Now that the battle was over, I wasn’t sure what to focus on first. I had stat points to assign, and equipment I could upgrade. Also, it appeared that Zapper had reached level five, so I needed to make sure he applied his points as well...
But first, there was another matter to attend to. It took us several minutes of searching, but eventually we turned up the three gems amid the wreckage. One by one, I slipped them into my inventory.
Quest Completed — From Beneath You It Devours — Part 1!
Collect (5) golem gems
Reward: 250 XP, Yellow Quality Loot Box
Zapper let out an excited bark. [I got a loot box, other dog!]
Right. I’d forgotten that he would have the quest as well. Did the others back in camp receive anything as well? I could hope, but I doubted it, given that they were a fair ways distant from us.
A matter to investigate upon our return. For now, there were stat points to assign and boxes to open.
I’d left the yellow box alone earlier, not thinking it would be worth the trouble to open just yet, but with two of them now, they had my full attention. I pulled them from my inventory in turn.
With luck, at least one of them contained a weapon. If this latest battle had proven anything, it was that I was woefully under-armed. I needed more than a single skill that actually dealt damage.
Neither loot box contained anything directly useful. The first held a pair of bottles, round things with a wooden cork at the top and a clear substance sloshing about inside.
(2) Potion of Chameleon
Okay, so true invisibility is really difficult to achieve, right? According to the eggheads, you need to refract light or some shit like that. I didn’t follow all of their mumbo-jumbo, but basically what you need to know is that it’s basically impossible. What isn’t impossible is near invisibility.
That’s right. These little babies you’re holding can render you almost impossible to discern with the naked eye—so long as you’re not moving. Once you do, you’ll technically be noticeable, though just barely. Like a blur of motion, or something like that. Anyway, it’ll still make you damn hard to hit, so I guess there’s that.
Once imbibed, the effect lasts for five minutes. Attacking or getting hit won’t dispel the chameleon effect, but once blood starts leaving your body it’s no longer included under the ability, so try not to leave an obvious trail.
Huh. That was the first time I’d seen annotated text on something that wasn’t a tutorial. Also, what was that about side-effects? I puzzled over it for a few minutes, but since the annotation didn’t provide additional details, I eventually gave it up.
The second box contained only a single marble at its bottom, the rest was simply wasted space.
(1) Uncommon Core
Uncommon? This was the first time I’d run into one of those on its own. It seemed they also occurred naturally, in addition to being created by combining commons. Then again, given their name, I suppose that wasn’t too surprising. It must be another odds thing, like with the probability of getting a loot box.
So, no weapon, but I couldn’t say I was that surprised, given they were only yellow boxes. That business done, I turned to my interface.
Spending my stat points was easy. All five went into Power, raising it to a modified twenty-three. Two more levels and I’d be able to use that static field generator I found. Now that I thought about it, the description had made it sound like it might have some damage capability, too. I’d just have to hope it was worth the wait.
Speaking of equipment, I also spent three cores raising my Second Chance dog tag up to level eleven. It was the only piece of equipment I hadn’t maxed out already. Unfortunately, when I checked the description, nothing had changed. Oh well. I could still level it up one more time when I got to my next one. Maybe it would get better then.
My own upgrades complete, I turned my attention to Zapper. [Did you open your box yet?]
[Yep! Check out what I got!] The dog’s image flickered, and a pair of miniature boots appeared on his hind legs. They were a dull gray color, and had little white flames embossed on the sides. [Don’t they look great?]
Instead of answering, I searched through the party menu until I found his new equipment.
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Fire Boots
Level 6
When someone points at a dog wearing these boots and says ‘they’re on fire!’, that isn’t just hyperbole. Once activated, each step (up to 100) taken with these boots leaves a trail of fire in its wake. Users and entities receive an amount of damage every second while in contact with the flames that scale with the wearer’s Presence.
After utilizing all steps, the boots have a 15-minute cooldown.
Note: This is a two-legged (pawed) weapon.
[They suit you,] I said honestly. The little dog barked with glee and began running in a circle. For a second, I was worried he might activate the boots and inadvertently run over his own flames, but he didn’t. After a few spins, he slowed down and came back to where I was sitting.
I considered the boots for another minute. [They aren’t doing you much good though with your current stats. I have an idea.]
Searching through my inventory, I summoned up the Show Dog Collar I’d received after fighting the rat king and dropped it between us. I’d held onto it, hoping it might have a use for myself at some point, but by now I was coming to terms with the fact I wasn’t going to be making much use of my Presence stat. It could be of more use to Zapper than myself.
[Really? You’re sure, other dog?] After I nodded, Zapper slipped it in his own inventory. A moment later it appeared around his neck.
