later would allow him to do the same with Super Heavy Armors. What he saw on the racks ranged from Leathers to Full Plate and while the idea of the ground shaking with his every step appealed to Tony, he preferred to maintain at least some mobility in battle.

He flipped back and forth between the scale mail and lamellar sets when something caught his eye behind the rack. Tony forced the armor aside to get a good look and saw a lever sticking out of the floor; he reached for it but the weight of the armor and bulk of his arms kept the lever inches out of his reach.

Before he could think to ask, Maximus wiggled his way underneath the armor rack, gripped the lever in his teeth, and pulled. His paws slid on the smooth metal floor for a few seconds before the pup plopped his rump on the floor and flopped onto his back, using his whole body to flip the lever. Tony burst out laughing and fell to the floor, shattering the uncomfortable quiet in the room. Auren cracked next when he saw Maximus wiggle upright and pounce on Tony’s chest, nipping playfully at the Dread Knight’s chin. The God doubled over laughing and clutching his sides.

Vasna did her best to remain stoic and perused the shelves labeled “Two-Handed Blunt Weapons,” but was helpless to resist when Maximus started circling Tony, half-sneezing-half-growling, before toddling toward him and swinging his tail, and therefore his rump, into Tony like a flail. Vasna kept it to a muted giggle until Maximus’s tail clotheslined Tony and knocked him onto his back, then she lost it.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Tony wiped the tears from his face, some from laughing too hard, and took some steadying breaths. Maximus looked up at him, tail whipping back and forth, with a satisfied smile that only a dog can pull off.

“You rascal, you did that on purpose!” Tony said, pointing an overly accusatory finger at the small dog. Maximus responded by tilting his head to one side and wagging his tail in short bursts.

“Dogs can always tell,” Auren said.

The weight of the last few hours alleviated, Tony got to his feet and ruffled the dog’s ears.

“Vasna, help me with this?” Tony asked. She obliged with a wave of her hand and gripped one end of the armor rack. “On the count of three?”

“One…Two…Three!” Vasna counted.

The metal base of the rack ground against the polished metal floor leaving deep gouges in its wake. Behind it was a tunnel that was wide enough for two people to walk side by side comfortably and tall enough that no one would need to duck or stoop to pass.

“Looks like a Dungeon Entrance to me," Tony declared. "So what do we think, secret lab with experimental weapons, secret horror factory, or someone’s top-secret stash of enchanted weapons?”

“Why not all of it?” Vasna answered.

“That sounds good to me,” Tony said as he strode forward. A system-generated message blared in his head:

> WARNING! You are about to enter a Dungeon and are not a member of a Party. Form a Party or Dungeon Group to Proceed

Before Tony could open his mouth to ask how to form a party, a notification popped up in his vision. 

Vasna has invited you to a Dungeon Group Accept? Yes  No

He selected "Yes" and went to step into the dungeon only to be stopped again, this time by Vasna grabbing him by the bicep and yanking him back. Tony rounded on her, but before he could say anything, she pushed some of his shredded chest armor aside, exposing the skin below.

“Forgetting something? Like, what you came here for in the first place?”

A flush rose in Tony’s cheeks. She was right. The durability of his armor had been in the single digits since his fight with Tolik, let alone since bridging the Essence Circuit that revived Vasna. He crunched some numbers and made his choices. Tony took a hardened leather cuirass, a chain shirt, iron greaves, a pair of leather dueling gloves, plate boots, and a leather belt with a brass buckle. His armor was a mess, but given the options, he had the best blend of overall defense and maneuverability.

  Helmet: The Doomed King’s Helm | +10 Defense Rating

  Neck: Gjöll Stone Amulet | +? Defense Rating

  Chest: Hardened Leather Cuirass + Chain | +25 Defense Rating

  Shoulders: Pauldron of Vengeance | +20 Defense Rating

  Wrist: Covenant | +5 Defense Rating

  Rings: Empty

  Hands: Leather Dueling Gloves | +3 Defense Rating

  Waist: Brass Buckled Leather Belt | +3 Defense Rating

  Legs: Iron Greaves | +10 Defense Rating

  Feet: Plate Boots | +9 Defense Rating

Tony also managed to find some armor that would fit Maximus. He outfitted the dog in a padded leather coat and a helmet that flipped down when combat started. The small dog shuffled a bit at first, but before long, he was bounding around as easily as he had been with just a collar.

I am armurred pup! Be scare of my floofy ben-gence!

It was finally time to enter the Dungeon.