The next day they just rested at the inn, enjoying some quality family time. They'd depleted their Essence, traded the cards, all that was left was to take the train and return home. Tania kindly sent an errand boy to purchase the briefcases they needed to take their new clothes home. The train station was full. Most people had little to no luggage.
"Refugees, trying to go deeper into the country," Byron explained. "Maybe some will spill into our village. Maybe we'll have to move. Only time will tell."
There were inspections by the soldiers wearing the Count's livery. They asked about their origin, destination, and other random questions. Sometimes one or another person was dragged away, screaming. Nero felt it wasn't the guards hunting spies as much as doing racial cleaning. The ones being dragged usually belonged to races looked down upon. A group of guards looked at the four fur-less ape-kin but gave up. Nero felt glad his mom made everyone wear good, though uncomfortable, clothes for the train trip.
They got into their cabin and a couple of gnomes that squatted into the reserved space had to be evicted. They looked weary and Nero wanted to do something to help them out of sympathy but Rhynne stopped him.
"Unless you want every beggar on the train to come and take something for us, you can't do a thing. We may be strong but we too are powerless."
After last night, he was keeping his mouth shut, his only wish to return home to his usual life. He was sick of the city and their thugs, wicked overlords, and crowds. He felt there was something they could do but figured that his parents would know better. He just sat at his place and gently caressed Altia's hand.
The magic of the train trip disappeared under the bitterness he was feeling. Whatever drove him out of the inn earlier still there, only buried under another flow of emotions. But he had a goal now. He was not alone.
Halfway through the trip, Nero decided to reveal one secret. "Last night, during the fight with the thugs, when father killed one of them, I got an Accolade."
The face his parents made told him it was not commonplace. "I got a point of Vigor. You saw my Stats when I used the Anima and I can show it now."
"No, we believe you," Rhynne said. "But we never heard of someone gaining an Accolade for an Adventurer's death."
"Son, what does the message says, exactly?"
"For killing an enemy thirty-five times your level, you gained +1 Vigor."
"That's odd. Then again, how much people do you know that kill people dozens of times their level? Or are present at the time of their death, I mean."
"Maybe that happened because we were too far away," Rhynne added. "We never felt the energy from the deaths on our devices."
"What do you mean?" Nero asked.
"Look, kid. It is something we don't tell you until you hit the twenties because it is when it really starts to affect you. But outside a Dungeon, our Attributes do not show their full effect. There's a limiter to save our internal life energy. We are weaker because it is not absorbing the magic power of the Dungeon and it only gets worse as you level up. You always get stronger but not as strong as inside a Dungeon. It is also the reason we can't enter low-ranked Dungeons. The device will sense we are inside a Dungeon and remove the limiter, no matter the Dungeon's rank. Your mother and I would become dry husks in minutes inside the rank I near home. Way before we can find a [Egress] card, anyway. So even if that guy was level thirty-something, he was actually functioning at a power level well below that."
That puzzled Nero. But his father said the effects were only felt after level twenty, that was something he didn't have to worry about. Ever.
The train reached the station and they disembarked, along with a lot of refugees. The gnome couple as well. Byron rented a cart to take them and the luggage, Nero, and Altia at the back, Rhynne with the driver and Byron following on foot. He complained about buying too many dresses and Rhynne just laughed.
The eight-mile trip took three hours with the horse wagon. They arrived home and Nero helped bring Altia's luggage to her home.
"Thanks, Nero. Are we delving tomorrow?"
"It is still day. We could delve today if that's okay with you."
She looked conflicted. On one hand, she was tired from the trip. On the other hand, Nero could end up going alone.
"If I told you to wait until tomorrow, would you go alone?"
He sighed. "No. We wait until tomorrow, then. I'll go home and unpack. Bye."
Nero went home and played combinations of his Equipment and Modifier cards until he fell asleep.
----------------------------------------
The next day, he and Altia went to the Dungeon mid-morning. There was no rush in getting inside as they could take as much time as they wanted, or needed, and would leave at sunset or near it. He wasn't wearing armor but Altia had a brand-new leather armor. They were carrying two bedrolls they bought in Honeywitch and the two blankets. The packs were weighing them down but with their enhanced Strength and Agility, it was not a problem. At most, they were as fast as when they first delved.
"So, Husk and Cesar moved to the rank II Dungeon already," Altia put Nero up-to-date with the local gossip. "And there were two other deaths these last few days."
"Did they kill the boss?" Nero asked with a dash of envy in his voice. Husk and Cesar were the bullies of the village, one year older than them."
"No. They used all the Essence they had leveling up and went to the other Dungeon because apparently the drops there are better."
"Who died?"
"Tifa and Cloude. No remains recovered."
Nero sighed. These two were part of the nicer half of the guys."Twenty-three Arbitrii activated, how many dead? Nine?"
