Before leaving Kevin’s shop, I sold most of the ore from the mine cart and separated the pieces he needed for my replacement equipment.

Kevin kept the better iron, several chunks of coal, and the small amount of black ore I had extracted from the deeper section of the mine. Selling the rest earned back a fraction of what I had spent over the last two days.

It wasn’t enough to replace my armor, shield, supplies, and dignity, but it was a start.

Ambrosia and I headed to the IMR laboratory.

She had claimed to be less interested when I told her what we would be studying. That changed as soon as we reached an open examination room and I retrieved an intact Cistern Roach from my inventory.

The entire specimen landed across the table.

Ambrosia stared at it. “You brought the whole thing?”

“It fits in my inventory.”

She pulled on a pair of protective gloves and leaned over the specimen. “Let’s see what do we have here…”

The laboratory was quieter than during my previous visit. Most of the examination rooms were empty, leaving us with an entire workbench, several adjustable lamps, and enough instruments to examine the roach without waiting for equipment.

We started with the shell.

Ambrosia ran a gloved finger across the smooth reddish-brown carapace, then tapped it with the handle of a probe.

“Piercing weapons probably aren’t ideal against this.”

“I managed.”

She angled one of the plates beneath the examination lamp. Its surface reflected the light with the same wet shine I had noticed inside the first dungeon.

“The armor is smooth and curved,” she continued. “A thrust that lands at the wrong angle will slide instead of penetrating. Slashing attacks would have the same problem unless the weapon catches beneath an overlapping plate.”

“So aim for the seams, underside, or head.”

“Or crush it.”

“Kevin would approve.”

Ambrosia scraped a small sample from the shell’s surface and transferred it into a glass dish.

“There’s a wax coating over the carapace.”

“Useful?”

“Possibly. It keeps moisture inside the body and prevents water from clinging to the shell.”

“Could we put it on armor?”

“Not as armor.” She glanced toward my borrowed shield. “A refined coating might make a shield more water-resistant and reduce friction across its surface. Mandibles, claws, and glancing weapon strikes could slide instead of catching.”

“How much would that help?”

“Not enough to make you invincible.”

“Still useful.”

She collected several more samples before moving on to the antennae.

Each one was longer than my arm. Ambrosia examined the base where it joined the head, then traced its length toward the narrow tip.

“The antennae may be the better target.”

“For damage?”

“For disruption. Cockroaches rely heavily on them to detect movement, obstacles, air currents, food, and chemical signals. These are much larger and more developed than anything a normal roach should have.”

“So cutting them off blinds it?”

“Not exactly. It would still have eyes, and it could feel vibrations through its legs. Destroying both antennae should make it slower to react and much worse at navigating tight spaces.”

That explained how the swarm could race through the dark tunnels without constantly colliding with the walls.

We continued sorting the roach materials. Most of the broken carapace could be sold to crafters, although Ambrosia warned that it would become brittle once it dried completely. The shell might be useful in powders, coatings, and composite materials, but it wasn’t a direct replacement for metal or properly treated monster hide.

“So I shouldn’t build another shield out of roach shells?”

“You can, but I’d prefer to stand somewhere far away when you test it.”

“Noted.”

The intact specimen also contained several small organs that hadn’t appeared among the loot from the other roaches. Two dark glands sat near the rear of the abdomen, protected beneath overlapping plates.

Ambrosia carefully removed them and sealed each inside a glass container.

“What do those do?”

“I think they produce chemical signals.”

“Pheromones?”

“Most likely.”

She held one container toward me.

“If you disguise yourself with another dead roach, rub a small amount of this over the outside of your armor.”

I loosened the stopper and immediately regretted it.

The smell was concentrated dead roach mixed with stagnant grease and something sour enough to sting the back of my throat. I sealed the container again.

“That is horrible.”

“The roaches might disagree.”

“They can have it back.”

Ambrosia laughed. “The scent might help mask you as part of the colony. We would need to test it.”

“You want me to find out whether this makes them ignore me or eat me?”

“You’re the one who already dressed as one.”

“That was an emergency.”

She pushed the sealed glands toward me. “Then add these to your collections.”

I stored them in my inventory, where I could no longer smell them.

The most interesting discovery came from the legs.

Ambrosia cut through the thin membrane surrounding one of the joints and exposed a reinforced chamber beneath it. The structure contained muscle, but it also connected to a narrow internal sac filled with dark fluid.

She examined another leg, then a third.

“That’s strange.”

“Strange by giant sewer-roach standards?”