[You can also convert your old one into a core,] I said.
[I did! And I upgraded the collar, too!] Zapper spun in a circle, stumbling to a halt with tongue lolling. Seemed the little dog was learning. [What’s next?]
[That’s a good question...] We had finished the quest, but that couldn’t have been all of it. After all, I still had the golem gems in my inventory. When I inspected them, they had no description, other than Quest Item.
However, the moment I closed my inventory, another window appeared.
New quest available!
From Beneath You It Devours — Part 2
Seek out the underground sanctuary buried deep beneath this ruin and place the gems on their respective pedestals. Perhaps then you can get to the bottom of this mystery at last.
Task: Place (5) golem gems onto pedestals
Time limit: 24 Hours
Reward: 500 XP, Yellow Quality Loot Box
Beneath us? I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that. I glanced down at the floor, as if I might be able to see what awaited us. Some snippets of system-provided knowledge slipped through my mind, about local water tables and zoning permits, but I pushed it aside. If the quest thought there was a lower level to this place, I was willing to believe it.
I turned back to Zapper. [Let’s see if we can find ourselves some stairs.]
The little dog barked excitedly.
----------------------------------------
We headed towards the back corner of the store, the only area that we hadn’t searched yet. While rows and rows of snacks lay to either side of us, I found that my appetite was gone.
Once again, I was questioning exactly how much influence the system was attempting to assert over me. After all, I had secured the food here for the pack—what of it remained edible, anyway—so there was no reason to continue down the line of this quest. We could go back to Crunch and the others, and this night would still be considered a roaring success.
Yet some part of me yearned to push onward. It wasn’t the same as the subtle nudge pushing me towards the center of Oakland, but more a... hunger, I guess. Of a different sort.
Was this just who I was now? Or who I had always been? Before the system awoke me, would I have cared about such things?
No. Before, I wouldn’t even have had the capacity to know that I should care about such things.
But now I did. And I needed to make the most of these gifts that the system had granted me. Just like I’d told Crunch. There was a good chance that wherever this quest was leading Zapper and I would be dangerous, but there would be rewards as well. I wanted them.
So when we found the opening in the back wall of the store—a hole yawning in the floor with a steeply sloped path descending down into the bowels of the earth—I didn’t hesitate. I set first one paw on the path, then another. And another. And onward, until I stood at the bottom, staring down a tunnel that stretched into the distance.
[Everything okay, other dog?] Zapper asked, cocking his head at me. [You’ve been standing there for a couple minutes now!]
[I’m fine. Just... considering.] I left it at that. A moment later I started walking again, my feet padding softly on the floor. Zapper fell in behind.
We only walked for perhaps five minutes before coming to a large chamber. Thanks to my night vision I was able to make out the ceiling a good twenty feet above us—the path must have continued to slope down without my noticing. Across from us I could make out two other passages branching away to places unknown.
And to either side of us, cocoons. A dozen or more of them.
Are these what I think they are? I approached one, and summoning my Claw Slash attempted to rake an opening along its side.
Warning: CGI generated weapons and skills are ineffective against users and entities currently undergoing a metamorphosis protocol. Users are advised that they may be subject to civil and criminal penalties if they attempt to interrupt another user’s metamorphosis.
Huh. The same message. These were just like the cocoon I’d found in the warehouse with the goo zombies. But there were no zombies here, goo or otherwise.
What were these? They must be monsters, based on the system’s description. But if so, what was inside? Was this where the rubble golems came from?
Somehow, I didn’t think so. The description of the goo zombies had implied they were preparing to go into metamorphosis, and based on the size of the cocoons, I suspected it was the same with the rubble golems.
But if rubble golems had gone in, what was going to eventually come out?
The question sent a shiver down my spine. I may not have known much about this new world I’d awoken to, but I knew this much: I didn’t want to be anywhere near here when this thing hatched.
Turning, I barked to draw Zapper’s attention, who was currently sniffing around a few cocoons away. [Let’s keep moving. There’s nothing for us here.]
[Okay!] He bounded over to my side, and together we approached the twin passages leading further down.
[Which way should we go?] Zapper asked.
[Hmm.] I studied our options. Neither tunnel appeared to be particularly different from the other. Likely one was as good as the next.
From the tunnel to our right came a dull groan, a sound like the stone of the earth itself shifting about restlessly. I felt my hackles rise.
Well, we could probably rule out going that way—
[Oh boy! That sounds neat!] Giving an excited bark, Zapper took off down the right tunnel. He was gone around the corner before I could call after him.
With a sigh of resignation, I followed. Probably just more rubble golems. We’d faced plenty up above, so how hard could whatever was waiting for us down here really be?
Don’t answer that.