"Eleven. With the two that moved up a rank, there are ten delving this Dungeon. Eight plus us."
"We need to cull the monster population. Let's go in."
They entered through the portal and found themselves in the usual room with three exits. Nero could hear a squeak or two every now and then but these were far away. No sounds of combat. There was no way of knowing who was delving and who wasn't.
'We're probably alone in the Dungeon now,' Nero thought. He leaned against the stone wall of the entrance room and decided to activate their equipment cards. It was the only way he knew of obtaining special equipment that could grant Attribute bonuses or special abilities. Once the card was activated and the item summoned, the equipment was bound to the Adventurer for life. Anyone else would find just a piece of ordinary worn equipment.
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An Adventurer could have up to twelve pieces of enchanted or clockwork equipment. Both types synchronized or "bound" to the Arbitrium, drawing energy to function from the Adventurer's lifeforce. Some clockwork equipment required extra Essence to operate, fed from crystals.
The twelve "slots" for equipment were categorized as Armor, Clothes, Cloak, Main hand, Off-hand, Headgear, Necklace, and Footwear. Of these first eight, an Adventurer could have only one of each. Attempting to wear more than one would make the weaker piece inert. Its physical properties would be unchanged, but the active properties, like Attribute bonuses or special effects were rendered unusable. Clockwork equipment would not move or function altogether.
Two other kinds of equipment existed, Accessories and Rings. You could have two of each before you hit the same limitations as before. There was little way to go around these limitations. Some very rare Classes or Skills might grant the ability to wear more than one kind of equipment but these were as rare as monster milk.
With that in mind, Nero felt eager to get his new and shiny gear.
"Altia, I think we should summon our gear now. Let's check on our cards."
"Right, let's," She beamed back at him. He could see she was as excited by the prospect of some equipment upgrades as him.
He sat down on the stone floor and set the cards over the folded blanket. Altia sat across him and they organized the Equipment and Modifier cards.
"You will summon one of these brigandine armors. Self-cleaning with [Self-Repair] and [Permanency]. I'll summon one for me too."
They set the cards in the device and activated them. Their Arbitrium showed the finished product.
> [Self-Cleaning Brigandine of Regrowth]
>
> +1 Vigor
>
> This armor cleans itself and the user over time. Repairs 1 point of durability per hour.
The brigandine was a suit of brown leather armor with metal plates between the hardened front layer and the soft padding underneath. The plates were attached to the front with studs, giving the armor its nickname of studded leather armor. The studs helped with the defense but what really protected the wearer was the diffusion of impacts from the plates and into the padded layer.
Another advantage of summoning equipment was that the Arbitrium had the user's biometric information, and the gear had a perfect fit. They changed into the sets of brigandine armor. It was stiff but granted good protection and damage resistance with the point of Vigor.
Next Nero summoned the Dungeon Goggles with [Permanency] and [Enchant +1]. Unfortunately, the [Enchant +1] didn't work.
> [Dungeon Goggles] - green
>
> +2 Perception inside a Dungeon
>
> +1 Dexterity inside a Dungeon
>
> Increases the range at which Dungeon monsters are detected.
The goggles covered the eyes, slightly decreasing his visual range. The lenses distorted the light slightly but his eyes would quickly adapt. He put on the goggles and it was as if the light level of the Dungeon had increased a notch. The contrast and depth improved. He also had better awareness of the nearby rats. There was one fifty meters down a tunnel but wasn't approaching them. Next were E[lven Boots], [Hot Muffler], and a [Dungeon Clock] for both.
> [Elven Boots] - green
>
> +1 Agility
>
> Decreases the chance of being detected by noise when moving slowly.
The deep green boots were made with a fine and pliable reptile leather. They felt very comfortable on his feet and he knew he could walk for hours on them.
> [Hot Muffler] - green
>
> +1 Endurance
>
> Keeps the wearer warm. Prevents [Hypothermia] and [Frostbite] abnormal status.
The brown muffler had a flared collar that covered his neck and descenced over his shoulders. The front extended past his sternum and clasped over the shoulders. The flaps overlapped in front of him. Once he clasped the top flap over his right shoulder, a wave of hot air washed down his chest, back, and arms while another draft rose to tickle his ears.
> [Dungeon Clock] - green
>
> +1 Reason
>
> Tracks time spent inside a Dungeon, does not work outside, resets upon entry.
It was a simple brass pocket watch with three hands for the time of the day and a spinning counter for the days. A sun brass icon would shift behind a square slot in the clock face to show if it was AM or PM.
At last, Nero prepared to summon his [Clockwork Shield]. He wanted to use the last [Enchant +1] and decided to also use a [Increase Damage] because he had three and wasn't going to swap weapons anytime soon.
