Nick assured her that all the centipedes were dead, then handed her his canteen. He watched her drain it dry, then let out a long, shuddering sigh. She looked him in the eyes, seeming to come to a decision before offering him an explanation.
“Long story short, I made a terrible bargain back during my tutorial. Formed a contract with something I shouldn’t have. Something… vile. The upside is… well you saw what it can do. But the price isn’t worth it. In addition to some side effects that I don’t feel like talking about just yet, that power is far too finicky for my tastes.
“I can only call it for three minutes at a time, and once I do, I can’t use it again for a week. On top of that limitation, it requires half of my health to summon, and I can only activate the ability when I’ve bottomed out my mana and stamina. Not to mention the ridiculous casting time and the difficulty of maintaining control in that...
“But enough of that,” Sophia smiled through the pain, catching herself before she completed the sentence. “We did it Nick! We survived another stupid fucking event. Optional objective my ass. May as well find out what we got for our trouble.”
By this point, Nick had a heaping helping of questions regarding what he’d heard, but he sensed that it wasn’t the right time to ask. “That power sounds super sketchy, but I can’t complain given the circumstances. I trust your judgement, although it’s not easy to see you in that condition.”
“It’s not my idea of a good time either, Nick.” She dug into her pack and started devouring provisions at random. “I’m glad you’re ok too. Stellar job holding them back for so long.”
Deciding to come clean since Sophia had unveiled her own trump card, Nick continued. “I have something that I’ve been saving as well, although it’s not nearly as impressive as that,” he gestured toward the pulverized beasts scattered on all sides. “It’s a support item.”
“The flask, right? It’s magic.” She managed a weak chuckle at the surprise on his face, then moaned as if the effort had cost her.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“How did you know?”
“It’s not exactly subtle. You put all your most powerful items on your belt. Doesn’t exactly scream subterfuge if you know what I mean.” Trying not to show his embarrassment, Nick summarized his run in the treasure vault and explained how his flask functioned.
“It’s only half as effective on other people, but here,” he handed the flask over. “I want you to take it.” She started to protest, but Nick cut her off. “Drink,” he insisted.
“My bruises will heal on their own. You’re below half life and are out of stamina and mana. It’s making you weak and spacy and more importantly, you’re in serious danger of taking a lethal wound. Based on what the System told me, you could die from the injuries you already have if you don’t recover your health quickly enough.”
Sophia looked like she wanted to object, but when he popped the flask’s seal and handed it over, she brought the crystal container to her lips and drank, surprised by the refreshing flavor.
Nick suppressed the urge to groan as he laughed, not willing to show how painful the bruises along his ribs were after forcing the issue.
The elixir’s effects on Sophia’s condition were obvious. Over the next minute, color returned to her cheeks and the trembling of her limbs stilled. She still looked bone weary and battered, but her head no longer drooped like she might pass out on the spot.
“Thank god it restores mana too. I hate how hard it is to think when you’re totally out of gas. I wonder if that means our brains now require mana to function.”
“I know just what you mean and that’s an interesting question.” Nick nodded, still feeling a little out of it himself. “How about we find out what we’ve won and get the fuck out of this mine.” She laughed and then her gaze went distant, as they both started reading their notifications.
He didn’t open his profile, leaving the gains to his level and skills until later, starting with the most exciting notice instead, the reward for completing the high-difficulty event.
Congratulations. Event: Escape the flesh-renders’ lair, has been successfully completed.
You have cleared all optional objectives and increased the quality of your reward.
Event? Optional objective? I think you misspelled System-generated deathtrap. Nick grumbled to himself and then kept reading.
Taking into consideration the difficulty of the challenge and your party’s performance, you have been granted a gold event reward chest along with a modest bonus to your essence, experience, and species experience.
Open the chest to claim your prize.