“These joints are partially pressure-assisted.”

“Hydraulic?”

“Not completely. Muscles still control the legs, but the fluid chambers appear to help extend them and support the creature’s weight. A real cockroach doesn’t work like this.”

“That might explain how something that large moves so quickly.”

“And why the legs keep moving after its HP reaches zero.” She pressed the joint with the probe. “The nervous system may continue sending signals, while the pressure inside these chambers allows the limbs to respond after the main body has taken fatal damage.”

“So how do we stop that?”

Ambrosia looked back toward the shell sample.

“The joints are protected by thinner membranes and the same waxy coating. If we strip away the wax and dry the membrane, it should stiffen. Fine abrasive powder might also work into the joint and increase friction.”

“Can you make something that does that?”

“Maybe.”

She opened a blank recipe window on her portable UI.

“I would need finely ground quartz, sand, starch powder, and tree resin.”

“Those are supposed to dry it out?”

“The quartz and sand would abrade the protective coating. The starch would absorb and hold moisture, while a small amount of powdered resin would help the mixture cling to wet joints instead of washing away.”

“So we throw it at them?”

“Eventually. First, I need to make sure the powder doesn’t blind us, choke everyone nearby, or become useless the moment it touches the water.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

“You sound disappointed.”

“I was hoping for a bomb.”

“It would still be delivered in a breakable flask.”

“Close enough.”

She saved the preliminary formula.

Experimental Joint-Drying Compound

Most of its effects were still listed as unknown.

“I’ll look for the materials,” I said.

“Bring more than you think I need. The first batch probably won’t work.”

The drying compound might slow individual roaches, but it wouldn’t solve the larger problem of an entire swarm.

That brought us back to Sulfurblast. The explosive force could crack their shell plates, while the fire spread through exposed seams and thinner membranes. Against a tightly packed group, it would probably work far better than trying to stab every roach individually.

Ambrosia wrote down a sulfurblast formula beside the unfinished drying compound.

I gave it a quick glance. “We should turn Sulfurblast into a grenade!”

“Of course…” said Ambrosia.

By the time we finished sorting everything, we had occupied two workbenches and part of the floor beside them.

Ambrosia told me to reserve several pairs of glands for research. Even after setting those aside, I still had several bags of usable shell, spare antennae, leg segments, and lower-quality glands that could be sold to crafters, alchemists, or anyone willing to experiment with them.

Only the pieces contaminated by sewage, badly damaged by fire, or already beginning to decompose went into the laboratory disposal system.

The haul wouldn’t replace everything I had lost, but it should recover a meaningful amount of money.

For someone who had claimed not to be interested, Ambrosia had become remarkably difficult to pull away from the examination table.

“What are you doing later?” I asked.

She sealed the final sample container. “I wanted to upgrade my armor before we went back to Viridian Basin.”

“Perfect. I know exactly where to go.”

“I was thinking about asking Kevin for full plate.”

I pictured Ambrosia trying to climb through tangled roots in a complete suit of iron armor while carrying bags of plants and gardening tools.

“You would last ten minutes.”

“It has the highest defense.”

“You would sink into the first patch of mud.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“Look at Zamira’s work first. If you hate it, you can always go back to Kevin and ask him to build you an iron box.”

Ambrosia narrowed her eyes but followed.

A short while later, we arrived at Zamira’s shop.

She looked up from behind the counter. “Back so soon?”

“I was hoping the armor would last a little longer…”

“You returned after one day.” Her eyes traveled over the damaged armor I had yet to remove. “I assume this wasn’t planned.”

“Not remotely.”

She noticed Ambrosia standing behind me.

“You brought a friend.”

“Better. I brought a customer.”

“A customer?” Ambrosia looked at me. “I haven’t decided anything.”

“Show her your finest leather, Zamira. I’m sure you can change her mind.”

Zamira studied Ambrosia’s light equipment, herb pouches, and the dirt still caught around the edges of her boots.

“What do you usually do?”

“Herbology, gardening, gathering, and some alchemy.”

“Viridian Basin?”

“We’re planning to go back.”

Zamira disappeared into the rear of the shop and returned a moment later. She pulled the cloth from one of the mannequins.

The design was lighter than anything she had made for me.

A fitted cream-colored leather jacket formed the base, reinforced along the seams and fastened down the front with dark leather loops. The open neckline allowed room to move, while a short green mantle wrapped around the shoulders and continued into an asymmetrical cloak hanging along one side of the body.

