12th Floor, The BNY Mellon Center, The Pitt - 12:24 PM

By the time I was finished, I had harvested both of the Serpopards for everything of worth. Claws, teeth, and hide were all in my inventory waiting to be taken back to the Monstersmith.

What I didn’t bother retrieving were the towels I had used to clean off My Golden Bowling Ball and Vague Stick. At least with the crocodile, it was all dust and bits I could get off quickly. These creatures were just messy.

The message I was expecting from the system came through while I was working as well, but I hadn’t bothered reading it while there was work to do. Now that I was finished and sure there was nothing else I could harvest, I opened it.

[[Guild Notice]]

Member [Jamie Summers] has liberated the [Landmark Building Auction].

Sol Ligatus has gained 30 Guild Points. You may rank up the guild in the guildhall.

The next screen was one I expected, but it still brought a smile to my face.

[[Guild Rank Up!]]

Deputy Guildmaster [Kayla Mills] has ranked up the guild in your stead. Sol Ligatus is now at rank 3!

Rewards: Fully resting inside a guildhall can overcharge your health and resources by 10%, and normal recovery speed is increased by 25%.

Collect 50 Guild Points to increase your rank and gain more rewards. Sol Ligatus currently has 5 Guild Points.

Nodding to myself and snapping away the screens, I looked up at the hole the Serpopards had fallen out of. It had opened after a good portion of the Scarabs were killed so that they wouldn’t be eaten by the bugs. I jumped to grab the ledge before pulling myself up.

The room was small and empty aside from some shed fur, and I had to crouch to reach the back of it. With my bowling ball, I was able to break through to the hidden object that was concealed by the false wall. The limestone broke, revealing a tall scepter. At the top was an intricately carved jackal head, and at the bottom it diverged into two forks. I picked it up and checked out the description.

[[Equipped]]

Was-sceptre of Duamutef

(Unique Item; +15 Strength, +15 Constitution, Neith’s Protection passive acquired)

[[Passive]]

Neith’s Protection

The Was-sceptre of Duamutef ends in two tines. Whenever you are wielding this weapon and are struck in a vital point that results in a critical hit, all damage caused by that attack will be negated and one of the tines will break. Every morning, you may pray to the goddess Neith in the East to restore these broken tines.

“Another really great item,” I sighed as I dropped down from the hidden room. I wasted no time in snapping the weapon in half.

Unlike the stream of intestines that came out of the Spear of Qebehsenuef, only one preserved piece slid out of this one: a deflated stomach.

Not just a regular organ sized for people, of course, but one that was nearly large enough for me to use as a blanket. Using the forked end of the Was-sceptre to pick it up, I put it into my inventory before tossing the broken weapon in after it.

[[Notice]]

The Patron [Duamutef] has heard of your circumstances and wishes you well.

I blinked. “Thanks,” I said aloud, confused at how easy it had been for Sara to smooth things over as I read the message again.

Then I shrugged. I wasn’t about to lament my girlfriend’s hard work on handling other Patrons. I knew they would be reluctant to deal with someone else’s Avatar, but I wasn’t going to discount her efforts like that.

“Alright, let’s get moving up to the next floor,” I told myself, retrieving my Vague Stick before running back to the smashed window I entered from.

Flying upwards, I continued checking out the skyscraper. If I had needed it, the 25th floor was a designated rest area. There were no enemies, and sleeping there would give half of the same kind of buffs as resting in a safe zone. What it didn’t tell you was that the enemies below respawned if you stayed in the dungeon for too long, so if you decided to rest for the healing and head down, you would have to fight your way back out.

I clicked my tongue when I thought about that. This place was such an obvious death trap. Before I came along to solo it, this building had only been liberated as far in as the fourth or fifth scenario, which was a damn shame because of the services it provided.

Shaking my head, I hovered around the 33rd floor window. This one was completely silent even though I could see shadows banging on the dark glass. This floor was one of my least favorites. Not just because of the lack of noise, but because of how it operated.

Retrieving an Air Crystal from my inventory, I examined it. I had picked these up to combat the Chainsawfish in case my Vambrace of Wires fishing plan hadn’t worked out, but I had only needed to use two for that fight. This little thing could give me up to 5 minutes of air just by chewing on it.

I placed the small, colorless crystal between my teeth and kicked the glass in front of me. At the same time, I jerked upwards to avoid getting my legs caught.

Mummified baboons started falling out of the building, reaching for anything they could and screeching on their way down. I pulled my Writhing Belt Whip out of my inventory and took a deep breath as I dove inside.

The whip was great for dealing damage to living creatures and to psych them out, but not to undead. I didn’t need it to attack, however, but for the +10 boost to Constitution and +5 to Willpower. The moment my feet touched the stone floor, my body immediately started to ache as I entered an area without air. It was a pain in my ass, but I could deal with this boss fight gimmick.

What was an even bigger pain was the sheer amount of enemies here. The mummified baboons jumped around in chaotic patterns, leaping off of and colliding with each other. Somewhere in this mess was the boss baboon I needed to destroy to turn off whatever magic was removing the air from the room. The only difference between it and the others was that it had an ankh branded into its forehead.

The enemies wasted no time, and neither did I. Willing the Vague Stick to change into a sword with a long blade, I swung it and gave it some extra force with Orbit. The first wave of mummified monkeys were sliced in half, falling to the ground where they went still.

Before I could correct my stance, the next wave was on me. I activated Shield as they attempted to bite and scratch my body, their mouths wide open with silent screams. It wouldn’t last long, however, especially against these numbers. A few seconds at most.

