Monica looked at the three Loot Chests with a raised eyebrow and then looked at the rest of the group, still shaken from Ivor’s sudden death.
“Dotty,” Monica said, making a quick decision. “Open these.”
Monica threw the three Loot Chests from her Inventory to the ground in front of the teenage girl.
“W—what?” Dotty stuttered.
“For you,” Monica smiled. “I don’t need Common equipment if not even my Uncommon Steel Talons can’t pierce the Crystal Wolves. Ted has a mandolin and still hasn’t used it. Those three,” the woman pointed to Tertius, Lucca, and Rochus, “are still on their probationary period. You might be able to cut down the Crystal Wolves thanks to Magic Rend, so I need you to be somewhat protected while you do that. Come on, they’re just Normal Loot Chests. I want to start clearing the Dungeon before making the camp since it’s so close.”
“Just Normal,” Lucca said, sighing. He would have gladly opened the ‘just Normal’ Loot Chests himself.
Monica watched as Dotty approached the three Loot Chests hesitantly. The girl knelt down, touched the first chest, then frowned and turned to Monica.
“It’s asking me whether I want to open all of them at once.”
“It increases the chances of finding linked items,” Ted explained. “Sets of armor, for example.”
“Good then,” Monica smiled at Dotty.
“Very good, dude,” Ted agreed. “Even Normal Loot Chests, if opened together, kinda become more valuable than normal.”
“Maybe I should hoard a few Rare Loot Chests,” Monica thought out loud.
“I mean, dude, you’re one of the few people I’ve ever heard say that,” the young Bard commented.
“Shush,” Monica said. “Dotty, come on.”
The girl took a deep breath and nodded her head. Suddenly, all three Loot Chests opened together and soon after disappeared into motes of light.
Dotty immediately shared the notification she had gotten with Monica.
*Ding*
You obtain: Hardened Leather Armor Set (Common)
The armor materialized in front of Dotty - a complete set of dark brown leather pieces, including a breastplate, greaves, gauntlets, and boots. Despite its Common rarity, the craftsmanship looked solid.
Ted Inspected it for her and relayed the info to the others.
Hardened Leather Armor Set (Common)
Durability: 25/25
Enhancement Slots Available: 0/1
A complete set of leather armor treated with a basic hardening enchantment.
Enchantment #1: Leather Hardening - Increases the armor's normal resistance to physical damage by 125%
“Solid,” Tertius commented. “Nothing fancy, but the wolves shouldn’t be able to tear you apart if you get caught in their maws.
Dotty discarded her old boots and put on the new ones, then helped Monica to don the rest. Soon, she looked much more like a true warrior than a disheveled teenager.
* * *
Monica was two steps behind Dotty as the girl swung wildly at the Crystal Wolf they had found on their way to the Dungeon, guided by Monica’s Quest.
“Right,” Monica said, and Dotty rolled right, avoiding the monster's swiping paw. However, the girl had rolled a little too hard and stumbled as she tried to get up.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Monica stepped forward and jabbed at the monster's snout as it was caught on its backfoot. The blow wasn’t enough to crack the crystal, but it gave enough pause to the monster that Dotty managed to get up.
The girl had been sorely struggling to land even one hit. It was clear that she had no training whatsoever, and even though she had spent time as a Hunter, she hadn’t yet learned not to flinch in battle.
“Just take a wild swipe to make sure your sword can deliver damage,” Monica said as she ducked under a lunge and used her back to push the mid-air monster off-kilter, sending it sprawling to the ground. “You probably need to get some damage. You’re flinching too much. As long as you manage not to fully close your eyes on this one swing, it’s going to be good enough. Squeeze them so that they’re almost closed, but not all the way. That should help.”
Dotty followed Monica’s advice and did as told. This time, as the Wolf swiped at her, she gritted her teeth, narrowed her eyes, and swung.
