Felix stowed both bodies in his inventory along with the extra samples from each then headed outside. He continued traveling north, staying within the second tier of the city and looking over every estate for any sign that one remained untouched. As he flew north, he watched groups of adventurers locked in combat with Devoured, heard others crashing through homes and saw some running through the streets. All of that was expected, what stood out to Felix was one particular house where there were two men yelling at each-other and another sitting on a bench sharpening their axe, just waiting it out. Normally Felix would ignore them and move on but he recognized those voices and he could use some information so instead, he floated over next to the one sharpening the axe.

"Hey Felix."

"Benjamin. Are they gonna be ok?" Felix nodded.

"They just need to argue it out of their system."

"What's… What are they arguing over?"

"We found a pair of boots in the last vault. I told them they could argue as soon as we found an unoccupied vault. Here we are so…" Benjamin gestured to Will and Alan who were now aggressively poking each-other as they yelled and spat in each-other's face.

"What do the boots do?"

"No idea."

"Do they know?"

"No way. Hasn't been nearly long enough."

"Would it… Better or worse if I identify them?"

Benjamin shrugged as he produced a pair of boots from his inventory and handed them to Felix, "Go for it."

The boots were made of a deep green leather with gold eyelets and black laces. The soles were made of some kind of rubber material not dissimilar from boots found back on earth before the integration. They were tall, the leather stretching about halfway up a person's calf and they otherwise just looked like normal boots.

[D - Special] Boots of Gravity Defiance

These boots have been enchanted to allow their wearer to walk along any surface, regardless of the direction of gravity.

At the cost of some energy, these boots will create a force strong enough to counter the pull of gravity. Placing your foot against a surface and channeling energy into them will activate the effect. Simply stop channeling energy to end the effect.

"They let you walk on walls and the ceiling if you want." Felix said.

"Damn. Better than I thought. Rarity?"

"Special."

"Mana or energy?"

"Energy."

"Huh. Those are better than I expected."

"Do I tell them?"

"Nah, just wait for them to finish."

"Alright. In the meantime, any information on what's been going on?"

"Not much. We've only hit a few vaults so far. Most everyone immediately ran to the inner platform with the rich looking houses. I only know of one key fragment The Lodge found."

"Are people sticking to their own sections?"

"Mostly. Some people just ignored it but most people haven't seen the need yet, as far as we've seen at least."

"Find anything interesting in your vaults?"

"Lots of great stuff, not a ton that's useful for us but, it's been decent. A couple of exotic weapons, a hat, potions, jewelry and a bag."

"Bag?"

"Spacious Bag of Space and Finding. It's got the highest rarity we've found, it's legendary, and it's big enough for all of us to get inside of it. Thing is we couldn't figure out why it's legendary. We already have our inventories, it's bigger but it's not…" Benjamin just shrugged, "Maybe we can sell it for a decent amount just because of it's rarity."

"You might want to hold onto that. I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure we aren't going to have inventories forever."

"What? Are you- sorry, why? When?"

"A couple of things, mostly it seems like people outside of our universe don't know what an inventory is. Not sure when."

"You talk to people outside?"

"I got a token from the Guild of Answers in the tutorial, let's me ask or answer questions."

"Alright, definitely keeping the bag then." Benjamin stood and yelled out to Will and Alan cutting through their argument, "Oi, I'm taking the bag."

Will waved at him and Alan gave a thumbs up without either of them looking.

"Thanks for the tip."

Felix chuckled, "No problem. You guys found any books? Diaries or journals specifically?"

"We've found some books, nothing interesting. We don't really pick em up or read em though. I'll start grabbing them though if you're interested."

"Sure, just the diaries and journals if you can. I appreciate it."

"You can come with us if you want, haven't actually gone through this house yet. All the books and whatnot are yours."

"Sure, how much longer will they argue for?"

"Probably a few minutes. One of them will punch the other, they might wrestle a bit but they'll be fine."

"Uh, shouldn't we stop that from happening?"

"Neither of them are very strong so it won't do any real damage."

"Oh, well alright then."

"Any interest in joining us in the vault? We split the loot but I don't think we'll be competing much, not a ton of overlap."

"I'm mostly interested in the books…"

"We could use some…" Benjamin wiggled his fingers in the air as he said, "magic."

