“Look, I’m all for looting the dead, but do you have to—holy shit!”

I jerked back a step as Aerion plunged her hand into the dead warrior’s chest.

“The hell are you doing, Aerion!?”

Her fingers came away not with blood and guts, but with a small marble. In fact, her hand had gone through his body like it was paper…

“A Soul Crystal,” Aerion murmured, pocketing the orb. “When the gods bestow us Boons and Blessings, a crystal forms within us.”

“Like the Obsidian Troll back on the fifth floor,” I said, trying to make sense of this new revelation. “What does it do?”

Aerion shrugged. “People sometimes use them when crafting items, but mostly the rich use them as jewelry.”

“Uh, seriously?” I asked. “Monsters I get, but you’re telling me people go around wearing the souls of people on their necks?”

“Not living souls,” Aerion replied. “Just dead ones.”

Dead… Souls? Yeah, I was gonna have to look into that.

“Still… That’s like wearing someone’s ashes, isn’t it? Or their teeth. It’s… weird. And honestly? A little fucked up.”

“I suppose,” Aerion said. “I never thought I’d be in a position to obtain one. Regardless, this will help pay for our expenses once we’re out.”

I paused, happy she was planning her future with both of us in mind. Still, the practice struck me as incredibly weird, and a bit callous given her heartfelt reaction earlier.

I had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last instance of culture shock I’d have. I probably needed to open my mind up for what was to come.

But before we could worry about what happened outside, I needed to make some decisions.

“This gear… Most of it is melted to hell, but it actually looks like some bits made it out alright.” I said, noting the cuirass on one of the dead delvers. Of course, a flame-resistant cuirass wasn’t enough to protect the rest of his body, but it’d at least offer some protection. I might even get a useful ability out of it.

The same went for the spear the charred corpse clutched in its blackened hand.

“Whatever survived must have incredible flame resistance,” Aerion remarked.

“Which would come in handy against a fire-breathing dragon…”

There was just one problem.

Essence Utilization: 86/100

I was already above my 15% safety margin, which meant I’d have to scrap something to make this happen.

The decision of what to scrap was thankfully easy in this case. My Wooden Board Shield was at 15/100 Condition, and my mangled iron arming sword was at a paltry 2. The thing was so bent, I couldn’t use it in a fight, anyway.

Luckily, neither of those bestowed any stats, so I wouldn’t lose much by chucking them. I really hated the idea of not having a weapon, but I doubted anything other than a sledgehammer would do me much good against that dragon. Armor, on the other hand, might just save my life.

Once I got a backpack, things would be different. I could carry around more stuff, and I figured higher rarity gear would last longer, so it was likely that only crappy [Common] gear would have this issue.

“Whatever you do, be quick about it,” Aerion said. “We’ve wasted precious time already. Time we will need to escape.”

“Right,” I said. The insanely hot magma chamber made it hard to forget we were in the enemy’s lair, but I appreciated the reminder anyway.

Placing the shield on the ground, I stomped on it a few times before realizing this was getting me nowhere.

If only I had a… Hang on.

“Magma… obviously,” I muttered, picking up the shield. “Too bad it’s not a ring, huh?”

“What are you on about?” Aerion asked.

I chuckled. “Nothing. Besides, I don’t want to lose a finger.”

Aerion looked at me like I’d gone crazy. That was alright.

I marched up to the precipice like Frodo at Mt. Doom and hurled the shield into the air, watching it fall all the way to the handy recycling chamber far below.

Its condition plummeted to zero almost immediately after coming into contact with the magma.

Wooden Board Shield [Common] has been destroyed. 5 Essence Reclaimed.

It caught fire, and soon, there wasn’t any trace it’d existed at all.

“Is that handy, or what?” I asked, throwing my sword into the magma pit as well.

Iron Arming Sword [Common] has been destroyed. 7 Essence Reclaimed.

I stepped back from the edge and wiped the sweat off my forehead, thinking how convenient it would be if I could carry around a magma chamber with me.

Maybe someday.

Losing no time, I unlatched the cuirass off the corpse and worked it loose, doing my best not to look at the poor warrior’s charred remains.

Aerion helped to remove their gauntlets, and soon, I had a pair of gauntlets, a spear, and a long cuirass laid out before me.

I knelt down, touched the cuirass, and thought the magic word.

Initialize.

Initialize [Stainless Steel Cuirass]? 99% chance to successfully Initialize [Common] armor. Essence Cost: 8. Current Utilization: 74/100

For the longest time, I’d been annoyed at not seeing my current utilization every time I Initialized something—then I remembered I could customize my interface. It now showed how much Essence I had, in addition to the cost.

I confirmed. The armor glowed, and the black soot that covered it flaked away, revealing an excessively shiny piece of armor.

Stainless Steel Plate Cuirass [Common]

Now we’re talking! In this snazzy armor, you can be your very own mirror! Be warned! You’ll also blind everyone near you when walking around in broad daylight. All bling, no bite? Not quite. It’s well-made and rust-resistant, even if it is a bit softer than regular steel. Doesn’t melt as easily, either.

