Chapter 73 - The Newbie Tomb Raider
Name: Trey Bon
Level 32
Class: Infernal Summoner
Name: Izumi Yoshida
Level 1
Class: Blacksmith
Jason Foreti
Level 8
Class: Alchemist
Ashe Landry
Level 27
Class: Rogue
“Are you done with Piggy's feeding time yet?” Izumi called out from where the cooking fire was burning a couple yards away. Now that it was daylight, having a fire to cook meat wasn’t out of the question and the lot of them were chowing down on Piggy’s prepared foods.
Not that Piggy got to eat her own prepared foods, she was stuck eating slop off the stone floor of the ruins - and the only answer Izumi got was another loud scream from the naked elf Trey was sodomizing in the other room.
Jason still sat glowering at Trey without trying to conceal his contempt for the act. He didn’t like it at all and was still half convinced that this world was the real deal and if Trey had done these things to Elise or her family… he’d have killed Trey on the spot.
“Jason for Christ’s sake...” Ashe said in a low whisper, trying to calm Jason down while simultaneously avoiding letting the NPCs of their group hear her speak. “They might not even be real people and if there are major benefits from getting that cooking ideal then it’s what he needs to do.”
Jason scoffed in disgust and gave Ashe a dirty look too. Setting aside his small meal of rations he got to his feet and brushed himself off. “I’m not hungry, I’m going to relieve Napoleon of watching the stairs before we head out...”
The tall blonde man picked up his small mace, bow and quiver then stomped off without another look back. Ashe and Izumi exchanged looks but kept further words on the matter to themselves as Juila made her way over from speaking with Karus to sit with them.
Ashe gave the Amazonian a small friendly wave as she sat. “Hi Juila.”
“Hi.” The taller older woman returned Ashe’s wave and then smiled to Izumi in acknowledgement. Then her eyes trailed over to where Trey was thrashing the elf right around the corner, and her lips formed a thin line of concern. “What’s the deal with Trey and Astala?”
“Piggy!” Ashe corrected her with a pointed finger. “She won’t respond to Astala anymore. Have you tried talking to her using that name recently?”
Juila just gave Ashe a blank stare and then slowly nodded. “Uhm… alright then… Piggy. Why is Trey treating her so badly? It’s like he turns into a different person, he becomes… how do I put it, extreme? I’m not sure what to make of it. He doesn’t treat me that way and he… he didn’t treat Eeme that way either. And it doesn’t seem like Piggy minds it… this behavior just strikes me as very strange.”
Juila’s voice trailed off as she thought about Eeme and she got a lump in her throat that was hard to swallow. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she placed both hands on her tanned thighs and sighed. Even though she hadn’t known Eeme very long or very well, she’d been a kind girl. It still upset her to think her newfound friend was dead, especially because of the way it had happened.
Ashe mirrored Juila’s emotions and suddenly became somber, putting her foot down and huffing.
“Even Rivia isn’t treated like that, and Rivia once tried to kill Trey.” Juila motioned towards the demoness who was speaking with Atharost as they overlooked the city from their broken stone balcony. “Why does he have it out for Piggy? She’s a kind woman.”
Izumi remained silent.
Ashe however, shrugged indifferently. “It isn’t your concern. He has a very valid reason, just leave it at that.”
“But it is my concern!” Juila shot back angrily, her temper outwardly rising. “What if he treats me like that next? What if you’re not around to stop him from doing it? He’s… he’s abusing her!”
Ashe gave the Amazonian woman a half-hearted smile and shook her head. “Juila, I think you’re misinterpreting his behavior. He wouldn’t act like that if Piggy didn’t enjoy it, and he wouldn’t mistreat you either. I promise you; you’re overthinking things.”
Juila’s expression softened, and she nodded with a slightly relieved smile. “Alright. I just wanted to hear it out loud. I like Trey, don’t get me wrong, it just concerned me… the abrupt change in his attitude towards the elf.”
Ashe examined Juila for a long minute without speaking, but smile kindly before words parted her lips again. “We saved your life Juila. You are our property. That was the deal you made. However, we are not bad people. Trey is not a bad person.”
Juila’s smile widened a bit, then turned into a full on grin as she ran her hands through her long braided hair. “I can’t say I mind this little agreement, truthfully. I’ve had a lot of fun with it.”
Ashe chuckled and scooted over, whispering into her ear as her hand slipped down into Juila’s pants. “As have I…”
Ashe lunged forward, pressing her lips firmly against Juila’s - and her fingers began to work their magic in the Amazonian’s nether regions.
