Jax was currently standing in front of a cave entrance, staring blankly at a perfectly maintained stone door, on hinges and everything. It was stone, crude-looking, and yet it sat on hinges, like a door past the caveman era, where any door made of stone and on hinges was a carved masterpiece, as the concept of hinges was invented well after wooden doors.

Shaking his head, Jax went to open the door, and a System message popped up.

Enter the dungeon “Crypt of Conitidus”? YES/NO

Without much thought, Jax just nodded, mentally tapping “YES”. A moment later, Jax blinked as he had just popped into another area entirely. Jax blinked a few more times, looking around. “What the fuck…” he muttered as he realised he had just been teleported.

Jax stayed there for a moment, then just shrugged. At this point in the IE, Jax had seen enough crazy shit that he kind of just stopped getting too hung up over “impossible” things happening.

Instead, Jax decided to do something useful: ready his sword and shield as he took stock of his surroundings. Because of what Jax knew of dungeons, assuming what he knew applied, and the general vibe of the place, Jax felt like something dangerous was lurking around the corner. Probably on the other side of the door that was directly where he had been facing when he appeared in the room.

He currently stood in the center of a small room, with only torches on the wall to illuminate the area. But, they were contributors to the unsettling vibe of the place, considering the flames that burned in the torches was not the familiar red, or even the semi-common blue flame. Instead, it was a gray flame. It was dull gray, to be specific, and Jax was flummoxed about how that dull color was producing light… Whatever. Jax popped his shield up, a stance [Sword and Shield] gave him a feeling he should use, as well as how to use it.

Jax went forward, seeing nothing of interest in the room except the door and a placard on the door. Warily, Jax read the sign, which was definitely not written in English, but Jax still had no problem reading.

Should you stand here, that means that the great and powerful Kingdom of Conititus has fallen. This crypt is where the sacred bodies of the blessed royals lay, to never be disturbed. I warn thee, tactless heathen: Take whatever riches you see, spread about the place. But should you dare to even let your foul breath grace his Holiness’ skin, you will know regret.

Jax frowned, “Tactless heathen…” he mumbled, more confused than offended. It sounded like whoever wrote this message was under the impression he was here to steal the belongings of the royal family, which wasn’t too inaccurate.

One of the laws Jax had never fully understood was taking the belongings of dead people. Sure, it was obviously insensitive, but they obviously wouldn’t need it anymore, and the items would just spoil if left.

Jax wasn’t going to start robbing a bunch of graves, but one or two wouldn’t hurt. May as well start here, right? The only minor hang-up Jax had was the warning at the end, but that was probably just a bluff. Still, Jax would heed the warning, unless he saw something particularly valuable. Then he would see if it truly would make him regret it.

Jax pushed the door open, revealing an incredibly long hallway, with the walls lined with recesses where it looked like skeletons lay. Jax opened his eyes wide, as the floors had piles of gold, silver, gems, and artifacts strewn about, creating a display of wealth Jax had never seen before.

Jax would be lying if he said he didn’t feel slightly greedy at the sight of all these treasures, but he reeled himself in. After all, he couldn’t really transport that much anyways, since he didn’t even have a bag. What mainly pulled his attention, though, was the skeletons.

More specifically, the items that adorned them. Jax walked to the closest one, which had its hands crossed over its chest, a sword in hand. Jax Identified it.

[Ancient Spore-Sword(Rare)]: A sword from ancient times, wielded by a powerful king of the Conitidus Kingdom. Few could match his powerful and soporific magic, which centralized spores and parasitism to fell his foes. It has lost much of its power and effects. Enchantments: Soporific Bite, Lifesteal.

Jax then noticed a crown on its head.

[Conitidus Crown of the Spore King(Legendary)(derelict)]: A once-great crown that belonged to the Spore King, the last king of Conitidus. Before it succumbed to dereliction, it was a powerful artifact that granted immense power based on his people’s belief in the king. Now, it is a chunk of metal that will crumble to dust if ever disturbed. Enchantments: Rightful Ruler, Sword of Conitidus

Jax considered taking the sword, but it didn’t look terribly durable, so he decided to err on the side of caution, heeding the warning of the sign. Jax decided to continue down the hall, his objective to clear the place and check for anything else, like traps, good treasure, or even people.

Uneventfully, Jax walked all the way down the hall, wary the entire time, and reached a door similar to the one he’d entered the hall through. Identically to the first one, there was a sign.

