Valoria decided to name the species Jack-o-Boxes and spoke for the first time in her armored shell.
"As my first sapient creation, you shall be named Pandora. You shall act as a warning to all who stay to long in my halls, a constant timer.", her voice echoes from within the armors core. "A source of unforeseeable chaos for those who would try to harm me and mine. Do you understand?"
"I do, my Mistress.", replied Pandora, "When should I strike the current intruders~?"
As Valoria thought of an answer, she looked at Pandora's status. To her surprise however, it was purple. But that wasn't the only oddities of her new jester.
Name: Pandora
Title(s): The Odd Jester, Voidspawn
Race: Jack-o-Box
Level: 1
STR: 50 INT: 125
CON: 220 WIS: 125
DEX: 55 LUC: ERR
Skills: Windup, Hammerspace, Hammer Mastery, Null Aura, Emotional Discharge, Empathy, Regeneration, Crystal Heart of Insanity, Mana Crystalization, Thread Creation, Thread Manipulation, Performance, Void Essence Infusion
Description: The first of many oddities of the world. The Void has no Fate, no Order. Only the Voidborn may decide. This one is their Jester, an entertainer who gets things done.
Valoria decided to look through those Skills later when she has time. But she does look at the two titles. The Odd Jester granted "infinite potential towards being the ultimate jester", while the Voidspawn title removed Fate's influence on Pandora, resulting in her Luck being an error.
"Not them, only strike when they state they mean harm. These are simply those sent to get an understanding of the beginnings of what I wish to create.", Valoria says as she and her personal Jester look to the beginnings of the fight between the first floor's Bosses and the investigators.
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POV: Mithril Party "Crystalline Calamity"
"This dungeon is...odd, to damned odd. All the monsters are probably only going to be seen here, like those Plush things. Whose ever heard of a monster with the Child Care skill from the onset? And those Manakins? Creepy, even worse than dealing with undead. At least undead have weaknesses, fire and light. Those Manakins, their hearts are supposed to be a weak point, but after you break 'em, they go into a mini frenzy before being snuffed out!", complained the [Treasure Hunter] as they finished dealing with the 2 Beats Plushies, 2 Voodoo Plushies, 2 Manakins, and 1 Nervous Manakin before the boss room. "And don't get me started on the variants!"
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"We're here at the boss room, and more importantly, the dungeon's attention is on us now." The Wyldin [Paladin] stated before the Gnome could continue their ranting. He quieted almost immediately, and came back into focus to the job at hand.
"Any bets on what the boss could be?", the team's [Witch] asked, "I'm thinking one of those Manakins, as they're called."
"No, I'm confident that those things will appear later. Humanoid dungeon bosses don't appear until after the 5th floor at the very least. One of the Plush variations are more likely. Maybe twice to 3× the size we've seen them as?", countered the [Priestess].
The [Paladin] shook her head as she looked towards the boss door. Nothing on the door showed what they would be fighting, but she wasn't worried. This was a newborn Dungeon, after all.
As they entered the double doors similar to the one that led to the dungeon, they were met by two figures instead of the expected one. The first was an oversized Voodoo Plush in the shape of a sheep, however the needles sticking out of the form were uniform as two rows of alternating colored pins carried an oddly cyan electric current between them. It had ram like horns that looked to be made of the same metal as its needles.
The other form was a similarly sized Beats Plush, whose seams seemed to glow red with fire burning through its form. The device that seemingly all its kind carried started playing a tune filled with an infectious excitement that made the party to want to start the fight immensely.
However, the [Witch] stepped forward and shot an ice spear right through the device. The music sputtered to a stopped and the boss Plush seemed like it wanted to cry at the lost of the machine. The Voodoo Plush seemed to comfort it as they readied themselves for the fight again.
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The fight was a quick one. It seemed the destruction of the Beats boombox removed most most the challenge of the fight. Afterwards, there wasn't anything that was dropped by the bosses.
"Oh what, dungeon! Are you seriously not gonna give us anything for that!?", the Gnome complained, "At the very least give us some silver or something!"
"My Mistress doesn't feel like rewarding cheaters in her dungeon~", a feminine voice echoes through the boss room, "Honestly, Rhonda is still heartbroken after you broke his stereo! For shame!"
"In the name of Knowledge, reveal yourself!", the [Priestess] yelled as she casted a light over the room.
"Fine, fine...", the voice relented as her form was revealed to the party. A woman whose lower half appeared to be fused to the box that seemingly glided over the ground. Her joints and limbs looked similar in design to that of the Manakins, yet her face was covered in a crystalline mask split in half. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Pandora, the Odd Jester. I'm here to tell you and all others that run this dungeon about any changes as they happen. Patches of exploits like what you did earlier, any changes to the layout of the dungeon for balance sake, or shits and giggles~."
"That doesn't mean you have the right to withhold our rightfully obtained loot!", the [Treasure Hunter] argued as he pointed his knife at Pandora.
Pandora turned her head slowly to look at him, doing a full rotation as her mask turned from being one half smiling and the other frowning, to a half mask showing a manic grin while the other was void of features other than a singular eye. "That doesn't mean you get to keep your arms, buddy~!"
As she said that, two thumps could be heard as the Gnome let out a scream of pain as his arms were removed. One by the shoulder, the other by the elbow.
Pandora's head did another 360° turn as her face went back to normal. "I'll give you a hint to give to all other possible cheaters that enter this dungeon. You'll lose much more than what any have gained here if you cross us. The odds are always in our favor~!"