“Oh for fuck’s sake you two!” Izumi snorted and scowled to the laughter of the other two women. “Our resident sex addict Trey does enough of that already! Go get a room.”
Ashe shrugged and let out a long exhale, brushing her long locks of blonde hair off her left shoulder before winking. “Don’t make me come over to seduce you instead, Izumi.”
Izumi wrinkled her nose and promptly shook her head. “Eww.”
Another scream from Piggy erupted into blatant begging for more across the room. Ashe and Izumi both looked over to see Trey through the doorway of the ruins - laughing and violently yanking the elf’s long brown hair backwards as she orgasmed.
“Do you think this is real?” Izumi asked after a moment of staring. “All of this?”
Ashe just shrugged and leaned back against Juila. “Maybe. Did you ever play MMORPGs as a kid?”
Izumi hesitantly shook her head no, pulling her cloak close to her as a cold gust of wind came in through the large gaping hole used as a balcony in the tower’s side.
“Hmmm. Well, I think we need to play the hand we were dealt and treat it like what the All Spirit says it is - treat it like a game.” Ashe jabbed a thumb Gorthomal’s way. “We need to do what Trey’s doing and find class trainers of our own, get on their good sides and learn. You have Jagla I guess, but I don’t have anyone to teach me. Those two rogues Trey bought are tight-lipped and aren’t that much better than me - if they even are at all.”
“Class trainers?” Izumi repeated a little curiously.
Ashe rolled her eyes. “Well even though I was a cheerleader before college, I was really a closet geek and played a lot of videogames in my spare time. Gorthomal is like a class trainer - he is a much more experienced version of what Trey’s class can become and has a lot to teach Trey. So… Trey took his advice and is trying to break in Piggy for whatever the hell that cooking ideal is. Without Gorthomal, Trey is going to have a very hard time learning the ropes for his class. When’s the next time he’ll find someone like that? Let me tell you Izumi, it’s hard enough finding a class trainer for rogues here and rogues are a lot more common than infernal summoners.”
Ashe huffed in frustration and wiped her hands on her leather pants. “It’s just a waste of time to even debate it at this point.”
Perhaps Ashe was right. Perhaps dwelling on whether or not all of this was real was a waste of time. Nevertheless, now was not the time to discuss it. Izumi just needed some alone time to clear her thoughts.
“I’m going to go take a walk…” Izumi laid a hand on her friends shoulder and then pulled Ashe in for a hug. “I’ll be back soon.”
“A walk?” Ashe’s brows furrowed and she pooched her lips. “In this place?”
Izumi let out a light chuckle and pushed her friend lightly away. Turning around, she headed back into the stairwell where Jason and Napoleon were likely bickering about something or other. “Yeah. Don’t worry about it… I’ll only go up. There aren’t going to be any monsters up there. We’ve already checked it out, remember? See ya later. Don’t let them leave without me!”
***
The skyscraper’s stairway was rather wide, going back and forth - left and right with each level it led to. It was true that her group had done a quick search of the upper levels to make sure there weren’t any hoards of monsters or undead lurking around, but it was still a little scary going alone. The windows along each level were far out into various rooms through broken down doors and caved in walls, letting in only a little light towards the interior where she continued to climb.
Despite her fears of going it alone, she needed this distraction. Izumi’s mind had been an absolute mess of indecisiveness and confusion ever since leaving Earth and coming to what was likely one of the very worst places on this planet didn’t help matters. Logic told her to leave them and find a low-key job doing something simple in a safer city where she wasn’t afraid of getting shanked when she turned her back… but she didn’t want to leave her friends. They were the only ones she had, and she didn’t want to be alone. Despite their terrible circumstances and the things they had dragged her into, they’d still saved her life numerous times. For all she knew, she could be stuck back in that prison right this very moment rotting away - or worse, having gone through with that insane holy man’s rituals she could be very dead.
Then again… wasn’t she nothing but a burden? What did she have to offer? To contribute?
Nothing.
She frowned and tried to dislodge the negativity from her consciousness, putting it out of mind and focusing on putting one foot in front of the other to climb these solid stone steps. Dust from another age puffed up with each act of determination, and soon she began to feel her legs getting sore.
She finally looked up from the steps and snapped out of the trance. Looking down inbetween the thin space separating the stairs from one another, she saw that she’d gone up at least another eight flights.
Brushing her raven hair back and wiping the sweat from her brow, she sat down to rest on one of the steps. The air was musty here and it was a lot more noticeable due to the large breaths she was taking to replenish her oxygen levels, but it wasn’t all that bad. Considering where she was and what they’d gone through recently it was the least of her complaints.