Past this door lies the remains of the First King, Brailken von Conitidus. Any who step past this door without the King’s Artifact will be eviscerated. Stand here, and consider your worthlessness before the bones of the High Holiness.

Jax twitched, coming to the conclusion that whoever wrote these messages was a loon. Jax decided not to enter just yet, the whole King’s Artifact bit seeming less like a bluff and more like an actual, if magical, defense system. First, he would investigate the entire crypt hall, hoping that maybe the Artifact was on some random past-king.

Jax continued down the hall, checking each skeleton, Identifying every item. Every single one had a crown, and Jax noted how they were all derelict, while the weapons were mostly around Rare, trending down in rarity as Jax went away from the Spore King, who was the last Conitidus King, as far as he could tell.

Some weapons were derelict, too, and they were toward where the first king was behind the door, which Jax was gathering from the many Identify uses. Each item offered a bit of insight into the kingdom’s history. Unfortunately, there was no artifact.

Jax was making one last round of the hall, still not touching the skeletons, when he heard something. “Psst, over here.” a voice called from the room Jax entered from. Warily, Jax slowly approached the door, shield raised. He grabbed the door with his sword arm and pulled it open, scanning the inside of the room. Holding it open with a foot in the door, Jax looked around, seeing nothing.

“Hello? Who’s there?” He called, thinking maybe another person had ventured into the dungeon. Jax was slowly advancing into the room, tension filling him more and more. Jax was nearly inside the room, considering if he was going nuts, when a small form shot directly at Jax’s face. He raised the shield quickly, but never felt the impact. Jax peeked out from behind the shield, then stumbled back into the partly open door, nearly falling.

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A floating skull, with two pale green flames in its eye sockets, was floating there, looking right at Jax. “Howdy!” It yelled jovially, Jax disturbed by the sight. An incredulous and wary expression on his face, Jax stepped forward shield at the ready.

“W…what are you?...” Jax asked tentatively, unsure if the friendly skull was sapient, even though it seemed that way.

The skull floated back and up, as if taken aback while the flames expanded in its eyes, as if in surprise, “WHAT!?!? First off, how rude! Second, do you truly not know who I am? Perhaps I’m missing an extremity or five since my hayday, but surely you should still recognize me, right?”

Jax twitched, “How the hell would I recognize a skull. They’re all nearly identical. Also, I meant that more like ‘how the fuck is a skull floating in front of me, talking and acting like this is normal.’”

The skull swayed, “What a genius. If you weren’t a witless dullard, you would recognize my fantastic flames. Only one person who makes ‘em like that in all of Conitidus: Graverobber Nikkiiii!!!!” The skull, who Jax assumed was this Nikki character, shouted, looking upward with slits for flames, Jax imagining he was making a face.

“Ok… What do you want? Why did you call me over?” Jax asked, staying true to his mantra of “expect nothing, prepare for everything.” He tried rolling with the talking skull as best he could.

Nikki shook violently, “Truly, how dumb are you?! I’m an undead, genius! I can’t go near Ghostflame!” Jax twitched again at the insulting skull. He assumed this ghost flame was the gray fire that lined the hall, as well as one corner of the starting room, which Jax just now noted the skull having not gotten close to the entire time.

“First off, stop calling me dumb; I’m new to this entire System, with all its magic, stats, and death. Second, answer my goddamn question.” Jax asked, stepping forward with a slightly raised blade. The reason he moved with such confidence was a simple Identify.

[Skull-Bound(lvl - 1)]

The skull’s eye-flames widened, “WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA!!! I’m sorry I’m sorry! I need you to grab something for me!”

Jax relaxed his posture, still keeping his shield ready, “What do you need, and why should I get it for you?”

Nikki stopped shaking, “I need the Conitidus Crown of Duskborn Outcasts. If you promise to get it for me, I will give you the King’s Artifact, which will let you loot whatever else you’d like from this place. All I need is that crown. So, you interested?”

Jax felt Nikki’s sincerity, or atleast he hoped he did, and nodded. “Ok, where is this crown? Also, I’ve been in there, all the crowns are derelict, which seems to mean to mean they’ll just crumble if touched.”

Nikki bounced up and down in the air, “Of course the crowns are derelict: they belong to dead kings and queens! But not to worry! Any good graverobber has talent in restoring derelict crowns. Also, the crown I want is with the first king, belonging to one of his seven princes. It should be easy to find, because it gives off potent dusk energy. Even weakened, I’m sure it still gives some off, so look for that.”