> [Spiked Clockwork Shield of Regrowth +1] - green
>
> +2 Dexterity
>
> +1 Strength when blocking or attacking with the shield.
>
> This shield attaches to the Arbitrium and expands to form any shield from the size of a bucker to a kite shield. The user can also make the shield grow or retract spikes on command. If not at its maximum size, the shield will expand on its own to help block incoming projectiles. Uses 5 Essence to activate and on every change. With the spikes extended, this shield deals damage to whatever is blocked, be it an enemy or their weapons. Repairs 1 point of durability per hour.
The shield appeared as a set of folding panels with gear teeth jutting out from the sides, underneath the Arbitrium bracer. Upon command, it made a clicking noise and one of the plates slid up in front of Nero's hand and a handle popped up. Then the other plates slid up and to the side, clacking and setting in place forming a disk. Two prongs closed over Nero's hand and unfolded in a spiral pattern to make the cup of the bucker. THen the disk slid up and connected to the cup. Nero could see the spikes leaning down on the plates. With a command, they popped out and pointed forward. It looked like a cross between a turtle, a porcupine, and a folding fan.
Looking underneath his forearm, he saw there were still a few plates underneath. He tried a targe shield and the plates forming the disk of the buckler slid up, revealing that they were double plates. Nero wondered if they were growing out of nowhere, materializing from Essence just like the items from the cards. It surely felt heavier. The now double plates slid backward, connecting to the frame of his device's display and forming the targe shield.
"Having fun with your new toys?" She asked.
"Yes. This shield is almost as fun as the sword."
Altia summoned one [Dagger] and two [Healing Potion] and one [Antidote]. She wasn't supposed to fight. They donned all their new gear and checked their Status.
> Altia [Chemist 3/179]
>
> Strength +2
> Vigor +6
> Endurance +3
> Agility +3
> Dexterity +7
>
> Reason +6
> Willpower +3
> Perception +4
> Charisma +5
>
> Chemist:
> Special: All your benefical combat consumables restore a llittle more of all resources.
> Special: You use 20% less ingredients with Alchemy.
>
> [Potion Toss] - Allows the use of benefical combat consumables on others at a range of Dexterity / 2 yards.
> [Quickbrew] - The act of brewing alchemical concoctions or activating combat consumable cards requires 30% less time.
> [Empower Potion] - The effects of benefical combat consumables and the speed of their effects is increased by 20%.
> Skill Slot
> Skill Slot
> Skill Slot
>
> Equipment: [Self-Cleaning Brigandine of Regrowth], [Elven Boots], [Hot Muffler], [Dungeon Clock]
> Nero [0/0]
>
> Strength: +2 (+5 with clockwork blade, +1 when blocking)
> Vigor +2
> Endurance +3
> Agility +4
> Dexterity +2 (+3 inside a Dungeon)
>
> Reason +3
> Willpower +2
> Perception +3 (+5 inside a Dungeon)
> Charisma +1
>
> Equipment: [Rending Clockwork Blade of Regrowth +1], [Self-Cleaning Brigandine of Regrowth], [Dungeon Goggles], [Elven Boots], [Hot Muffler], [Dungeon Clock], [Spiked Clockwork Shield of Regrowth +1]
Nero charged and tested his shield again, leaving it as a spiked buckler. He didn't have enough Essence to fully charge it but it only used Energy when changing shapes.
"How do I look?" Nero asked.
Altia giggled. "Like a very dangerous and weird wanderer."
"At lesat the Muffler doesn't get in the way of fighting. Let's go find some monsters to kill."
Nero led Altia down the tunnel where he sensed the nearest rat, sword in hand but turned off. Before the bend, he saw a hazy red aura emanating from the corridor. He moved slowly and caught the rat with its rump facing Nero. He slashed but forgot to turn it on. The sword beat the rat but aside from some shallow wounds where the teeth broke skin, the rat was just annoyed.
The rat turned around and jumped to bite Nero. He braced himself and hit the rat in the snout with a left jab. He noticed how he could track the rat's movement with ease. It was as if the rats were slowed. The spikes of the buckler dug into the rat's nose and it squealed in pain. Nero finished the rat with a bash to the neck. The teeth of the sword dug into its neck and ripped open an artery.
The rat bled to death on the ground, whimpering. It vanished and left behind a tiny Essence crystal. The rats next to the Dungeon landing room were all level 1.
Nero laughed. "So easy. I barely got blood on me."
"Five Essence. We need to kill a ton of rats to recover what we spent. Not to mention your parents."
"We have all the time. Let's see how many rodents we can kill before we get too tired to continue."
For the low-level rats, Nero didn't need to turn on his sword. The dumb critters always attacked the same way, going either for the neck or the calves. Either way, Nero would bait the rat and then bash it with the spiked buckler.
They hunted a lot of rats before stopping to have lunch.