A single engraved pauldron protected the right shoulder. Decorated leather bracers covered the forearms, while tall reinforced boots rose almost to the knees, their surfaces marked with curling patterns resembling vines.

Several belts crossed the waist, supporting small pouches, tool loops, specimen containers, and space for harvesting knives. Layered green panels fell over fitted brown trousers, leaving the legs free for climbing roots, crossing streams, or running from whatever lived beneath the canopy.

The greens ranged from deep moss to fresh leaves, while the pale leather kept the outfit from becoming one shapeless block of color.

Ambrosia stepped closer.

“It has pockets.”

Zamira adjusted one of the pouches. “Eight.”

Ambrosia’s expression changed immediately. “How much?”

“Three thousand credits.”

Ambrosia hesitated.

Zamira glanced at me. “For Cloud’s friend, two thousand.”

Ambrosia slowly turned toward me.

“Are you sure she isn’t charging me extra because you destroyed the armor she made?”

“I think this might be the discounted price.”

“That didn’t answer the question.”

Zamira remained perfectly serious. “His fee is separate.”

I looked away. “Probably.”

Ambrosia sighed and opened her portable UI.

“Fine. Please note for future reference that Cloud and I are not that close!”

The credit transfer completed.

I stared at the amount. “You had two thousand credits?”

“Yes.”

“Since when are you rich?”

“I’m not rich.”

“Did they add pay-to-win while I was underground?”

“No. I made it from gardening.”

“What have you been growing? Flowers with leaves made of gold?”

“Normal flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Almost nobody wants to spend hours maintaining a garden, so the prices are good.”

I thought about the hours I had spent being attacked, chased by roaches, burned by a cockatrice, and washed through a sewer.

“I could have been growing vegetables.”

“You would fall asleep.”

“That is not the point.”

Zamira cleared her throat, drawing our attention back to her.

“Now that the purchase is complete, perhaps Cloud can explain what actually happened inside the dungeon.”

She walked to the door, closed it, and turned the sign from OPEN to CLOSED.

“That’s one of the reasons I came,” I admitted.

“You fought it, didn’t you?”

I gestured toward the warped black-iron plate and missing sections of leather.

“These didn’t come from roaches.”

“So the reports are true. There is a cockatrice moving through the first dungeon.”

“Other players have seen it?”

“A few. Most saw only fire or part of its silhouette before retreating. None of the accounts I heard involved an actual fight.”

“How come there aren’t any clips on the global feed?”

Zamira opened her portable UI and showed us an image.

The tunnel, pipes, and distant torchlight were all visible. The creature standing in the center was not. A distorted black shape covered its body, as though someone had smeared the image while leaving everything around it untouched.

The picture had been taken from far enough away that the photographer had probably escaped before Aureophis noticed them.

“That looks intentional,” I said.

“I thought the same thing. Every image and recording has the same distortion.”

“So the system doesn’t want us recording it.”

“Or something about the creature interferes with the portable UI.”

Ambrosia leaned closer. “That would explain why everyone keeps calling it a dragon.”

Zamira closed the display.

“How much do you know?”

“Before I answer, how large is the discount on my replacement armor?”

“The amount of information you share is directly related to the generosity of the discount.” She glanced over what remained of my equipment. “Especially since this is technically a repurchase.”

“I wasn’t planning to hide anything. One player isn’t enough to defeat it. We’ll need a full party, possibly several.”

“But you survived.”

“Barely.”

“And the flood you caused had something to do with that.”

I looked at her. “You worked that out?”

“You entered from the flooded side of the swarm wearing equipment damaged by something much stronger than a roach. It wasn’t difficult.”

“Please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want half the others reporting me for dropping a swarm on them.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

Ambrosia folded her arms. “I already knew.”

“You found out an hour ago.”

“It still counts.”

I opened the map and projected it above the counter.

“It was [Lv25. Aureophis - the Last Song]. There was a golden crown beside its name tag.”

“A boss marker,” Zamira said.

“Probably. It could be the boss of the first dungeon, or a hidden boss controlling part of it.”

“What abilities did you see?”

“It breathes fire, and its scream slows anything that hears it.”

Zamira considered that. “I’m surprised you weren’t petrified. That’s usually the thing with cockatrices.”

“Tell me about it. I spent the entire fight avoiding its eyes.”

“How much damage did you deal?”

“Very little. I attacked the softer areas and used the environment, but its health bar barely moved.”

“You know some bosses scale according to the number of players involved,” Zamira said.

“I’ve played games like that.”

“You may have fought its weakest version.”

