Honeypot threw Orion the other onyx ring he had, and Shadow swapped rings with Arika. They inspected them.

Onyx Ring of Heavy Storage

Epic

Capacity: 9,800/10,000kg

A delicate ring that allows for the storage of heavy materials. All materials over ten-kilograms will have their weight reduced by 90%. Do not, under any circumstance, attempt to store this in an inventory or any other storage device.

It’s STILL a glorified bag, dumb-ass… just for heavy shit.

Orion opened the ring, finding only one object listed: Heavy Stone Brick, of which the storage ring held 9800. He did some quick mental-math on the contents of the rings and was astonished.

Assuming each of them were at complete capacity—which they almost were—there would be three-point-three tonnes of alchemy ingredients and potions, and two-hundred tonnes worth of Heavy Stone Bricks.

Orion removed a single brick from his inventory out of curiosity, and his hand was almost smashed into the ground as a forty-kilogram stone slab appeared above his open palm. Luckily, he moved the hand out of the way and his legs shot outwards to avoid the descending stone.

“Uhhh, glorious leader?” Honeypot said with a smile. “You’re supposed to be the smart one. What did you think the forty-kilogram brick would do after you removed it? Ignore gravity?”

Orion returned the brick to the storage ring sheepishly. “Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting—it didn’t list their weight within, but I should have known, given the size of the surrounding bricks. Just be grateful I only removed one.”

“There are 2,500 in this ring. How many are in that one?” Arika asked, raising an eyebrow.

“2450.”

“That would fill the room up with stone…” Arika looked around the relatively small room, then carefully gave the onyx ring she was holding back to Honeypot. “Sooo, it said they were delicate, right? I assume that means if they were to break, the contents would come flying out?”

“So you gave it back to me?” Honeypot demanded. “Why do I have to handle the stone-bomb?”

“Oh,” she said sweetly, “that’s because you’re the most careful and dexterous of us all, Honeypot.”

“Well, when you say it like that, I can see your—hey! You’re just saying that so I carry them!”

“I believe she is, yes,” Orion said.

“You think flattery will work on me?”

“Yes,” they all said in unison, even Gizmo joining in with his soft, humming voice.

“Well, you’re right. Hand over the rings, you silver-tongued scoundrels.” Honeypot accepted all the rings back, putting them on his fingers. “Mind you, I expect multiple, repeated compliments for this act of service. This isn’t a onetime type of deal.”

“You have a very punchable face,” Gizmo said.

Arika laughed, letting out what Orion thought was an adorable snort.

Honeypot looked at Arika askew. “I choose to receive that compliment in the spirit it was given. Thank you Gizmo, you little degenerate.”

“It is my pleasure. Would you like another?”

“Yes, please.”

As Honeypot and Gizmo bantered away, the rest of the party continued checking the room. The rings Honeypot had found came from a small box that was located inside the tea cabinet, but it appeared there was nothing else of interest inside. Orion checked what he assumed had once been different types of tea, but the organic matter now gave the same ‘Unidentifiable Plant Matter’ description when it was inspected. He made sure to inspect each one of them multiple times, just in-case it would annoy the System.

He then made his way over to the table, running his hands along the sturdy wood. If it weren’t for the giant killer monsters that had rampaged through the underground facility, he would’ve assumed this room had seen recent use. A layer of dark lacquer still protected the wood of the table, and he couldn’t see a single mark that marred the surface of it.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Running his hands along the side, he thought he felt something. There was a line, but he couldn’t see it. His fingers followed the line until it ended at a sharp right-angle. He used both hands then, running both of them along the lines that could only be detected by touch. He put his hands flat against the table and pulled back towards himself.

A small section on the top of the table pulled back, revealing a secret compartment hidden in the side of the giant wooden piece of furniture. He peered inside as the rest of the party came over to investigate. There was a small notebook and a handful of pens littered about the compartment. He flicked through the pages of the notebook, coming across a single page that could be read.

Day 1075.

The experiments are starting to present results. Finally.

We have had great success with the scorpion prototype as of last night. We have managed to duplicate and strengthen the pincers on the front of its body, while having no adverse effects present themselves on the subject. This is the first subject that has survived the night after attempting to duplicate and modify part of the body. For the first time, the alchemy of living subjects seems like more than just a dream.

