I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this safe zone, but I was hoping for at least a little upgrade. The first provided the barest of accommodations to us, while the second had increased significantly in quality while still leaving the surrounding area more or less the same. This was my first time using a safe zone in a dungeon, but there was no reason to think the process would be too different.
So when everything went dark, I was more than a little taken aback.
[Boss!] Zapper’s barking was only just audible over Riley’s screams. I let out a bark myself to let them know I was still here.
[Stay where you are, Zapper! Whatever is going on is probably supposed to happen.]
Still, after having gone so long with the power of my Night Vision, seeing actual darkness again was a little disconcerting. Even Ben’s blindness skill had let me see through it. Here? Nada, zip, zilch. Nothing.
Fortunately, it only lasted a moment. The lights came on overhead, and I found myself blinking in surprise.
In the middle of the lobby now stood a small brick cottage.
[Okay, I’m not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t that,] I said, approaching the cottage door and sniffing it. Zapper padded up next to me and studied the building warily.
It was strange. The foundation melded with the tile floor of the lobby seamlessly. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought it had always stood here, like a weird reddish-brown mushroom growing on bathroom tiles.
Riley squeezed by me and twisted the door handle. Before I could stop her, she slipped inside, leaving the entrance open to us. Well, I guess this was a safe room. There shouldn’t be anything here to threaten her.
I glanced back and noticed the now golden sheen on the surrounding walls. No bubble this time, the outer barrier of the safe zone was all flat surfaces and right angles.
Weird.
But still not the weirdest thing to happen. Not even the weirdest thing to happen today.
Zapper had already followed Riley, so I padded after. The inside of the cottage was covered in plush carpet, and the walls contained paintings showing picturesque landscapes, giving the place a homey, Kinkade-esque feel to it. Don’t ask me who that is, the name just appeared in my mind, but it felt right. There were a total of four rooms: living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Two dog beds near the fireplace seemed to be meant for us.
I eyed the fireplace for a moment, wondering about the wisdom of burning wood in such an enclosed space, but there didn’t appear to be any in the cottage, so the point was moot.
[I call dibs on this room!] Zapper called from where he stood on top of the bed. I shook my head and lolled, then went looking for Riley. She was currently sitting on a couch, pressing the buttons on a remote apparently at random. Images on the living room’s tv flickered constantly. First one showing dolphins chasing a boat, then images of what looked like a satellite, and finally a cartoon rabbit.
Riley stopped pressing buttons as the rabbit appeared, her eyes suddenly glued to the screen.
Hmm. That might solve our babysitting problem.
Turning away from the human, I made my way into the kitchen. The fridge proved beyond my ability to open with merely my teeth, so I left it alone and instead began perusing the cabinets and countertops.
It contained much the same as what we’d found back at the café. Cans of various goods, a selection of fruit in a bowl, and a delicious-looking cake under a glass cover—carrot this time, if my nose smelled correctly. I’d have to sample later to be certain.
Unlike in the other safe rooms, I also found a plethora of cooking utensils. Pots, pans, spatulas... likely useful to anyone who possessed thumbs or wasn’t too young to be trusted with boiling water, but since none of us met these criteria, ultimately useless.
My partial inventory complete, I called for Zapper. [Alright. Food, then updating our equipment, then sleep. We’ll head out into this dungeon first thing in the morning.]
Zapper nodded. [Sounds good, Boss!] He glanced at Riley. [She looks intense! How are we getting her into the kitchen to eat?]
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
[Hmm. I’ll stand in front of the television, you move her. Use your skill if you need to.]
[Got it!] Together, we turned and set about the simple task of getting a small human to come eat when she’d rather be watching a show.
In all honesty, fighting the mecha-dog was easier.
----------------------------------------
After Zapper and I ate our fill of steaks and Riley had been fed meals from several different cans—all somewhat lacerated, thanks to using my Claw Slash skill to open them—we got her back in front of the television and set to work setting ourselves in order for the next day’s excursion.
