Chapter 40
It didn’t take the party long to get to the J-Kappas. The Knight’s had already developed an effective method to deal with the Chem-Era’s, and through a combination of crowd control abilities, controlling aggro with Oak and Hornz, and a crazy amount of DPS spread out from all different angles, including on the creature’s back via an enraged Badgy that tried to ride the massive creature like a bucking bronco, the beast didn’t present a problem to the party.
With the giant obstacle cleared, they were in the clear to move along the same path that the Knights had taken on their first dive. The left-most path. First was the room with the Chem-Era. Then the hallway filled with J-Kappas, and the potential dangers of When-Wolfs and Fogeymen in the shadows.
“There they are,” Z said, pointing down the hallway. It was a rather unnecessary gesture and statement, considering the musical mobs were in the middle of holding a little mini concert for themselves. There were six of them in total, and James quickly took mental note of their ‘personas’. A businessman, a pretty boy, two spice versions, a shy version, and an idol. For their current purpose of tracking down the mobs, their types didn’t matter. But for an actual dungeon run, trying to collect the buffs that would work best for your party would be key. And that would mean being able to know which J-Kappa was which, in order to best spend your money.
“There they are,” James looked at Rue, and she gave him a nod. He looked back at the others, and then at he mobs once more. With a sigh, he pulled up his inventory and called forth a platinum coin.
“Who here has the best accuracy?” James asked, glancing between Elm and Z. “Which of you has the best aim?”
“Me—” Z started.
“Obviously I do—” Elm began.
The two looked at each other, and then back to James.
“Why?” They asked in unison.
“I want to see if you can land this coin in the cup atop the J-Kappa’s heads.” James said, motioning towards the rocking out monsters. “Their name literally has Kappa in it,” he said with emphasis, “you know, from Japanese mythology.”
James may not have known pop culture like Rue and the Knights. But he knew mythology damnit.
Z’s eyes went wide, and someone facepalmed. Before either could take the coin though, Oak walked up and grabbed the coin from James’s hand, before turning to look at the mobs.
“You mean all we’ve got to do is get the coin in the cup?” He laughed, and took up a somewhat ridiculous stance. He turned his body sideways, his shield and pitchfork stowed, his right arm bent upwards at a ninety-degree angle as he held the coin gingerly between his thumb and middle finger. “Finally, all my years of playing beer pong will pay off.”
As if those were the magic words, the other Knights all pulled out their own coins, and went to stand by Oak. James looked back at Rue, and couldn’t help but smile in response to her massive grin. She winked at James, pulled out her own coin, also platinum, and went to stand beside the others.
“First one to get a coin in wins bragging rights?” She said quickly. “Or should we go for a higher stakes game?”
“You sure you want in on this?” Z asked with a chuckle, “I can’t count the number of games of beer pong I’ve played. Especially from my military days. And that’s not even counting all of the other games of getting the rock closest to the other rock.”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Uh, what?” James couldn’t help but ask aloud.
“It’s a deployment game.” Z said with a glance back at James, “trust me. When you get bored. You find any way possible to amuse yourself.”
“I’m pretty sure I can hold my own,” Rue said confidently. “But, I’ll be kind and let you all go first, just to make sure you have a fair chance.”
“Alright, you’re going to regret that though.” Oak said, before he flung the coin forward. It flew in a large arc through the air, flying a good thirty feet, before it clattered by one of the J-Kappa’s, just missing its head. Oak cursed as the creature picked up the coin, pocketed it, and then continue rocking out. Apparently, they didn’t view coins being thrown at them as a sign of aggression. James made a mental note to look into that. If the mobs didn’t aggro at such things, it would make it way too easy for parties to activate the Sellout passive without any potential danger. And James couldn’t have that. As much as liked making easy money, easy experience was what he needed most.
“All talk, no follow through,” Faust said, releasing his own coin. It spun through the air, reflecting the torchlight in a myriad of flashes, before it clipped the edge of the cup atop the Idol’s head, before bouncing out, and falling to the ground. As before, the coin was pocketed, and the concert continued.
Technically the coin Oak had thrown had been James’s platinum, but honestly, making two platinum coins in mere seconds, was crazy. He couldn’t help but dream about what may happen once he got NPCs on this floor, like he had on his first three. Could he set up something similar to the carnival on the third? Could tossing coins at J-Kappa’s heads be a truly lucrative business venture?
James shook his head and turned his focus back to the group. Med Ic was the next to toss his coin. It clipped the shoulder of a J-Kappa, but missed the cup. The others, were in full on shit-talking mode. They were having so much fun, acting as if they weren’t in a dungeon filled with level 90-plus mobs.
“Elm, would you like to go first?” Z said, “give you the shot to make the first cup in.”
“If you want to hand me the win, sure,” Elm took aim, preparing his coin toss.
“I’ll just make mine right after you, and we’ll be tied up for bragging rights.” Z said confidently.
“If you say so,” Elm’s arm made a tossing motion a few times, as his eyes narrowed, focusing on their target. He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and then let his coin fly. It had a perfect arc, and flew through the air with the deadly precision James had come to expect from the Sniper. Sure enough, his coin landed perfectly in the cup of the Businessman J-Kappa. A fountain of golden light enveloped the J-kappa, washing over it, and then the name above it switched from red, to white. It stopped its participation in the concert and began to head towards the group.
“Oh shit, I just got an achievement,” Elm said with a laugh as the mob approached him. “Talent Scout huh?” he chuckled and looked appreciatively at Rue, and then James. “I had no idea we could hire out these mobs with that trick.”
“Well if that’s the case,” Z’s arm flicked forward, and just like with Elm’s toss, his aim was true. The coin dropped into the cup of the Idol, and she flashed golden, and then promptly began to make her way towards the party, hired for the dungeon run, just like Elm’s.
Rue was the next, and to James’s, and probably everyone’s surprise, her aim was just as true. She’d managed to land a coin in the head of the Pretty Boy persona, which James wasn’t quite sure had been intentional, or she’d just gone for one at random. Rue didn’t seem the type to like pretty boy personas... right?
He pushed the foolish thoughts aside, as their party quickly gained its own little band. Oak, Med Ic, and Faust all had more coins in their hands, and were frantically throwing them towards the Kappas. James lost track of how much platinum he made in the next few minutes, but eventually, all of the J-Kappa’s had been acquired.
“Alright,” James took a heavy breath, and looked at the others. “If you guys could, have your J-Kappa’s start playing their music. It should buff us quite a bit, and if possible, I want you to see just how loud you can have them play.”
Everyone did as asked, not taking the time to question James, considering they were all just having fun testing out a new mechanic they’d just learned about. A moment later, the hallway was filled with blaring, J-pop music, echoing down the hallway so loud James had no doubt it would be impossible for anyone not in their immediate area to hear what James was about to say.
He motioned for everyone to gather around, and then, once they had formed a circle around him, he began.