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Before Felix could respond, Will and Alan walked over, both of them wearing a little dirt and grass though Felix had missed them wrestling.

"Will takes the boots. I get first pick from whatever we find in this next vault." Alan said triumphantly.

"What about me?" Benjamin asked.

"You don't even care." Alan brushed him off.

Will greedily grabbed the boots and noticed Felix for the first time, smiling and nodding at him in recognition as he took the boots.

"No, not really. It'd be nice to be considered though." Benjamin shrugged.

"You took the bag, right?" Alan said, unsure if he had properly heard him over the argument.

"Yeah, fair enough." Benjamin smirked.

Alan nodded then looked over at Will who was holding the boots in his arms like a baby. After a few seconds of a sidelong glance Alan turned away and noticed Felix sitting on the bench.

"Oh, Felix. Didn't notice you arrive. Hello." Alan waved.

"Any interest in knowing what the boots do?" Felix offered to both of them.

"You identified them?" Will said with wide eyes.

"Got a ring in my vault."

"Yes. Hit me."

"Boots of Gravity Defiance. Walk on walls and ceilings. Not sure if I can let you see the actual description…"

Alan groaned.

"I can see it now." Will said.

"Guess you just need to give us the name and a short description then? I can see it too." Benjamin said.

"Good to know." Felix said.

"You coming into the vault with us? None of us are very good with magic, we could definitely use someone like you. I get first pick of the loot, but maybe we can figure something out, if say… you were to enchant some things for me." Alan wiggled his eyebrows.

Felix chuckled, "Sure I'll come along for one vault. You can take first pick of whatever but in return, you three have to pick up any interesting books you find, and all journals and diaries."

"Done deal." Alan said with a wide smile.

The rest of them waited for Will to swap out his boots then watched him run over to a tree and gingerly place his foot against it. After a few moments he lifted his other foot and planted it on the tree as well. His body fell backwards at the knees but he caught himself before he hit the ground. He slowly walked up the tree then jumped off back to the ground landing then spreading his arms and bowing.

Benjamin was already walking towards the manor, his freshly sharpened axe held over his shoulder. Alan had grumbled to himself when Will had first stepped onto the tree and followed Benjamin. Felix was the only one who caught the entire demonstration and offered a light clap. They both caught up to the other two when they reached the back door to the house.

The house was smaller than most of the estates Felix had seen, but it looked more like a castle than a house. It was made entirely of rough stones, the walls stood at just half a dozen meters tall, and the roof was made of overlapping slate. The windows were relatively small with black wrought iron bars over them and the doors were made of large wooden planks banded together. The whole thing had a very gothic vibe.

Benjamin opened the wooden door to the backyard and walked inside followed by Alan shortly afterwards. Felix followed Will in a few moments later. The inside of the building was just as gothic and medieval as the outside. Felix had expected the walls inside to be finished, made of wood or sheetrock, instead it was simply the other side of the outer stone wall and more just like it. In front of them was a large open room that was completely empty, the rooms in the building forming a ring along the outer wall.

Benjamin had gone left, Alan forwards followed by Will. Felix turned right and walking into a small bedroom containing just a bed, dresser and a bedside table. All of the furniture was nice but nowhere near the quality of the furniture from the Rothden estate. The dark wood the bed was made from creaked and cracked when Felix sat on it. The dresser drawers caught and scraped as he opened them and the bedside table wobbled when poked.

He opened the only other door and found a small bathroom with a bathtub, a sink and a toilet. There was no running water however so the toilet was simply a bucket, the bath a large bucket and the sink a wide bucket.

I thought the system… why is there a toilet?

Maybe it's not, maybe it's something else.

Felix walked back out of the room and into the large main chamber then opened the door to the next room finding an almost identical bedroom to the last one he had just looked at.

"Oi, found something!" Felix heard Alan yell out from the other side of the house.

Felix turned around and walked over, Will and Benjamin popping out of the rooms they were searching after a few moments. Alan was standing in what appeared to be an art room with paintings, jewels and statues placed all around the room. It was easily the biggest room in the manor, smaller than only the central chamber which was really more of a courtyard with a roof.

"Think the art is worth anything?" Will said looking at a landscape painting of a mountain sunset.