Staring at the stone and dust between her feet, she eventually looked up and caught a glimpse of what she thought was a painting along a hallway to her left. Odd, that a painting of all things would survive the test of time considering what it was made out of. Even most of the furniture was in a state of decay or even dust, and only the most sturdy of constructs had been able to stay intact.
Her interest piqued, she quietly stood up and brushed off her clothes of whatever dust had accumulated there. Snorting at the mess she was in and vowing to steal some of the water they had for bathing purposes when the others weren’t looking, she trot around the stairwell and into the dark hallway. Coming to an abrupt stop in front of it, she used her hand to wipe it down.
Another thick layer of dust came off with each sweeping motion of her hand, and after coughing a bit and letting the dust settle she soon found herself staring at a portrait of a woman. There was nothing remarkable about the picture though, the painted woman looked rather bland and was sitting in front of a lake with a hunting dog at her side and wore a plain blue dress. Izumi noticed, however, that every time she touched the painting to rid it of dust… it felt very cold. Metallic even. Was that normal? She didn’t think so… so she touched it again and began running her fingers over it.
Eventually getting to the frame, she found that this too was made of metal even though it looked like it was made of wood. It had been disguised to look like this - was her guess, though she couldn’t understand why. She tried removing it, but it was stuck to the wall and didn’t budge an inch even with all her might behind it - an even stranger finding. She tapped it with her knuckle and found it to be… hollow.
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Alright, now she was getting somewhere.
She looked around for some sort of tool and eventually her eyes rested on some rubble further into the room. She walked over, averting her gaze from the window now that her eyes had adjusted to the dark, and picked up a rock the size of her fist. Humming to herself and turning back around she skipped over to the fake painting to stand a few feet away, heaved her arm back and threw the rock forward as hard as she could.
The rock bounced off with a hollow clang and hit her in the knee, not even denting the metal she’d thrown it at.
Yelling out in pain and feeling like an idiot she hopped around on one foot to relieve pressure off the injured leg. Growling and mumbling to herself and wishing she was back in the states, she let out an exasperated sigh and leaned against the metal picture in defeat. It was only then, when she’d put her full weight into leaning against the picture, that it abruptly shifted inwards by a full two inches.
Startling her with a grating sound to her left down the hallway - she saw a stone slab lift up from the ground and slowly enter into a ceiling compartment, leaving a doorway in the settling dust where there hadn’t been one before. Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat… immediately she grew excited.
“Oh… this is so neat! I’m like a tomb raider!”
She briefly considered going back down to get Trey or Ashe before entering, maybe even Napoleon or one of the other minions Trey had, but then she thought better of it. They’d explored the upper tower already and the dust collected on the hidden door had been a product of centuries of misuse, it was highly unlikely anything alive was inside or nearby. Not only that but her leg was injured and there was no way she was going down and then back up again after all the flights of stairs it’d taken her to get here.
Limping slightly and trying to keep her weight on her good side, she walked over to the newly found doorway and peered inside. To her surprise as soon as she did so, a series of glass orbs along the ceiling lit up with white light.
She was staring into a safe room…
There were large metal boxes of various sizes stacked on the back wall, an old musty bed to her right, and a metal table in the center of the room with some chairs, steel cups, plates and utensils. The left wall was devoid of anything except a latch which she assumed would shut the very door that she’d just entered through.
She was rather surprised the bed was in such relatively good condition. Relatively was the key word, because it was still ancient and looked like it’d taken a real beating, but all of the other beds were in far worse condition throughout the building. This one only looked like it’d been used too many times, as opposed to being created in another age.
Glancing up at the three glass orbs lighting the room and then looking back down to let her eyes adjust, she pulled out a chair and sat down. There was little to no dust here, and taking a finger to wipe it across the table she clarified this.
“Interesting…”
Shrugging and getting up, she hopped on over to where the series of metal boxes were stacked on the back wall. Some of them were quite small, while others were the size of a treasure chest. None of them had any locks on them, to her relief, and instead had simple metal lids. Pumping her fist in silent victory and clutching the sides of the first box, she tugged.
It was a little big and heavy, but it still budged. She did it again and again, until finally the box clattered to the ground from the top of the pile. Wincing at the lack of grace and hoping the stuff inside hadn’t been damaged, she pulled the box closer to the table and sat down to open the lid.
What she found was a large number of differently colored books.
Curious about the contents of the books and happy that they were in such good condition, she picked the first one up and read the cover. ‘The Basics of Botany’ was the title of the first one. She put it aside, thinking it would likely be something Jason could use for his Alchemy.