Essence Cost: 8

Condition: 75/75

Stats:

— Vigor: 2

— Grace: 2

— Order: 1

Abilities:

— Minor Flame Resist (Foundation - 0): Protects the wearer from heat and burns.

Stainless Steel Gauntlets [Common]

Shiny gauntlets! A bit soft, but it won’t rust, and you can walk around in style. Doesn’t melt as easily as regular steel. Does armor get any better than this? (Yes. Yes, it does).

Essence Cost: 4

Condition: 35/35

Stats:

— Vigor: 1

— Dominion: 2

Abilities:

— Minor Flame Resist (Foundation - 0): Protects the wearer from heat and burns.

I whistled. As far as hauls went, this was no slouch. And I hadn’t even Initialized the spear! Not that I would. I was sitting at 86/100 right now—just above the 15% threshold I liked to keep for emergencies. Still, I could always initialize it later.

Just like Aerion’s new weapon.

“That work for you?” I asked, eyeing Aerion heft the steel shortsword she’d found.

“It’s a bit heavier and longer than what I’m used to, but I believe so,” she said.

“Good, because I'd love to get you using an ax or a maul eventually,” I said. “With that Dominion stat, other weapons are wasted on you.”

“I see,” Aerion replied, eyeing her new weapon skeptically.

“Alright, I think we’ve loitered long enough,” I said. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Wait,” Aerion replied. “Just… let me perform his last rites?”

I raised a brow, wondering why she was performing his last rites after she’d defiled his chest and pocketed his soul to sell for profit… but sure. Okay.

“Go right ahead.”

---

The way out was surprisingly not as bad as the journey in. Sure, it took more effort, and I was less agile with the heavy cuirass weighing me down, and I had to remove my new gauntlets to grip the rock, and I was drenched in sweat… Actually, you know what? I take it back. It was fucking awful.

But it was dextrous endurance labor, and that meant my Grace, Dominion, and Vigor stats all went up by one as I ascended. So did my Order stat, actually. When Vigor went up, I felt my stamina renewed, and a burst of energy coursed through me. When Grace leveled, I felt just the slightest bit more agile on my feet, with my toes and fingers finding handholds a bit easier.

When my Order stat leveled, I felt something change inside me, but as for what, I hadn’t a clue. I really couldn’t wait to experiment with this stuff once we were out.

Which was soon, hopefully.

Once we reached the ropes, the going got a lot easier as I basically just hauled myself up. Grace went up another point, as did Vigor and Dominion.

I didn’t feel anything when Dominion increased, but I’d seen firsthand what that stat did to a person.

Aerion got back before me, helping pull my rope with all she had.

I was so close, too. Just about twenty feet from the top when I heard the telltale sound of beating of wings. The sound of impending doom.

“Greg! Hurry!”

“Like I need a reminder!” I rasped, hauling ass up the rope with what felt like inhuman speed, but was probably just a slow crawl.

It was obvious before I’d gone even a few feet up that I wouldn’t make it.

“Aerion! Reave! Now—Woah shit!”

Before I even had a chance to finish my sentence, I was being flung the rest of the way up. Like a giant had grabbed ahold of the rope and hurled.

This was no giant, but an elf. An elf drugged up on +60 Dominion.

“Run” I roared, ignoring my scraped knees as I scrambled to my feet.

Aerion didn’t respond. Her cold rage made her quiet, but she followed regardless. Actually, she outpaced me, reaching the safety of the forest ahead of me.

I felt a dark shadow blot out the sky… And I knew I was done for. I dove for the bushes, bracing myself for the pain and agony that was to come.

I crashed into a shrub, cursing the thorns that dug into my arms. Well, at least the dragon would have a painful meal. Would the damn thing even feel the pain? I wondered about Aerion. What would happen to her Blessing if I died? Would she die too?

The thought terrified me.

Except, the dragon’s mouth didn’t snap around my body. My spine was not ripped into two, and my life didn’t suddenly come to an end.

The shadow disappeared as the dragon soared past, above the forest.

“The hell?”

Before I had a chance to recover, though, a deafening roar pierced my ears, and even from here, I could feel the heat of its flame.

Except, it wasn’t aiming for us.

“Hurry!” Aerion shouted, darting ahead.

I got to my feet and followed, tripping and stumbling as my brain worked overtime to figure out what the hell was happening.

The dragon had ignored us. Like we weren’t even there. Then it’d attacked something.

Or… someone.

“Fuck!”

I burst into the clearing just in time to see a female warrior brace her sword against the dragon’s mouth.

It was like a T Rex chomping down on a toothpick. I heard the sound of the woman’s back snap, well before the blood oozed out of the dragon’s mouth.

The woman’s tower shield dropped from her lifeless arm, and with a small toss, the dragon hurled her corpse into the air and gulped her down, burping in satisfaction.

I stood there, watching blankly in shock and horror. It happened so fast. One moment, she’d been alive. The next… She’d been trivially eaten.

There was no epic, heroic battle here. No drawn-out boss fight. It was brutal, sudden… And anticlimactic. Its suddenness only made it more shocking.

The truth hit me like a sledgehammer, and I stumbled.

The dragon’s yellow reptilian eye swiveled, finding an elf and a haggard human.

Us.

I groaned. “Goddammit. Goddammit all.”