Grant walked around the street aimlessly, trying to find the spot where he had used the Random Roll. The whether made it difficult to pinpoint the exact position, but once he came across the headless corpse of the mutt, he knew he had finally found the right spot.
Since he didn't pay close enough attention to the drop, he began to look for anything that caught his eye and looked out of place. It took a bit longer than it should have, because of the darkness caused by the weather but after a few minutes, he finally came across a box sitting in the middle of the road.
After bending down and picking up the box, Grant had expected to see a notification pop up, but nothing appeared even after a few moments.
Grant became confused and thought that maybe the box wasn't actually his Random Roll drop, but it seemed so out of place in the middle of the street that it was hard to believe it wasn't the drop.
What confused Grant, was that when he had first touched Wet Noodle, he had immediately gotten a notification on what the item was along with a description. And yet, he wasn't getting anything from this box.
[Is this not my item? Why aren't I getting any notifications? Any idea's Sherlock or should I keep looking?]
{The Path will sometimes package new items in containers if your environment is not conducive to receiving said item.}
[Wow, that's... oddly kind of The Path? That just doesn't seem like something The Path would do based on what has happened in the past 12 hours?]
{The Path's emergence is often considered to be cruel but it's purpose is not to make people suffer. It is to make them better.}
[Yeah yeah, whatever. Turn the world into hell on Earth and claim it's not trying to make people suffer, good joke.
Do I get to keep the box though? It's pretty nice! Plus, if I get enough of em, maybe I can build a fort or something!]
{Are you a child? Do you have a smart ass comment for everything?
Anyways, no you don't get to keep the box. The moment your item is removed from the box, the box itself will disappear.}
[Wow Sherlock, when did you get an attitude?
But since you asked! No I'm not and yes I do! You would think that my parents didn't love me enough as a kid or something, but I actually had a pretty good childhood.
There were a few occasions at family gatherings though, where I would say something and my parents would both stare at me for a few moments and then question if I was really their child...
Those were some good times...]
Grant couldn't help but laugh at the memories of those moments.
If anyone could see him standing in the middle of the road, with his head tilted backwards, laughing towards the sky, would have surely thought that he was just a tad bit crazy, if not completely out of his mind.
Imagine some guy, holding a sword in one hand, a box in the other, laughing hysterically to himself while being drenched in rain, surrounded by multiple monster corpses'. It would have made any retreat in fear for their own lives.
Thankfully for Grant though, the darkness hid him from prying eyes. At least most of them.
After having a good laugh at his own expense, Grant decided that it was time to return to his bathroom and figure out what his new item was. Plus, he was sick and tired of being out in the rain with his clothes clung tightly to his body.
The trip back to the gas station was surprisingly uneventful and he was able to avoid any other monsters aside from a few small packs of zombies that were instantly dispatched, with his newfound skill making it easier for him to sense their subtle movements.
Grant wasn't sure what time it was or if the stress of the day was starting to get to him but he was actually starting to get a bit tired, so he was thankful that he made it back to the bathroom without any major issues.
After opening the door and making sure that there were no monsters inside his fortress of solitude, he closed the door and locked it.
Grant momentarily glanced at the corner that was blocked when the door was open, to confirm that his backpack was still there. After seeing that it appeared to have been untouched, Grant finally let the tension ease out from his body.
If his backpack had been stolen, then he would have been forced to hunt down a meal and he just did not have the energy to go back out into the storm.
When he was sure that there was no imminent threat and that his food hadn't run off with someone or something else, Grant walked over to his toilet throne and sat down to try and fully relax.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
While he was sitting on the toilet, he grabbed the box that he had sat down beside himself and moved it onto his lap.
[I wonder what I'll get this time! I would love some armor. I may have a relatively decent weapon, but I need something that will protect my body. The fact that day 1 of this shit hasn't even come to a close yet and I'm already facing level 15 to 19 enemies does not bode well for the future. I don't even want to think about how monsters are growing so quickly. I feel like the answer will not be something I'm ready to hear...]
So, while holding his breath and splendidly ignoring the fact that their was clearly something wrong with the growth of the monsters in the area, Grant opened the box slowly, only to immediately snap it shut.
Grant took a few deep breathes, praying that what he had just seen wasn't actually what he thought it was.
When he had recomposed himself, he opened the box once again. This time forcing himself to open the lid all of the way.
And sure enough, clear as day, inside the box was something made out of the brightest color orange Grant had ever seen. It was that shade of fabric where you look at it for a moment, only to look away because you have the illusion of being blinded.
Grant reached into the box and tugged on the fabric, pulling it out of the box. The moment he touched the fabric, he received the notification confirming that this was in fact, his new item.