Next were ‘The Golden Keepers of the Temple of Time,’ ‘Dawn - The Layered City,’ ‘Ezdeath - Last of the Crimson Legion,’ ‘Game Master Xil of the Third Age,’ and a number of others that didn’t really strike Izumi as worthwhile. That went on until she came to the very bottom of the box and saw a much larger book than all the rest. It was brown, leatherbound, and when she picked it up she also realized that although it was larger in length and height - the width was a lot more narrow.
She opened it, and what she saw confused her. Instead of being attached to the book’s spine, the pages were sorted into pockets much like a folder. The pages were all free-floating, far larger than a regular book’s pages, and contained diagrams full of notes. Mathematics, scribbled handwritten paragraphs and detailed pictures were laid out along the parchment on the front and back of each page. Some pages were paired together in pockets while others were kept individually separate, but they all had one thing in common: They were all instructions on how to build various items, most of which had mechanical components.
Enchanted Schematic: Aqueducts
Item Tier: (7) Rare
Requirements: None
Durability: 10/10
Special: Instantaneous learning of how to build Aqueducts after 1 hour of continuous study. After knowledge has been passed down, this schematic will remain intact but the title will change from ‘Enchanted Schematic’ to ‘Schematic.’ When this happens, you may still view the schematic for reviewing purposes but instantaneous knowledge will no longer be granted to the readers.
“Wow, that’s so neat!” Izumi’s smile brightened and she re-read the identification information. She didn’t know what she’d do with the knowledge on how to build Aqueducts, but it would at least sell for a lot to someone who could really make use of it. Maybe if they eventually moved out of the Lawless Lands and found a home in a city somewhere she’d be able to use it then too and tweak her profession a bit. Who knows?
Regardless, it was definitely valuable. Flipping through the pages she found a number of others. A schematic on house building, another on watermills, and another on bridges came up before she got to stuff that really drew her attention.
Enchanted Schematic: Ripper Cannon
Item Tier: (10) Epic
Requirements: None
Durability: 10/10
Special: Instantaneous learning of how to build Ripper Cannons after 1 hour of continuous study. After knowledge has been passed down, this schematic will remain intact but the title will change from ‘Enchanted Schematic’ to ‘Schematic.’ When this happens, you may still view the schematic for reviewing purposes but instantaneous knowledge will no longer be granted to the readers.
Enchanted Schematic: Ripper Pistol
Item Tier: (10) Epic
Requirements: None
Durability: 10/10
Special: Instantaneous learning of how to build Ripper Pistols after 1 hour of continuous study. After knowledge has been passed down, this schematic will remain intact but the title will change from ‘Enchanted Schematic’ to ‘Schematic.’ When this happens, you may still view the schematic for reviewing purposes but instantaneous knowledge will no longer be granted to the readers.
Enchanted Schematic: Bladed Lotus Trap
Item Tier: (10) Epic
Requirements: None
Durability: 10/10
Special: Instantaneous learning of how to build Bladed Lotus Traps after 1 hour of continuous study. After knowledge has been passed down, this schematic will remain intact but the title will change from ‘Enchanted Schematic’ to ‘Schematic.’ When this happens, you may still view the schematic for reviewing purposes but instantaneous knowledge will no longer be granted to the readers.
Enchanted Schematic: Spring Loaded Shrapnel Bomb
Item Tier: (10) Epic
Requirements: None
Durability: 10/10
Special: Instantaneous learning of how to build Spring Loaded Shrapnel Bomb after 1 hour of continuous study. After knowledge has been passed down, this schematic will remain intact but the title will change from ‘Enchanted Schematic’ to ‘Schematic.’ When this happens, you may still view the schematic for reviewing purposes but instantaneous knowledge will no longer be granted to the Readers.
The diagrams of these four each described what they were in short paragraphs with pictures demonstrating how they’d be constructed and operated. The Ripper Cannon was a tube inlaid with gears and cogs that somehow propelled stored projectiles at high velocity towards a target. It was definitely large, but small enough to be carried by a human on his or her back; and was foldable at the center for transport. Support beams were built in for a stand to lock into the ground, reducing recoil so the person wasn’t blown away by the backfire. The smaller Ripper Pistol was built with the same ideas in mind, but was handheld - also lacking the firepower of the cannon.
The bladed lotus trap diagrams made it look like an actual flower, but instead of petals it had numerous blades sticking out all around it. It was hooked up to a tripwire in the diagram and further illustrations showed that once tripped the trap would fling these blades in all directions from where it sat.