And boy, did I have a laundry list of tasks to get through. I had my legendary loot box, of course, but I also needed to make sure all of my equipment was fully upgraded and decide which pieces I wanted to have equipped—something doubly important if I wouldn’t be able to access my inventory until a level was cleared. And finally, I still hadn’t tested out the fusion function from using a rare core. All omissions I intended to clear up before the night was through.
But first, the box! To that end, I pulled up my inventory.
-Inventory-
(53) Common Cores
(3) Uncommon Cores
(3) Rare Core
(1) Legendary Loot Box
(10) Waterproof Matches
(3) Safe Zone Generator
(2) MREs
(6) Potion of Effervescence
Wands of Stupefy (lv 8) (+5) (DW)
Chainmail of Icicle (lv 9) (+1)
Wand Of Float (lv 5)
Such an odd mishmash... at least my rare core supply was on the rise again, thanks to the double boss battle. Meanwhile, I still was holding on to several items I didn’t expect to ever use. My matches, the wand of float, that armor I was saving for Riley, some potions I couldn’t use for another twenty-four days thanks to my potion fatigue...
Huh. Wait a minute. I didn’t recall ever actually checking what these potions did. Not that it mattered terribly, since using them right now would be the pinnacle of foolishness, but I was suddenly curious. If a situation warranted it...
No harm looking, I suppose. I focused on the potions and brought up their description.
(6) Potions of Effervescence
Filled with the distilled essence of leprechauns who consumed too much of their own sugary product, this high-octane drink is a fizzy saccharine-bomb of a concoction. A few sips will add plenty of pep to your step. Just beware of drinking too many in a short amount of time, or you might find your teeth vibrating themselves out of your mouth.
And for the love of all that is good and pure, do not give this potion to children and small animals.
Effect: Consuming this potion will triple your Speed for sixty seconds, up to a maximum of 500.
Oh. Wowwwwwww. That would be so useful. If. Y’know. I actually had more 11 Speed at the moment. I guess I could give them to Zapper, though the warning about small animals made me leery to do so. Besides, he was afflicted by the same fatigue issue I was. Which made me wonder: would the tripling effect from this kick in before or after the negative ten from our potion fatigue?
Hmm, if we ever got out of here, maybe I’d make my companion test one out. For science reasons.
In the meantime, back into my inventory they went. My curiosity sated, I turned my attention to the legendary box.
A legendary box. When I’d first learned about the system, Craig had said via the loot box tutorial that legendary boxes were only encountered in rare circumstances. I still didn’t entirely understand what a ‘unique’ boss was, but I suppose the word unique implied something even rarer than rare. So the box being a prize made sense.
But what was it going to have inside? Already my mind was afire with ideas. Weapons, or potions, or maybe just a mountain of rare cores that would roll out and smother me, all were equally likely. It might even have some of the more esoteric items that I’d encountered, like upgrade cores or those little hotbar cubes.
So without further ado, I activated the chest.
And immediately got bowled over backwards as a chest almost twice as big as I was dropped into the room with a loud thump. Several pieces of furniture got knocked aside or crushed entirely beneath it, and Riley let out a squeal of surprise from her place over by the television. When I picked myself back up, I saw her watching nervously over the back of the couch.
Truth be told, I was a little intimidated, too. Especially on seeing this thing proper.
It was made of some dark wood banded in black metal, so much so that it seemed to drink the light of the little cottage right up, leaving the place feeling gloomy and uninviting. The lid of the chest was carved to look like an angry face, with dull wooden eyes staring down at me, as if daring that I should try and impinge upon the treasures within. I kept my gaze on them as I approached, half expecting to see a flicker of movement at any moment.
But no, it was just a chest. And as soon as my nose touched its lock, it sprung open.
Revealing nothing inside. Which didn’t immediately dishearten me. After all, Crunch’s loot box hadn’t contained anything, most likely because he’d been carrying too much to fit in a single box. So I waited to see the long list of items that I had received.
However, when it finally came, the message I got was not at all what I had been expecting.
Congratulations! You have defeated a unique entity, and as such are entitled to a piece of their equipment. Please choose one item from the following list:
1. Armor of Argyr
2. Lance of Rymyshikyr
...Huh.