{Armor: Tracksuit
Name: Cataclysm Tracksuit of Blinding: Jacket (Set Piece 1 of 2)
Grade: Normal
This is the first of two pieces that make up the Tracksuit of Blinding. Alone this Jacket can protect the user from all attacks below level 10. When combined with Leggings of Blinding the maximum level of attacks avoided, doubles to 20.
Agility +20 & Stamina +10
Extra Skill: Blind
When combined with the Cataclysm Tracksuit of Blinding: Leggings, once per day, the user can activate the skill Blind to rob all enemies currently looking at the target of their vision for 5 seconds. Only works on enemies that have not started on their Path.
Requires no mana to activate.}
While being dazed by the description of the item, Grant glanced down to see if he had somehow received the leggings as well, and sure enough, there was another bright ass orange item still inside the box, which he could only assume were the leggings.
[EXCHANGE!!! I want to exchange!!
Sherlock, seriously man, The Path can't possibly think that anyone is going to wear this, right?!
If I put this on, I basically become a beacon for monsters! I might as well walk outside and yell, "Hey you fugly ass monsters, I'm over here, lets fight!!"]
{You should count your blessings. You have received two items for the price of one roll, as well as protection from every type of attack from monsters below level 20.
This means that should you so desire, you can basically walk head long into a horde of monsters and as long as you avoid being attacked in the neck or head area, you are almost guaranteed to at least be able to escape.}
[Shit! I know you're right but I'm going to look absolutely ridiculous in this thing...
I swear, sometimes it feels like The Path has a vendetta against me and is trying to humiliate me...
I appreciate the added defense of the item, but the ONLY reason I will even consider putting these on is for the extra stats and the extra skill that comes with it.]
After letting out a low growl to vent his frustration, Grant reached into the box and pulled out the second half of the Tracksuit.
{Armor: Tracksuit
Name: Cataclysm Tracksuit of Blinding: Leggings (Set Piece 2 of 2)
Grade: Normal
This is the first of two pieces that make up the Tracksuit of Blinding. Alone these leggings can protect the user from all attacks below level 10. When combined with Leggings of Blinding the maximum level of attacks avoided, doubles to 20.
Agility +20 & Stamina + 10
Extra Skill: Blind
When combined with the Jacket of Blinding, once per day, the user can activate the skill Blind to rob all enemies currently looking at the target of their vision for 5 seconds. Only works on enemies that have not started on their Path.
Requires no mana to activate.}
This time, the description only made Grant wince for a second before he accepted his fate.
He knew that the stats were good, the protection was exactly what he was looking for, and the extra skill could come in extremely handy at some point in the future so he would have no choice but to wear the tracksuit.
After taking a few deep breathes, Grant decided to strip off his wet clothes and put on the tracksuit.
The moment after he had put the jacket and leggings on, two things happened.
First the lighting in the room seemed to increase by a full shade or two. It was like someone had turned on an extra light.
The second, was that a new notification appeared in his vision.
{Armor: Tracksuit
Name: Cataclysm Tracksuit of Blinding (2 of 2 equipped)
Grade: Rare
This Tracksuit allows the user to avoid damage from any enemy attack of level 20 and below.
Agility +50 & Stamina +20
Extra Skill: Blind
Once per day, the user can activate the skill Blind to rob all enemies currently looking at the target of their vision for 5 seconds. Only works on enemies that have not started on their Path.
Requires no mana to activate.}
Before even reading the notification, Grant immediately looked at himself in the mirror that was hung on the wall above the sink, and just as he had suspected, he looked like a giant carrot that was radiating light.
Unfortunately he knew he had no choice but to accept the way the outfit looked because he needed to be more concerned with his survival that his style. But he swore he would avoid any and all contact with other survivors until he could exchange his armor for something different.
He knew that whatever armor he managed to get following the Tracksuit, there was no way it could be worse than the tracksuit itself.
He already looked like an oversized carrot wielding a jet black sword anyways, so unless he somehow pulled out assless chaps or something from his next roll, it would at least be an upgrade visually.
[Well, guess this is going to be my life for the foreseeable future...
Whatever, doesn't matter. I'm exhausted and I need to try and get some sleep..
Before that though I need to check my status. I gained a shit load of extra stats from those mutts and leveled up quite a few times!]
Grant reached down, grabbed a couple of power bars out of his backpack and then muttered under his breathe, "Status."
{Status
Name: Grant Holmes
Level: 15
Race: Human
Path: N/A
Title: N/A
Strength: 60 + 10 | Agility: 58 + 60 | Health: 66 | Stamina: 54 + 20 | Mana: 0
13 Random Rolls
750 Credits
Available Free Stats 30
Skills:
Overclocked Perception (Passive: Level 1)
Blind (Equipment Skill: Level Locked)}
After eating his "dinner" and reading through his stats, Grant had a big smile on his face until he inevitably passed out from boredom and exhaustion.
Tomorrow was going to be a big day, it was time to upgrade from his fortress of solitude to something more luxurious, maybe a closet or something.