The wolf’s paw landed on her chest, leaving white gashes over the hardened leather. However, impressively enough, Dotty, who had activated Magic Rend, sliced through the crystal as if it had been wet paper and cut through meat and tendons, stopping at the bone of the monster’s foreleg.
The girl's eyes suddenly widened, but the wolf, whimpering but furious, snapped its jaws at her.
Dotty, distracted, couldn’t do anything.
But a red blur interposed between her and the beast, putting both golden bracers into the beast's mouth, which found it impossible to crunch down.
Not only that, but Monica sounded way more upset than when she had been fighting the other wolf by herself.
“You think you can hurt her while I’m here?” The Phoenix Healer asked with a growl and then, surprising everyone, headbutted the beast on the snout. Not once, not twice, but a dozen times.
Monica covered her own forehead in Obsidian Flame, which softened the crystal on impact and healed the damage she received on every blow with the Golden Flame.
When the Crystal Wolf finally understood that the woman in front of her was clearly going to either kill herself or him, it backstepped, releasing its old since the crystal on its snout had cracked already.
But Monica didn’t let go, shouting.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
She grabbed the head of the creature who swiped its paws ineffectively at her and, holding it in place, headbutted it again and again. The wolf whimpered and whined, trying to get free, swiping at the crazed woman. But any wound it landed on her body was either shielded by the Nightshade Battle Wear or healed by the Golden Flame.
A minute later, the wolf’s skull had been mangled and burned by the bloody redhead, who left the corpse only a good ten seconds after it had died and turned toward scared spectators.
“What?” She asked, blood percolating from her forehead to her chees and lips.
“Dude,” Ted said, flinching. “You look crazy.”
Monica brought a hand to the blood on her face and then looked at Dotty, who stared back with terror in her eyes.
The redhead licked her lips, tasting the metallic pang of blood and finally realizing what had happened.
It’s the kids I saw… my kids.
Monica had avoided focusing on the shard of memory she had received from the System since the System seemed convinced that they were gone, part of a past that was not hers anymore. Focusing on an unattainable past with no consequences in this life made sense to her. But now that she saw how she had reacted when the Crystal Wolf had been about to hurt Dotty, she felt like it was, perhaps, more significant than she had given it credit for.
She had chalked her outburst in the Phoenix Temple, the activation of the Fury of the Phoenix, and the Secondary Effect of Phoenix Feathers up to the fact that children had been involved. But there was no way of denying it anymore.
She was so involved with Dotty and Ronnie because they reminded her of her own children. It didn’t matter how much she tried not to think about this very simple fact.
It was beyond undeniable.
“Fuck,” Monica swore under her breath.
“Dude, are you ok?” Ted asked.
“Yes,” Monica cleared her throat and turned toward the teenager. “Sorry, Dotty. I used to have a daughter. You remind me of her. Seeing you about to be hurt made it… hard to stay calm.”
Everyone was struck by how forward and honest Monica had just been.
“Where’s your daughter now?” Dotty asked innocently but suddenly regretted it when she heard Ted hiss.
Monica didn’t take the question personally but looked sad.
“She’s not here with us. The System showed me my children but said they are gone. It’s not hard to imagine they’re probably gone gone.”
Monica felt a tear coming down her cheek, but when she brushed it away, she saw it was made of blood. She wiped her face, thinking it was the blood from the Crystal Wolves, but even when she had burned it away with the Obsidian Flame, the next tears came bloody again.
“They say you cry blood when your pain is unbearable,” Ted said, stepping beside Monica and awkwardly touching her shoulder.
She looked at Ted with a half-smile, still crying, and found it comical how awkward the young man was being.
Dotty, despite clearly being a girl who is not good at expressing her emotions, acted on impulse and hugged Monica.
Startled, Monica looked at the shorter girl and slowly, tentatively returned the hug. She stayed like that momentarily, closing her eyes, and then heard Ted say something from the side.
“Hey, your tears are clear now.”