I looked at her. “Bringing more people could make it stronger?”

“It’s possible. More health, stronger attacks, additional mechanics, or more frequent abilities. We won’t know until someone tests it.”

“Wonderful. The easy version was already hard enough..”

Zamira leaned against the counter. “The slow and fire together will make a prolonged fight difficult.”

“The slowing effect might stack too,” I said. 

“How large is it?” Ambrosia asked.

“About the size of a school bus, with massive wings and a long snake tail.”

“You fought that inside a tunnel?”

“Yeah. It was surprisingly agile for something that large. There wasn’t enough room to dodge, and its wings nearly filled the passage whenever it spread them.”

“A larger arena would give us more room to move,” Zamira said, “but it would also give Aureophis room to use its full body.”

“Exactly.”

I enlarged the section of the map surrounding the cavern.

“Speaking of larger spaces, I think I found its den.”

The marker indicated the cavern where I had first encountered it. Nearby tunnels extended into unmapped darkness, including the route through which the flood had carried Aureophis.

Zamira studied the projection for several seconds.

“This is useful.”

“Discount useful?”

“You’ve earned a substantial discount.”

I released a breath. “Good. I’m almost broke again.”

“That is becoming a pattern,” said Ambrosia.

“I also need another armor set.”

“Do you want the same design?”

“For general use, yes. Against Aureophis, I need something with fire resistance.”

“Normal leather won’t survive repeated exposure to that much heat.”

“Kevin said the same thing.”

Zamira expanded a different section of her map.

“You may find what you need in the southern parts of Viridian Basin.”

Clouded terrain covered most of the region, but Zamira’s explored route extended much farther south than mine. Beyond the dark forest Ambrosia and I had explored, the terrain changed into dense lowland forest broken by wetlands, swampy ground, and a broad river cutting through the middle.

“There’s a river in Viridian Basin?”

“A large one.”

“My map looked like it ended beyond the dark forest.”

“It doesn’t. The regional boundary expands only when you reach the southern section. Most players turn back before crossing the deeper canopy, so they assume the visible map is the entire zone.”

“What’s near the river?”

Zamira closed the map. “You’ll find out when you get there.”

“That’s all you’re giving me?”

“I gave you the route. I’m not giving you every answer too.”

She sent me her map data.

“Follow the route I marked and my pin. It should lead you south toward the river without getting lost.”

I accepted the transfer.

A narrow explored path appeared across the clouded section of my minimap. Everything beyond it remained hidden.

“Thanks.”

“Consider it payment for the boss information.”

I enlarged the route in front of Ambrosia.

“Ready for another adventure?”

She studied the path stretching deep into the clouded terrain. “Maybe. That’s a long way beyond where we went last time.”

“It gets more dangerous farther south,” Zamira said. “I recommend six players.”

Ambrosia looked at me. “Six?”

“Where am I supposed to find five more people?”

“That is your problem,” Zamira said.

She closed the map.

“I need to discuss the raid with my guildmates. Ajax and his crew may also be interested.”

“Ajax?”

“The shield user you met at the entrance.”

“The large man with the large shield?”

“That’s him.”

“I don’t think I saw his face.”

Zamira smiled. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him without his helmet.”

“So what happens now?”

“We prepare. I want to attempt the boss this weekend.”

“This weekend?”

“It’s already Monday. That gives us less than a week.”

“And you’re planning a raid based on one fight and some blurry pics?”

“I’m planning a meeting. The raid happens after.”

“How many people?”

“Three parties at most.”

“Six players each?”

“Yes. My guild can field one party. Ajax may bring another. You’ll be responsible for filling yours.”

A notification appeared in front of me.

[Zamira sent you a friend request]

[Accept] 

I looked at Ambrosia.

She immediately shook her head. “Why are you looking at me?”

“You already bought the outfit.”

“For Viridian Basin.”

“Which may contain the materials we need for Aureophis.”

“That doesn’t automatically put me in a boss raid.”

“Too late.”

Zamira continued before Ambrosia could argue further.

“I don’t want to bring a massive crowd without understanding the scaling. If Aureophis grows stronger with every additional player, throwing fifty people into the cavern could make the fight impossible.”

“It could kill half the raid with one attack,” I said.

“Exactly. Three coordinated parties are enough for the first attempt.”

“And if Ajax pulls out?”

“My guild and whoever you manage to recruit.”

I stared at the map, then at my borrowed iron shield.

“First attempts are always rough.”

Zamira turned the shop sign back to OPEN.

“Prepare to wipe.”