Jax shook his head, “I don’t know how to sense energy. I don’t even think I can…”

Nikki, once again, looked incredulous, “But… Wait, no way… Say, are you integrating into the multiverse right now?”

Jax nodded, “Mhm, only been here for three weeks, give or take a few days. I only evolved to F-grade a few days ago, where I picked up a magic sense enhancing skill, even though I still can’t sense it. I don’t think I’m able to.”

Nikki started laughing hysterically, and Jax felt slightly self-conscious. Was he supposed to be able to?

“An… an elf who can’t sense magic…” That was all Nikki managed before breaking into laughter again.

Jax shook his head, “Since I can’t sense magic, I guess you don’t need me. Bye.” Jax turned and shoved the door open, hoping the skull would just shut up and explain things properly.

“Settle down, it isn’t your fault, I just find the notion absolutely hilarious. An elf, one of the most magic-attuned races in the multiverse, often capable of basic magic before even being able to talk, is unable to even sense the natural energies in the air. If you’ll bear with me for a moment, I’ll teach you. It shouldn’t be difficult, especially if you got a skill for it.” Nikki said placatingly. Jax sighed, turning back around.

Nikki just came right up to Jax’s head level, only a few feet away. “Okay, sensing magic is about as easy as breathing, though I suppose it would be difficult to say that to someone who has lived mostly without mana. It's like teaching someone who only recently acquired lungs and didn’t need to breathe how to breathe, which is quite accurate, because that is far more common than your case, and is necessary so they can begin to smell things.

“Anyways, look into my eyes. They look like normal, albeit green flames to you, right? Well, look closer. Imagine your sight leaving your eyes, like a drone, and peering through the flames to better understand it on a sub-atomic layer.” Nikki said, and Jax was already starting to feel something the more he tried. It wasn’t sight, but that seemed the best way to describe it. In fact, it was kind of like how he saw the System screens…

And just like that, the world exploded to Jax. He stumbled back, away from the blinding mixture of black and green energies within the skull, and even the mixture in the air. There was ambient gray floating around, mostly still, like the air. Brown and gray were mixed in the stonework and metalwork, utterly unmoving, like earth and metal.

That was where the easy ones ended though. The torch had some green wood energy in the shaft, but the ends got complicated. It was a tiny amount of red fire energy, then a massive amount of a tumultuous mixture of golden-white and smoky black, seemingly at war and never mixing.

Jax’s normal sight was absolutely unchanged, but the world had a new depth to it that was hard to describe. He looked at Nikki, holding gratitude to the skull-bound. “That’s… enlightening. What is that ghost-flame? Most of the energies around seem pretty obvious what they are, but the flames are…–”

Nikki bounced up and down, “A mixture of life and death mana, which is stabilized in pursuit of one goal: forcing undead to one side or the other. Undead like myself have many advantages, but the big downside is that the System is all about balance, and since it couldn’t interfere too directly with the abilities of the undead, it simply made a new mana affinity that is, quite frankly, only possible due to the System. It is known as Bane-affinity, as it is quite the bane to anything that is neither alive nor dead.”

Jax nodded, deciding to get back to the task at hand, “Alright. Either way, I still don’t know what dusk energy looks like.”

Nikki just began emitting an orangish-brown glow, dark and mute. He saw this with his new sense, and it wasn’t very strong, but Jax assumed this was it. “This is what the dusk affinity looks like. The Duskborn crown is the only dusk-affinity crown, so there should be no issues. Now, here’s the artifact.” As he said that, something came out from behind his eye-flames, out the bottom of the skull. Jax just snatched the item, a badge of sorts, and Identified it as he walked to the other end of the hall.

[King’s Artifact(unique)]: A crest depicting the insignia of both Conitidus and its first king. Grant’s its holder authority and access without limit. Enchantments: Unbreakable, King’s Blessing

Jax just walked to the other end of the hall, once more arriving at the door. Jax was almost completely confident the skull-bound wasn’t playing any games, but he still held a small aprehension because he couldn’t be completely sure.

But, once he thought about it a little bit more, Jax shrugged. The skull was pretty transparent about what it wanted and what it would give in exchange, so Jax just decided to try and get the crown quickly. Maybe the skull would just leave after he got his crown.

Jax walked inside, and was put on edge immediately. The skeletons weren’t laying down like they should have been. There were eight skeletons, seven standing in an arch in front of a more imposing skeleton. They all wore crowns, and they all bore aged swords–except one with a dagger–with tattered and rusted armor.

Jax cursed his luck, and cursed Nikki.