Lastly, the spring loaded shrapnel bomb was the equivalent of a grenade. The schematic showed how to make its components before primitive blast powder and shrapnel was stuffed into a circular metal ball. When a button on the ball was pushed, the locks on the ball would unlatch a couple seconds later and the ball would explode - letting out the contents at high velocity along with a blast of fire.
Jackpot.
This… this could make Izumi useful. She could even ask her forgemaster back at the Fost guild to help her build some of these things. She didn’t bother reading the rest of the schematics and closed the book. Each one would take an hour to go over before the enchantment granted her knowledge and she had no doubt there were other useful ones in there, but she didn’t have the time to read them now. As excited as she was, they’d have to wait to be studied.
She placed the schematics book on the table next to ‘The Basics of Botany’ that she planned to give to Jason, and pushed the now emptied chest aside.
The next three metal boxes were just full clothing for both men and women - though they were also all in good condition. She took the time to change out her roughed up linen trousers for a pair of well-fitting leather pants, and changed out her dirtied shirt for a clean, red-cloth undershirt and a leather vest.
The fifth box was filled with rotten foods that had turned into a dark pasty soup. The moment she’d opened it the stench nearly caused her to pass out and she quickly sealed it back up before she puked. Pushing it away, she went on to the next box.
This sixth box had a very unique set of items. There was a green and brown top hat like the ones that were used often in the industrial revolution. There was a pair of goggles, very similar to the ones seen in high school chemistry classes but a little bit smaller. Then… lastly… there was an ornate steam-punk styled pirate pistol and a large, strapped, zip-up bag of spherical iron bullets. It looked just like the schematics, with a cog on either side of the metal shaft and polished wood along the base. A compartment on the handle stored up to eight bullets, which she shoved into place with a click.
The Silver Tongue’s Top Hat
Item Tier: (11) Legendary
Requirements: Must have a registered non-combat class
Durability: ???
Special:
1 - Silver Tongue: When dealing with Non-Player Characters (NPCs), you gain a persuasion bonus of 40%
2 - ???
Goggles of Enemy Health Points
Item Tier: (9) Grand
Requirements: ???
Durability: 90/90
Special: Wearing these goggles allows you to access enemy HP information at all times, placing their HP bars above their heads within your HUD without needing to identify them
Ripper Pistol
Item Tier: (9) Grand
Damage: 39 (+ Bullet Damage Rating)
On Hit Effect: ???
Bonuses: ???
Requirements: ???
Durability: 203/203
Specials: None
Iron Bullet
Item Tier: (4) Basic
Damage: 5
On Hit Effect: None
Bonuses: None
Requirements: None
Durability: 15/15
Special: none
At this point Izumi was almost salivating. Tears of happiness welled up inside her and she gave a silent thanks to her lucky stars that she’d stumbled upon all this. She gingerly took the hat and goggles out, putting them both on and smiling like a giddy child. She stuffed her books into the strapped satchel full of bullets and put that on too. It was a little heavy, but nothing she couldn’t manage.
Then, picking up the pistol and carefully examining it, she noted a belted holster at the bottom of the box. Putting the belt on and sheathing her gun, she patted it gingerly and giggled to herself. It sat opposite the steel dagger she’d taken from Jason not long ago after he’d insisted she wield something she could manage for self defense.
This was awesome. This had to be the happiest day she’d had since… well the happiest day she’d had in a very long time. Who knew treasure hunting could be so much fun?!
There was only one more box left. Despite the motherload she’d acquired with these recent hauls, she didn’t keep her hopes up. She’d likely already gotten all the valuable stuff anyways, and she couldn’t be more excited either. Now she would really give her friends a reason to value her help!
This box was the largest yet, but surprisingly enough it wasn’t all that heavy. A little heavier than others, but not what she’d expected due to the bulk. Successfully having pushed the other crates out of the way and moving the last unopened one to the center of the room where her chair was, she sat down and pried it open.
What she saw was a little confusing.
There was only one item in there. It looked more like a metal backpack than anything else and had a foldable metal tube extending from its right side off of a hinge. A tripod was also retracted but attached to the tube on the folded end, and a latch at the metal backpack’s top was also noted.
She just stared for a second, thinking it slightly recognizable. Then it hit her, and with her excitement growing again she finally identified it for what it was.
Ripper Cannon
Item Tier: (11) Legendary
Damage: 305 (+ Bullet Damage Rating)
On Hit Effect: ???
Bonuses: ???
Requirements: ???
Durability: ???
Specials: ???
Now she was in business.