Team Four is currently trying to implement the same procedure but with its stinger. Team One, Two, and Three are still working on the growth of unmodified subjects. Unfortunately, their work has yet to show results.

A notification pulled at Orion’s attention, and he quickly checked it.

Quest updated: The Western Frontier.

Bonus objective: 2 of 2 requirements complete.

Bonus objective has been completed.

Reward: Single-Use Ability Chest. Only one party member may loot this chest, which will grant a new class-based ability. Choose wisely… or be swifter than anyone else.

Personally, I think you’re as wise and swift as a tortoise, so your only chance is your team taking pity on you. Good luck!

Orion dismissed the notification, and everyone’s eyes cleared at the same time. They looked at each other as a chest appeared before them in a flash of golden light. Before Orion had a chance to think about who should open the chest, Shadow spoke.

“Orion should get the chest, right guys?”

“What! You think Orion should get it?” Honeypot stood with a shocked expression on his face, staring at Shadow.

“W-what? He’s the leader, right? Plus, both of his abilities are nuts. Imagine if he had another…”

“Oh, that’s not what I’m shocked about. Orion is obviously the correct choice—but you passing up loot Shadow? That, my friend, is astonishing.”

“Oh, shut up, Honeypot, you blathering idiot.”

Orion watched on as Arika and Honeypot started bickering. He spoke to interrupt them before it could escalate any further.

“Are you guys sure? Am I really the right choice?”

“Yes!” Arika and Honeypot said together, then glared at each other.

“It’s as shadow said.” Honeypot smiled at Orion. “You’re the leader. I don’t even care if you get another ability that teleports stuff. I love those damn things, they’re OP.”

“If I disagree…” Gizmo said, “will you hit me?”

“No?” Orion said.

“What if I agree? Will you hit me then?”

“Also no…”

“Hmmmmm. In that case, I do not care either way. I grow stronger through you.”

“Shouldn’t that make you want to agree with Orion taking the new ability?” Arika cocked her head. “It could strengthen you, too…”

“If I were to get stronger, I may experience less pain. That is not desirable.”

Orion shook his head at the little robot. “You’re sure too, Shadow?”.

“Yep. You’re strategically and morally the best choice. We wouldn’t have made it this far without you.” Shadow looked at the chest longingly. “But if you don’t open that chest in the next five seconds, I may not be able to control myself.”

“Thanks. I just…” Orion rubbed the back of his head, feeling awkward. “Thank you, guys. I really appreciate you all.” Orion walked over to the chest. He reached his hand down and opened it with a mild use of will. A buckle clicked, and it slowly swung open.

New ability: Time Bomb

Tier 1 Level 1

Cooldown: 45 seconds

Using this ability on an enemy will cause that enemy to become marked for 15 seconds. At the end of the duration, the target will take damage equal to [10%] + [0.05% Intellect] of all damage taken while marked. The mark will automatically detonate and execute the target if the remaining health of the target gets lower than the stored damage.

Oh look, you finally got an ability that will do damage. Looks like you still need to freeload off others to make the ability do damage, though… unsurprising, but still disappointing.

Orion read the ability again, and a broad smile came to his face before he had even dismissed the notification.

He checked his stats, seeing that he had thirty-seven base Intellect, boosted to forty-eight by his active and passive titles.

So it will do what… 12.4% of total damage done?

His smile grew even wider as he realized this ability could scale insanely as he continued to level up and collect titles.

“What is it?” Shadow demanded, unable to control his curiosity and pulling Orion from his introspection.

“I have a damaging ability…” Orion laughed as his eyes crinkled in delight. “I have an execute!” He told them the numbers. “And it executes them on the spot if their health goes lower than the stored up damage!”

“Why do you get all the broken abilities? That’s insane!” Shadow matched Orion’s smile. “I knew there would be loot in this underground labyrinth! I knew it!”

Before anyone could respond, the party’s joyous moment was rudely interrupted. Everyone in the party with ears suddenly covered them reflexively and cringed as a deafening screech roared through the room. The strength and primal power of it made Orion want to cower as it rattled his bones.

The mantis is here, Orion thought. No, not just the mantis… the Queen of the Forest.