I willed the Vague Stick to shift into a double-bladed sword with my hand between the edges. My line of sight to it was somewhat obstructed, but I had enough. I Pushed it out of my hand and started Spinning it as it hovered in the air. The baboons who thought it was a new enemy and got too close were caught by it, and were properly sliced.

Taking a few steps forward, I started swinging. Both of my arms had monsters clinging on and attempting to break through my Shield, which was starting to shimmer from the damage already. I slammed them into the ones hanging onto my legs. Once, twice, and then a final time before they fell to the ground, their bodies caved in. They weren’t particularly strong, my Strength was more than enough to handle them, but there were so many.

In the time it took for me to breathe out and chew the Air Crystal in order to refill my lungs, six more attacked me to take the place of their fallen brethren. My fists and feet flashed as I defended myself in earnest. Those that I couldn’t take out with a clean shot to the head, I aimed to debilitate. I snapped legs like twigs, and grabbed baboons to use as clubs.

My Shield shattered, and my clothes started to take the brunt of the damage. My flesh didn’t hold up much better, and I had to stop myself from breathing out from the pain.

Once I was far enough into the room, pushing against the tide of mummified monkeys, I switched tactics on the Vague Sword. The weapon continued to Spin at a fast rate, having reached its top speed, but it also began to Orbit me.

Despite the urgency, I made sure to do it slowly. If it got caught inside any of the baboons instead of slicing cleanly through then I would have to spend even more time and effort getting it back into condition. I kept it moving, leaving a swathe of sliced corpses in its wake.

I tried to keep the weapon between me and the bulk of the horde, though that didn’t stop them from jumping in front of my blade. They may have had an animalistic intelligence compared to the Kobolds on the lower floor, but there was no survival instinct to go with it.

Based on the amount of wounds I had already received, I couldn’t fault them for their tactics.

Blood ran freely from several parts of my body, but I didn’t slow down as I punched, kicked, and cut through my enemies. The baboons seemed endless, which was exactly the kind of despair the administrator wanted to inflict on people, but I knew better.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to search every nook and cranny of the 33rd floor. This time, I had someone to help.

[[Patron Message]]

23 degrees to your right, 25 feet away!

There was no signature this time, but given the situation I was thankful for that fact. I Pulled the spinning sword back to me and pivoted to the right before activating Crash Test.

[[Skill]]

Crash Test

Pick a direction adjacent to the ground and move up to Dexterity*½ feet in that direction at twice your fastest speed. If any objects are in your way, you violently burst through their space, knocking them away or breaking through them. This deals damage equal to Strength*4. If an object you hit stops you, then you also take that damage. After using this skill, you cannot use it again for 1 hour.

I covered my face with my free hand and tore through the horde of mummified monkeys. Their desiccated bodies were quickly pulped by mine as the skill accelerated me forward at a truly great speed. I didn’t come to a stop as I collided with the boss, which was much sturdier than the other baboons, but it was carried with me.

The moment I came to a halt, I spun to transfer all of my built up momentum. My double-bladed sword cut through the boss baboon twice, once through its torso and the second through its skull, and it collapsed to the ground.

My ears popped as the air started rushing back into the room, and I gasped. The minions started disappearing, turning to sand, and I was left in a room that was just as silent as it had been before. I fell to the ground, checking my tattered clothes to make sure each of my magical items were still usable.

“Thank you, Sara,” I said through labored breathing while giving the ceiling a thumbs up. “That usually takes me a lot more time to get through.”

There was no answer, but that was fine. She had sent quite a few messages today already and I didn’t want her spending too many points. If something urgent came up, then I’m sure she would let me know.

Unlike the undead crocodile and the Serpopards, there wasn’t anything I particularly cared to remove from the baboon’s corpse, so I left it where it lay. I picked up the purple skill book it left behind and ran my hand against the two identical figures embossed on the cover.

This one was for an ability called Body Double. It created an illusory copy of yourself that acted how you wanted it to, but couldn’t interact with anything. Any damage would make it disappear, but it was still great as a distraction. Very handy, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it would suit Kayla better.

Then I shook my head. No, it would definitely suit Kayla better. Instead of making a decision now, I tossed it into my inventory. I walked to the middle of the room and willed the Vague Stick to return to its original form.

The secret space wasn’t in the exact middle of the floor, but it was pretty close. I tapped the ground with my walking stick before coming across a stretch of stone that sounded different from the others. Raising my foot up high, I struck it, and my leg passed through the stone.

Lifting my foot back out, I knelt down to pick out the third artifact. This one was a large bronze amulet with the likeness of a baboon on it holding three branches, and I opened its description.

[[Item]]

Amulet of Hapi

(Unique Item; +15 Constitution, +15 Wisdom, Nephthys’ Protection passive acquired)

[[Passive]]

Nephthys’ Protection

The likeness of Hapi on his amulet is holding three branches. Whenever you are wearing this protective talisman and are affected by a harmful emotional attack, the effects will be negated and one of the branches will disappear. Every morning, you may pray to the goddess Nephthys in the North to refresh these missing branches.

“More negation and great stat buffs,” I muttered. “Yeah, anyone else would have a hard time destroying stuff like this.”

[[Notice]]

The Patron [Hapi] wishes for you not to dally and to just be done with it.

I nodded and waved away the notification. Placing both hands on the amulet, I held on tight and twisted it. It bent before breaking, and I held the two halves away from me as a pair of large lungs wetly hit the ground. Tossing the amulet pieces into my inventory, I put the lungs in there as well.

Checking my hit points, I let out a breath before sitting down near the window. The next floor I was going to visit only had one enemy on it but they were a doozy even for me, and I wanted to make sure I was in prime condition. My body stitched itself back together as I patiently waited to be topped off.