"Doubt it. Pretty sure it's all fake." Alan replied.

"What do you mean?" Will scrutinized the painting in front of him.

"Just a theory, but did you guys find anything in the rest of the building?" Alan asked.

"Nope, rooms were mostly empty. Nothing interesting." Benjamin said.

"The furniture is crap too." Felix added.

"Given that all the furniture is shit and the rooms are empty, you think whoever lived in those conditions would set up an art room like this?"

"Could be their partner set this up."

"Could be. Would that partner really let them set up the rest of the house the way it is though? They would sleep, eat and live in these conditions?" Alan explained, "I think this is all a front. Doesn't make sense for someone to actually be living here."

"A front for what?" Benjamin asked.

"This." Alan said as he reached his hand behind a massive painting 5 meters across depicting some kind of brutal battle. Alan dragged the painting aside revealing an open portal on the wall behind it.

"How did you open it?" Felix asked.

"I didn't." Alan shrugged.

"Were your other vaults like this? Just open?" Felix asked.

"One was, other's had some kind of puzzle or key to get in." Benjamin responded.

"So you think the owner just lived in the vault?" Will asked.

"That's my theory, yeah." Alan just shrugged, "Shall we?"

Through the portal, Felix saw a tile floor stretching down a smooth stone walled corridor. They all walked up to the portal and Benjamin reached out to touch it. A few moments later, he walked through followed by everyone else. Inside, the temperature was mild and the the corridor stretched forwards a few meters before forking into two rooms. Benjamin had already pulled out and lit a torch lighting the area around them. Lending credence to Alan's theory, the vault was much cozier than the building it was located in.

"Got lucky, 5 treasures." Benjamin called out.

Someone whistled though Felix didn't know who. As a group, they walked forwards to the fork then followed Benjamin into the left room. Inside was a bedroom, the complete opposite to the rooms they had seen back in the house. This room had a large master bed against the left wall with a bedside table on the right. Against the far wall was a large symmetrical wooden armoire consisting of drawers, cabinets and a cavity with a table. The majority of the floor was covered in a uniformly dark grey silk carpet.

There were also fake plants and lanterns hanging in the room tying the whole room together and making it feel less empty. They walked in and carefully explored the room, all of them forgetting to check for traps, the presence of such a normal looking bedroom throwing them off. All of the furniture was made of a beautifully treated wood, they were solid and the tolerances were tight. The drawers slid smoothly, the bed was rock solid and the sheets were silky and soft.

In the armoire they found a dozen sets of almost identical clothing. The colors and materials varied slightly but it was all the exact same style of pants and shirt. It reminded Felix of someone who was entirely utilitarian but influenced to have different looking clothes just so people didn't judge them.

"Mind if I take the furniture?" Felix asked the room.

"How?" Will asked.

Felix just looked at him with a confused expression and touched the armoire making it disappear into his inventory.

"Where did it go?" Alan asked.

"My inventory?" Felix said, his head cocked and eyebrow raised.

"I can't put things that big in my inventory. They don't fit." Will said.

"Me neither." Alan said.

Felix looked at Benjamin who was shaking his head.

"Huh." Felix walked over and touched the bed, bedside table and finally the rug, stowing them all in his inventory.

"Damn, wish I could take furniture, this stuff is really nice. If only it fit into the Bag." Alan lamented.

"You can have it. I already got a ton of furniture from the last house I was in. There were a lot of bedrooms."

"I don't want you to fill your inventory up carrying furniture around for me. Don't worry about it, I'll buy something when we get back."

"No seriously, I have like 10 bedroom sets of similar quality. I haven't found a limit to my inventory space yet."

"Wait, really?" Alan asked.

"Yeah. After this, I can drop them off at your house wherever you want them or I can drop them off somewhere else and you can carry them over if your more comfortable with that." Felix noticed the other two looking at each-other from the corner of his eye, "I'd be happy to do the same for both of you as well. You can take any of the furniture I found at the last place, I just want one or two for myself."

Will pumped his fist and Benjamin thanked him then they walked back out into the hall and turned to the next room located on the other side of the fork.

As they walked, Grim said to Felix, Annoying we can't get any answers about inventories.

Yeah, they keep getting weirder and weirder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .