Clover wheeled through the exhibit. Glass cases lined its sides, each filled with a small jewel that would have sparkled beautifully, but the overhead display lights weren't currently in operation, so, instead, their edges reflected shadows and the red backup lights - captivating in an entirely different sort of way. Small plaques were placed next to the displays, explaining the history and the value of what rested inside. Though, in the low light, he had to squint to make out the words.
Other, larger crystals that were too big to steal were propped up in the center of the room, breaking it into two vague halves. As Clover stopped to inspect an amethyst taller than himself, he flinched as glass shattered to his left.
Ron, doing his best impression of a bank robber, swept away shards of glass with a chair he had found somewhere, then plucked an orange jewel from the now shattered display.
“What are you doing?” Claire hissed quietly.
"We have to touch them to see if they're a magical item or not," Ron said as he held up the rock - Clover squinted at its nameplate. According to the museum, it was a well-cut rectangular chunk of citrine. Unlike Claire, Ron didn't have any hang-ups about violating the law. At least laws that didn't hurt anyone else. "This one looked magical," Ron further explained. By his narrowed eyes, it clearly wasn't - it was a dud.
“I guess you’re right. It just feels like a crime,” Claire said. She peered into a particularly shiny jewel’s case, debating smashing it.
“Well, it is, but there’s no one left to catch us, so…” Ron trailed off.
"You think the prison is still empty?" Clover asked. To him, the question was a perfectly reasonable and logical continuation of what they had said, but based on their expressions of confusion, they hadn't seen it that way. "I mean, the further out you go toward the city's edge, it's less frequent, but plenty of buildings were rearranged by the System." He made finger quotes. "If the System made an opening in the building, they probably could have escaped, and there wouldn't be anyone left to chase them down."
Clover hadn't seen a bunch of people running around in orange jumpsuits, causing mayhem, but it was still a possibility.
"It's probably for the best if they did." It was Clover's turn to look at Claire like she was an alien. "What. I doubt any prison guards or workers will show up if they aren't getting paid. If they're stuck in there, they'll probably starve to death or slowly get picked off by monsters."
Clover hadn't considered that angle. There were probably quite a few innocent or not dangerous people stuck in prison - tax fraud shouldn't be punished by death. Still, he was conflicted on the matter. He had never seen a real criminal in his entire life; he didn't know if they matched up with what he had seen on TV.
“Whatever the case is, I don’t want to meet them. As long as they stay away from me, I’ll have no problems,” Ron said.
Clover nodded.
They continued deeper into the exhibit, the items slowly growing in value. With a slight sense of guilt and tensed shoulders, Clover smashed a few displays and stole the gems that lay inside, hiding them away in his spartan-themed lunchbox. Internally, he felt justified in his actions because, in all likelihood, no one else would ever come to the museum. Or at least, he felt confident in saying the business would never resume normal operations. Besides, he figured that if he put a rare jewel or item into one of his Golems, they'd gain some sort of ability or Trait. To him, that made it all worth it.
The B-Team paused as they came across a banner. Below it, a line of chain link stanchions wrapped around themselves, forming a queue. This was the main attraction. One jewel that had an entire room - an alcove to itself. If the exhibit were to have a magical item, it would be in here.
"Wow, I didn't know they were displaying the emerald of life here," Claire said excitedly.
“The what?” Ron asked.
"I saw it in New York; the Natural History Museum there loans it out for others across the country to display. It's the fourth largest gem-quality emerald in the world, but it's much clearer than all of the ones that are bigger than it," Claire said. To the best of Clover's knowledge, she wasn't reading off of a display. It seemed that, for some reason, she had memorized a textbook worth of information about it. Maybe she liked emeralds?
This time, they, Claire included, skipped the line.
"In Aztec myth, it was said that it could raise the dead and transform a desert into a forest. There isn't any historical precedent to suggest that its claimed abilities were true, but during times of war, they would regularly sacrifice enemy soldiers…" her words faded away as Clover's heart began to pound in his chest like a war drum.
Across the alcove, a hardy wooden pedestal supported an unblemished glass display. Clover wheeled closer and peered inside of it - the glass display was empty. The emerald was missing.
“Where did it go?” Clover asked delicately as he stared unblinkingly at the display.
“It doesn’t look like anyone tampered with the display,” Ron said as he circled around it, searching for clues. “Maybe the System took it?”
Clover didn't listen as Claire and Ron theorized about where the emerald of life had gone. He felt stupid for getting his hopes up. Of course, he wouldn't find a magical treasure that would cure all his problems. That would be too easy. Nothing in his life was ever that easy.
He swallowed a lump in his throat. At that moment, he felt sicker than he had ever felt before - a nausea bounced around his stomach that he couldn't ignore, and a growing burning sensation stabbed at his lungs. He looked down at his feet. Before, when he had added a Point to Dexterity, he had been too afraid to try…
Clover pressed as hard as he could, trying to force his leg to move. One second passed. Two seconds passed. Nothing happened. He clenched his jaw and pushed even harder, the effort making his ears strangely ring.
His HP decreased by a sliver, and then, almost imperceptibly, his foot twitched. Shocked, Clover stopped and wondered if he had imagined the movement. The ringing in his ears faded, and so did all the other symptoms his anxiety had brought forth.
Imagined or not, the twitch gave him enough confidence to continue pushing forward, even if he did not know if his efforts were accomplishing anything of value.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“So, that was disappointing. What exhibit should we hit up next?” Clover asked with only a somewhat fake smile.
"Whatever one is next, I guess. We haven't even been through a quarter of the museum yet, so it's still possible that there is a magical treasure in here," Claire said.
Ron nodded as he poked around at the air, interfacing with an invisible blue screen. "The fact that the System bothered to teleport the emerald away indicates, at least to me, that it was an actual magical item. I think it's likely that it's still in the museum, just in a more dramatic location. Following video game logic, there's probably a legion of monsters guarding it, too."
Like most of Ron's theories, it made sense. Claire and Clover did one final sweep through the exhibit, checking to ensure they hadn't missed anything.
“Wait up a second, I just unlocked a Path - I think it may help us find it,” Ron said.
Clover nodded and opened his Skill Paths Screen. He had 14 Skill Points burning a hole in his pocket.
Like Ron, he had also unlocked a Path from stealing jewels from the museum.
Fledgling Thief 0/5
It always starts small.
Prerequisites(1): Steal $10,000 dollars worth of items in a single day, ?, ?, ?...
Quest: None.
Compared to his total of Skill Points in reserve, its cost wasn’t prohibitive, but he’d prefer to focus on more relevant Paths first. Still, it was interesting to learn that he could unlock Paths by doing something as simple as stealing.
Lesser Golem Creation I 0/5
A stone is lesser than a mountain, but to most, it is more useful.
Prerequisites(0): Reduced to none by [Apprentice Golemancer]
Quest: None.
As a landmark Path with no Quest or Prerequisites, it immediately jumped to the top of his list - almost all of his best Skills had come from them. Though, he was mildly concerned about running out of Aspects. He only had two left.
Just for completion's sake, he read through the rest of his Skill Path Screen. Except for the appearance of one new Path, the rest of it had not changed.
Unstable Mana Bolt II 0/10
Out of Repetition and Failure, patterns begin to emerge.
Prerequisites(1): Unstable Mana Bolt I, Magical Talent I, ?...
Quest: Shape [Unstable Mana Bolt]’s minor effect 1/5 times.
At Level 25, the second Landmark Path had become available, giving him a clue as to the System’s overall progression scheme. He had earned his first real Class at Level 5; he reckoned that he’d unlock an upgraded Class at Level 25.
Aside from the fact that he had not yet completed its Quest, he felt it would be a waste to invest into [Unstable Mana Bolt II] without first completing the set of Paths he had unlocked at the last Landmark. Still, when the time came, he'd happily invest in the Path - he enjoyed playing with magic too much not to.
Ron shuffled in a circle, rocking back and forth strangely as if he were trying to mimic a compass, derailing Clover's train of thought. "I got a new Skill; it says that there's something valuable over there," Ron said after four revolutions. He pointed vaguely in the direction of deeper into the museum.
"Alright. Let's go," Clover said, holding back a laugh. At times, even the end of the world seemed silly. With a bag of jewels in his lap and Mr. Cat following close behind him, he departed. Before he could go too far and enter a dangerous area, he put 5 Skill Points into [Lesser Golem Creation I], prompting another screen to appear.
Available: Durability (Minor), Bone (Common)
Recommended: Named (Minor), Small (Inferior), Outside (Inferior)
First, he considered the potential effects of using the Durability Aspect. A flat increase in toughness wasn't to be overlooked - a large part of Mr. Cat’s power came from its surprising durability. If he multiplied that factor, his Golems would become even more powerful.
After a moment, he discarded the idea. At Level 25, on [Sculpting]'s second Landmark Path, he could use the Durability Aspect, effectively double dipping in terms of effective value for his Golems. If that, for some reason, wasn't an option, he could always attach it to [Lesser Golem Creation] at Level 25 if he didn't come across another Aspect by then.
The Recommended upgrades varied in usefulness. At least for the first two, he could understand how he had earned them. Outside was as mysterious as its name - he had no idea how he had earned it or what it would do. However, its low Quality dissuaded him from even considering it. For the same reason, he discarded Small. The idea of focusing on making increasingly small Golems was compelling - a golem the size of a grain of rice with all the power of a normal one would certainly be hard to counter, but he doubted the upgrade would take him that far.
So, with those potential avenues removed, he had two options: Named and Bone. While Named was only Minor in Rarity, it still held merit. To what degree Mr. Cat's power was owed to its name, Clover was unsure, but the System, at least in this announcement, made it sound like a significant factor. Unfortunately, with his lack of experience, he couldn't know for certain - one of the pitfalls of so quickly rushing into the Path.
Bone, on the other hand, was an unknown quantity. Mirroring his Affinity, he did not know what the Aspect would do, but something in his gut told him to use it - aligning his Affinity and his most powerful Skill could only have benefits down the road. Additionally, the upgrade sounded in theme with [Lesser Golem Creation]. It just sounded right. Unless the upgrade went down a strange route, it would likely give him similar, if slightly superior, benefits to Durability - something he was okay with.
Clover made his selection.
Straight and stable, a lone bone can not do much other than endure, but in a system, a skeletal structure, its capability evolves - diversifying to cover a vast array of functions. From humble beginnings, your capabilities are still blocked by the black clouds of ignorance; a single bone - a single function is all you can manage. But one day, a domino will fall, and all the broken and scattered pieces of bone will converge in a tempest of magic, elevating themselves past the designation of Lesser.
Congratulations! Your Golems have evolved to now possess the hints of a skeletal structure. Owing to this change, your golems will now be slightly stronger, and to a greater degree, their durability has been improved. Two related Skill Paths have been unlocked!
Clover smiled; it seemed he had made the right choice. Beyond just the increase in durability he had expected, he had opened the door for larger changes to take hold in his Golems - a possible benefit of using a higher Quality Aspect.
Additionally, he had unlocked two Paths, [Bones Break So They Can Mend], and [Skeleton I]. Both cost 10 Skill Points, frustratingly leaving him one point short of completion.
Clover didn't dwell on his misfortune for too long; he knew that soon enough, he'd earn more Points.
Below him, Mr. Cat walked as usual, trailing his wheelchair. He was unsure if the changes had retroactively included his first golem; he would have to test it out in combat to be sure.
He shook his head and refocused himself. He needed to be on guard; a squirrel could jump at him at any time.
A few moments later, the group entered a strange new section of the building. At least from the way they were arranged, it felt like the Ohio State Museum of Natural and Ancient History had a truly random assortment of exhibits.
In the center of the exhibit, a large bone recreation of a t-rex towered over the other displays. Glass cases filled with fossils and smaller life-like recreations of other dinosaurs were scattered across the room.
He kept his distance from the bone t-rex, eyeing it suspiciously; from all the movies he had watched, he almost expected the dinosaur to come alive and attack them. In the twenty-four seconds he stared at it without blinking, it did not move or make any other sort of suspicious action.
After confirming that the bone t-rex was not alive and actually not trying to eat him, immediately, a burning question sprang forth from the recesses of his mind: Could he turn it into a Golem?